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Romney’s First 100 Days by David Leonhardt, The New York Times | August 27, 2012
It is the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 7, and after a long night of celebrating and a short night of sleep, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan wake up to confront the question awaiting every new administration: Of the campaign’s many promises, which few will become the real priorities? If they win the White House, Republicans are also more likely than not to hold on to the House of Representatives and win a narrow majority in the Senate. The party could then embark on the kind of aggressive legislative push that President Obama and the Democrats did in 2009. Only four years after Democrats seemed on the verge of historic policy gains, Republicans could reverse many of those gains and then some. They could cut the top tax rate to its lowest level in 80 years (as Mr. Romney proposes) and make major changes to federal programs. read more »Why Climate Action Won’t Be Like Civil Rights by Auden Schendler, thinkprogress.org | August 27, 2012
Not being served a cheeseburger because you’re African American is about as in-your-face as it gets. Climate change, while increasingly omnipresent, is never quite so personal. And that’s why calling for a civil rights style revolution on climate might not be the best analogy. Don’t get me wrong: I’ve used the comparison myself, and we certainly need to achieve the same scale as civil rights. But how we get there will be different. When you’re denied service in a restaurant, there’s no questioning the level of effrontery. But when it’s extra hot, or when a corn crop fails, or if disease spreads or food prices go up, or even if you house gets burned down by a wildfire or flooded by a hurricane, it’s still one-off from obvious, even if it shouldn’t be. read more »Hope for the Best, Prepare for the Worst by Van Jones, alternet.org | August 27, 2012
Climate change and the economic and equity crises of our communities may appear to have little in common, but they share a key determining factor—namely, our near-complete dependence on coal, oil, and natural gas. The carbon dioxide produced by driving our vehicles, heating (and cooling) our homes, and lighting our cities with fossil fuels is the main culprit behind climate change. Meanwhile, that same dependence on fossil fuels sucks billions of dollars every year out of communities across America, with the poorest households often hit hardest. But what if we found ways to power our homes, businesses, factories, and vehicles that didn’t warm the planet, that kept local dollars circulating in local economies, and that even created local jobs? What if we spread those climate-friendly, local-economy-boosting, job-creating ideas to every city and town across the country? read more »How Should We Talk About Climate Change With Farmers? by Kristin Hyde, thinkprogress.org | August 24, 2012
At a gathering of ranchers in Kansas City last weekend, every meeting and meal was opened with a prayer, including a plea for rain to end this devastating drought. Drought-caused price spikes for feed are forcing many livestock producers to slaughter their herds to a level they can afford to feed. You won’t often see a direct link in these stories to climate change, and you are even less likely to hear such a link made by the farmers and ranchers themselves. The key is to understand farmers’ perspectives, be strategic about effective engagement and find common ground. read more »How The U.S. Paved The Way For Big Oil’s Rise — And Possible Fall — In Iraq by Greg Muttitt, grist.org | August 23, 2012
In 2011, after nearly nine years of war and occupation, U.S. troops finally left Iraq. In their place, Big Oil is now present in force and the country’s oil output, crippled for decades, is growing again. Iraq recently reclaimed the No. 2 position in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), overtaking oil-sanctioned Iran. Now, there’s talk of a new world petroleum glut. So is this finally mission accomplished? Well, not exactly. In fact, any oil company victory in Iraq is likely to prove as temporary as George W. Bush’s triumph in 2003. The main reason is yet another of those stories the mainstream media didn’t quite find room for: the role of Iraqi civil society. But before telling that story, let’s look at what’s happening to Iraqi oil today, and how we got from the “no blood for oil” global protests of 2003 to the present moment. read more »The Crackpot Caucus by Timothy Egan, opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com | August 23, 2012
The tutorial in 8th grade biology that Republicans got after one of their members of Congress went public with something from the wackosphere was instructive, and not just because it offered female anatomy lessons to those who get their science from the Bible. Take a look around key committees of the House and you’ll find a governing body stocked with crackpots whose views on major issues are as removed from reality as Missouri’s Representative Todd Akin’s take on the sperm-killing powers of a woman who’s been raped. On matters of basic science and peer-reviewed knowledge, from evolution to climate change to elementary fiscal math, many Republicans in power cling to a level of ignorance that would get their ears boxed even in a medieval classroom. Congress incubates and insulates these knuckle-draggers. read more »Uprising in Montana: Activists Take a Stand Against Coal Exports by Scott Parkin, alternet.org | August 23, 2012
It wasn’t as big as we’d hoped. These things never are, until, well, they are. It didn’t really matter though: Hundreds converged from across the country for the Coal Export Action and 23 participated in five days of civil disobedience in protest of the coal industry’s latest scheme to save itself from obsolescence. The message we sent reverberated around the state capitol here in Helena, MT: We will not sit idly by while King Coal attempts to export coal from the Powder River Basin through port towns in Oregon and Washington to Asian energy markets. read more »Arctic Death Spiral: How It Favors Extreme, Prolonged Weather Events ‘Such As Drought, Flooding, Cold Spells And Heat Waves’ by Joe Romm, thinkprogress.org | August 22, 2012
We are headed for record lows in Arctic sea ice area and volume. The death spiral will start to make headlines in this country when we beat the record low sea ice extent set in 2007 as monitored by our National Snow and Ice Data Center. We are getting close, as the latest data make clear. But the death spiral of Arctic ice deserves attention beyond its obvious indication of a warming planet. There is increasing scientific analysis suggesting that the loss of ice in the distant Arctic is helping drive the off-the-charts extreme weather we have been seeing right here in this country in recent years read more »How Did Coal-Rich India End Up With Power Blackouts? by Daphne Wysham, The Nation | August 22, 2012
“If you work hard, and put your heart and soul into it, then you are allowed to steal some,” said Shivpal Singh Yadav, a minister for public works for India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh (UP). “But don’t be a bandit.” Caught on camera, Yadav’s words were replayed in newscasts across India on August 9, 2012, nine days after a power failure left half of India’s population—one-tenth of the planet’s people—without power. Among the Indian states that suffered the blackout, twice, was Yadav’s home state of UP. A preliminary government investigation into the cause of the blackouts found that “indiscipline of state electricity boards and faulty management by the northern grid operator Power Grid Corporation” was to blame for the blackouts. Yet two other simpler reasons, theft and climate change, should not be overlooked. read more »Why Conservative Attacks On Wind And Solar Energy? by Dave Johnson, OurFuture.org | August 20, 2012
There has been a recent flurry of propaganda attacks on wind and solar energy by oil-and-coal-backed conservatives. A vitally important tax credit to help build a renewable energy industry in this country expires at the end of this year without Congressional action, and the old oil and coal industries -- along with certain other countries -- want to make sure it does expire. read more »
The Latest
Dumping Solar: Study Sheds Light on US-China Solar PV Trade Flows, cleantechnica.com | February 14, 2012
Mitsubishi Unveils Solar-Powered Vehicle Charging Station, cleantechnica.com | July 26, 2011
The reality of a standalone fueling station along the highway, not dependent on an energy supply chain reaching over the world into the bowels of a Saudi oilfield is almost here. more »Safe nuclear does exist, and China is leading the way with thorium, telegraph.co.uk | June 22, 2011
US technological lead abandoned in the sixties because it didn't produce enough plutonium for nuclear bombs.
A few weeks before the tsunami struck Fukushima’s uranium reactors and shattered public faith in nuclear power, China revealed that it was launching a rival technology to build a safer, cleaner, and ultimately cheaper network of reactors based on thorium. more »
Solar Powered Wheelchair Sets World Records, alternative-energy-news.info | January 26, 2011
In a sometimes cynical world there is something just so inspiring about the journey Haidar Taleb, a 47 year old man from UAE, m more »Huge Solar-Plant Project Approved, The Wall Street Journal | October 26, 2010
A proposal to build the world's biggest solar-thermal power plant in the Southern California desert got the go-ahead Monday from the Obama administration, which used the announcement to bolster its message that renewable energy creates jobs. more »
Climate Regulations Coming for Trucks, Buses, Politico | October 22, 2010
China Plans to Reduce Its Exports of Minerals , The New York Times | October 19, 2010
Time Right to Resume Deepwater Drilling, CNN | October 19, 2010
Last week, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar lifted the moratorium on deepwater drilling almost two months before it was set to expire. It was the right decision at the right time, because developments over the last three months, including new rules and regulations, will make deepwater drilling far safer than it was before.
Governors Races: Losing The Western Climate Initiative, wonkroom.thinkprogress.org | October 19, 2010
The Western Climate Initiative — a regional cap-and-trade compact between California, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Washington, Oregon, Montana and four Canadian provinces — was established in 2007 and scheduled to go into effect in 2012. There are governors’ races in all the states except Montana and Washington. more »
In Kansas, Climate Skeptics Embrace Cleaner Energy, The New York Times | October 19, 2010
Residents of this deeply conservative city do not put much stock in scientific predictions of climate change. “Don’t mention global warming,” warned Nancy Jackson, chairwoman of the Climate and Energy Project, a small nonprofit group that aims to get people to rein in the fossil fuel emissions that contribute to climate change. “And don’t mention Al Gore. more »
