Climate Technology
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Report: U.S. in fast lane to put 1 million electric cars on the road by 2015
More like this are on the way.Photo: Dave Pinter When President Obama in his State of the Union address called for 1 million electric cars to be on the road by 2015, skeptics scoffed. But in a report [PDF] released Tuesday, the Department of Energy basically said no worries. We’ve already arrived at our destination. […]
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Wind power now competitive with coal in some regions
Photo: Vlasta JuricekMore good news on the renewable energy front Monday: The cost of onshore wind power has dropped to record lows, and in some regions is competitive with electricity generated by coal-fired plants, according to a survey by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, a market research firm. “The latest edition of our Wind Turbine Price […]
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WH Gig for Mubarak
White House climate policy czar Carol Browner recently left her post “to spend more time with her family” (political-speak for “thanks for playing, but don’t let the door hit you in the backside on your way out”). Given his 2008 campaign pledge to get Congress to deal with US carbon pollution and thereby support a […]
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Industry-funded Super Bowl ad rails against the (non-existent) soda tax
Maybe it’s just Monday-morning grumpiness, but I hate the media fixation with Super Bowl ads. Corporations and industry lobby groups drop millions on 30-second spots, and then bloggers scramble to come up with something fresh to say about them — and in the process, amplify their message. Who benefits? The bloggers generate some on-the-cheap page […]
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Solar gets big and cheap in California
A San Francisco solar installation. Photo: Gavin NewsomEarlier this week, I wrote about the green evolution in California regarding electric cars. Well, when it comes to solar energy, it’s starting to look more like a revolution. This week, utility Southern California Edison asked regulators to approve 20-year contracts to buy 250 megawatts of electricity from […]
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USDA ‘partially deregulates’ GM sugar beets, defying court order
Big Ag — can’t beet ’em.A week ago, the USDA shocked the organic-farming community by “fully deregulating” genetically modified alfalfa, after acknowledging that organic farmers had legitimate concerns about the move and hinting they’d be taken into account. On Friday, the agency didn’t simply skulk away from its own words in an apparent attempt to […]
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Oprah discovers slaughterhouses are more sanitary when sanitized
Oprah sent an “investigative” reporter into a Cargill slaughterhouse, and the resulting video is, frankly, amazing. If you’re the least curious about how cows make the journey from feedlot to your plate, it’s worth watching the whole thing. But why would ag giant Cargill, a company with a record nearly as tainted as the nearly […]
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Bay Area hands out $3 million to install home electric car chargers
20 Blink commercial charging stations will be installed around the Bay Area.Photo: BlinkHere’s a mid-week dispatch from the green evolution in California. The Bay Area Air Management District on Wednesday granted $3.9 million to four companies as part of an effort to roll out electric car charging stations in 2,750 homes, as well as 30 […]
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How the next farm bill could plant a new crop of farmers
Microloans could encourage young people to become farmers.Photo: Chewonki Semester SchoolUSDA Secretary Tom Vilsack recently called for 100,000 new farmers — a recognition that the U.S. farm population is aging rapidly. To create a revitalized, sustainable, and socially just food system, we need to cultivate a new generation of farmers — and quickly. But starting […]
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E.U. carbon fraud: Could it happen here?
Cross-posted from Sightline’s Daily Score blog. Europe’s Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) cap-and-trade system has taken a somewhat undeserved drubbing in the press. Overall, it has functioned reliably and reasonably efficiently. Most of the alleged “Carbon Fraud!” you hear about in some quarters was really just easily fixable design flaws (like an initial over-allocation of allowances); tax payment […]
