Articles by Christopher Mims
Christopher Mims's dystopian non-fiction is sought after by an ever-growing roster of publications.
All Articles
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Texas' fracking disclosure law has huge omissions
Yesterday we told you about Texas governor Rick Perry doing something right for once -- he passed of a law forcing drillers to disclose the chemicals used in the controversial and environmentally destructive practice of hydraulic fracturing. Turns out the law has a bunch of loopholes that corporations are duty-bound to exploit in accordance with their legal obligation to maximize shareholder value, even if doing so threatens people’s health. Maybe you've heard this story before?
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Harnessing the mighty Mississippi for power
If you’ve been anywhere near a newspaper recently, you know that the Mississippi river has an unbelievable amount of kinetic energy, which lately it has mainly been using for wreckin’ stuff. It’s like an angry teenager who discovers he’s a superhero. But hydropower advocates are hoping to convince it that with great power comes great responsibility, cooking up plans to put enough small hydroelectric plants on existing dams to rival the total hydro production of the Pacific Northwest.
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Al Gore attacks Obama for not speaking out on climate change
Is there anything more thrilling than two Democratic politicians duking it out? One guy opens with … punishing inaction! The other counters with … an unforgiving steel 7,000 word essay […]
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Small nuclear reactors get their first customer, but are no panacea
Small nuclear reactors are the mobile homes of the the nuclear power universe -- they can be built in factories rather than on-site, then shipped to their destination and hooked up to the local power grid without any expensive upgrades to transmission infrastructure.