Climate Technology
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Making environmental sense of the financial storm now raging
Interpreting reports currently coming out of Wall Street is like tracking a vast hurricane as it rages its way through the Gulf and toward a population center: Conditions are way too chaotic to make confident predictions, but preparing for the worst probably isn’t a bad idea. As recently as a year ago, no one could […]
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Everglades restoration deal could still benefit Big Sugar
When Florida Gov. Charlie Crist announced in June that the state would buy 187,000 acres of land from U.S. Sugar Corp. to “jump start” an Everglades restoration effort, environmentalists cheered visions of flowing, fresh water and pristine, untouched habitat. But that may not turn out to be exactly the case. Crist initially said he would […]
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World Bank yanks corruption-tainted pipeline funding from Chad
The World Bank has pulled funding from a 663-mile oil pipeline in Chad and Cameroon, having lost its gamble that the project would funnel oil wealth into poverty reduction instead of the pockets of corrupt officials. The bank made the loan in 2000, with the stipulation that 72 percent of oil royalties be spent on […]
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Palin asks Schwarzenegger to veto bill that would reduce port pollution
One day before being catapulted into the running for GOP vice president, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin wrote a letter to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), urging him to veto a significant pollution-reduction effort. Specifically, she asked the Governator to not sign a bill that would impose container fees on ships entering the ports of Long […]
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Market for natural personal-care products booming in spite of economy
Despite an economic slump, eco-friendly personal-care items have Americans sitting up and paying attention top dolla. Sales are booming despite high food and energy prices, and analysts predict the products’ popularity won’t ebb anytime soon. Chicago-based research firm Mintel reports that sales of natural personal-care products rose 12.5 percent last year to an inflation-adjusted $465 […]
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$100 billion stimulus for 2 million new jobs in two years
Yesterday, the Center for American Progress released “Green Recovery,” a new report by Dr. Robert Pollin and University of Massachusetts Political Economy Research Institute economists. This report demonstrates how a new Green Recovery program that invests $100 billion over two years would create 2 million new jobs with a significant proportion in the struggling construction […]
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Gourmet’s Barry Estabrook on Palin, mining, and a sustainable salmon fishery
Wasn’t McCain initially trying to pitch Sarah Palin as some sort of maverick who stands up to Alaska’s dirty industries on matters of principle? Whatever. According to an excellent post by Barry Estabrook on Gourmet magazine’s blog, Sarah Barracuda has been baring her fangs on behalf of Alaska’s mining industry, even when its actions imperil […]
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Natural foods giant agrees to penny-per-pound raise for farmworkers
I reported a few days ago that a deal was imminent; now it’s official: Whole Foods has signed an agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to pay an extra penny-per-pound for Florida tomatoes. The raise will go directly into the pockets of some of the lowest-paid workers in the United States. In addition, the […]
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Newest iPod nano is ‘toxic free’
The newly unveiled update of the iPod nano is slender and sexy, equipped with “shake-to-shuffle” capability, and eco-friendly to boot. (Well, you don’t actually have to boot it … oh, whatever.) Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who is alive and kicking despite reports to the contrary, says the music player is Apple’s “cleanest” and most “toxic […]
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Russia’s Lake Baikal under threat from massive lead and zinc mine
One-fifth of the world’s freshwater could be under threat from heavy-metals pollution if a giant lead and zinc mine opens as planned upstream from Russia’s giant Lake Baikal, the deepest lake in the world. Mine advocates say leaving the world’s third-largest lead and zinc field unmined would be a waste of natural resources regardless of […]
