Latest Articles
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In nearby Bothell
The Seattle Times is reporting on a Bothell family -- the Fraleys -- who are attempting to cut their family's greenhouse-gas emissions by 15 percent in May. Bully for them, and best of luck!
Still, there's something about the Times account of their experiment that rankles, just a bit. It leaves a casual reader with the impression that reducing carbon emissions is a total pain in the behind. To wit:
[The Fraleys] will try to reduce the household's greenhouse-gas emissions by using some common-sense ideas that nonetheless may be inconvenient. [Emphasis added.]
And ...
"I realized this wasn't going to be a cakewalk. The easy changes were already made, and the next one will be more -- painful is not the word -- but will take more effort."
Jeez, that makes sustainability sound like hair shirts and broccoli. Good luck getting people on board with that.
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Learn how to recognize the shills
Yesterday I wrote about an energy conference in Utah at which Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer enthusiastically shilled for coal and demanded more federal money for it. Looking more closely at the conference, I see I shouldn’t have been surprised. The Salt Lake Tribune story from yesterday is all but a press release for Utah Gov. […]
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USDA Seeks to fill enviro slot on Organic Board
The United States Department of Agriculture seeks to fill an "environmentalist" slot on the National Organic Standards Board, an opening announced in an April 16th press release. Why should you care? The NOSB makes recommendations to the USDA on what is allowable under USDA Organic Standards. Cloned animals? Recombinant DNA? Sewage sludge? The Board influenced all the decisions to keep these substances out, and will make important future recommendations as well.
Contact Katherine E. Benham, of the National Organic Program. Nominations close August 17, 2007. The position will probably be filled around January, as that's when environmentalist Andrea Caroe's term ends.
More in the press release here. Holla, people! I know you know someone!
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Um, overseas
“As part of efforts to shed its image of closeness to the motoring lobby, the party wants the government to commit immediately to key rail expansion projects …” That’s the conservative party. The dawn of hope and sanity? Yes. In the U.K.
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Where is it written that there’s an easy out to replace oil?
Another day, another story about cellulosic ethanol pointing out that, like the Star Wars missile system, it's a technology capable of sucking up endless tax dollars without ever producing anything that delivers in the real world.
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Good framing from Friedman
I suppose I’m obligated to say something about the much-ballyhooed cover story in the current New York Times Magazine by the Mighty Mustache of Understanding. I can’t really see what all the fuss is about. It’s basically the Mustache’s last four or five columns, stitched together. There’s nothing to say about this that wasn’t said […]
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You Can Green It. They Can Help.
Home Depot, Conoco make big eco-announcements Big news from big companies: Conoco is entering the biofuels biz, and Home Depot is launching a green-labeling program that could become the largest in the U.S. First, the fuel: partnering with meat giant Tyson Foods, Conoco will make biodiesel from animal fat. The companies hope to introduce the […]
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Oh, It’s Unparalleled All Right
U.S. claims emissions-reduction success, U.N. Security Council debates climate Today, for the first time ever, the U.N. Security Council will take up the topic of climate change and world security. “The security implications of climate changes are bigger than we thought even two or three years ago,” says John Ashton, a climate lobbyist who pushed […]
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Buzz Light Year
Could cell phones be the culprit in honeybee disappearance? Apiarists in the U.S. and Europe have been scratching their heads for months over rapidly waning honeybee populations. Now some scientists who have combed through the data are all abuzz with a new theory: cell phones. In bad news to mobile-attached ears, British researchers are suggesting […]
