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Coal Industry Knew Burning Fossil Fuels Causes Climate Change as Early as 1966 | Democracy Now!

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Coal Industry Knew Burning Fossil Fuels Causes Climate Change as Early as 1966 | Democracy Now!

Leaders of the coal industry knew as early as the mid-1960s that burning fossil fuels causes climate change. That’s according to a recently discovered 1966 copy of the magazine Mining Congress Journal, in which the head of a now defunct mining research company wrote that the combustion of fossil fuels was increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, causing global temperature increases. He continued, writing, “Such changes in temperature will cause melting of the polar icecaps, which, in turn, would result in the inundation of many coastal cities, including New York and London.” The recently discovered article now provides evidence that both the coal and oil industries have known about catastrophic climate change for decades, yet worked to cover up the evidence in order to continue burning fossil fuels.

NPR

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Cheaper, Longer-Lasting Lightbulbs Pose Industry Challenge : NPR

A revolution is upsetting the lighting business as LED lightbulbs replace energy-hogging incandescent ones. This is good news for consumers and the environment; using less energy reduces the greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.

But this shift comes with a cost, exemplified by a century-old lightbulb factory in St. Marys, Pa., that is the latest to shut down.

For much of its long history the LEDVANCE facility, 120 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, produced lightbulbs under the Sylvania brand. Now all it produces is scrap metal.

Times change and so do technology. The truth is the modern light-bulb is far more sophisticated then those outdated technologies, and China built the factories to make the inexpensive advanced, highly-efficent switch-mode power supplies and LED panels that make the modern bulbs much more affordable -- rather then the United States. But as technologies advance, it really is a win for most Americans, even if the old technology manufacturers are left behind.