Grist List
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America falls to third place in global race for clean energy
Globally, clean energy investment and finance reached $243 million in 2010, up 630 percent from 2004 and 30 percent from 2009. Germany experienced a 100 percent increase in investment, to $41.2 billion, trouncing the U.S., which came in at $34 billion despite having nearly four times the population of Germany. China, of course, was number […]
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Einsteinium on the Beach: Japan’s nuke crisis spreads to ocean
Plutonium* has escaped the fuel rods in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and has now been found on the beach adjacent. Workers are struggling to keep radioactive wastewater from reaching the ocean, where radiation has already begun to spread. Rumor has it that the Japanese government is so frustrated with the performance of TEPCO, […]
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New Jersey leads U.S. in Superfund sites, spray tan and … solar power?
Jersey’s not all gym, tan, laundry. It’s also got more photovoltaic solar power capacity than any state except California (which is 19 times bigger). Even with a small square mileage, wishy-washy East Coast sun, and reality-show meatheads hogging the rays, Jersey’s managing to shore (ha) up its economy with solar — the state has more […]
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Indian tigers make a comeback
Please, extinction, you think you can beat tigers? Have you SEEN tigers? Okay, so we’ll pass lightly over what happened to their saber-toothed cousins. And tigers aren’t out of the woods yet. But India’s latest tiger census showed a population stronger than it has been in some time — more than 1,700 tigers, about 300 […]
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BP execs may face manslaughter charges
Here’s a novel concept: Cause people to die, get charged with manslaughter. It doesn’t usually work that way with corporations, which apparently get all the benefits of being legally considered “people” with none of the consequences. But federal officials are looking into manslaughter charges for BP managers who presided over the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The […]
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There’s an EPA showdown on the way
Playing in Congress this week: Gunfight at the EPA Corral. And the GOP has an itchy trigger finger. Age-old enemy of the planet Sen. James “global warming is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people” Inhofe has introduced a bill to nullify the EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases. Sen. Mitch McConnell has […]
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How Americans defeated efficiency with consumerism
The Energy Information Administration's Residential Energy Consumption Survey, released yesterday, shows that average household energy usage has remained remarkably stable over the last 30 years — even as appliances have gotten way more efficient. Why? Well, we just have a pantload more appliances. (Seriously, look in your pants RIGHT NOW. Do you have a gadget […]
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Budget-strapped police forces going with green vehicles to save on fuel
Aspiring Blues Brothers may be able to get old Crown Vics cheap pretty soon — but if you’re at all eco-minded, you may not want to drive them. The iconic and soon-to-be-retired police rides only got 14 m.p.g. in the city, but the Ford Interceptor — set to be their primary replacement when they go […]
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How coal could make your car more efficient
That’s right: You may soon be able to use coal to make your car more fuel-efficient. Not by running it on coal — gross! — but building it out of metal mixed with structures found in coal ash. Fly ash, a byproduct of burning coal, contains microscopic bubbles called cenospheres. They sound like Clive Barker […]
