Climate Climate & Energy
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Dinosaur Farts?
Alberta premier doesn’t like Al Gore talkin’ smack about oil sands Al Gore has pushed the buttons of Ralph Klein, premier of Canada’s conservative Alberta province (think North Dakota, but even norther). Interviewed in the latest Rolling Stone, Gore disparaged Alberta’s oil-sands industry: “For every barrel of oil they extract there, they have to use […]
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Try This on for Seismic
Climate change may lead to more earthquakes and volcanic eruptions Geologists are concerned about the seismic repercussions of disappearing glaciers, noting that the sheer weight of the humongous blocks of ice helps to keep the earth in place. Glacial melting and the reduction of that weight may release pent-up pressure in the planet’s crust, leading […]
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What’s Your Price for Flight?
European Parliament calls for jet-fuel tax to curb enviro impact of flying The European Parliament has voted in favor of a jet-fuel tax to help offset the environmental impact of air travel. The consumer cost of the fuel tax would be up to about $75 per roundtrip flight within Europe. Also, as the European Union […]
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Gay sex and global warming
"If only gay sex caused global warming" is not only the most humorously titled, but one of the most psychologically and sociologically astute analyses of global warming I've ever seen in the confines of a newspaper op-ed.
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With Our Tailpipe Between Our Legs
U.S. cars are tops in CO2 emissions The U.S. boasts 30 percent of the world’s cars and is responsible for almost half of global car-caused greenhouse-gas emissions, according to a new report by Environmental Defense. American-driven cars emit 15 percent more carbon dioxide per mile than the global average (meaning, in essence, they get worse […]
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Club Afoot
Sierra Club sues Pentagon for holding up new wind farms The Sierra Club is suing the Defense Department for effectively halting new development of wind farms in the name of homeland security. The suit charges that the department failed to complete a congressionally mandated study on how wind turbines affect military radar by a May […]
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The Mend Is Nigh
Some scientists look to geoengineering to stave off climate change What will it take to stop global warming? Reducing developed-world consumption and funding clean technologies in the developing world? Boooring. Human-engineered ultra-reflecting clouds, altered carbon-soaking oceans, trillions of little sunshades floating in space? Now we’re talking! “We should treat these ideas like any other research […]
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Olive Twist
“Climate-change farmer” plants England’s first olive grove Britain’s first olive grove has been planted in Devon in southwestern England — made possible by global warming. Traditionally an iconic crop of Mediterranean regions, the olive may soon be able to flourish in more northerly climes, some specialists believe, thanks to rising temperatures. Olive entrepreneur Mark Diacono […]
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Profit and Laos
Big dam project in Laos aims to minimize environmental and social damage A controversial hydropower dam under construction in Laos will serve as a test case for whether a large dam can be built without trampling too heavily on the natural world and human rights. Supporters, including the World Bank, say the Nam Theun 2 […]
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Heh Heh, He Said Buttress
Greenland is melting fast and worrying scientists Greenland’s name may soon be more accurate, as its two-mile-thick ice sheet is melting twice as fast as it was five years ago — faster than climate models predicted. Since 1991, the average winter temperature has risen almost 10 degrees; by 2005, the landmass was losing up to […]
