Latest Articles
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No, it’s not a disease
Gesundheit.
I know biofuels are terrible and will starve us, but check out this Newsweek article on Jatropha. When I was in the Peace Corps in Guinee-Bissau, we used this to grow living fences to keep the goats out of our gardens. It's the growingest plant I've ever seen -- whack off a branch from your neighbor's hedge with a machete, stick it in the ground, and presto, it sprouts like a weed, no irrigation needed.
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Surprisingly hip
Because the world demands it, here is Al Gore’s (surprisingly hip) iTunes playlist (via Ecorazzi): Track One: I Need To Wake Up, by Melissa Etheridge (From An Inconvenient Truth) "There are many of Melissa Etheridge’s songs I could choose to be a part of my list but this one is more meaningful to me than […]
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Probably not, despite rumors
Rumor’s going around that Arnie, term-limited from continuing in the governor’s manse after 2010, may run for Senate against Barbara Boxer. A long discussion by Paul Hogarth examines all the angles and concludes that, eh, probably not. (hat tip: reader LL)
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Gore parties with the glitterati
Sean Hannity’s not going to be happy about this.
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The left coast’s answer to RGGI
The big news of the day is the fact that five Western governors have agreed to enter into a cap-and-trade system: the Western Regional Climate Action Initiative. We’ve now got bicoastal cap-and-trade systems. C’mon, Midwest. You know you want to.
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Michael Boots, director of the Seafood Choices Alliance, answers Grist’s questions
Michael Boots. With what environmental organization are you affiliated? I am the director of the Seafood Choices Alliance, which is the largest program of the communications-based organization SeaWeb. What does your organization do? Seafood Choices Alliance is a global trade association that works on the issue of ocean-friendly seafood. The alliance helps the seafood industry […]
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Farming for fuel will drive up the cost of your favorite brew
According to this story in the Financial Times, strong demand for biofuel feedstocks such as corn, soybeans, and oilseed rape (canola) is encouraging farmers to plant these crops instead of barley, driving up its price.
And what is barley a key ingredient of? Beer.
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What would it take?
Jerome Woody writes about green computing. That raises the question: What would it take to make computers truly sustainable?The first thing to note is that while we do need to consider the energy computers use in operation, it is dwarfed by what it takes to make them in the first place. Back in 2004, Eric Williams estimated that more than 80 percent of the energy a computer will use during its lifetime is consumed during manufacture [1]. To gain perspective on the total impact of computer manufacture (rather than just greenhouse emissions): the fossil fuels burned and water polluted during manufacture of a computer system typically weigh more than an SUV.
How do we reduce this?
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Where is the leadership?
The Ford Motor Company has come upon hard times. I may no longer qualify as a Grist brokeass, but I am still one at heart, and empathize with those thirty-odd thousand people who have lost or will soon lose their jobs. I have owned six cars in my life. Four of them were Pintos. Ford is a sinking ship and its captain was the first one to jump.
