Category Archives: press issues

Everyone who remembers their carbon emission history knows that President Bush promised while on his first campaign for President to regulate emissions, and then welshed on the promise, claiming that the Kyoto Protocols–or any similar effort–would "wreck the economy." Since then his administration has famously employed oil industry lobbyists to rewrite scientific reports, intimidated scientistsContinue reading “A Statistical Analysis of the Latest White House Evasions on Global Warming”

Here‘s an excellent front page story from the LATimes on the best forecaster in town (and an equaintance of mine) Bill Patzert. Besides being a great scientist, he’s a colorful guy, as the picture below shows. (When the Bush administration was doing everything possible  to keep Federally-funded scientists from talking about global warming, he showedContinue reading “El Nino Becomes El Wimpo: Bill Patzert Gets It Right Again”

For the sake of preserving the loveliness of our cimate, Bill McKibben is doing his best to take over the American media. In a short feature in the NYTimes [$], McKibben explained why he’s launched Step It Up, a popular movement, as well as writing countless articles and ten books: ”I think it [climate change]Continue reading “Bill McKibben Launches Invasion of American Media”

I’m going this evening to see the great climatologist James Hansen speak at the University of California at Santa Barbara. I will be just one of hundreds of people there, but with a little luck will be able to ask him a question. What should I ask? Here are three possibilities: 1)        AccordingContinue reading “What Should I Ask James Hansen?”

At last, a Ted Rall cartoon I can use! Forgive me, Mr. Rall…it’s too true.

Admiration and respect to Dan Froomkin of The Washington Post, who despite blogging for a major newspaper and taking a full measure of heat from right-wing partisans, continues to dog the Current Occupant’s every move, putting his every press conference, every idiotic quote, every bungling misstep on the record forever. The column is heavily linkedContinue reading “Cut the Crap, Mr. President”

Admit it: everytime someone begins to talk about ethanol, you feel an overpowering desire to lie down. Perhaps take a nice little nap. Well, finally someone–James Surowiecki, of the New Yorker–has found a non snore-inducing way to explain why ethanol is not the answer to American’s fuel needs. It’s actually not that complicated. Two words:Continue reading “The Absurdity of Ethanol, Explained”

The LA TImes is under tremendous pressure this fall. Circulation fell nearly 9% in the last quarter alone, the publisher and the editor were fired, and its owner, the Tribune Company, itself is on the market and likely to be sold off (in parts or as a whole) before the end of the year. ForContinue reading “LA Times Hints Supremes Will Split Difference on CO2 as Pollutant Ruling”

Sierra magazine, which comes with membership in John Muir’s famous club, is one of the oldest enviro magazines in our country. Its journalism is solid and trustworthy, and its essays often superb, but even though I’ve written for it in the past, I sometimes find it hard to read. The combination of bad news aboutContinue reading “How We Use the World”

Tough to blog well when your computer is in the shop, but I have to bring to your attention to a truly extraordinary story in Rolling Stone by Matt Taibbi on the Congress. He calls it the worst ever, and just about proves it with his vivid depictions of corrupt, inept, lazy, stupid and all-aroundContinue reading “Worst Congress Ever?”