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Going Green

Started by M Wu; Last updated by Imperator

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Going Green

An increasingly eco-conscious America has paved the way for new laws, new products, and a new outlook

Even global warming doubters can agree: There's no denying the increasing public interest in “going green.” With former VP Al Gore winning an Oscar for his movie on the subject and even discount megastore Wal-Mart pushing compact fluorescent light bulbs, green has taken a turn for the mainstream.

Stories

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June 2009
- Climate Change Report: We Ain't Seen Nothing Yet
  
  Time | Jun 17, 09 1:30 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Climate change has already brought warmer winters to the Midwest and rising sea levels—and barring quick intervention, the mainland US could heat up 7 to 11.5 degrees by 2090, says a new report to Congress by federal agencies and universities. The report holds no new research, Time notes, but surveys what’s happened and what’s ahead, reminding us that “if we don't act soon, the consequences are likely to be catastrophic,” writes Bryan Walsh. More »
- Electric Bikes Take Off in China
  
  Time | Jun 14, 09 7:00 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Chinese drivers are seeing a new vehicle zip by on the nation's congested, smog-choked freeways: electric bicycles, Austin Ramzy writes in Time . Promoted by the government as affordable solutions to cars, so-called e-bikes are growing in popularity, offering a green solution to the country's automobile boom. About 21 million e-bikes sold there last year, compared to 9.4 million cars. More »
- Questionable Projects Gobble Stimulus Funds
  
  Los Angeles Times | Jun 14, 09 12:20 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The economic stimulus is funding a variety of projects, but some possibilities—like a $1.1 million move to fix a guardrail no one uses—don’t seem to fit President Obama’s vision for the money, the Los Angeles Times reports. Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn will question such projects in a report due this week. Obama had outlined projects ranging from promoting alternative energy and connecting rural areas to broadband Internet, but local governments have other ideas. More »
- China Plans Massive Push for Green Power
  
  Guardian (UK) | Jun 10, 09 8:31 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - China is on course to obtain 20% of its energy from wind and solar sources by 2020—a transformation that would make the country the world leader in renewables. Beijing is ramping up its targets for clean energy, helped by the $590 billion stimulus package passed last year, a senior government official told the Guardian . "Due to the impact of global financial crisis, people are all talking about green and sustainable development," he said. More »
- Dairy Teams Seek Greener Cow Burps
  
  New York Times | Jun 5, 09 9:26 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Cow belches have been called a bigger environmental threat than cars and trucks—and now dairy groups are taking steps to keep dangerous burps to a minimum, the New York Times reports. One Vermont farmer has seen his cows’ methane emissions drop 18% after boosting the alfalfa and flaxseed in their feed, while methane has plummeted some 30% in France, where industrial farms are using alternative feed. More »
- Michael Moore: 9 Ways to Rise From GM's Ashes
  
  Huffington Post | Jun 1, 09 1:25 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The end of General Motors is an opportunity for an America that now owns 60% of the company, writes Michael Moore. Let’s take advantage of the death of a firm that built poor cars, battled environmental rules, and shipped jobs away by using its facilities to implement a new system of transportation in America. Moore presents nine suggestions to the president on HuffPo : More »
May 2009
- LED Spells End of Disposable Light Bulbs
  
  New York Times | May 30, 09 7:55 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The rapid advance of light-emitting diode technology is blazing the way to greener lighting, the New York Times reports. LED lighting, once used only in the likes of traffic lights and scoreboards, is now being adopted by a growing number of cities and businesses. Experts say the lights, which last for decades, are twice as efficient as compact fluorescent bulbs, and (unlike compact fluorescents) contain no toxic elements; perhaps they could turn lighting away from disposable bulbs entirely. More »
- Maine Law Targets CFL Mercury
  
  Boston Globe | May 29, 09 3:09 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Maine has become the first state in the nation to tackle the problem of mercury in low-energy light bulbs, the Boston Globe reports. A new state law requires manufacturers to reduce the amount of the toxic metal in the bulbs and pay for the cost of safe recycling, a measure expected to add up to a dollar to the cost of each compact fluorescent bulb. More »
- Congress Mulls Tighter Offshore Drilling Rules
  
  ProPublica | May 27, 09 10:27 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A bill pushed by Dick Cheney 4 years ago freed natural-gas drillers from clean-water laws, but pollution concerns are driving congressional Democrats to rethink the matter, ProPublica reports. They’ve drafted legislation that would end the natural-gas exemption and require drillers to reveal the chemicals they use in their work, some of which can lead to cancer. More »
- Would-Be Car-Battery Kings Jostle Over $2.4B From Feds
  
  Wall Street Journal | May 26, 09 9:23 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Some 165 companies and states are battling for a $2.4 billion Obama administration grant aimed at making the US a leader in electric-car batteries, the Wall Street Journal reports. General Motors, Dow Chemical, and General Electric are among the firms vying for the money; states like Michigan, Kentucky, and Massachusetts are on board, hoping to become the center of an industry that promises big things. More »
- Hatch: Save the Hummer ... for the Environment
  
  Washington Post | May 21, 09 12:12 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Many Republicans won’t touch fuel economy issues, but not Sen. Orrin Hatch. He’s been an advocate for alternative-fuel vehicles for a decade, and yesterday got behind the wheel of the most muscular hybrid ever, reports Dana Milbank of the Washington Post . A company from Hatch’s native Utah has created a plug-in Hummer that gets 100 mpg. Just two problems: General Motors is jettisoning the Hummer brand, and Hatch apparently can’t drive. More »
- Gore Throws Weight Behind Climate Bill
  
  Politico | May 21, 09 9:32 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - With controversial cap-and-trade climate legislation now in committee, former vice president Al Gore has mobilized his lobbying organization and grass-roots movement behind the bill, even calling some wavering Democrats personally, Politico reports. While some groups feel the measure is too soft on polluting industries, the Nobel Prize winner supports its goal of moving the US toward carbon neutrality. More »
- Electric Bike Performs, Lacks Motorcycle Sound, Speed
  
  Wall Street Journal | May 21, 09 8:55 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Zero S electric motorcycle is everything an electric car should be—quiet, emission-free, affordable—but the formula doesn’t necessarily translate well to bikes, Jonathan Welsh writes in the Wall Street Journa l. The performance mimics a typical 500cc gas-powered bike, with peppy acceleration, and a city-worthy 60mph top speed, but its 60-mile range and four-hour charge time is limiting. Perhaps worst: It lacks that motorcycle sound. More »
- Fuel-Efficiency Standards May Threaten Safety
  
  USA Today | May 20, 09 12:53 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - President Obama’s new vehicle fuel-efficiency rules have safety experts worried that automakers will comply by churning out smaller, lighter cars—the more likely to kill you with, USA Today reports. Smaller vehicles are an easy route to boost efficiency that can also mean thousands more crash fatalities, but administration deadlines “are so tight that downsizing will be a tempting compliance strategy,” says a former US regulator. More »
- With Emissions Plan, Obama Swings for the Fences
  
  New York Times | May 19, 09 9:44 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The new, strict and streamlined national fuel efficiency standard President Obama will announce today could be a victory on three fronts, the Climate Change argues in a piece running on the New York Times web site. Obama will boost his climate change cred, help floundering automakers, and resolve the federal spat with California all in one fell swoop. Obama’s plan will require cars to meet a 35.5mpg by 2016, four years earlier than the previous target date. More »
- US, China Near Secret Climate Deal
  
  Guardian (UK) | May 18, 09 7:17 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Top US officials secretly visited China late last year to negotiate a joint climate change agreement, the Guardian reports. Hosting the talks in a hotel in the Great Wall of China, China sought cooperation on carbon capture and storage, and other green technologies. "There are these two countries that the world blames for doing nothing, and they have a better story to tell," said one US negotiator. More »
- Obama Will Streamline Emissions, Fuel Rules for Autos
  
  Politico | May 18, 09 1:38 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - President Obama will announce plans for new national automobile fuel-economy and emissions standards tomorrow, overhauling and streamlining the current patchwork, sources tell Politico. The move will harmonize the CAFE standard and the EPA’s greenhouse-gas standard, so that struggling automakers needn’t fear the regulations moving independently. The announcement will also likely appease California, which had been asking for permission to institute its own, tougher caps. More »
- Exercisers Boost Power Grid
  
  Daily Telegraph (UK) | May 18, 09 6:20 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Exercise buffs who hop on an elliptical machine for half an hour can power a laptop for an hour with the generated energy, thanks to a tweak made by a young Florida entrepreneur. The technique takes advantage of a generator already built into a popular model of the cross-trainers. About a dozen organizations have started using the modified machines—and capture the muscle energy to power things like lights or to simply boost the power grid, the Daily Telegraph reports. More »
- America's Worst Recycling Cities
  
  Mother Jones | May 13, 09 6:36 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The average American city recycles about a third of its waste, but the lack of any unified national standard for trash disposal means some cities rate way, way, below average. Mother Jones lists those with the biggest trash piles: Oklahoma City recycles only 3% of its waste. Households have to pay a steep price to recycle, resulting in the worst recycling rate in the land. More »
- No-Car Suburb in Germany May Prove Tough to Translate
  
  New York Times | May 12, 09 11:00 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Will Europe’s assault on the American way of life stop at nothing? Vauban, a town in the southwest corner of Germany, is a working model of a leafy-green suburb without cars. People walk or bike, and a tram runs through the middle of town. “When I had a car I was always tense,” one resident tells the New York Times . “I’m much happier this way.” More »

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[Images (5)]

[Videos (1)]

Aletsch Glacier Retreat Continues

Aletsch Glacier Retreat Continues (Getty Images (by Event))

A janitor dusts a Ford running on bio-ethanol.

A janitor dusts a Ford running on bio-ethanol. (Getty Images)

The hood of a Ford car running with bio-ethanol is seen during.

The hood of a Ford car running with bio-ethanol is seen during. (Getty Images)

Rich Cizik, left, with the National Association of Evangelicals, and James McCarthy, with Harvard University look over Portage Lake, Wednesday Aug. 29, 2007, near Girdwood, Alaska and talk how Portage Glacier is now hidden behind the point of land under Burns Glacier, left. Evangelical Christians and prominent scientists are on...

Rich Cizik, left, with the National Association of Evangelicals, and James McCarthy, with Harvard University look over Portage Lake, Wednesday Aug. 29, 2007, near Girdwood, Alaska and talk how Portage... (Associated Press)

(Index Stock (http://www.indexstock.com))

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Background

Environmental Movement
Wikipedia

The Environmental movement (a term that sometimes includes the conservation and green movements) is a diverse scientific, social, and political movement. In general terms, environmentalists advocate the sustainable management of resources, and the protection (and restoration, when necessary) of the...

» Read more about Environmental Movement at Wikipedia

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