France
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Critical List: Earth Hour around the world; GM cuts funding to Heartland Institute
A look at the news of the day.
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Here’s what a crowdsourced bicycle looks like
This combination bike and scooter is nominally the work of fancypants designer Philippe Starck, but that’s partly because “everyone in Bordeaux, France” doesn’t have as much label cachet. (More than “everyone in Normal, Illinois” or something, but still.) Before Starck got his hands on the brief for the bike, which will be part of Bordeaux’s […]
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French judge: Monsanto poisoned farmer
In 2004, Paul François, a French farmer, breathed in the vapor of Monsanto’s Lasso weedkiller while cleaning out the tank of a crop sprayer. He lost consciousness and later suffered from memory loss and headaches. Monday, a French court found that Monsanto could be held liable for poisoning François.
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Critical List: Obama budget ups clean energy funding; Monsanto poisoned farmer
Happy Valentine’s Day! Enjoy that chocolate now: it could be harder to find as climate change takes its toll on the cacao tree. Here are some other “green(ish)” ideas for presents to the one you love, be it your sweetie, your kid, your BFF, or your favorite teacher. And here’s Grist’s V-day roundup. President Obama’s […]
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Critical List: EU bans Iranian oil; snowy owls descend from Arctic
The European Union won’t be importing any more oil from Iran. President Obama’s going to lay out an energy agenda on Tuesday at the State of the Union. Thousands of snowy owls are descending from the Arctic to fly over places like Kansas and Missouri (and to deliver messages from Arctic Circle-based wizards, of course). […]
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The last rider: Learning to win on a 100k bike ride
David from Eugene passes a decaying farmouse on the Verboort Populaire.Photo: Elly Blue“I think the rain is really good for us as cyclists,” said my friend Maria Schur. We were in her car, headed to the Verboort Populaire, an annual 100-kilometer (about 62-mile) bicycle ride west of Portland, Ore. “It’s good for character development. It’s […]
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Critical List: Rina heads to Cancun; French wildflowers are disappearing
Hurricane Rina is heading towards Cancun. The U.S. wants to start trade wars all over the place. First, the solar industry goes toe to toe with China, and now the House of Representatives is mixing it up by trying to exempt U.S. airlines from the EU emissions scheme. Multinational energy companies who want to exploit […]
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Attack of the evil killer algae!
Sickening amounts of green algae, fed by nitrous waste from French farms, have been growing on the Brittany coast, where French and British people go for vacation. When the algae decomposes, it gives off hydrogen sulphide, a poisonous gas. Two years ago, a man died from inhaling the gas. The next victim: a horse. This year more than 30 wild boars have died mysteriously on the beach, and the evil algae is the prime suspect.
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Critical List: Australia will tax carbon; U.S. cars kill 32.5 trillion insects each year
This is a carbon tax: Australia is going to put a tax of $23 per metric ton on carbon emissions from 500 companies.
Hybrids and electric vehicles may no longer be legally allowed to slink quietly down the street, surprising pedestrians and dogs everywhere. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is proposing a rule requiring that the near-silent cars emit some sort of sound at low speeds.
The EPA is not happy with ExxonMobil and the company's plan to clean up the Yellowstone River. I mean, it’s in favor of cleaning up, it just thinks this particular plan stinks.