Climate Technology
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Sustainable Apparel Coalition delivers the eco-skinny on your skinny jeans
Wheredja get those jeans?I spend a lot of time shining a light on murky areas of the food system, but what about the industrial-apparel complex? Just as the food we eat has a material basis and a history, so do our clothes. It turns out that I know a lot more about the (grass-fed, local) […]
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Solar: It’s not just a California thing anymore
Texas installed 22.6 megawatts of photovoltaics last year.Photo: Duke EnergyThe United States solar businesses boomed, as usual, in 2010, growing 67 percent to $6 billion, according to an annual report [PDF] released Thursday by an industry trade group. That’s been the story for the past several years, but what’s notable is that solar is no […]
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Meet the zero-energy transparent TV
A zero-energy TV you can see through? I know what you’re thinking: “That’s called a pane of glass.” But this transparent screen, which Samsung unveiled at an expo in Germany, isn’t just glass, it’s FUTURE GLASS. For starters, the screen uses so little energy that it can be run by solar panels that feed off […]
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Watch Jon Stewart give Rand Paul a logic spanking on environmental regulations
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul went on Jon Stewart’s show armed with talking points about environmental regulations. Bad move, Rand. Watch (starting around 1:50) as Jon Stewart gets him to admit that government regulations have made a huge positive difference for the environment: The Daily Show – Exclusive – Rand Paul Extended Interview Pt. 3Tags: Daily […]
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What if you updated your electronics like you update your wardrobe?
Photo: George MacklinDesigner and TED fellow Dominic Muren wants you to update your electronics like you update your wardrobe. In other words, he thinks you should be able to replace or update only what gets worn out, instead of tossing and re-purchasing everything you own at one whack just because one part is busted or […]
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MIT geeks pull energy solutions out of their pocket protectors
Photo: Jon PariseHarvard hasn’t cornered the market on inventing the future, starting businesses, and all the other Zuckerbergian things people do when they’re not getting laid. At this year’s MIT Energy Conference, students and grads came out of their nerd caves to serve up a Jabba-sized heap of tech: personal turbines, wind-collecting balloons, bathysphere batteries, […]
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California utilities (just) miss renewable energy deadline
Time’s up.Photo: elfonThe California Legislature is moving to put into law a regulation requiring the state’s utilities to obtain a third of their electricity from renewable energy by 2020. But how did California’s three big investor-owned utilities do in meeting a previous mandate to secure 20 percent of their electricity supplies from carbon-free sources by […]
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Pacific Northwest sends coal a Dear John letter
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 15.0px Arial} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 15.0px Arial; color: #1f0199} span.s1 {text-decoration: underline ; color: #1f0199} span.s2 {text-decoration: underline} span.s3 {color: #000000} Dear Coal, We’ve been together a long, long time, but I’m sorry, I’m leaving you for another. Don’t try to argue: like it or […]
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Don’t Mess With Mother Nature
A few weeks ago in Lamont, California, a fighting rooster killed a man, when the bird slashed him with the blades he had attached to its legs. A bizarre one-time oddity? No, just days earlier a man in India was also killed when his fighting rooster slashed his throat. Just what is Mother Nature trying […]
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Ask Umbra on refillable cleaning supplies
Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, I’m trying to cut back on plastic waste and am wondering if you know of places that offer things like cleaning supplies in bulk, so that I can refill and reuse my old containers? Thanks!Lyda L.Harlem, NY A bottle walks into a bar and asks for a […]
