Derek Markham

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Profile: Derek Markham is a father, writer, and social media butterfly based in New Mexico, with a passion for all things sustainable. For the last ten years, he's worked in the natural foods industry, most recently running a small co-operative grocery store. In his personal time, he loves to ride his bike (an 80s Trek singlespeed), go bouldering and slacklining, and he can usually be found in the middle of about ten different books. You can also find him on other sites including Twitter and Natural Papa.

Home Wind Power for Half the Price, Over the Counter

Posted on 03. Feb, 2010 by Derek Markham.

For commercial renewable energy enthusiasts, there’s no shortage of eye candy among industrial sized wind installations, but for the homeowner, the closest they get to feeling like they’re really generating clean energy might be the ‘Powered by the Wind’ sticker they get from their local utility when purchasing the wind power option for electricity. But that could change very soon, because a major retail store, Ace Hardware, will soon be selling a very cool new home wind turbine at half the installed price of a traditional turbine. [...]

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Can Bio Coal Turn Coal Power Plants into Green Energy Producers?

Posted on 28. Dec, 2009 by Derek Markham.

Is it possible to turn coal power plants into renewable energy producers? According to the supporters of bio coal, the answer is yes – coal plants can burn bio coal, created from biomass, without retooling their storage, handling, or burning systems. [...]

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Is Walmart Putting Profits Above Safety by Stocking Dangerous Products for Kids?

Posted on 18. Dec, 2009 by Derek Markham.

According to Wake Up Walmart, Walmart continues to stock products identified as unsafe or dangerous by reputable consumer safety organizations. The retail giant is offering holiday gifts for kids which have high levels of dangerous substances such as lead, chlorine, arsenic, cadmium, and bromine (according to findings from HealthyStuff). [...]

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CO2 Impact Greatly Underestimated by Climate Projections

Posted on 14. Dec, 2009 by Derek Markham.

A new study claims that the Earth’s climate may be up to 50% more sensitive to atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) over the long term than previous climate projections, and that these projections might need to be adjusted to account for this new information. [...]

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Inert Ingredient in Roundup Kills Human Cells

Posted on 06. Dec, 2009 by Derek Markham.

One of the inert ingredients in the popular herbicide Roundup has been found to kill human cells, especially embryonic and placental cells. Many consumers believe Roundup to be safe, and until a recent study, researchers focused solely on the health effects of a single active ingredient, glyphosate. New research has now found that the inert ingredients amplified the toxic effects on human cells. [...]