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A Burden to Bear
Captive pandas survive China earthquake |
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13 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:56 PM on 13 May 2008 With 12,000 people dead from the earthquake that struck China's Sichuan province on Monday -- and the death toll expected to climb significantly -- the survival of 144 endangered pandas is small comfort. But survive they did: all of the pandas living in three research centers in the earthquake zone have been reported safe. Three-quarters of China's wild pandas live in the Sichuan province, but the wild one ... |
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| Topics: China, endangered species, news, wildlife (all these topics) |
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Puff Piece
U.S. could get 20 percent of energy from wind by 2030, says DOE |
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13 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:52 AM on 13 May 2008 Wind power could meet 20 percent of U.S. energy demand by 2030, according to Energy Department calculations, even though currents currently provide a mere 1 percent of U.S. electricity. Making the leap would be "ambitious" but "feasible," says the report: it wouldn't require technological breakthroughs, but would necessitate the construction of 75,000 new and improved ... |
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| Topics: Department of Energy, energy, news, renewable energy, wind power (all these topics) |
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It's Beginning to Look a Clot Like Thrombosis
Particulate pollution linked to blood clots in legs, study says |
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13 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 7:46 AM on 13 May 2008 Exposure to small particulate pollution can increase the risk of blood clots forming in the legs, according to a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. "It is well-established that air pollution causes myocardial infarction [heart attack] and stroke," said Andrea Baccarelli, who led the study. "This is the first time tha ... |
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| Topics: air pollution, news, scientific research (all these topics) |
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Easy Rider
Transit ridership up across U.S. |
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12 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:57 PM on 12 May 2008 Transit ridership has jumped across the U.S. as folks get tired of paying at the pump. From January to March, transit ridership jumped 10 percent in Boston, 8 percent in both Los Angeles and Denver, and 7.2 percent in the Twin Cities. In Philadelphia, transit ridership in March 2008 was up 11 percent from March 2007; in April, ridership in south Florida was an impressive 28 percent above the year before. "Nobody b ... |
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| Topics: Boston, Florida, Los Angeles, news, Philadelphia, placemaking, public transportation (all these topics) |
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BCause I Told You So
Eco-parents unimpressed by 'green' Barbie accessories |
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12 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 1:09 PM on 12 May 2008 Barbie BCause, toymaker Mattel's attempt to appeal to the green-minded tyke, has turned out to be not so popular with green-minded parents. The line of patchwork-y Barbie accessories made from cast-off fabric has inspired a blogging backlash. "The eco-conscious young girls I know of steer clear of Barbie," wrote Jennifer Lance on blog Eco Child's Play. "Truly green families ... |
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| Topics: business, green living, green products, greenwashing, news, parenting, recycling, shopping (all these topics) |
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Where the Lead Comes Sweepin' Down the Plain
Tornado ravages town already ravaged by pollution |
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12 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:41 AM on 12 May 2008 Six people were killed in Picher, Okla., this weekend as a giant tornado swept through. The not-so-bright bright side: It's likely that some fatalities were avoided, since many residents of Picher have already left. Picher is so polluted with mining waste that it's listed as a Superfund site; the town's booming lead and zinc mines closed decades ago, and its population ... |
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| Topics: air pollution, health, mining, news, Oklahoma, placemaking, severe weather, toxics, waste (all these topics) |
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Green Old Party?
McCain to unveil new climate plan |
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11 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:32 PM on 11 May 2008 GOP presidential candidate John McCain is slated to unveil his plans to address global warming in a speech Monday afternoon in Portland, Ore., where he'll call climate change a "test of foresight, of political courage, and of the unselfish concern that one generation owes to the next." McCain will lay out a series of goals for gradually reducing carbon emissions to 60 percent below 1990 levels by the y ... |
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| Topics: climate, elections, John McCain, news, politics, presidential race 08 (all these topics) |
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For Whom the Dell Toils
Chastised by bloggers, Dell aims to cut down on waste |
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09 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:33 PM on 09 May 2008 To paraphrase Margaret Mead: "Never doubt that a small group of loud, critical bloggers can change Dell's packaging M.O." OK, that's a bit of a stretch -- and we won't go so far as to say "Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." But photos published on the internet during Earth Week of a tiny flash drive arriving to a customer in a giant box provoked enough outc ... |
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| Topics: business, greening biz operations, greenish companies, news, progress, tech, waste (all these topics) |
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Emetic Justice
Polar-bear listing would hurt the poor, says industry |
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09 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 2:10 PM on 09 May 2008 If the U.S. Interior Department decides that polar bears are endangered, litigation will be immediate from a group arguing that bear protection will "result in higher energy prices across the board, which will disproportionately be borne by minorities." So says Roy Innis, chair of the Congress for Racial Equality -- a recipient of Exxon funding that has recently aligned itself with ac ... |
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| Topics: climate, endangered species, environmental justice, insanity, litigation, news, polar bears, politics (all these topics) |
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Lye and Let Die
Dissolving your corpse is the green way to go |
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09 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:18 PM on 09 May 2008 Concerned about the environmental impact of your burial or cremation? Well, don't die. But if you must, consider a third option: have your corpse dissolved. In a procedure called alkaline hydrolysis, the deceased is put into a stainless-steel cylinder resembling a pressure cooker; application of lye, 300-degree heat, and 60 pounds of pressure per inch produces a brown, syrupy liquid that can be uncere ... |
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| Topics: green living, news (all these topics) |
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This Is the Den, and the Bathroom Is Behind That Tree
Stressed by housing slump, developers sell land to conservationists |
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09 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 9:31 AM on 09 May 2008 Looking for a bright side to the real-estate crunch? Look no further: Some developers, financially stressed by the housing slump, are selling land to folks who want to conserve it. It's a win-win situation: developers aren't stuck building expensive real estate that no one wants to buy, and conservation groups like the Trust for Public Land a ... |
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| Topics: habitat protection, Nature Conservancy, news, placemaking, urban planning (all these topics) |
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War and Peeves
U.S. fails to be climate leader because of war, says Obama |
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09 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 7:53 AM on 09 May 2008 The war in Iraq is one reason the U.S. is such an environmental laggard, Barack Obama said in a CNN interview Thursday. "I think the way we have run this war in Iraq has ... led us to ignore the critical needs for us to focus on a sound energy policy in this country," Obama told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "It has left us unable to lead on critical global issues like global warming. ... |
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| Topics: Barack Obama, climate, energy, news, politics, presidential race 08, TV (all these topics) |
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Hey, I'm a CO Too!
EPA needs to pay attention to carbon monoxide, says judge |
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08 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:58 PM on 08 May 2008 Carbon dioxide gets all the press, but the U.S. EPA is way behind on its legal obligation to update the nation's carbon monoxide regulations -- and it needs to get crackin', a federal judge ruled this week. Federal law requires a reassessment of carbon-monoxide standards every five years, but the EPA last took a look at the standards in 1994. While carbon monoxide is not considered to b ... |
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| Topics: air pollution, health, litigation, news, politics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Ranch Blessing
Greens and developer come to agreement in SoCal |
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08 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 1:58 PM on 08 May 2008 A long-running disagreement over what should be done with the largest swath of privately owned wilderness in southern California has been settled by a deal between green groups and a developer. Ninety percent of the 270,000-acre Tejon Ranch will be conserved, while 26,000 homes will be permitted on the remaining 10 percent. The Center for Biological Diversity, which was not involved in the truce, exp ... |
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| Topics: Arnold Schwarzenegger, California, endangered species, grassroots activism, news, NRDC, Sierra Club, sprawl, wilderness (all these topics) |
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Where in the World?
Brazilians and Indians are the greenest, says survey |
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08 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:29 PM on 08 May 2008 Brazilians and Indians are the most eco-friendly folks in the world, and Canadians and Americans are the least, according to a new survey done by the National Geographic Society. Consumers in 14 countries, representing more than half of the world's population and about three-quarters of its energy use, were ranked on their sustainability in the areas of housing, transportation, food, and co ... |
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| Topics: Brazil, Canada, China, consumerism, green living, India, news, United States (all these topics) |
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CSI: Sea Lion Unit
Sea lions actually not assassinated, say officials |
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08 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:48 AM on 08 May 2008 Think the twisty tale of the Bonneville Dam sea lions can't get any twistier? Think again! The six sea lions that were reported to have been assassinated over the weekend were not in fact killed by gunshots, officials now say. The cause of death is still unknown; human involvement has not been ruled out, but investigators are also considering the role of dehydration, heat exhaustion, or panic. ... |
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| Topics: animal welfare, news, wildlife (all these topics) |
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MTBE Cool
Big Oil will shell out for groundwater cleanup |
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08 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 8:07 AM on 08 May 2008 Some of the nation's largest oil companies will over the next 30 years have to pay to clean up groundwater befouled with gasoline additive MTBE. In settling a suit brought by 153 public water providers in 17 states, a dozen companies -- including BP, Shell, ConocoPhillips, and Chevron -- will also have to pay a total $423 million cash. If approved, the settlement will be "a step in the direction of ma ... |
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| Topics: Big Oil, energy, litigation, news, toxics, water pollution (all these topics) |
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Do as the Bill Says, Not as It Does
Senators both GOP and Dem introduce destined-to-fail legislation |
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07 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 2:54 PM on 07 May 2008 Senate Democrats are trying once again to yank $17 billion in tax breaks away from oil companies that are enjoying booming profits. The Consumer-First Energy Act, introduced in the Senate on Wednesday, would also put a 25 percent tax on oil companies that don't invest in renewable energy. Bill cosponsor Harry Reid (D-Nev.) sums up, "Big Oil is making money h ... |
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| Topics: Big Oil, energy, legislation, news, oil, oil and gas drilling, politics, US Senate (all these topics) |
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Be Like Nike
Big biz ranked on greenness |
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07 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:47 PM on 07 May 2008 Takeaways from a new ranking of eco-friendly practices in big biz: Consumer companies are getting greener, but there's plenty of ground to gain. In its second annual scorecard, nonprofit Climate Counts ranked 56 companies on their measurement, reduction, and disclosure of greenhouse gases. Eighty-four percent of the companies scored higher this year than they did in 2007, but the average score was still only 40 out of a p ... |
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| Topics: business, climate, green living, greenhouse-gas emissions, greening biz operations, greenish companies, news, shopping (all these topics) |
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Alas, Alaska
Alaska legislature looking for polar-bear skeptics |
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07 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 11:32 AM on 07 May 2008 The Alaska legislature wants to use $2 million in state money to fund an "academic based" conference to highlight the views of scientists who don't think the polar bear should be put on the endangered-species list. The U.S. Interior Department must make a decision by May 15 on whether polar bears are a threatened or endangered species, and "[w]e want to have the money to hire scientis ... |
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| Topics: Alaska, climate, climate change skepticism, dumbassery , endangered species, news, polar bears, politics, state politics (all these topics) |
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This One's for Mom Earth
Sierra Club will sue over new coal plants |
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07 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:11 AM on 07 May 2008 The Sierra Club is planning lawsuits to halt construction of coal plants in seven states, arguing that the mercury-spewing plants violate the Clean Air Act. Noting that a federal appeals court ruled in February that the Bush administration's mercury regulations were too lax, the green group seeks to require the coal plants to get new state permits meeting tougher emissions standards. "We wan ... |
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| Topics: coal, energy, litigation, mercury, news, Sierra Club (all these topics) |
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Bad News, Bees
Honeybee hives in U.S. seeing continued decline, survey says |
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07 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 7:17 AM on 07 May 2008 Honeybee populations in the United States continued their decline last year, according to a survey of bee health by the Apiary Inspectors of America; U.S. commercial beekeepers saw the loss of 36 percent more hives than last year. "For two years in a row, we've sustained a substantial loss," said Dennis van Engelsdorp of AIA. "That's an astonishing number. Imagine if one o ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, food, news, wildlife (all these topics) |
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Rocket Bottle
EPA not super-interested in keeping rocket fuel out of drinking water |
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06 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:53 PM on 06 May 2008 There is a "distinct possibility" that the U.S. EPA will pass on restricting perchlorate in the nation's water supplies, an agency official said Tuesday. Perchlorate, a rocket fuel ingredient that has been found at some 400 places in 35 states, can muck up normal thyroid function. But Benjamin Grumbles, the EPA assistant administrator for water, told the Senate Environm ... |
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| Topics: food, news, politics, toxics, US EPA, water pollution (all these topics) |
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We Will Connecticut You Now
Connecticut goes big with emissions-reducing goals |
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06 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 1:50 PM on 06 May 2008 The Connecticut senate has unanimously passed a bill aimed at reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, becoming the fifth state to pass such legislation (after California, Hawaii, New Jersey, and Washington). The bill would require Connecticut to reduce emissions 10 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80 percent below 2001 levels by 2050. If, as expected, Gov. Jodi Rell (R) signs it into ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change mitigation, Connecticut, greenhouse-gas emissions, legislation, news, politics, progress, state politics (all these topics) |
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A Good Mangrove Is Hard to Find
Deforestation may have increased impact of devastating cyclone |
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06 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:28 PM on 06 May 2008 The devastating impact of Cyclone Nargis, which has killed at least 22,000 people in Myanmar, could have been mitigated if mangrove forests had remained intact, says the secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Mangrove forests are densely vegetated and act as natural storm barriers, but many of the forests in Myanmar have been converted into sh ... |
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| Topics: aquaculture, deforestation, Myanmar, news, severe weather (all these topics) |
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