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Why Germany had to phase out nuclear to build its renewables
Lots of American journalists (including this one!) have gone on and on about renewables and nuclear power in Germany without having a first-hand appreciation of the situation, or even any German language ability. This has led us all to misapprehend some pretty basic facts about why the Germans decided to phase out their existing nuclear […]
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Critical List: Solar panels and toxin-filled boilers for all
The home improvement store Lowe's is partnering with Sungevity, a solar panel company, to offer instant, in-store estimates for home solar installation. The panels can be rented for a monthly fee. There goes your excuse: Get off the grid, already. The EPA caved to manufacturers’ push to delay emissions standards for toxins like mercury and […]
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Are climate campaigners doing it wrong? I review a book that answers ‘yes’
What if the problem with international climate negotiations is not this or that recalcitrant country but the very foundation the whole enterprise is built on? What if climate campaigners are fixated on a set of frames and strategies that are doomed to failure? Wouldn’t that suck? Yes. Yes it would suck. Nonetheless, that’s the situation […]
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Mississippi flood causes billions in damage, while local representatives deny climate threat
They’ve literally opened the floodgates.Photo: Gulf Restoration NetworkCross-posted from the Wonk Room. “Flooding along the Mississippi River has set a new water level record,” according to the National Weather Service. “The massive flood churning its way down the Mississippi River will go down in history for its catastrophic, multi-billion dollar impact on the Midwestern economy.” USA Today reported […]
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Don’t want to face impossible decisions? Act now on climate
The Mississippi River on the rise.Photo: boxchainCross-posted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. As The Washington Post reported today, people along the Mississippi River and its swollen tributaries are facing a very difficult decision: Should they flood the farms to save the cities? That’s a tough spot to be in, and one we are more […]
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Jon Huntsman, once a climate hawk, now disses cap-and-trade like all the other Republicans [UPDATED]
He’s left China behind — and climate hawkishness too.Photo: saucy panA couple of months ago, I asked, “Is Jon Huntsman the greenest GOP presidential hopeful?” In 2007, as Utah governor, he brought his state into the Western Climate Initiative, a regional cap-and-trade program. And up through 2009, when he took the post of ambassador to […]
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Climate disasters: unlikely to be agents of progressive change
Disasters ain’t gonna do it.“Americans won’t wake up and get serious about climate change until there’s a disaster.” I’ve been hearing people say that for years, but more and more lately. There’s always an uptick after a political defeat like the failure of the climate bill. It’s delivered with “more in sadness than in anger” […]
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The Pope gets down with climate change
Is climate change a serious problem that requires drastic action? Does the Pope wear a funny hat? Finally, these two questions go together for reasons beyond heavy sarcasm. The Vatican's scientific advisory panel, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, has issued a report calling for an urgent reduction in carbon emissions. "We appeal to all nations […]
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Climate crisis fueling Mississippi River’s historic floods
The Mississippi River flooding part of downtown Memphis.Photo: Chris WielandThe Mississippi River is experiencing its second “500-year flood” since 1993. That’s no freak occurrence — scientists say it’s a result of human-made carbon pollution changing our climate. “All extreme weather events are now subject to human influence,” said Peter Gleick, a climate and water scientist […]
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In memoriam: Douglas Adams, environmentalist
Douglas Adams, who died 10 years ago today, was the best writer of humorous science fiction who ever lived. (Note that I did not say "arguably," all objective-journalist style. I will hear no argument. The best.) If, like me, you can recognize and recite parts of the passage on the towel he's draped himself with […]
