environment

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Eat 'Roo, Save Planet, Aussies Told

Cutting back on traditional livestock in favor of native fare better for environment: report

(Newser) - The Australian government's chief climate-change adviser says emissions could be drastically reduced if farmers and consumers switch from beef and lamb to kangaroo meat, the Australian reports. The marsupials emit much less methane than sheep and cows, the professor argues, and, as Australia heats up, are much better able to...

Vertical Farming Puts Pigs High in the Sky

Urban planners take another look at raising animals, crops in skyscrapers

(Newser) - They're not the most traditional tenants, but pigs, poultry, and crops might be reared in city skyscrapers of the future, drastically reducing environmental damage caused by traditional farms, Scientific American reports. Engineering airflow inside glass towers remains tricky, but the potential for a year-round growing season in the face of...

Hefty Carbon Tax Raised Norway's Emissions
Hefty Carbon Tax Raised Norway's Emissions
ANALYSIS
Sep 30, 2008 4:07 PM CDT

Hefty Carbon Tax Raised Norway's Emissions

Greenhouse gases up 15% despite system aimed to curb them

(Newser) - In 1991, Norway enacted a punishing carbon tax, but things haven’t turned out quite as expected, the Wall Street Journal reports. Greenhouse-gas emissions have actually risen 15%, and industries deemed vital to the nation’s economy or image were spared the tax or given sweet deals. Though the oil...

Cloth or Plastic: Greenies Debate the Diaper

Cotton's footprint not that much better than disposables'

(Newser) - For green parents, the choice between disposables or cloth diapers may seem like a catch-22. Silvia Spring weighs the issue in the Boston Globe, but finds no easy answer. While disposables produce up to 70 times more waste than cloth, the latest study concluded that disposable diapers have the same...

Reusable Bags: A Tricky Shade of Green

Thicker plastic requires more energy to produce, decomposes slower

(Newser) - Reusable shopping bags are this year's “it” giveaway, but they may not be as green as their feel-good slogans—like “Save the world” and "I used to be a plastic bag"—claim. The problem is that old habits die hard—many people simply forget to reuse...

Oxford Revives Einstein's Greenie Fridge Design

Fridge cooled by pressure and vapor, not polluting freons

(Newser) - Oxford scientists are rebuilding one of Albert Einstein’s first inventions—a refrigerator cooled with pressurized gases—in a bid to replace today’s eco-unfriendly fridges, the Guardian reports. Modern fridges use freon, a greenhouse gas worse than carbon dioxide, and are increasingly in demand worldwide. But Einstein's design employs...

Volt's Looks Kill Some GM Buzz
 Volt's Looks Kill Some GM Buzz 
Sep 16, 2008 1:58 PM CDT

Volt's Looks Kill Some GM Buzz

Plug-in electric car finally unveiled today; production model too ordinary for some fans

(Newser) - GM offered its first official look today at the plug-in Chevrolet Volt, CNNMoney reports, the electric car slated to go on sale in 2010. Its tame appearance drew the ire of gearheads hoping it would look more like the futuristic concept version. "A lot of people are saying they're...

France's 'Picnic Tax' Making Foes Antsy

'Green' levy aims to cut down on use of plastic forks, paper plates

(Newser) - A picnic tax? “We are doing it,” France’s environment minister said today, apparently unabashed at such a villainous plan. Actually, the levy isn’t as dastardly as it sounds—it’s actually a tax on the plastic and paper plates and utensils commonly used in picnics, the...

4 in 10 North American Fish Species in Peril

(Newser) - About four out of 10 freshwater fish species in North America are in peril, says a major study by US, Canadian, and Mexican scientists. And the number of subspecies of fish populations in trouble has nearly doubled since 1989, the new report says. One biologist called it "silent extinctions"...

Berkeley Tree-Sitters Finally Climb Down

Last protesters climb down as university erects scaffold around redwood

(Newser) - The last four tree-sitters climbed down from their perches at UC Berkeley today, ending a 2-year vigil to protest the university's plans to cut down a grove of trees and build a sports facility, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The university will build the facility, but it agreed to set...

Invasive Species Getting Bad Rap: Scientists

Exotics can cause extinctions, but spur diversity, evolution, too

(Newser) - Invasive species don’t always spell disaster for native ecosystems and animal life, scientists say after a study of the process and its effects on New Zealand. More than 22,000 non-native plants have been introduced to the islands, the New York Times reports, and only three native species have...

Overgrown LA Tract Turns to 'Scape Goats

Animals offer a green solution to clearing thick weeds

(Newser) - The sight of 100 goats feasting through a weedy tract in downtown Los Angeles yesterday had commuters guessing whether the caprine contingent was part of a movie, performance art—or perhaps lunch. In fact, the city hired the (land)scape goats in lieu of gas-powered weed whackers as a greener, cheaper...

Strapped Schools Say Bye to Bus Rides
 Strapped Schools
 Say Bye to Bus Rides
glossies
Sep 7, 2008 7:55 PM CDT

Strapped Schools Say Bye to Bus Rides

New generation can tell grandkids they walked to school

(Newser) - As high gas prices strangle US school budgets, more officials are cutting back where it hurts student scores least: school buses. Some schools are limiting or redesigning bus routes, but others have nixed busing entirely, leaving thousands of kids to hoof it under adult supervision. Some parents object, but many...

Alps Artifacts Offer Clues to Climate Change

Ancient objects emerge as Swiss glacier melts

(Newser) - A melting glacier in the Swiss Alps has revealed hundreds of ancient artifacts, providing valuable information about both history and climate change through the ages, AFP reports. The area was walkable only during warm periods when the glacier receded. “The site itself is the most important find because we...

Plans to Stop Global Warming Straight From Sci-Fi Novels

Geo-engineering offers promise for slowing climate change ... and fear of consequences

(Newser) - Scientists worry humans might not curb carbon emissions in time to save the planet from irreversible harm, and some have suggested a radical concept called geo-engineering, the Economist reports. Once the stuff of science fiction, geo-engineering would combat global warming by manipulating the environment. While promising, critics warn ecological consequences...

Boston Cabbies Torqued Ovah Hybrid Cah Mandate

Pricey hybrids a problem in Beantown

(Newser) - Boston’s cab drivers are furious over a new rule requiring all taxis to be hybrids by 2015, Wired reports. With rising gas prices already pressing the industry, cabbies are loathe to trade their $6,000 used Crown Vics for new $24,000 Priuses. Many also argue that the hybrids...

New Way to Fight Global Warming: Wipe Your Feet

Scientist cleans visitors' shoes to keep plant invaders from taking root on Arctic isle

(Newser) - Global warming could make it easier for non-native plants to take root on the Arctic's Svalbard archipelago, but one researcher is fighting the problem on the ground level, Der Spiegel reports. Chris Ware has set up shop at Longyearbyen’s airport, where he cleans arriving passengers' shoes. "Dirt almost...

Palin Pick Completes De-Greening of McCain
Palin Pick Completes De-Greening of McCain
OPINION
Sep 3, 2008 2:46 AM CDT

Palin Pick Completes De-Greening of McCain

Green voters left with one choice after McCain ceases being a maverick

(Newser) - John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin completes his transformation from the most green-leaning GOP candidate for years into just another mouthpiece for Big Oil, Thomas L. Friedman writes in the New York Times. Palin backs drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and she does not believe humans play any...

China Shifting Into Green Gear
 China Shifting Into Green Gear
opinion
Aug 31, 2008 5:18 PM CDT

China Shifting Into Green Gear

Communists know they need knowledge-based economy

(Newser) - Beijing wants to create a greener and more modern economy without losing its grip on society—but that leaves officials in a bind, Thomas L. Friedman writes in the New York Times. A green, knowledge-based economy requires personal freedoms that China may be unwilling to provide. But it must act,...

GOP Leaves Alaska Drilling Off Platform

Policy committee shelves difference with McCain—for now, at least

(Newser) - The committee assembling the Republican Party’s election platform has officially taken drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge off the table, in an effort to help John McCain’s presidential campaign, the AP reports. McCain doesn’t support tapping the protected lands, and committee members say they’d rather...

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