Climate Technology
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For shame!
This Monday, Newsweek will publish an op-ed by well-known climate-change contrarian Richard Lindzen, which concludes that global warming is nothing to worry about and may even be a good thing. "Why So Gloomy?" he wonders, and adds that "a warmer climate could be more beneficial than the one we have now."
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Check it out , starting tonight
Those of you who listen to public radio know that Marketplace Money from American Public Media has done some good sustainability coverage. This weekend, they’re running a story that includes some tips from my monthly jobs column Remake a Living. Makes me feel all gristy inside. Check the local listings to find out when Marketplace […]
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When insurers get serious about climate change, EVERYBODY gets serious about climate change
United Services Automobile Association (USAA), a "most-admired" company in many different rankings, has decided not to insure multiple homes in FL for one policyholder -- the first step in what will eventually be the revolt of the insurance companies against climate denialists (and against Florida legislators who want policyholders in other states to share the costs of insuring the damages from more intense and frequent hurricane strikes).
This is great news (unless you own multiple Florida homes).
The insurance industry has long been the sleeping giant of climate policy response. A lot of very red states have a lot to lose from climate disruption, and the threat of finding your property uninsurable gives you a whole new perspective on whether we need to do something on climate before the tipping points are reached.
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And another way forward.
On April Fool’s Day, Grist ran a fake bit on how Wal-Mart had “pulled the plug” on much-ballyhooed green initiatives, including its plan to to become the nation’s number-one organic grocer. “In the end, our customers value low prices more than sustainability, and at Wal-Mart, we listen to our customers,” Wal-Mart’s CEO (fictionally) said. As […]
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Heads You Lose, Tails I Win
World Bank has been OKing illegal logging in the Congo, says Greenpeace study You’ve probably developed an immunity to scandal and outrage, but we’ll keep plying you with it anyway: a two-year study by Greenpeace International has found that in the past three years, Congolese village chiefs have handed over vast expanses of the world’s […]
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An overview of environmental careers experiencing growth
“April is the cruelest month,” T. S. Eliot wrote. Ha! What did he know? For environmental-job seekers in a host of fields, this April could almost be certified “cruelty free.” In no particular order, here’s a quick overview of green career areas experiencing growth right now: Wind Power and Solar Energy A 2007 report from […]
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Corporatists overestimate environmental response costs every time
A friend sends an article from a legal publication that makes an important point about economists and other naysayers who insist that addressing global climate disruption will be too expensive. (Oddly, the same people always gassing on about boundless human potential when it comes to imagining new substitutes for depleting resources always forget to incorporate that creativity in their projections of the cost of fixing environmental problems.)
A key excerpt (my emphasis):
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An interview with Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers
Meet Jim Rogers, a great American paradox. He’s the top gun at Duke Energy, a huge (and hugely polluting) power company; he’s also one of the nation’s most dogged advocates for federal regulation of greenhouse-gas emissions. Jim Rogers. Duke Energy operates smack in the heart of coal country in the Midwest and Southeast and derives […]
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New Yorker article reminds you why you hate it
Stacy Mitchell did a bang-up job earlier this week of explaining why Wal-Mart and other big-box stores could never actually be green. But if you need a more wide-ranging reminder of Wal-Mart’s deep and abiding loathsomeness, check out Jeffrey Goldberg’s article in the latest New Yorker: “Selling Wal-Mart: Can the company co-opt liberals?” If you’ve […]
