Latest Articles
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Calling All Working Assets Customers
Your incessant gabbing can raise money for Grist As if the free pints of Ben & Jerry’s weren’t sweet enough, now Working Assets customers can get something even sweeter: the chance to earn money for Grist with the click of a button. Phone and credit-card customers can go to the Working Assets voting page and […]
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With Protectors Like This …
Wildlife-trade regulators approve massive sale of ivory The world’s only body that can limit trade in endangered species kicked off a 12-day meeting this weekend with one hell of a bang: The Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, approved the sale of some 60 tons of […]
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Must Be All That Hot Air In Crawford
Texas tops list of greenhouse-gas emissions by U.S. states Know what would make the climate debate even contentiouser? Some sort of ranking of which U.S. states produce the most emissions. Oh look! The Associated Press has analyzed a set of U.S. Department of Energy carbon dioxide data from 2003! Let the finger-pointing begin. It seems […]
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Sounds Familiar
China releases first climate plan, says economic concerns are key China has released its first-ever national climate-change plan, a 62-page document that pledges to improve energy efficiency, increase the use of renewables, develop drought-resistant crops, and expand emissions-absorbing forests. But the country’s leaders emphasized that they don’t want to sacrifice economic growth. “We must reconcile […]
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A new idea for how to transport the stuff in cars
I have never been a fan of hydrogen technology as a solution to the climate change problem. It would be great if we could power automobiles with hydrogen (generated, of course, with renewable energy), but how do you carry the hydrogen around in your car? Do you really want to be driving around on top of a tank full of compressed hydrogen? Can you say Hindenburg?
I just listened to a great segment on this week's Science Friday. The guest, Jerry Woodall, a professor at Purdue, has an interesting idea for how to carry hydrogen in a way that seems extremely safe to me.
The idea is that you carry around a bunch of aluminum. You react the aluminum with water, and that produces hydrogen, which would then be immediately burned. In the end, you're left with a tank full of aluminum oxide, which will be recycled back into aluminum (using, of course, renewable energy) at a recycling facility.
This seems like a great idea, one that makes me reconsider my skepticism towards hydrogen. But listen to the segment yourself. Also, check out the presentations on this site.
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Umbra on seltzer bottles
Dear Umbra, I love drinking fizzy water, especially in the summer, but I am appalled to learn that the plastic bottles use petroleum in their production. Plus, hauling them home from the supermarket burns gas. I’ve been looking at seltzer bottles, also known as soda siphons, the original source of carbonated water, and also much […]
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A reality TV show that will knock your socks off
Crude: a great overview of how, when, where, and why oil is obtained, and a fascinating look at what happens when you burn a bunch of it real fast.
Think The End of Suburbia meets An Inconvenient Truth.
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Scary stuff
More and more experts are saying global warming is as grave a threat to our national security (PDF) as terrorism and nuclear proliferation. Some in the media are coming to the same view.
The Financial Times set up their coverage with the following scenario, pulled from a Pentagon memo:
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Poor guy
Poor Bush, he just can’t get a break. He announces a shiny new climate-change strategy, and what does he get? Nothing but grief. Nancy Pelosi called it "the same stale proposals he has repeatedly put forward to the international community." Al Gore called it "purely and simply smoke and mirrors [that] has the transparent purpose […]
