Climate Climate & Energy
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Obama injects hope into climate negotiations, even though he’s not attending
The global climate negotiations in Poznan opened on Monday with all expected pomp and circumstance. Two prime ministers and Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the Nobel-Prize winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, addressed thousands of delegates and observers who have swarmed into this cold, dark town in western Poland. However, while the proceedings dominated the […]
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‘Time to get real’
I’m not necessarily comfortable with the fact that crusty old white farmer types in beat-up caps are the sine qua non of authenticity in the American imagination, but it is what it is, so I really like this new ad from Repower America:
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If there’s no U.S. climate bill in 2009, would U.N. climate talks collapse in Copenhagen?
I have argued that Obama won’t be able to ratify any global climate treaty that is likely to come out of Copenhagen next December. Since the only thing worse than no global climate treaty in 2009 is a treaty that the President can’t get ratified, Obama, I believe, should be lowering expectations rather than making […]
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Humanity is still bargaining with climate change
I’ve had a thought bouncing around, somewhat inchoate, that I shall now try to render in the language you humans call "English," despite the fuzzy-headedness brought on by Seattle’s relentlessly gray sky. Pardon the rambling. You constantly see stories in the media about things that might derail our still-nascent efforts to avert the worst of […]
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Canadian oil sands projects could kill up to 166 million birds, study says
Canadian oil sands projects are likely to kill up to 166 million birds over the next 50 years through habitat loss, pollution, and other effects, according to a study by a coalition of environmental groups.
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Bizarre gap year in residential conservation tax incentives
I was doing some research in preparation for upgrading my attic insulation, and what do I find? That, in its wisdom, Congress has decided that home weatherization is a good idea that needs incentives for 2006, 2007, and 2009 … but not 2008. That’s right. The feds want you to delay energy-conserving, pollution-reducing, job-creating home […]
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Participate in the National Teach-In on Global Warming Solutions, Feb. 5
A guest post by Eban Goodstein, Professor of Economics at Lewis & Clark College and project director of the National Teach-in on Global Warming Solutions. —– One thing you can do to stop global warming right now is tell a teacher — a friend, your kid’s teacher, a cousin, or a colleague — about The […]
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Not as threatening as missing bees, but another odd symptom
Even when they are not immediate threats, weird symptoms like this are troubling: WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 (UPI) — Botanists say they’re puzzled about why oak trees from Virginia to Kansas and north to Nova Scotia failed to produce acorns this year. “It’s a zero year. There’s zero production. I’ve never seen anything like this before,” […]
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Electronics, biomimicry, and design advances improve a mature technology
Solar energy sucks up a lot of research attention, partly because solar energy systems still have so much room for improvement. Wind turbines, on the other hand, have been around for over 1,000 years, and although the modern versions are vastly larger and more efficient than their ancient counterparts, the basic concept hasn’t changed much. […]
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The food price blame game
Tactic No. 1: Create a straw man. Nobody in their right mind can claim that corn ethanol has no impact on corn prices, or that corn prices have no impact on food prices. You can only debate the extent of the corn’s impact. Here’s a conclusion from a study released this year [PDF] that supports […]
