Clean tech kerfuffle: Wired’s in-depth look at the challenges facing clean-tech investment in both the public and private sectors (by the Washington Post’s Juliet Eilperin) gets the Joe Romm treatment as he savages both the headline (“Why the Clean Tech Boom Went Bust”) and the story’s basic premise. Wired, Climate Progress
Pipe dreams: Continuing with the media criticism, Curtis Brainard explains how “20,000 jobs” became the default figure of choice for news outlets reporting on the employment-creation prospects of the Keystone XL pipeline -- even though that number was hugely exaggerated and unsupported by the facts. “God help the poor news consumers of America, especially the would-be voters,” Brainard writes. Amen to that. Columbia Journalism Review
On the same note, a new study by the left-leaning Media Matters for America says the news media (especially TV) were solidly pro-pipeline when reporting on Keystone XL. TreeHugger
Hitting home: Why should you care about climate change? You like to eat, for starters. Time
That blows: Industry leaders say the expiration of a key tax credit at the end of this year could take the wind out of renewable energy’s sails. Midwest Energy News
Health boost: Pizza and French fries are still “vegetables,” but otherwise, the federal government’s new school lunch standards are getting pretty good reviews. Any word on tater tots? Los Angeles Times, Grist
Stop that canola!: Researchers have found the first evidence of a genetically modified agricultural crop escaping into the wild in the United States. The culprit: yellow-flowering canola plants along North Dakota roadsides. Experts worry that escaped GM crops could lead to herbicide-resistant “super weeds.” Environmental Health News
Playing dirty: A Canadian government document labeled First Nations and environmental groups as “adversaries” and the National Energy Board as an “ally” in the campaign to improve the image of tar sands (you know, the dirtiest fuel source on the planet). Whose side are they on? Montreal Gazette
Confusing Satire Dept.: Some Alaska legislators think the residents of their state are the only ones who should get a say in whether the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is despoiled by oil and gas drilling. So to make their point, they’ve asked the federal government to take control of … New York’s Central Park? You’ve gotta read the thing (although we are impressed that an anti-environment Alaskan lawmaker can discuss the “Muir web” so readily). West Side Rag, New York Times
Old McDonald had a power plant: Researchers in North Carolina have created a better way to convert hog manure into energy. So why are farmers turning up their noses? Midwest Energy News
Tips: @OnEarthMag (tag it #greenreads)
Image: Holly Occhipinti/Flickr
