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Bank of America makes a $20 billion green pledge

Not long ago, I became a Bank of America customer, with mixed emotions. You know, the faceless corporation, the rumors of unethical practices, the exhaustion of trying to figure out where their (and my) money truly goes. Ultimately, I gave in to inertia and convenience. So I’m happy to hear that BOA is launching a […]

Those people are smart

Robert J. Shapiro of the The American Consumer Institute favors a carbon tax (PDF) over emission trading:

Based on recent economic analyses and evidence, it is clear that carbon taxes are the more effective and efficient strategy for addressing climate change, and provide stronger incentives to develop alternative fuels and more energy-efficient technologies.

The latest from the makers of The Meatrix

The latest from Free Range Studios, makers of The Meatrix:

The DaVersity Code. Check it.

A radio debate

Some people think that solar is too expensive to justify public spending. Put your public funds into energy efficiency now, which is much cheaper, and wait for solar's costs to come down. Severin Borenstein, Director of the University of California Energy Institute, is one such person.

Others think that the best way to have cheap solar in the future is to invest in building a market now -- if there is a market, private money will flow into R&D, ecomonies of scale will develop, and costs will come down. JP Ross of Vote Solar is a member of this camp.

On Saturday, they went mano-a-mano on Air America's EcoTalk. Listen to the fireworks here.

First human-gene-containing rice gets initial approval, London hatches ambitious climate plan, and m

Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: CSI: My Apiary If At First You Don’t Secede But Wait, There’s More Carry On My Wayward Gene Yes We Ken Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: Something in the Way She Movies Blowing It Cleaning House

Umbra on disposing of toxic chemicals

Dear Umbra, Now that I’ve caught the environmental bug, I don’t know what to do with the toxic cleaning products (e.g., Ajax) that I have on hand. As a bulk buyer, I’ve got 5 to 6 bottles in my garage. Is it better to use them up, throw them away, or just have them stay […]

Coal is still the enemy of the human race

When I talked to Rep. Jay Inslee, he specifically asked me to emphasize to readers the distinction between coal gasification (that is, producing electricity in IGCC coal plants) and coal-to-liquids (that is, producing liquid diesel fuel from coal via the Fischer-Tropsch process). The former might some day be environmentally tolerable, if accompanied by carbon sequestration. […]

Seriously, isn’t it just gross?

Having adopted a quasi-vegetarian lifestyle, I can finally join in: man, you meat eaters suck! Ahem. Speaking of my quasi-vegetarianism … what’s the deal with soy sauce? I’ve found that eating vegetarian in practice means eating lots and lots of Mexican (rice and beans) and Chinese (rice and veggies) food. When it comes to the […]

Watch him dance

Watch as Multiple-Choice Mitt tries to say sensible things about energy independence without taking a stand on any particular scientific or policy issue: (via Hugg)

Lisa Day of socially conscious film company Participant Productions answers questions

Lisa Day. What work do you do? I am the vice president of social action and advocacy at Participant Productions. What does your company do? Participant is a film company with a twist — we only make “issue” movies, and for each movie we create social-action campaigns. Our films have included An Inconvenient Truth and […]