cars
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General Motors to start repaying government loans
The NY Times story has one of the true glass-is-half-full headlines of our times: G.M., Citing Progress, Reports Loss of $1.15 Billion But these days, you take good news where you can find it, and the rest of the story is certainly a pleasant surprise: General Motors, whose very survival was in doubt this […]
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Maryland county draws a “car-free blueprint for growth”
Montgomery County redefined the way it will grow in the next two decades when lawmakers endorsed a plan Tuesday that encourages development where residents can easily live a car-free lifestyle. The County Council, after weeks of intense debate over the county’s growth policy, unanimously agreed to give developers discounts to build dense developments near transit […]
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Would You Like Carbon Insurance With That Latte?
You might not hear that exact question any time soon, but don’t be surprised if companies start shifting carbon risk from their balance sheets to someone else’s, using the time-honored marketplace tool of insurance. And when that happens, expect the price of products to reflect the new reality. China, India, and other emerging economies argue […]
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Random Monday thoughts inspired by a throwaway line from Mark Bittman
Yes, he occasionally gets on my nerves. But when the great Mark Bittman says stuff like this, all is forgiven (if not forgotten): I am the least impressive cook you will ever see. I am completely without knife skills, I screw things up all the time. When I’m in the kitchen I’m not obsessively trying […]
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Cash for Clunkers brought us … more clunkers!
So how did Cash for Clunkers work out from an environmental standpoint? You don’t want to know. The $3 billion federal program was kinda sorta supposed to send inefficient, high-polluting, belchy vehicles to an early grave. Instead it put a lot of new large, inefficient vehicles on the road, according to an AP investigation of […]
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Dogs Vs. SUVs
Editor’s note: Clark will be on NW Cable News tomorrow morning (Nov 3) around 8:30 to talk more about this issue. You may have seen the meme circulating around the internet: some researchers from Australia are claiming that owning a dog has as much impact on the planet as owning an SUV. I’ll let New […]
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Performance anxiety
It’s not just the ads showing a baby-boomer couple sitting in matching bathtubs on a beach at sunset where you can find performance anxiety these days. Try looking in the hardware aisle and at the gas station. Rather than ban inefficient incandescent light bulbs, for example, California lawmakers set an efficiency performance standard — which […]
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Ask Umbra on bike helmets
Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, As a frequent cyclist, I’ve inevitably been in my share of collisions and accidents. Most bike experts recommend replacing your helmet after any crash, even if the damage isn’t visible. Obviously the two most important qualities of a bike helmet are lightweight-ness and strength. That is best […]
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For public transportation to survive, we all need to … drive more?
Traffic is the answer!richardmasoner via flickrMeant to mention these two pieces last week, but things fell apart, as they say. (Do “they” say that, or is it just me?) Both relate to the connection between cars and public transportation, and both are a bit counterintuitive. The first, an op-ed by David Owen in the Wall […]
