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Charlie and the Optimism Factory

Florida’s governor names climate panel, talks up green economy Used to be the greenest thing in Florida was a golf course — or maybe an old lady’s dye job gone slightly awry. But something’s happening in that sunshiny state. This week, Gov. Charlie Crist (R) followed up on an early-summer commitment by picking 21 business, […]

Strange Riverbed Fellows?

IBM partners with New York institute to create river-research center Tech giant IBM is partnering with a state-financed science organization in New York to create a cutting-edge river research center. The project, launched with the Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries, will tap into the mad skillz of IBM engineers to provide 24-hour data collection […]

Peekaboo, ICU

Hospitals opt for less-toxic medical equipment As the wee tots who end up in neonatal intensive care tend to be a bit on the vulnerable side, leading medical organizations are urging hospitals to swap medical equipment containing icky chemical DEHP — which can include IV tubing and blood bags — for safer alternatives. The good […]

Dust to Dust

NASA recalculates, 1998 becomes second-hottest year in U.S. The year 1998 has dropped from the hottest-year-ever-in-the-U.S. throne after NASA revised calculations, allowing Dust-Bowl-affected 1934 to claim the title. Despite triumphant cackling from climate skeptics, the rejiggering does not affect global climate records, and really is, for all intents and purposes, a technicality — globally, 1998 […]

Dying For a Change

Pollution causes some 40 percent of deaths worldwide, says new research Here’s one small reason to join the save-the-environment cause: new research indicates that some 40 percent of deaths worldwide are a direct effect of air, water, and soil pollution. Dirty air contributes to cancer and birth defects; unclean water accounts for 80 percent of […]

In which the author finds his dream neighorhood restaurant

In Mad Flavor, the author describes his occasional forays from the farm in search of exceptional culinary experiences from small artisanal producers. Recently, Mad Flavor was on the ground in Chicago — the author’s ancestral home city — a veritable garden of delightful food. I’ve long dreamed of a very particular neighborhood cafe/restaurant. It would […]

A tragedy in Utah and everywhere else, too

Coal is the enemy of the human race, Salon edition: This is the great paradox today: In an age of global warming and greater energy and safety awareness, we are also witnessing the great coal revival. Nearly 50 percent of our electricity still comes from coal — the very energy that runs our computers on […]

Huffington calls on press to do that thing I did

Arianna Huffington wonders why, with all the press coverage of the Utah mine collapse, so little has focused on the horrible safety record, anti-unionism, and political back-room dealings of the mine company’s faux-folksy CEO, Bob Murray. What she does not do, apparently, is read her own site. Just saying.

Economist goes over to the dark side

Some facts to hang your hat on: Good governance might save the day. Bad governance could just make things worse.

I generally agree with Galbraith's opinions. However, there is always a reasonable probability that some of his opinions are wrong (as is true of anybody's opinions, including my own). He's quoted in David's post:

"Planning" is a word that too many in this debate are trying to avoid, fearful, perhaps, of its Soviet overtones. But the reality of climate change is that central planning is essential, and on a grand scale.

History has a bad habit of repeating itself. In the past that was unavoidable because we had no way to record history so future generations would learn from others' mistakes. We don't have that excuse now. Ignoring history in today's information age can't be blamed on ignorance.

Fascinating talk from people at the company

Via Treehugger, Metropolis magazine has posted a transcript of a talk by Scott Charon and Susan Lyons from furniture company Herman Miller. The talk was given at Metropolis‘s conference Design Entrepreneurs: Rethinking Energy. As the eco-geeks among you likely know, Herman Miller is way out ahead of almost any other company on the planet in […]