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A new series pivots around ethanol

Randomly, last night I caught the debut episode of the new CBS series Cane. It’s about the Duque family, a Cuban-American clan in both the sugar and rum businesses in South Florida. At the outset of the show, the Duque’s long-time rivals, the Samuels — a drawling family of white Southerners — offer to buy […]

Umbra on sustainable meat

Dear Umbra, My wife and I recently began changing the way we eat. We located several free-range/pastured farms here in the area, and found that some local restaurants buy meat from these farms. We plan on supporting these establishments. My question is, are there any major food chains that use good meat? Rich Brantner Fair […]

A call for suckers

Little Stevie Milloy’s outfit is offering $100,000 to the person who can "prove, in a scientific manner, that humans are causing harmful global warming." Fine print: This exciting opportunity will cost you $15. Think of it as a sweepstakes, only with Ed McMahon peer-reviewing articles on particle physics, and nobody winning. Now, the phrase "prove […]

And he should know what he’s talking about

Someone with a lot of experience in advanced reactor technologies says nukes are not worth pursuing as we contend with peak oil and climate change.

The latest skepticism, debunked

Not that anyone but a denier or two believed that some microscopic revision in a few years of temperature data meant the theory of human-caused global warming was even slightly undercut -- but progressives need to know all the rebuttals. I emailed Gavin Schmidt at RealClimate about this -- I'm sure I wasn't alone -- and he put together a very nice debunking post.

As Gavin writes, "there is clearly a latent and deeply felt wish in some sectors for the whole problem of global warming to be reduced to a statistical quirk or a mistake." Sad.

The world’s expert on recycled energy discusses … recycled energy

All across the nation, factories and power plants are wasting energy — lots and lots of it. If that energy could be captured and put to good use, greenhouse gas emissions could be substantially reduced, at a profit. Thomas Casten has been proclaiming this good news for almost 30 years now. Not only that, he’s […]

Underwater Update

Tidal turbines in New York’s East River halted temporarily for repairs The company experimenting with underwater electricity turbines in New York’s East River has found that the river’s currents are powerful. Too powerful, if you want to get picky about it: the river sheared off several blades on the 20-foot-tall turbines, and has stressed the […]

Geez, All We Got Was Karl Rove’s Resignation

Governments ruffled by climate kerfuffles in England, Australia A couple of government climate kerfuffles have broken out: In Britain, a leaked briefing paper says the country won’t meet a European Union target of 20 percent renewable energy by 2020, and suggests lobbying other nations for a more flexible interpretation of the goal or using “statistical […]

Oopsy Daisy

Alaskan study says 2 million gallons of oil, seawater spilled over 10 years Did you hear about the 2-million-gallon spill in the Alaskan tundra? No, you didn’t, because it happened slowly, from different sources, over the course of 10 years. A study by the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation says spills on the North Slope […]

A green band that’s really green

Last week, headed to the Lanesplitter for a Tune-Up, quite by accident I ended up seeing the Ditty Bops at the Freight and Salvage.

I'm glad I did. The music was sweet and smart and catchy. But music aside, the show was eye-opening. Bono, step aside: Here's the new standard for what it means for musicians to engage in activism.

At Vote Solar, we are periodically invited to table at shows where big name acts have decided to incorporate an activism component to their tour. It's kind of them to do -- but unless the artist is willing to talk about your issue from the stage, we've found that we might as well set up in front of a supermarket. People come to shows to get drunk and have a good time -- they are not generally interested in talking about, say, the importance of net metering policies.

And not to dis themed benefit concerts like Farm Aid, Live Aid, Live Earth, Tibet Freedom Concert, etc. Raising money and awareness is a good thing, irrespective of whether the bands that participate live what they preach.

But the Ditty Bops take it to a whole new level: