Articles by Sarah Laskow
Sarah Laskow is a reporter based in New York City who covers environment, energy, and sustainability issues, among other things.
All Articles
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Polar bears discover Irish heritage
For a long time, scientists thought, as any reasonable person would, that the female ancestor of modern polar bears came from some Alaskan island. But it turns out that, like humans, bears are sometimes attracted to bears that come from foreign places, especially if they have cute accents. In fact, the female ancestor of polar bears came from, of all places, Ireland. (A press release from the Office of the Polar Bear King confirmed that yes, polar bears will be participating in St. Patrick's Day parades worldwide next year.)
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Exxon vs. state government: Yellowstone clean-up now has dueling command centers
A week after an ExxonMobil pipeline burst under Montana's Yellowstone River, spots of oil have been found more than 80 miles downstream from the original spill. Exxon is on the clean-up case; more than 500 Exxon clean-up workers are on the scene, and the company has put down 8,000 feet of absorbent booms and 150,000 pads to soak up the oil. But the company is also being so sneaky in their proceedings that Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer and his team huffed out of the incident command center and set up their own clubhouse.
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Critical List: $6 billion ethanol subsidy to end; Wyoming wolves screwed by Senate politics
The Senate is ending a $6 billion subsidy program for ethanol; anti-ethanol food and environmental groups say it's "not a perfect comprise" but that they're "encouraged" by the step.
Carbon captured from coal plants can feed biofuel-producing algae. Which is awesome because nobody else wants to eat it.
Put that tuna burger down! Overfishing could extinguish five out of eight tuna species. -
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Environmental education center built out of recycled materials
An LA-based design think tank called APHIDoIDEA has an idea about how to build an environmental education center that practices what it preaches. The designers imagined an Environmental Center of Regenerative Research & Education -- or eCORRE -- Complex that would teach visitors about green ideas like solar energy and passive cooling techniques. It would have classrooms, offices, an exhibition hall and a public plaza. Here's the cool part: the building would be made of 65 shipping containers.
