I’ve been grappling with Vaclav Smil’s provocative book, “How The World Really Works: The Science Behind How We Got Here and Where We’re Going.” Smil, a professor at the University of Manitoba, has written dozens of books on big topics including population, food and energy, usually with scientists or public policy professionals in mind. This
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The “big story of solar,”according to Micah Gold-Markel, is not about slashing carbon footprints or lowering energy bills. “Yes, people can save money,” concedes the founder of Solar States LLC. “Yes, they can save the planet, but really they can do the most good because they’re saving their communities with good-paying jobs.” Inspired by the
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Acloudy pool of water marks the spot where, every minute, about 1,200 gallons of toxic mine drainage, contaminated with sulfuric acid and iron, flows out of the ground in the hills above New Philadelphia, in Schuylkill County. Below lies a flooded mine void, the space where miners extracted tons of anthracite coal from the ground
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If Philadelphia wants to advance its goal of confronting environmental racism, we have to stop sending hundreds of thousands of tons of trash a year to be incinerated and landfilled. Waste incineration is a massive source of greenhouse gases and smog-causing air pollution. Next year, the City of Philadelphia has the option not to renew
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Pennsylvania’s recent entry into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) made it the first major fossil fuel-producing state to join, but the move had its share of detractors. After much legal and public debate, the agreement has been put into effect. Here’s everything you need to know. What is RGGI? The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
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Transitioning our economy to one that supports well-paying jobs and a healthy planet certainly seems like a concept that most people can get behind. So why has the term “just transition” been so controversial and rejected by many? The principle of just transition is that a healthy economy and clean environment can and should coexist.”
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In 2019, after similar bans had been enacted in other cities, a draft of a bill to end gas hookups in new construction in Philadelphia was put on the desk of Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson, the head of City Council’s Committee on the Environment. Designed to speed the transition from fossil fuels, it seemed like
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The young father made a post on Nextdoor, a virtual neighborhood network, pleading for diapers for his newborn son. Out of work, he had no money to buy them, he wrote, and his partner and baby were due home from the hospital. “Try Cradles to Crayons,” a neighbor wrote back. That advice may have helped
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Bats are small, delicate creatures, and wind turbines can be as large as half a football field long, reaching speeds of over 100 miles per hour. It’s not hard to guess the outcome when the two collide. Unfortunately, they collide frequently. Studies of bats killed by wind turbines have found four to seven dead bats
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Let’s say that the toothpaste splattered on the bathroom mirror bothers you. Every time you clean the mirror you are reminded that you’re the only person who does this job and it’s frustrating that no one else cares enough to clean it up. The first step toward peace of mind is finding out if you
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