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UPDATED: McDonald’s new ad campaign: Is it localwashing or not?
[See UPDATE below.] McDonald’s has a new localwashing campaign playing out on billboards in Seattle. This one targets the Ballard neighborhood … Photos: Gilman Park … and comes with an amusing disclaimer: “Participation and duration may vary.” This one targets Seattle as a whole: Have you seen any ads of this ilk? Cheddar from Wausau, […]
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How Obama can wean the country off oil without help from Congress
Obama could kick off the “Big Green Buy.”Photo: Wikimedia CommonsThis article is part of a special issue of The Nation magazine about green energy, “Freedom From Oil.” In the wake of the BP oil spill, some captains of industry have begun calling for government leadership to spur a clean-energy revolution. In June, billionaire software mogul […]
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Ten green stories you probably missed this week
The big story of the week, of course, is that BP, after almost three miserable months, may have finally stopped its Gulf gusher. (Emphasis on “may.”) But chances are you missed these greener tales — from the beauty of pond scum to the bendable bike to the regenerative power of beer. Flasks of algae waiting […]
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‘Dallas’ oil baron now solar energy pimp
Never thought you’d see the day when a Texas oilman turns sunny-side up? Oh wait, T. Boone Pickens has been there, funded that. OK, how about a fictional oil tycoon? Larry Hagman, who slicked himself up as exactly that in the hit TV soap opera Dallas — Wikipedia tells me it was a hit; it […]
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Got a killer smart grid idea? General Electric’s got $200 million to spend on it
GE’s stylish WattStation electric car charging station.Photo: GE Jeff Immelt, chief executive of General Electric, flew into San Francisco to announce on Tuesday that GE was hooking up with prominent venture capital firms from Silicon Valley, the East Coast, and Europe to offer a supersized version of the X Prize for smart grid innovation. (GE […]
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Dear Old Spice Man, will using your product make me, um, less manly?
Dear Old Spice Man, I see you a lot on TV lately, running around with your shirt off telling me that I won’t be a man if I don’t use Old Spice Body Wash. I hate commercials that blatantly play at gender stereotypes. But I’m not gonna lie, these ads (and your response videos) do […]
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N.C. chef Vimala Rajendran tells how cooking can save a family — and build a food ecosystem
An underground legend goes legit: Vimala Rajendran with staff in her gleaming new kitchen. (Kathryn Stein photo) In our New Agtivist interview series, we talk to people who are working to change this country’s f’ed-up food system in inspiring ways. When Vimala cooks, everyone eats–well. (Shannon Barry photo)When the going gets tough, the tough get […]
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Raids are increasing on farms and private food-supply clubs — here are 5 tips for surviving one
When the 20 agents arrived bearing a search warrant at her Ventura County farmhouse door at 7 a.m. on a Wednesday a couple weeks back, Sharon Palmer didn’t know what to say. This was the third time she was being raided in 18 months, and she had thought she was on her way to resolving […]
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Hitachi and Schwarzenegger
Hitachi’s Plant Technologies division and two cities in Japan are selling treated sewage water to an iron ore mining company in West Australia for use in industrial processes that today consume scarce drinking water. Ore ships go to Japan fully loaded, but come back to Australia empty, taking on seawater as ballast for that return […]
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Tainted cereal exposes soggy food-safety system
Photo by Mykl Roventine, FlickrOn June 25, Kellogg’s issued a “voluntary recall” of 28 million boxes of its breakfast cereals, including Froot Loops, Apple Jacks, Corn Pops, and Honey Smacks. The company revealed it had detected an “uncharacteristic off-flavor and smell coming from the liner in the package” of the suspect cereal and warned of […]