Climate Technology
All Stories
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Jewelers join campaign against proposed gold mine in Alaska
Psst — Valentine’s Day is coming up. If you’re now rushing out the door in a panic to buy your sweetie a trinket, keep this in mind: A group of prominent jewelers has joined a campaign against the Pebble Gold Mine, an environmental monstrosity that would be sited in Alaska’s Bristol Bay, at the headwaters […]
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Safeway agrees to animal-welfare standards for some products
One of the largest grocery store chains in the United States, Safeway, has agreed to increase animal-welfare standards for some of the animal-derived products sold at its stores. Chickens and pigs were the focus of the most recent efforts pressuring the chain to adopt humane standards. Safeway has pledged to purchase more pork from suppliers […]
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U.K. ethical funds investing in pseudo-green companies, says report
Idealistic views of socially responsible investment funds are misplaced, according to a new report from British independent financial adviser Holden & Partners. An assessment of all SRI funds open to private investors in the U.K. found that while such funds do screen out companies with highly objectionable policies, many still end up offering stock in […]
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Bush will sign economic stimulus bill sans green incentives
President Bush will sign an economic stimulus bill Wednesday, meaning you may have a check winging your way after tax time. Not included in the bill: funding for clean-energy credits and green jobs, which were dropped from the Senate version after narrowly failing to get enough votes. Undeterred, Democrats in the House of Representatives may […]
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Staples cuts off contracts with paper supplier over eco-concerns
This is spiffy, so allow us to Post-it: Office supply giant Staples has cut off all contracts with gigantic Asia Pulp & Paper, citing concern that APP feeds Indonesian and Chinese rainforest into its pulp mills. In recent years, other businesses including Office Depot have quit dealings with APP over environmental concerns, but Staples had […]
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An interview with Google’s green energy czar, Bill Weihl
The phrase “to Google” has become synonymous with “to search.” But soon it may connote something altogether different: “to green.” That is, if the internet titan can successfully pull off its latest world-changing endeavor. Bill Weihl. In late 2007, the dot-com giant announced its intention to make renewable energy cheaper than coal. The RE<C program […]
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Thanks to the ethanol boom, big investors are plowing cash into corn country
Big investors seem to have forgotten how to exist without some sort of speculative bubble. In the last decade, they’ve whipped cash from tech stocks to bonds to emerging markets to real estate to junk mortgages. With the latter bubble now deflating rapidly, they’ve turned to … Midwestern farmland? Yes, big cornfields. Here’s a Chicago […]
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Umbra on green-company buyouts
Dear Umbra, So glad you were ransomed. (I happily did my bit.) I’m worried that the gentle-on-the-environment start-ups are taking the money and running. First our favorite toothpaste, Tom’s of Maine, sold out to Colgate (I think) and now Burt’s Bees has become a product line acquired by a bleach company. Where do we turn […]
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Range of green credit cards offer carbon offsets for purchases
Major banks in the United States last year started offering green credit cards that use about 1 percent of the amount of customers’ purchases to offset their emissions. So far, the cards seem to be taking off, benefiting credit card companies and, arguably, the planet. The cards come complete with hokey names like GreenPay MasterCard, […]
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Wind-power technicians are in high demand
As the wind industry experiences a huge boom, trained technicians are in high demand. Wind techs must have smarts in mechanics, hydraulics, computers, and meteorology — and, of course, not be afraid of heights. The relatively new industry’s oldest independent training programs aren’t even five years old, and the industry is hustling to support training […]
