Culture & Ethics

Green Tweets

Donald Smith has put together a list of environmental tweeters worth following, including environmental scientists, other scientists with environmental interests, media folks, and environmental groups.  For that matter, you can also follow my blog posts via @dfarber if for some reason that’s easier than using the Legal Planet website to keep track.  I have to …

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California Works to Promote Energy Efficiency Retrofits

California has much to brag about when it comes to energy efficiency. Per capita, the state’s residents use far less energy than our national counterparts while enjoying an equal or better standard of living, thanks to energy efficiency standards developed in the 1970s: But the state is committed to doing better. Last week, I was …

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The Greening of Tisha B’Av

Three days ago, I fasted on the Jewish holy day of Tisha B’Av, which marks and commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem. Jews observe the day also by reading Eikha, the biblical Book of Lamentations.  No fast day could be considered pleasant, but it has always been a particularly meaningful …

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Gifford Pinchot’s Birthday

Gifford Pinchot (the final “t” is silent) was born on August 11, 1865.  He was responsible for founding the Yale School of Forestry, which remains a major center for environmental research and teaching today.  Like Chief Justice John Marshall, he is also considered the founding father of an institution even though he wasn’t the institution’s …

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The Tea Party Embraces Local Energy Efficiency Financing?

It looks like we’ve finally found an environmental issue that can attract strong bipartisan support. The PACE program allows municipal bond financing to pay for energy efficiency retrofits and solar panels, among other environmentally benign building improvements, to be repaid through property tax assessments. But the Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA) essentially squashed the residential …

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Gettin’ Down With the Greenies

Homie, you down with sustainable consumption? [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UFc1pr2yUU]

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LA Times Climate Reporter Laid Off

Just got a forwarded email from Margot Roosevelt, the LA Times’ terrific climate and energy reporter, sharing the news that she’s been laid off. She and her work will be missed.

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On light bulbs, politics, and psychology

Dan has (understandably) been quite outraged at efforts in the Republican-controlled House to eliminate energy efficiency standards for light bulbs (which have been inaccurately portrayed as a flat ban on incandescent bulbs, even though new substitutes are being developed).  While these efforts might be seen as purely ignorant orjust  politically-opportunistic showboating, I think they in …

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An Unlikely Environmentalist: Samson Raphael Hirsch

Orthodox Judaism today has presented several strong views on many issues, usually centering on hot-button social issues such as gay marriage, or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  That’s why it was a real surprise for me to read about the strong environmentalist stance of Samson Raphael Hirsch, the founder and true intellectual giant of Modern Orthodox Judaism. …

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White House science advisors call for better ecosystem information

Cross-posted at The Berkeley Blog. If you’ve never heard of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, you’re not alone. It’s not a group that’s often in the news. But its new report, “Sustaining Environmental Capital: Protecting Society and the Economy,” is worth a read. This report does two important things. First, it defends …

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