Climate Health
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Here’s what Pittsburgh looked like before smoke control
Vintage photos of Pittsburgh, from before it passed a smoke-control ordinance in 1941, are so hazy that some of them look like they've been hit with some kind of artsy-grunge Instagram filter.
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Bathtub photo lands coal activist in child-porn hot water
West Virginia coal activist Maria Gunnoe testified before a congressional committee about her community's ruined water supplies. Instead of action, her evidence triggered a conversation with the Capitol Police.
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Spacecraft could be killing endangered antelope
Add these two factoids to your store of knowledge about Kazakhstan, which, admit it, consists mostly of “It’s on the Risk board?” (it’s not! You’re thinking of Kamchatka) and “Borat is from there.” The central Asian country provides habitat for the endangered saiga antelope, which has a face like a fuzzy alien from Sesame Street. […]
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World’s oldest trees face country’s worst smog
Sequoia National Park can lay claim to two superlatives — its redwoods are the oldest single organisms on the planet and its air quality is the worst of any national park in the country. The smog pollution in the park is so bad that levels reach L.A.-worthy heights. The park might seem like it’s in […]
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Why are U.S. taxpayers subsidizing coal mining?
The Obama administration is selling off public-owned coal at a massive discount to companies that want to ship it abroad. Calling all climate hawks!
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Reagan denied disaster funds for cleaning up teenager’s room
The fabulous blog Letters of Note has been delving into the letters of Ronald Reagan, and posted this gem on Twitter. Just look at that disregard for the environment, denying federal relief funds for what is clearly a disaster area!
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Big Coal’s new anti-Obama ad reeks of desperation
The U.S. coal industry is flailing, and its response is to pour money into political propaganda. It would be outrageous if the efforts weren’t so … sad.
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Pacific Garbage Patch has gotten 100 times worse in 40 years
Since the 1970s, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch -- an area of the ocean clotted with plastic microparticles -- has grown 100-fold. And this is very bad news, not only because of the creatures it harms but because of the ones it helps.
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City-dwellers’ allergies are so bad because they don’t have enough bacteria
This allergy season has been terrible. It seems like everyone I know has been running around with leaky eyes, even those of us who aren’t typically pollen-sensitive. Granted, there was an unusual amount of tree sperm in the air this year, but it seemed strange that everybody — really, everybody! — was afflicted. But a […]
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Re-Whiting history: Richard White on managing our un-pristine planet
The award-winning environmental historian says humans have had a massive impact on the environment for centuries. Is it different now, in the "Anthropocene"? Yes and no.