Many of this country's most illustrious poets, writers, scientists, and preservationists are calling for volunteers to come to Washington D.C. this summer to risk arrest to stop construction of a massive tar sands pipeline from Alberta to Texas. This pipeline, the Keystone XL, could destroy any chance we have of preventing runaway global warming. How muchContinue reading “Saving the climate by stopping the tar sands pipeline”
Category Archives: activism
Monbiot: Environmentalism is stuck
George Monbiot is not the first enviro to argue that the movement, if it is a movement, has argued itself into a corner. That it is, as he says, "stuck." But he has a knack for putting it plainly: Those seeking to protect the landscape are not our enemies; nor are those advocating that renewablesContinue reading “Monbiot: Environmentalism is stuck”
The frog metaphor that will not die (alas)
In which Conservation magazine demolishes the deathless metaphor/myth of the frog that supposedly will not jump out of a pot of water brought slowly to a boil. To wit: Dr. Victor Hutchison, a herpetologist at the University of Oklahoma, has dealt with frogs throughout his professional life. Indeed, one of his current research interests isContinue reading “The frog metaphor that will not die (alas)”
Still destroying the climate, but having less fun
Because Americans are driving less, mostly due to the recession (total greenhouse gas emissions are down a pretty stunning 6%, the Energy Information recently reported) the federal government doesn't have the money it needs to fully fund its highway program. But still, all the politicians agree that raising the gas tax is off the table,Continue reading “Still destroying the climate, but having less fun”
The top 400 pay less, so you can get their trickle-down
According to the ever-factual Think Progress, back in the halcyon days of my youth, the top 400 taxpayers in this country paid nearly half the taxes in his country. And yet lived well, I imagine: Now ordinary folk pay more, they pay much less, and yet despite all the alleged increased trickle-down we're still miredContinue reading “The top 400 pay less, so you can get their trickle-down”
What does the GOP really want in the budget showdown?
According to TPM, the sticking point in the budget stalemate is not a number of billions cut from the overall budget, but funding for family planning, not to mention preventing the EPA and other agencies from protecting the nation's natural health. According to OMB Watch, the GOP has attached riders restricting everything from funding of WhiteContinue reading “What does the GOP really want in the budget showdown?”
GOP backs “skeptic” scientist who mirrors Hansen’s data
Look familiar? The blue line in the above graph represents the global temperature dataset gathered by James Hansen and his team at GISS/NASA over the last twenty years. Hansen has presented this chard and this data countless times at countless talks on countless occasions around the world. The black line represents a "skeptical" scientist's interpretationContinue reading “GOP backs “skeptic” scientist who mirrors Hansen’s data”
Metaphor watch: Cliches get Obama in trouble again
As Matt Iglesias (channeling Paul Krugman) points out, the fact that the Obama administration used misleading, overused metaphors to describe the problems afflicting the American economy has a lot to do with the wide-spread but false perception that their efforts to revive the economy made it worse. Here's Krugman: I still don’t know why theContinue reading “Metaphor watch: Cliches get Obama in trouble again”
“Radical libertarians” hijack GOP, says Republican
Andy Revkin interviews a frustrated David Jenkins, of Republicans for Environmental Protection, a group that has been around for decades, but has been pushed to the edge of irrelevance this century: Jenkins speaks out: …the Republican Party has been hijacked. I maintain that it is being unduly influenced by what I call “pretend conservatives.”Continue reading ““Radical libertarians” hijack GOP, says Republican”
Texas state climatologist: Fossil fuels are evil
From an interesting Q & A in an MIT alumni pub with John Neilsen-Gammon, the former Texas state climatologist: Slice: What do you think is the single most effective thing we as a country could do to address the problems posed by man-made climate change? Nielsen-Gammon: Acknowledging that potential problems exist would be a greatContinue reading “Texas state climatologist: Fossil fuels are evil”
Kit Stolz 