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| Headline |
Author |
Published |
Section |
Giving
Chemical in flat-screen TVs is worsening climate change |
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04 Jul 2008 |
News |
| "Vast Wasteland" a Whole New Meaning Chemical in flat-screen TVs is worsening climate change Posted at 2:27 PM on 04 Jul 2008 If you didn't feel guilty about your TV habits already, here's a new reason: a chemical used in making flat-screen televisions has been found to be a potent greenhouse gas, 17,000 times stronger than carbon dioxide. In a study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, atmospheric chemist Michael Prather called nitrogen trifluoride, or NF3, & ... |
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| Topics: climate, news, TV (all these topics) |
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The grill of victory
Over half of Americans want to barbecue with Barack |
Kate Sheppard |
03 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The survey you've all been waiting for: 52 percent of Americans say they would prefer to have Barack Obama at their 4th of July shindig. Only 45 percent reported that they would prefer McCain, according to the latest Associated Press-Yahoo! News poll. Says the AP: 'People would rather barbecue burgers with Barack than munch meats with McCain.' That includes one in six people who said they plan to vote for McCain in November. Only one in 20 Obama voters said t ... |
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| Topics: elections, presidential race 08, Barack Obama, politics, news, holiday, Muckraker (all these topics) |
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The drill of the chase
RNC to drop $3 million on ads hitting Obama on energy |
Kate Sheppard |
03 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Roll Call reports ($ub. req'd): The Republican National Committee is launching $3 million in independent expenditure television ads in four states, focusing on the energy issue. The ad is slated to run on network and cable television in Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and will highlight the differences between Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) on energy security. 'Following Barack Obama's decision to become the only major party ... |
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| Topics: Barack Obama, elections, energy, Muckraker, news, politics, presidential race 08 (all these topics) |
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I'm Restricted to You, Don't You Know That You're Toxic?
Cheap materials, lax government standards at fault in toxic FEMA trailers |
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03 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:25 PM on 03 Jul 2008 The toxic trailers used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to house thousands of homeless Gulf Coast residents after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were found to be troublesome to occupants' health due to cheap building materials and lax government standards for RVs, scientists said Wednesday. "Manufacturers of travel trail ... |
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| Topics: environmental justice, health, news, politics, United States (all these topics) |
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Sweetening the deal
Lugar calls for end to tariff on Brazilian sugarcane ethanol |
Kate Sheppard |
03 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) stopped by ($ub. req'd) the American Enterprise Institute yesterday to give a speech arguing that Congress should lift the 54-cents-a-gallon tariff on imported ethanol. 'To demonstrate leadership the United States should lift its tariff on Brazilian ethanol that now shelters the U.S. industry,' Lugar told the AEI crowd. Many politicians -- including Lugar, who's from a big corn state -- have supported the tariff to protect American biofuel ... |
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| Topics: ethanol, biofuels, politics, energy, news, Muckraker (all these topics) |
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Where the Farmed Things Are
30,000 farmed salmon escape off B.C. coast, endangering wild stocks |
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03 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 11:26 AM on 03 Jul 2008 Some 30,000 farmed Atlantic salmon have escaped from their pen off the coast of British Columbia into the Pacific Ocean. Farmed salmon can harm wild salmon stocks -- which are already declining on the west coast -- by competing with them for food as well as spreading disease. In this case, the escaped salmon are also a different species which is not native to the area ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, British Columbia, fishing, news, wildlife (all these topics) |
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The Electric Slide
BLM reverses stance on solar-project moratorium |
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03 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 7:12 AM on 03 Jul 2008 The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has reversed its recent moratorium on new applications for solar-energy projects on public land, allowing companies to keep submitting proposals for new solar projects. The solar-project freeze had been instituted in late May while the BLM began conducting a two-year study on the potential environmental impacts of solar projects on public lands; the agency said ... |
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| Topics: Bureau of Land Management, news, public lands, solar thermal power, solar voltaic power, United States (all these topics) |
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Summit like it hot
G8 leaders head to Hokkaido where Bush and his sherpa will provide climate guidance |
Kate Sheppard |
02 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| On Monday, George W. Bush will travel to Hokkaido, Japan, for his eighth and final G8 summit, where climate change is likely to be the subject of heated (ahem) talks. At last year's meeting, leaders agreed to seriously consider a goal of cutting global greenhouse-gas emissions 50 percent by 2050. But the Bush administration continues to resist mandatory targets, and in a speech on Wednesday, Bush made sure to again emphasize 'technologies' over regulation. 'I'll ... |
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| Topics: international treaties, climate change mitigation, climate, George Bush, G8, politics, news, Muckraker (all these topics) |
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A fuel's errand
Republican House members ask EPA to scale back ethanol mandate |
Kate Sheppard |
02 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| More than 50 Republican representatives sent a letter [PDF] to the Environmental Protection Agency last week urging the agency to lower the mandate for ethanol production in response to both the recent flooding in the Midwest and drought in the South. They argue that one-third of the country's corn crop will be used for ethanol to meet the Renewable Fuel Standard, and while the weather this year will cause a decrease in supply of corn, the RFS will increase demand ... |
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| Topics: ethanol, biouels, energy, severe weather, US EPA, Congress, regulation, politics, news, Muckraker (all these topics) |
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Just Beyond the Parking Lot
Wal-Mart gobbles up local produce |
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02 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 11:55 AM on 02 Jul 2008 You thought you took home a haul at the farmers market last week, but you've got nothin' on Wal-Mart. The big-box retailer has become the nation's largest buyer of local produce, planning to purchase and sell $400 million worth of locally grown fruits and veggies this year. Wal-Mart says it works with "hundreds" of individual farmers, and has 50 percent more partnerships with local growers t ... |
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| Topics: business, food, greening biz operations, greenish companies, local food, news, Wal-Mart (all these topics) |
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Sally 4th
Sierra Club prompts voters to call legislators about energy bills over the holiday weekend |
Kate Sheppard |
02 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The Sierra Club began running radio ads this week in six states whose U.S. senators are key votes for energy legislation. Though both Republicans and Democrats were hoping to have accomplished something so they could go home for the holiday and claim victory, Congress went into recess for the 4th of July holiday this week in a deadlock over energy policy. Sierra Club's ads are intended to prompt voters to call their senators about two pieces of legislation: the Co ... |
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| Topics: Congress, Muckraker, news, politics, climate, legislation (all these topics) |
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The Wings Beneath Our Wind
Investment in renewable energy skyrockets |
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02 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:19 AM on 02 Jul 2008 Global investment in renewable energy was a record $148 billion in 2007, jumping 60 percent from 2006, the United Nations reported Tuesday. About one-third of the investment went to wind power; solar power was the fastest-growing clean-energy sector from 2006 to 2007, with investment nearly doubling to hit $28.6 billion. Investment in biofuels dropped in the same time period, falling to $2.1 bi ... |
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| Topics: business, energy, investing, news, renewable energy, United Nations (all these topics) |
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Derailed
McCain just not that into Amtrak |
Kate Sheppard |
02 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Over at the Boston Globe, columnist Derrick Z. Jackson does an excellent job of highlighting John McCain's beef with Amtrak: For years, McCain, in the comfort of cheap gasoline for autos and airplanes, made Amtrak a personal whipping boy. Despite the fact that governments in Western Europe and Asia zoomed far ahead of the United States by supporting high-speed trains to relieve congestion, promote tourism and now as we are coming to know, save the planet, McCain has ... |
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| Topics: elections, John McCain, Muckraker, news, placemaking, politics, presidential race 08, public transportation (all these topics) |
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A Matter of Life and Breath
California wildfires mucking up state's air quality |
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02 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 7:56 AM on 02 Jul 2008 California's raging wildfires, which have burned some 660 square miles in the last few weeks, are also significantly worsening air quality, causing high levels of soot, and aggravating asthma patients. "Our waiting rooms are full of people with sore throats, itchy eyes, and sniffles," said a respiratory therapist with Fresno's Sequoia Community Health Center. Already poor ... |
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| Topics: air pollution, California, news (all these topics) |
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'Coal makes us sick!'
Harry Reid passionately disses fossil fuels, goes viral on YouTube |
Kate Sheppard |
02 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| This video of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) talking about fossil fuels on the Fox Business Network was one of the 'most viewed' on YouTube yesterday: It's been viewed 351,710 times so far, largely because it was linked to from the Drudge Report. As Politico reports, 'Senate Republicans are sending around the video as part of an effort to make Democrats appear out of touch on the need to produce more energy and drill more oil wells.' And there are ... |
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| Topics: Muckraker, news, coal, politics, fossil fuels, video (all these topics) |
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Back draft
The EPA documents the White House doesn't want you to see |
Kate Sheppard |
01 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Brad Johnson over at Wonk Room acquired a copy of the EPA's recommendations on regulating greenhouse-gas emissions that the White House has been trying so hard to hide. The documents give you a good idea why: EPA officials concluded that the benefits of new, tougher standards 'far outweigh their costs.' In fact, if gas prices stay in the range of $3.50 a gallon, 'the net benefit to society could be in excess of $2 trillion' through 2040 if fuel efficiency standard ... |
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| Topics: greenhouse-gas emissions, Muckraker, news, politics, regulation, US EPA, White House (all these topics) |
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'Often contradictory stances'
Mainstream media realizes that McCain's energy rhetoric and record don't match up |
Kate Sheppard |
01 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The mainstream media has started to pick up on the fact that John McCain's energy policy is totally inconsistent. Bloomberg: As a senator, John McCain has condemned policies that pick market winners and losers, aiming particular criticism at government ethanol subsidies as a taxpayer rip-off. As a presidential candidate, the Arizona Republican himself is backing specific industries in proposals for relief from high energy prices and foreign oil dependence. ... |
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| Topics: elections, energy, John McCain, mainstream media, Muckraker, news, politics, presidential race 08 (all these topics) |
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A Penguin for Your Thoughts
Penguin declines don't bode well for the rest of us |
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01 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:49 PM on 01 Jul 2008 Penguin populations are declining, which is bad news not just for the tuxedoed birds but for, well, the world in general. A new scientific review published in the journal BioScience shows that everywhere they live, penguins are suffering from a combination of climate change, ocean pollution, overfishing, tourism, and development. "Many penguins we thought would be safe because t ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change impacts, endangered species, news, scientific research, water pollution, wildlife, World Conservation Union (all these topics) |
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Milkin' It
More use of growth hormones would boost sustainability of dairy industry, says study |
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01 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 2:00 PM on 01 Jul 2008 Shooting up cows with artificial growth hormones increases the sustainability of the dairy industry, claims a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Giving rbST to 1 million cows would enable the same amount of milk to be produced using 157,000 fewer cows," says the study, thus easing the impact that giant dairy-cow operatio ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, air pollution, food, health, industrial ag, news, scientific research, water pollution (all these topics) |
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Textbook case
New edition of AP American Government book retains false information about climate change |
Kate Sheppard |
01 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Back in April, we reported that the American Government textbook in use in classrooms across the country implies that the cause of climate change is in doubt, and that global warming could even be a net benefit for the planet and all who dwell upon it. At the time, publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt assured concerned citizens that this was merely a flaw in older editions of the book, and that they 'will be working with the authors to evaluate in detail the criti ... |
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| Topics: books, climate change skepticism, Muckraker, news, politics (all these topics) |
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Hitting the Wall
R.I. court reverses ruling, says paint companies not responsible for lead cleanup |
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01 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:41 PM on 01 Jul 2008 Three paint companies should not have to clean up lead contamination in Rhode Island homes, the state Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. The decision reverses a landmark 2006 ruling in which the state was victorious in alleging that Sherwin-Williams Co., NL Industries Inc., and Millennium Holdings LLC created a public nuisance by manufacturing and selling lead-based pain ... |
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| Topics: green living, litigation, news, Rhode Island, toxics (all these topics) |
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Pulled Out a Plum
Montana forest conservation deal biggest in U.S. history |
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01 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 11:01 AM on 01 Jul 2008 Some 500 square miles of privately owned forest in the northern Rocky Mountains will be protected under a deal announced Monday by the Nature Conservancy and Trust for Public Land. The groups will pay Plum Creek Timber $510 million for the checkerboard tracts of land in northwest Montana. The deal is "the largest land purchase, for conservation purposes, in American history," sa ... |
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| Topics: habitat protection, Nature Conservancy, news, progress (all these topics) |
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In the dumps
Mountain advocates and legislators take on mountaintop removal |
Kate Sheppard |
01 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The practice of mountaintop removal (MTR) has gotten more attention from environmental and social justice advocates in recent months, including the Goracle himself. 'Mountaintop removal is a crime and ought to be treated as a crime,' Gore said in April. He was addressing the audience at the 2008 Nashville Film Festival, where he presented director Michael O'Connell the 2008 'Reel Current Award' for his film, Mountain Top Removal. The practice continues largely ... |
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| Topics: coal, Congress, Muckraker, news, politics (all these topics) |
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Big, bad John
Texas Sen. John Cornyn hearts drilling and a good brew |
Kate Sheppard |
01 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Okay, so this campaign ad for Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) has nothing to do with the environment, but it needs to be posted: Cornyn's latest ads focus on his energy plan, which includes offshore drilling and opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for exploration and drilling. He also says he supports 'viable alternative sources,' which in his book includes nuclear and coal. This is the same senator who during the debate over the Lieberman-Warner Climate ... |
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| Topics: elections, energy, Muckraker, news, oil, politics, US senate (all these topics) |
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Whale, You Were Out!
Makah tribe members sentenced for illegal whale hunt |
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01 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 7:09 AM on 01 Jul 2008 The five members of the Makah tribe who participated in an unsanctioned hunt of a gray whale last year were sentenced earlier this week. The Makah tribe, whose reservation is located in northwestern Washington state, is the only tribe in the country with treaty rights to hunt whales. However, the long, arduous process of obtaining a waiver to actually conduct a legal hunt has fueled the pr ... |
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| Topics: animal welfare, news, politics, United States, whaling, wildlife (all these topics) |
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