Here comes the sun: Sicily is building the world’s first solar power plant! According to a deal signed by the Italian government this week, the plant should by operational by 2009: The project is named Archimedes, after the famous resident of the nearby city of Syracuse. The existing gas-fired power plant on the site will […]
Entries Tagged as 'Science'
The Deep Dish Approach to Solar Power
March 30th, 2007 · Comments Off on The Deep Dish Approach to Solar Power · Climate Change, Energy, News, Politics, Science, Tech
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Mandarin Dynamite!
March 29th, 2007 · 2 Comments · Culture, Film, Food, Journal, Science
I was at the Whole Foods yesterday and they had something called a “Meyer’s Lemon” in the produce section, which looked like a lemon only much orangerer, and a helpful sign explained that it is indeed a cross between a lemon and an orange, developed in China. My question: if you create a cross between […]
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Seals, Global Warming, and the Canadian Seafood Boycott
March 29th, 2007 · Comments Off on Seals, Global Warming, and the Canadian Seafood Boycott · Activism, Climate Change, Food, News, Politics, Science
Canada is gearing up for its brutal annual slaughter of baby seals, setting its highest quota ever at a time when the seal populations are also threatened by climate change. Harp and hooded seals rely on the presence of sea ice, on which they give birth to and nurse their pups. But over the past […]
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News: The Hidden Cost of Margarine
March 27th, 2007 · 4 Comments · Adobe, Climate Change, Comics, Culture, Internet, Media, Music, News, Performance, Politics, Science, Software, Tech
• Orangutans may be extinct within five years, thanks to a soaring demand for palm oil leading to the destruction of their forest habitat. This situation needs to be addressed in product labeling somehow, so consumers can know that they’re buying sustainable, “orangutan and rainforest-safe” palm oil. Via this DKos diary. • Here’s a fascinating […]
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Puck Soup: Wolfgang Puck Gets a Shiny New Conscience
March 26th, 2007 · Comments Off on Puck Soup: Wolfgang Puck Gets a Shiny New Conscience · Activism, Business, Factory Farming, Food, Health, News, Politics
I haven’t exactly been a fan of Wolfgang Puck, to put it mildly, because in the past he’s been a major promoter of animal cruelty — he bears a lot of responsibility for the popularization of foie gras over the last few years. I give his restaurant in Evanston a wide berth, and have been […]
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The Big Pet Food Recall, Continued
March 23rd, 2007 · 10 Comments · Advertising, Business, Cats, Factory Farming, Food, Health, Kiwi, Mr. Blue, News, Pet Food, Pets, Politics
In the comments to my post about the Big Pet Food Recall earlier this week, AmyC pointed out that the pet food industry isn’t regulated by the FDA; instead it’s self-regulated by an industry group called the AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials). And then Grendel posted this link: What’s Really in Pet Food, […]
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News: The Pleasure of the Preznit
March 21st, 2007 · 1 Comment · Blogroll, Blogs, Books, Business, Chicago, Culture, Film, Food, Health, HIV/AIDS, LGBT, Music, News, Politics, Science
• Preznit Bush is stonewalling and hurling threats of a constitutional showdown over subpoenas. Ocelopotamus say: Call. His. Bluff. If he refuses to obey the rule of law, commence the impeachication. Meanwhile, over at Crooks and Liars, we read this: President Bush kept making the point over and over that allowing his staff members (i.e. […]
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Cats: Kiwi, Mr. Blue, & Menu Foods
March 20th, 2007 · 7 Comments · Advertising, Cats, Food, Health, Journal, Kiwi, Mr. Blue, News, Pet Food, Pets
I hear the cool kids like to post pictures of their cats on their blogs sometimes. Except I think you’re supposed to do it on Fridays. In 2005. Well, never let it be said that Ocelopotamus colors inside the lines! Anyway, here’s Barabajagal (aka Mr. Blue) and Kiwi, even though they don’t really deserve the […]
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News: A Hive of Spam and Villainy
March 20th, 2007 · Comments Off on News: A Hive of Spam and Villainy · Activism, Food, Health, Heroes, Internet, LGBT, News, Peace, Politics, Science, Science Fiction, Tech, TV
• A pair of hackers are promising to expose a month’s worth of MySpace bugs to draw attention to security problems with the site. … two hackers going by the names of Mondo Armando and Müstaschio promise to begin disclosing security vulnerabilities in MySpace, News Corp.’s popular social networking site, every day next month. “The […]
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News: Wear Sunscreen
March 16th, 2007 · Comments Off on News: Wear Sunscreen · Apple, Books, Climate Change, Culture, Internet, iTunes, Language, LGBT, Media, Music, News, Politics, Science, Tech, TV
Worldwide, the winter of 2006-2007 has been the warmest since record keeping began in 1880, according to a new government report. A variety of desperate schemes to save the planet from global warming are being considered by NASA and other organizations — including a man-made volcano that spews sulfur into the atmosphere; a “sun shade” […]
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