William C. Whitney could have changed the future of the entire world via the electric car

I went to my cousin’s wedding this weekend; the reception was at Larz Anderson Auto Museum (and park) up in Boston. During the early stages of the reception, you could actually meander throughout the museum. My dad saw this car… Continue Reading

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Sanga Moses figured out an innovative way to help Uganda, perhaps re-contextualizing “innovation” in the process

People love to band about the term “innovation” — there’s a whole issue right now because of the recent New Yorker article on “disruptive innovation” — but most people actually use it the wrong way. (It’s similar to how many people think… Continue Reading

North Carolina is about to be the tipping point for the fracking debate in America

Get this: North Carolina lawmakers have softened a controversial bill that would have made it a felony to disclose the chemicals used in fracking. Under the version of the law that passed the state legislature on Thursday, the offense has been knocked down to a misdemeanor. But legal… Continue Reading

Damn, North Dakota: from 2010 to 2013, 940 new jobs per 10,000 people. Next highest in the U.S.? 337 new jobs per 10K people.

Say it with me now: the twin engines of present-day American job growth are knowledge and energy. We’ve talked about this before (with a little more context here), and now theres’s some new data via Atlantic Cities essentially underscoring the idea. Look at this chart:   The… Continue Reading

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Could a Boston-based company called XL Hybrids help change the world (and the climate)?

XL Hybrids is a company out of Boston that, right there on their homepage, will promise a 20 percent reduction in urban fuel consumption. The business media is on board: Fast Company just had them as the third-most innovative energy company in… Continue Reading

Beef is now $5.28/pound, the highest since 1987. Is that going to shift habits over the next decade?

Just in time for the summer grill-out season, beef prices are at their highest point since the late 1980s. And here’s the really good news! Everything that’s produced is being consumed, said Kevin Good, an analyst at CattleFax, a Colorado-based information… Continue Reading

Matt Teeters and the tricky dance of politics and education in Wyoming

Matt Teeters is a state representative in Wyoming who helped lead the charge for the state to officially reject the new Next Generation Science Standards, becoming the first state to officially do so. (It should be noted that the Governor of… Continue Reading

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Ultimately, does China or Russia (or the USA or Chile or someone else) stand to benefit the most from Antarctica?

Everyone is staking their claim to Antarctica these days; China just built its fourth research base there, which is shaped like a lantern. China’s now spending about $55 million per year on the Antarctic; 15-20 years ago, they were spending $20… Continue Reading