Scientists have determined the chemicals that make the Central Valley a rich agricultural region are responsible for frog deaths and tadpole abnormalities in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Just when it seems things can’t get much worse for our cold-blooded friends, researchers have added pesticides to the growing list of causes (such as habitat loss and chytrid fungus) for the massive worldwide decline in amphibian populations.

An article in today’s Central Valley Business Times says that zoologist Don Sparling and his team are continuing to build up a body of evidence that shows neurotoxin pesticides are making their way out of the valley’s farms and into the snow and streams where the frogs live and breed - with catastrophic consequences.

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Coulomb Technologies was founded in 2007 with the mission to ensure that anyone who is considering the choice to buy an electric vehicle will have adequate access to fuel for the cars.

In the US there are 247 million cars but only 53 million home garages, meaning that a lot of electric vehicles will need to be fueled outside the home garage. Exacerbating the situation, according to studies at UC Davis, 80% of owners of electric vehicles will want to charge more than once a day.

It comes to this: we need charging opportunities where our cars are parked when we sleep and when we work. Since Coulomb’s founding, much as been written regarding the “chicken and egg problem” with infrastructure and vehicles. Will people buy electric vehicles if they don’t have a place to charge them, and conversely, will anyone buy infrastructure if they don’t see cars?

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Americans age 21 and older go through about 5 pints of beer per week. That adds up to over 30 gallons of beer per year! We spend $4 billion dollars on beer just on St. Patrick’s Day alone. That is a lot of beer! Imagine the difference it would make if we stuck to brews from these folks, who are doing their best to produce a low-impact, tasty pint?

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Who’s thirsty?

Between the barbecues, national holidays and beach vacations, cold beers become a necessity in many households over the summer months. As we pay more attention to the way our food is grown, harvested and transported, perhaps we owe it to the environment to be as vigilant with our beer. But how easy is it to find environmentally-conscientious breweries?

Beer brewing is not the most environmentally-friendly of activities, particularly regarding water usage. On average, six gallons of water are required to brew one gallon of beer - a ratio that must be drastically reduced in dry areas. Wastewater, carbon emissions and huge energy generators also contribute to the environmental sins of the industry.

But more breweries are taking notice of the eating public’s environmental awakening. While the biggest multinational breweries are beginning to make structural changes that promote sustainability, most of the greenest beers are (unsurprisingly) local and regional ones. Microbreweries are great agents of change because they interact with the communities that surround them. Their smaller size and community feeling make them more amenable to change, so it is easier to petition them and request more sustainable practices. Below are the top five eco-minded, North American mid-sized breweries:

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