Climate Technology
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Taking the petro out of petrochemicals
Genomatica’s pilot green chemical plant.Photo courtesy of GenomaticaYou can buy green jeans, green greens (at the farmer’s market), and green beer. But the reality is that many, if not most, products in our industrial society contain some petroleum-based chemicals. In fact, up to a quarter of the oil consumed in some regions of the United […]
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An ode to my new push reel lawn mower
I heart the Fiskars Momentum.It is a truth universally acknowledged that a new homeowner in possession of a good lawn must be in want of a lawn mower. Unless you have access to a herd of goats, or you’re an aggressive gardener with immediate plans to xeriscape or cover all terrain with edible plants. My […]
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If JBS gobbles up Smithfield, three companies will own U.S. meat market
(Grist illo; Carlossg/Flickr) A typical supermarket’s meat counter displays a landscape of easy bounty: shrink-wrapped chops, cutlets, steaks, roasts, loins, burger meat, and more, almost all of it priced to move. But the dizzying variety cloaks a disturbing uniformity. As the chart below shows, the great bulk of the meat consumed in the United States […]
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‘The Climate War’ comes to California
Eric Pooley came to San Francisco last Tuesday to talk about his new book, The Climate War, at the offices of the Environmental Defense Fund. The book, subtitled “True Believers, Power Brokers and the Fight to Save the Earth,” is a riveting tale of the battle to pass climate change legislation in the United States. […]
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I Have a Green Job: A green fitness center that lets you supply the energy
From activists to politicians, everybody loves to talk about the promise of green jobs. But in reality, who the heck actually has a green job, and how do you get one? In our new column, “I Have a Green Job,” Grist will be regularly profiling one of the lucky employed who has landed a job […]
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What would happen if we admitted to the high risk of deepwater drilling?
Was the Obama administration “arbitrary and capricious” in imposing a six-month moratorium on deepwater oil drilling? U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman thought so. His June 22 order reversed the moratorium, citing the “immeasurable harm” to “the local economy, the Gulf region, and the critical present-day aspect of the availability of domestic energy in this country.” […]
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Where the Smart Money Goes Next
As thousands of young scholars bid farewell to familiar homes and high schools to enter college in the fall, it made me wonder where the smart money will be going (other than the contents of my son’s 529 account, which I know is headed to Penn) as it leaves the old economy behind and moves […]
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The Climate Post: Who wants to be a climate scientist?!
First things first: Tuesday night Rolling Stone magazine unveiled to a limited audience its new article called “The Runaway General.” But when something “goes viral” in the Internet age, there’s no such thing as a limited audience. In the piece, General Stanley McChrystal, commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, derides and criticizes […]
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San Diego utility charges ahead with electric-car plan
A Nissan Leaf being charged.Photo: NissanWith the first mass-market electric cars set to hit California roads later this year, the state’s utilities have been working to ensure that early adopters — who tend to be clustered in places like Berkeley and Santa Monica — don’t overload neighborhood transformers and trigger local blackouts. One way to […]
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MMS gets a makeover, smell lingers
Newly appointed Bureau of Ocean Energy Director Michael Bromwich and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar testify before the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee regarding reforms to strengthen offshore oil and gas oversight and enforcement.Photo and caption: U.S. Department of the InteriorIt’s a classic Washington paint job: new name, new leader, new promises about tossing bad […]
