environment

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Hey, GOP: Bring Back Our 2nd Party

 Hey, GOP: 
 Bring Back 
 Our 2nd Party 
Thomas Friedman
Feb 12, 2012 1:17 PM CST

Hey, GOP: Bring Back Our 2nd Party

GOP as useless as 7 vowels in Scrabble, needs new letters

(Newser) - Just like you get to throw in your tiles when Scrabble gives you seven useless vowels, so too do Republican voters keep picking again—and coming up with the same useless tiles, says Thomas Friedman in the New York Times . That's because the GOP is an out-of-date "captive...

Things Congress Talks About: Caribou Sex

Texas' Louie Gohmert says Alaskan pipeline is hot date meet-up

(Newser) - A Texas Republican congressman is adamant in his backing of the trans-Alaska pipeline, but not because of silly energy independence. No, we must keep the oil flowing for the sake of ... caribou romance. So argued Rep. Louie Gohmert, tongue perhaps in cheek, during a meeting of the House Natural Resources...

Greenhouse Gases Surging: US Report

Carbon dioxide emissions take biggest jump on record

(Newser) - Carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases continued to build in the atmosphere last year, a federal report finds: Between 2009 and 2010, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s yearly index of greenhouse gases—which measures said gases' combined heating effect—jumped 1.5%, to 1.29. It has...

Grand Canyon Killed Bottle Ban After Coke Balked

Company is a big donor, and it sells Dasani water

(Newser) - Visitors to the Grand Canyon can still bring plastic water bottles into the national park, and they might thank Coca-Cola for the privilege. The New York Times explains: The park came thisclose to instituting a ban this year to cut down on trash. But the top US parks official killed...

A Challenge From a Planet About to House 7B People

Time to change the way we think about prosperity: Joel Cohen

(Newser) - The world’s population is set to hit 7 billion within a week, according to UN estimates, and we’re looking at 10 billion people by century’s end. And that raises a new challenge for Westerners, who must must "shake off, at last, the view that large and...

Environmental Strategy of GOP: 'Too Dirty to Fail'

They protect polluters on the false pretext of saving jobs: EPA chief

(Newser) - House Republicans claim that to create jobs, we need to loosen environmental regulations. To that end, they’ve “averaged roughly a vote every day” in session to weaken the rules—and have already cut back the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and other laws, writes EPA chief...

Starbucks: Coffee Faces Climate Risk

Farmers already hit by hurricanes, new rainfall patterns

(Newser) - Melting ice caps, unpredictable weather, and ... no more coffee? Starbucks says climate change could put your morning joe in jeopardy. Global warming creates "a potentially significant risk to our supply chain, which is the Arabica coffee bean," the company's sustainability director tells the Guardian . Coffee farmers are...

Poop-Powered Bike to Tour Japan

Driver's feces to fuel 600-mile jaunt

(Newser) - Calling it “clean” fuel would be a bit of a stretch: Japan’s top toilet maker has built a bike that runs on human excrement. TOTO’s Toilet Bike Neo has a seat that looks like a toilet, and it’s powered by bio-gas from the driver’s own...

Island Nation Creates Largest Shark Sanctuary

Protected area size of Mexico

(Newser) - A Mexico-size chunk of the Pacific will soon be a haven for sharks—and they have a tiny island nation to thank. The Marshall Islands’ government is declaring its waters off-limits to commercial shark fishing and the trade of shark products, the BBC reports, providing the creatures with 750,000...

Gore to Launch 24-Hour Assault on Climate Skeptics

Multimedia presentation will cross 24 time zones

(Newser) - For those who just can't get enough Al Gore, this might be overkill even for you: The former vice president will attempt to take over the globe this week, by way of a 24-hour worldwide multimedia presentation aimed at winning over climate-change skeptics. "24 Hours of Reality" will...

Al Gore Disappointed in Obama

He criticizes decision to stop push for tougher smog rules

(Newser) - Et tu, Al? Former VP Gore joined the chorus critical of President Obama today in a short blog post headlined "Confronting Disappointment." Gore focused on the president's environmental moves, specifically the surprise decision not to impose tougher smog rules . But he also noted that the decision came...

London Ditches Carbon Offsets for 2012 Olympics

Plan was part of bid to host games

(Newser) - As part of London’s bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, organizers offered a plan to keep the Games green—but they’ve changed their minds. The committee will “no longer pursue formal offsetting procedures,” it said, dropping its pledge to balance carbon emissions from the Games...

New York Times Editors: Why the Gas Tax Is Essential

 Why the 
 Gas Tax Is 
 Essential 
OPINION
Aug 16, 2011 12:32 PM CDT

Why the Gas Tax Is Essential

It protects our highways, creates jobs, and aids the planet

(Newser) - The federal gas tax—18.4 cents per gallon—is due to expire Sept. 30. For the sake of our infrastructure, our economy, and our environment, we can’t let that happen, write the editors of the New York Times . Its expiration “would bankrupt the already stressed Highway Trust...

GOP Looks to Gut Environment Rules
GOP Looks to Gut Environment Rules
Jul 28, 2011 1:32 PM CDT

GOP Looks to Gut Environment Rules

39 environmental rollbacks added to appropriations bill

(Newser) - Paul Simon knew 50 ways to leave your lover, but House Republicans are apparently working on 39 ways to ditch environmental protection, reports the New York Times . With the nation's energies focused on the looming debt ceiling, the GOP is loading up an appropriations bill with environmental deregulation—such...

Brian Palmer: Make This Year's Fourth of July Cookout a Green One
 Make This Year's 
 Cookout a Green One 
OPINION
Jun 30, 2011 1:57 PM CDT

Make This Year's Cookout a Green One

Three easy tips for a tasty—and eco-friendly—Fourth

(Newser) - With 10% to 30% of greenhouse gas emissions coming from food, why not make this year’s Fourth of July cookout a green opportunity? In the New York Times , Brian Palmer offers some tips:
  • Don’t boil your potatoes—cube and pan-fry them. That method takes less than a third
...

Upside of Pricey Oil: Packages Easier to Open

Expensive 'clamshell' containers may be phased out

(Newser) - The rough economy has its benefits—chief among them the fact that it’s becoming easier to open your new lightbulbs. With oil prices soaring, manufacturers and retailers are looking to cut down on plastic packaging, the New York Times reports. One potential casualty: the clamshell package, which is notoriously...

Yes, Classical Music Can Still Change the World

New symphony a 'call to action' on the environment: DB Grady

(Newser) - Before YouTube or Twitter, composing a symphony was a great way to get your revolution going—the French one inspired Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, and Shostakovich wrote such controversial music that he would wait outside for the Soviet regime to arrest him so his family wouldn't be disturbed....

Save the World: Eat a Spider
 Save the World: Eat a Spider 
Apr 19, 2011 5:14 AM CDT

Save the World: Eat a Spider

Spiders, ants, locusts so much easier on the environment than cattle

(Newser) - It sounds creepy, but one of the best ways to save the world could be turning to creepy crawlies. Western gourmands generally find dining on bugs unpalatable, but for some 2.5 billion people in the world, especially in tropical regions, spiders and insects have long been part of the...

Bolivia to Give Nature Same Rights as Humans
 Bolivia to Give Nature 
 Same Rights as Humans 
in case you missed it
Apr 17, 2011 4:48 PM CDT

Bolivia to Give Nature Same Rights as Humans

Nation will create ministry of mother earth

(Newser) - Bolivia will soon put in place a first-of-its-kind law that gives Mother Nature the same rights as humans. The idea behind the Law of Mother Earth is to try to rein in pollution and the exploitation of natural resources, reports the Guardian . It grants nature several rights, including the "...

Yellowstone Sits on 'Supervolcano'

Underground volcanic material spans larger area than previously believed

(Newser) - The volcanic plume that powers Yellowstone’s geysers and hot springs may be bigger than we thought, and it could someday erupt—not for the first time. The “hotspot” unleashed three major blasts long ago, covering a huge portion of the continent with ash, the BBC reports. Researchers made...

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