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Josie Garthwaite

Journalist covering science, technology & environment

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  • Climate Confidential
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Tag: California

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What We Know About the Earliest History of Chocolate (Smithsonian)

February 13, 2015 by Josie Garthwaite

The tools and flavors have changed, but the work of roasting and grinding fermented cacao beans, and mixing them with a few simple ingredients to create a divine food, is a practice that goes back to early Mesoamerican civilizations.

Categories: Lifestyle, Science, Smithsonian • Tags: cacao, California, chocolate, food, history, Mesoamerica, San Francisco, Startups

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dry earth

California Drought Dries Up Hydro, But Power Stays On (National Geographic)

March 12, 2014 by Josie Garthwaite

California’s record drought has parched crops, but hasn’t yet dimmed lights or choked the flow of electricity, even though the Golden State, with more than 300 dams, has long been a hydroelectricity leader among U.S. states.

Categories: Energy, Environment, National Geographic • Tags: California, Climate Change, drought, electricity, extreme weather, hydropower, natural gas, renewables, water

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Mapping the Shale Gas Boom (Smithsonian)

September 16, 2013 by Josie Garthwaite

An interactive map reveals where energy companies are using hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to force tightly trapped oil and gas from fine-grained sedimentary rocks known as shale.

Categories: Energy, Miscellaneous, Smithsonian • Tags: California, Fracking

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Mojave Mirrors: World’s Largest Solar Plant Ready to Shine (National Geographic)

July 26, 2013 by Josie Garthwaite

The huge Ivanpah solar plant is part of a push to expand renewable energy on U.S. federal land. The developer took steps to relocate a population of the threatened desert tortoise.

Categories: Energy, Environment, National Geographic, Technology • Tags: BrightSource, California, Ivanpah, Mojave, Solar

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Did you know? (Carnivores Among Us)

Coyotes now inhabit every state in the country except Hawaii, eating mostly rodents, rabbits, and fruit.

— "Learning to Live With Urban Coyotes"

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Did you know? (Going Without)

Desert tortoises in the Mojave are able to survive a year or more without water and live for as long as 80 years.

— "World's Largest Solar Plant Ready to Shine"

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You can email me at jgarthwaite at gmail dot com. Sign up for my mailing list here.

Did you know? (Creepy Crawlers)

A nearly 10-foot-long relative of the centipede called the Arthropleura splashed through Inner Mongolia's swampland 298 million years ago.

— "Into the Permian Woods"

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