Climate Technology
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For the Price of a Starbucks Latte, You Could Save the Whales Too
Group says power plants could cut mercury by 90 percent for cheap Electric utilities could use commercially available technologies to reduce their mercury emissions by 90 percent and it would cost consumers the equivalent of a cup of coffee per household per month, according to a new National Wildlife Federation study. The group looked at […]
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They’ve Been Working on the Railroad
Recycled plastic railroad ties making inroads There are nearly a billion wooden railroad ties holding together the railroads and subways of the U.S. That’s a lot of wood, and thus a lot of trees. It’s also a lot of creosote, a preservative chemical used on wood and deemed by the U.S. EPA “probably a human […]
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Pork-laden corporate tax bill socks it to the environment
Oink, oink. The monstrous corporate tax legislation that recently sailed through Congress — passing in the Senate 69-17 last Monday, only days after it passed in the House — has given the environmental community a terrible case of Coulda-Been-Worse Syndrome. “We’re well aware that this bill reflects the kind of sausage-making, vote-building, pigs-at-the-trough mentality that […]
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Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Airlines start cutting emissions and raising efficiency Once considered burdensome headaches, techniques to cut pollution and increase efficiency are now being embraced by many large airlines. Why? “It turns out that good environmental behavior is also cost-effective,” said Bengt-Olov Nas of Norway’s Scandinavian Airlines System. The principal driver is rising fuel costs: The price of […]
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The White Man’s Halliburton
White House favoring Halliburton over clean water OK, you might want to sit down, because we’ve got a real shocker here: The Bush administration, headed by two former oil executives, one of whom was the CEO of Halliburton, from which he still receives payments, may be pulling strings to help shield the company against environmental […]
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Thy Rod and Thy Staff, They Disturb Me
Bush’s EPA and Interior stocked with industry lawyers and lobbyists New York Newsday is running a series called “Erasing the Rules” about the Bush administration’s coordinated efforts to remove or weaken regulations on industry. Of particular interest to Gristians will be the third installment, about the administration’s staffing of the U.S. EPA, Interior Department, and […]
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Ford Focus
Ford develops ambitious, private plan to reduce emissions Top executives at Ford Motor Co. have set an aggressive goal to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions — a goal that would require a roughly 80 percent improvement in the fuel economy of the company’s cars and trucks by 2030. The motives behind the goal, which the company has […]
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Joel Makower, environmental business expert, answers questions
Joel Makower. With what environmental organization are you affiliated? I’ve got several affiliations, all of my own creation. I’m editor of The Green Business Letter, which I founded in 1991; founder of the nonprofit Green Business Network, which produces GreenBiz.com, ClimateBiz.com, GreenerBuildings.com, and GreenBizLeaders.com; and cofounder of Clean Edge, Inc., a research and consulting firm […]
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Hang Up and Hike
Cell towers and phones are invading national parks The swish of a breeze through the trees. The twittering of birds. The burbling of a brook. The … opening notes of “U Can’t Touch This”? Get used to it: Bleeping (and by that we mean fricking) cell phones are becoming more common in national parks, in […]
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Umbra on choosing the least evil gasoline company
Dear Umbra, Every week I scan the gasoline signs looking for the cheapest deal, while knowing that what I pay in rock-bottom prices may come at the expense of environmental integrity and social justice. I’d like to choose my brand of gas with more conscience. Would you help? I’d love to see a ranking or […]
