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China's Coal Use and Estimated CO2 Emissions Fell in 2014
[Backyard in Datong with coal/Peter Van den Bossche] Good news! China's coal consumption fell by 2.9 percent in 2014, the first drop in 14 years, according to official Chinese energy statistics...
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On International Polar Bear Day, Hope for an Iconic Species
My first summer in the Arctic was 1991. I was working for the National Ocean Service, tracking migrating fish along the Beaufort Sea Coast. Our season didn't start until mid-July, as the ocean was...
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All Roads Lead to the Great Lakes: How Invasive Species Get Here & Ways You...
Photo courtesy of © Shedd Aquarium/Brenna Hernandez We're wrapping up the last days of National Invasive Species Awareness Week for 2015. More than 180 invasive species have adopted the Great Lakes...
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If We Are What We Eat, Then We Are Becoming Coffee Cups
KFC After you've swilled down that last gulp of coffee, make sure you've saved room to start munching the cup. That's what KFC wants us to do, apparently having decided that they can increase their...
View ArticleWe Live With Forest Fires
Catastrophic fire is something we live with in the Northwest. The Happy Camp Fire Complex in Northern California last summer lapped at my backdoor as it grew to over 110,000 acres. More than 2,700...
View Article7 Sustainability Secrets That Will Save the World
In preparing to deliver the closing lecture to Hofstra University's Model United Nations Conference, I realized that I knew seven sustainability secrets that could save the world that I wanted to share...
View ArticleWhy a Cutback in Oil Production Is Sorely Needed
How deep is the hole the oil industry is currently stuck inside? To figure that out, you only need to look as far back as last week, which saw another two trainloads full of oil derail and storage...
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World Wildlife Day: Why We Need Wild Animals
Without plants and animals, our lives would not be possible. Oxygen, clean water and soil, and our earliest tools, food, and clothing came from flora and fauna. Even our fossil fuels are the result of...
View ArticleClimate Academic Probed by Congress Falsely Charges Colleagues With Conflict...
Professor Roger J. Pielke, Jr. of the University of Colorado recently compared many widely-published energy and climate experts with Dr. Wei-Hock Soon, a scientist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for...
View ArticleEnergy Technology: Deploy What We Have vs. Build Something New
Last week, the American Energy Innovation Council, a group of six prominent business leaders, including Bill Gates, issued a report maintaining that the U.S. government is spending far too little on...
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Meatless Monday: Start National Nutrition Month with a Visit from the Veggie...
March is National Nutrition Month, and we're kicking it off with a visit from the queen -- the Veggie Queen, Jill Nussinow. Every month's nutrition month for Nussinow, registered dietician, cookbook...
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Ancient Cod Bones Carry Modern Warning About Mercury, Climate Change
Ancient cod bones unearthed at an Alaska archaeological site carry a very modern warning for a world with a rapidly changing climate -- as sea levels rise, so do levels of mercury in the food chain....
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On the Trail of the Whales: The End of Our Journey
I couldn't even see the sea, never mind any grey whales. The fog engulfed all hope of finding them. Our time on Kodiak Island had come to nothing, despite advice from a kindly local biologist and the...
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What Are INDCs and Why Will You Be Talking About Them This Year?
You don't have to wait until the United Nations Climate Conference in December later this year to get a glimpse of that much anticipated climate deal. The EU have just announced their Intended...
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Fur Is Simply Bad Design
NOTE: the content of this post may be sensitive to readers. Le Sourire Magazine (detail), 1924 by Leo Fontan It always troubles me to see fellow New Yorkers walking through the cold with their...
View ArticleDear McDonald's: Please Introduce a Veggie Burger
Here's a little secret that might surprise meat-eaters: Vegetarians like to eat more than just salads. We like a nice hearty sandwich as much as the next person. We like salty, cheap food, too. And...
View ArticlePlanning with Water (Part 3)
In the past few editions I have been addressing the recognition of the global water crisis, its relationship to the effects of climate change, and its implications for the future provision of this most...
View ArticleOur Clean Energy Moment Is Now
The United States is having a clean energy moment. From the White House, to American households, to corporations and civil rights organizations -- the promotion of more widespread adoption of renewable...
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4 Rituals to Create a "Green Family"
One of the best ways to communicate any message to your children is through regular rituals that are woven into the fabric of your family's lives. The consistency of intention and action help ingrain...
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Stephen Harper's Petro-State Is Built on Tar Sands
This article first appeared in The Washington Spectator. Late 21st-century graduate students of business studying the growing problem of stranded assets will almost certainly focus on the history of...
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