Environment

Global warming, healthy food, clean water, population control, and nature protection. Comprehensive coverage on Environment here.

Palin Still Gets Global Warming Backwards and Repeats Big Energy Lie Twice
Posted by Dr. Joseph Romm, Climate Progress on October 3, 2008 at 9:57 AM.

Palin had told Katie Couric "I'm not going to solely blame all of man's activities on changes in climate."

The debate transcript reveals she still can't get her talking points straight on this issue:

I'm not one to attribute every man -- activity of man to the changes in the climate. There is something to be said also for man's activities, but also for the cyclical temperature changes on our planet.

It's "attribute changes in the climate to activity of man"!

And, of course she repeated the The Big Energy Lie that John McCain actually believes in an "all of the above" energy policy -- twice:

John McCain is right there with an "all of the above" approach to deal with climate change impacts....

So even in dealing with climate change, it's all the more reason that we have an "all of the above" approach,

Palin Used Exxon, Oil Industry-Funded Scientists for Global Warming Study
Posted by Tara Lohan, AlterNet on October 1, 2008 at 4:28 PM.

As we've published before, Sarah Palin is not exactly on board with the rest of the world when it comes to the basic science behind global warming. It turns out that might be because she's getting her numbers from a rather shady source.

The London Guardian published a story today about how the Alaskan governor came to the conclusion that global warming did not pose a threat to polar bears. Apparently, she relied heavily on global warming deniers funded by Exxon Mobil and other oil insiders for a study by the Alaskan state government.

As the article says:

Her own Alaskan review of the science drew on a joint paper by seven authors, four of whom were well-known climate- change contrarians. Her paper argued that it was "certainly premature, if not impossible" to link temperature rise in Alaska with human CO2 emissions.

I guess she must have missed the world's leading scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change coming to a consensus on that one already.

Why is this a big deal? From the Guardian again:

The status of the polar bear has become a battleground in the debate on global warming. In May the US department of the interior rejected Palin's objections and listed the bear as a threatened species, saying that two-thirds of the world's polar bears were likely to be extinct by 2050 due to the rapid melting of the sea ice. Palin, governor of Alaska and the Republican nominee for US vice-president, responded last month by suing the federal government, to try to overturn the ruling. The case will be heard in January.

What's at stake of course is money. Oil money, that is.

In its lawsuit, Alaska said it opposed the endangered label partly because the listing would "deter activities such as ... oil and gas exploration and development." Oil companies recently bid $2.7bn (£1.5bn) for rights to explore the Chuckchi sea, an established polar bear habitat.

Here's to hoping that Gwen Ifill asks Palin about this one in Thursday's debate.

Van Jones: Green Jobs Can Fix Economic and Ecological Crises
Posted by ZP Heller, Brave New Films on September 30, 2008 at 6:32 AM.

The solutions to global warming are also the solutions to a struggling economy and rising unemployment: invest in clean energy solutions that will spur the market and create green jobs. Activist and advocate Van Jones talks about the path to a greener cleaner future that includes us all.

McCain's Costly Environmental Flip-Flops
Posted by ZP Heller, Meet the Bloggers on September 23, 2008 at 1:00 PM.

While soaring gas prices and the energy crisis are major concerns for Americans, this economic debate is inextricably linked to the environment.  How can we get our country off a crippling dependence on costly oil without considering environmentally safe energy alternatives?  This was the topic of Friday's Meet the Bloggers, in which environmental journalist Simran Sethi spoke with show host Cenk Uygur about sustainability, as well as the battle between Big Oil and innovation. 

Sethi addressed the urgent need to create a green economy, and she recommended tapping into the diversity of natural resources in our country.  Sethi suggested that energy independence is possible if adequate measures are taken immediately, which is why the upcoming election is all the more crucial. 

Friday's show came in conjunction with the launch of our video, McCain's Green Economy: Drill, Baby, Drill, which we partnered with the League of Conservation Voters to produce.  As the title suggests, Drill, Baby, Drill reveals McCain's deep ties to Big Oil.  Specifically, McCain has over 22 Big Oil lobbyists advising him, and he received over $1 million dollars from Big Oil for his recent flip-flop on off-shore drilling.  But as Meet the Bloggers guests Kevin Grandia (DeSmogBlog.com), Brad Johnson (ThinkProgress.org) and Kate Sheppard (Grist.org) pointed out, McCain's abysmal environmental record goes far beyond his recent flip-flops.

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New McCain Economic Plan: More Gas Guzzlers
Posted by Josh Dorner, Sierra Club on September 19, 2008 at 6:00 PM.

In the midst of our ever-deepening economic crisis, John "the fundamentals of our economy our strong"  McCain unveiled his most ridiculous economic plan yet: sell more gas guzzlers.

McCain unveiled a new ad yesterday called "Michigan Jobs." The ad is so full of lies, deceptions, and failed approaches to our most pressing problems, it's hard to know where to even begin. His simple-minded pandering is an insult to the intelligence of Michiganders (and all Americans). I'll get to the gas guzzlers bit in a minute, but let's run through the ad's other distortions.

First, McCain trumpets his support for loans to help the auto industry. What he doesn't tell you is that he was opposed to helping the automakers until just last month when he looked at his standing in the polls start to slide.

The Sierra Club knows times are tough in Michigan and supports helping the automakers, so long as they are serious about using the loans to retool in order to make real improvements in fleet-wide fuel economy.)

McCain also trumpets his $5,000 tax credit for hybrid cars. Too bad Obama's is $7,000.

Barack Obama's plan: $150 billion investment in clean energy technologies, including giving automakers the help they need to double fuel economy and build the next generation of fuel-efficient vehicles right here in the U.S.

McCain's plan: run the economy like a game show, offering gimmicks like a $300 million prize for car batteries and a gas tax holiday ridiculed by over 230 leading economists.

Which brings us to his latest gambit: more gas guzzlers. The ad says "more offshore drilling to lower gas prices to spur truck sales." Too bad his plan won't do a thing to lower gas prices or solve Detroit's long-term problems.

This is the second McCain ad just this week to repeat the completely discredited claim that offshore drilling will lower gas prices. Even McCain himself has admitted that his drilling plan would merely offer "psychological relief."

He really needs to get his head checked if he thinks selling more gas guzzlers is the way forward. Autoworkers and auto execs alike understand that relying too heavily on gas guzzling trucks and SUVs is what got the auto industry into this mess in the first place. That's why they want help building the next generation of vehicles, not the vehicles of the 1990s.

The only thing more gas guzzlers would guarantee is higher gas bills for consumers and more oil dependence for America. This is just another sorry example of how John McCain just doesn't get it. All he has to offer is last year's solutions to today's problems.

McCain's Green Economy: Drill, Baby, Drill
Posted by Robert Greenwald, Brave New Films on September 19, 2008 at 8:12 AM.

When it comes to the environment, John McCain only has the interests of Big Oil at heart.  That's why he has over 22 Big Oil lobbyists advising him.  That's why he favored lifting the moratorium on off-shore drilling -- a move that prompted Big Oil to donate over $1 million to his campaign.  And thanks to the League of Conservation Voters, we've got the proof!

The senate will likely be voting next week on these issues.  Please call Senator McCain's office in Washington (202-224-2235), and tell him to stop siding with Big Oil and start supporting clean energy.  Make everyone aware of McCain's deep ties to Big Oil by forwarding this video to five people and telling them to do the same. Don't forget to Digg it!

Then, tell everyone you know to tune into Meet the Bloggers today at 1pm ET/10am PT, when our topic will be the environment, sustainability, and Big Oil vs. innovation.  Our special guest, environmental journalist Simran Sethi, will be joined by bloggers Kevin Grandia (DeSmogBlog.com), Brad Johnson (ThinkProgress.org) and Kate Sheppard (Grist.org) to discuss where both of the Presidential candidates stand on the environment.

Check out some of the articles below to learn more about the raging battle between sustainability and Big Oil, and then join us at 1pm ET/10am PT to be part of the conversation. 

McCain's Big Spanish Gaffe
Posted by Satyam, Think Progress on September 18, 2008 at 8:59 AM.

According to Spain's El Pais, John McCain would not answer this week whether he would be willing to meet with Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. "Would you be willing to meet with the head of our government, Mr. Zapatero?" the questioner asked multiple times. Five months ago, McCain said he would be willing. But in the interview earlier this week, McCain could not offer a coherent and logical response:

McCain proceeded to launch into what appeared to be a boilerplate declaration about Mexico and Latin America — but not Spain — pressing the need to stand up to world leaders who want to harm America. "I will meet with those leaders who are our friends and who want to work with us cooperatively," according to one translation. The reporter repeated the question two more times, apparently trying to clarify, but McCain referred again to Latin America.

Finally, the questioner said, "Okay, but I’m talking about Europe - the president of Spain, would you meet with him?" The Senator offered only a slight variance to his initial comment. "I will reunite with any leader that has the same principles and philosophy that we do: human rights, democracy, and liberty. And I will confront those that don’t [have them]."

Josh Marshall observed that one possibility is that ...

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Three Years After Katrina, Bush's FEMA Still Sucks
Posted by Blue Texan, Firedoglake on September 16, 2008 at 3:33 AM.

Good to see that George W. Bush has learned the lessons of Katrina.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency came under fire Sunday as emergency workers were left undernourished and dozens of trucks of water and food had yet to be set up at distribution centers around Houston and surrounding communities.

But somehow that "personal responsibility" thing never seems to apply to Republicans.

Earlier in the day, a FEMA spokesman said delays in setting up staging points to hand out needed provisions had been caused by blocked roads.

By the evening, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said it was the fault of state officials who handed his department the "unexpected challenge" of having to prepare distribution points in addition to delivering supplies.

The important thing to remember with BushCo is -- it's always someone else's fault.

Who's Subsidizing the Electric Car?
Posted by Phil Mattera, Clawback on September 9, 2008 at 4:50 AM.

Announcements by U.S. cities of subsidy packages for new automobile plants have become commonplace, but the most recent one is fraught with irony. Last week, the city council of Flint, Michigan voted unanimously to grant several tax breaks to General Motors in connection with the construction of a facility that will produce engines for the company’s planned plug-in electric car called the Chevrolet Volt, which is expected to start production in 2010.

The deal includes a 15-year, 50 percent abatement of real property taxes on a new 500,000 square-foot plant, a 100 percent abatement of taxes on personal property (i.e. equipment) and the designation of the site as a brownfield redevelopment, which would make the plant eligible for additional state tax breaks. Flint officials have not yet released an estimate of the total cost of the package.

Flint … General Motors … electric car … subsidies -- where to begin?

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Hurricane Gustav Comes in Slow and to the Left
Posted by dday, Hullabaloo on September 1, 2008 at 9:39 AM.

As I hoped, Hurricane Gustav changed course slightly, moving to the West and away from New Orleans, and the storm downgraded to a Category 2 storm upon landfall. The eye of the storm is 40 miles west of the city, toward Houma. Now, the Industrial Canal is being overtopped, and some runaway barges and tugboats are flying around in the area, and there are at least six hours to go here. But the absolute worst option has not materialized... yet. And I'm hopeful that the storm is far away enough that we won't see catastrophic flooding.

But you never know. The Port of New Orleans is underwater. If this was a Category 4 storm we'd be in a tremendous amount of trouble. The Army Corps of Engineers simply never built anything to stop water from Lake Pontchartrain to stream in through the Industrial Canal. If there's real breaching, the Lower Ninth is going to fill up. Again. (UPDATE: CNN reports "spurts of water" are coming into the Lower Ninth Ward already. This isn't that big a storm and the levees are already starting to fail.)

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Nagin Says Gustav Worse than Katrina; N.O. Ordered Evacuated; RNC Events Cancelled
Posted by AlterNet Staff, AlterNet on August 31, 2008 at 1:13 PM.

Stay on top of Hurricane Gustav

-- You can volunteer to help, discuss what's going on and get updates here: http://gustav08.ning.com/
-- Here's Gustav's info wiki for the latest news: http://gustavwiki.com/

You can also get breaking news via twitter:
-- Official NHC alerts: http://twitter.com/GustavAlerts

Nagin: Gustav Worse Than Katrina

The New York Times reports:

Tens of thousands of residents streamed out of New Orleans on Sunday after heeding orders from officials to evacuate the city — the first mandatory evacuation since Hurricane Katrina flooded the city three years ago — as Hurricane Gustav grew into what the city’s mayor called “a big, ugly storm” and moved toward the Louisiana coast.

The aftermath of Hurricane Gustav in Consolación del Sur, Cuba, on Sunday. The storm lashed the western tip of Cuba on Saturday before heading toward the Gulf Coast of the United States.

Mayor C. Ray Nagin said Hurricane Gustav was larger and more dangerous than Hurricane Katrina, and he pleaded with residents to get out or face flooding and life-threatening winds.

“We should start to see tornado threats starting tonight and in the morning,” he said at a news briefing Sunday morning. “This is still a big, ugly storm. It’s still strong and I strongly encourage everyone to leave.”

RNC Cancels Convention Events

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New Orleans: Nobody Asked, Why Not Sooner?
Posted by Harry Shearer, Huffington Post on August 31, 2008 at 12:10 PM.

Of course, the primary hope is that this question remains, if not rhetorical, at least not forensic. The hope is that Hurricane Gustav doesn't prove the fragile repairs of the deeply defective levee and floodwall system in New Orleans have been repairs in name only, that the storm goes west, or east, that it peters out, or, most miraculously, that the repairs by the Army Corps of Engineers actually strengthened the system to a point where it can protect the city.

But one question does need to be raised now, before we know next week's outcome. After Katrina, the Corps wasted nine months in lying and refuting the findings of expert teams of engineers -- the Corps insisted the levees were over-topped, while the teams reported disturbing evidence of construction and design flaws. Finally, after denigrating the experts for months, calling them liars in the local press, the Corps issued its own report in June 2006, calling the system it had designed and constructed "a system in name only."

Most crucially, the Corps announced that the system would be repaired, up to the advertised level of the pre-K system, the so-called 100-year storm, by 2011.

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McCain and Palin Rush to Gulf Coast to Do ... Something
Posted by Georgia10, Daily Kos on August 31, 2008 at 11:45 AM.

It wasn't enough that the president Republican nominee jumped headfirst into the Russia/Georgia crisis, going so far as to dispatch his Secretary of State Senators Lieberman and Graham to Georgia on his behalf.  

No, now, as Hurricane Gustav roars towards the U.S.,  the Republican president nominee and his newly minted Vice-President running mate are rushing down to Gulf Coast to...well, do something:

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Likely GOP presidential nominee John McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, are traveling to Mississippi on Sunday to check on people getting prepared for Hurricane Gustav. [...]

Aides say McCain and his wife Cindy will join Palin in traveling to Jackson, Miss., Sunday at the invitation of Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour because of concerns about people threatened by the storm [...]<

The McCains and Palin will receive a briefing at the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency — a permanent operations center monitoring hurricane response

Given that, well, the real President isn't heading down there, and since I suspect the Governor of Alaska and the Senator from Arizona probably don't have a lot by way of hurricane disaster relief to offer, one would think that this trip were nothing more than a photo opportunity aimed at demonstrating that the former mayor of Wasilla, Alaska can at least exude the aura of a federally elected official, while proving that McCain can understand how scared someone can be about losing their one and only home...if he tries really, really hard.

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The Best Convention Speech You Missed
Posted by Josh Dorner, Sierra Club on August 28, 2008 at 11:57 AM.

While most of the excitement last night was focused on Senator Clinton's speech, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer gave an electrifying (and highly animated) speech outlining a strong, clear vision for a new energy future.

Given his strong performance, it came as no surprise that Schweitzer was mobbed by bloggers and camera crews this morning as he strode through the Big Tent.

Here's some excerpts from his speech:

On the crises we face:

Right now, the United States imports about 70 percent of its oil from overseas. At the same time, billions of dollars that we spend on all that foreign oil seems to end up in the bank accounts of those around the world who are openly hostile to American values and our way of life. This costly reliance on fossil fuels threatens America and the world in other ways, too. CO2 emissions are increasing global temperatures, sea levels are rising and storms are getting worse.

On an "all of the above" approach:

It's not a question of either wind or clean coal, solar or hydrogen, oil or geothermal. We need them all to create a strong American energy system, a system built on American innovation.

On drilling:

We simply can't drill our way to energy independence, even if you drilled in all of John McCain's backyards, including the ones he can't even remember. That single-answer proposition is a dry well, and here's why. America consumes 25 percent of the world's oil, but has less than 3 percent of the reserves. You don't need a $2 calculator to figure that one out. There just isn't enough oil in America, on land or offshore, to meet America's full energy needs.

On the solution:

Invest $150 billion over the next 10 years in clean, renewable energy technology. This will create up to 5 million new, green jobs and fuel long-term growth and prosperity.

Full text of the speech is here.

The Battle to Save Coal River Mountain
Posted by JW Randolph, Appalachian Voices on August 27, 2008 at 12:22 PM.

Appalachian coal is a dead end road. With coal production declining across the Appalachian region and prices nearly tripling since 2007, economists and energy analysts are increasingly saying that Appalachian coal is the wrong investment for America.

In Appalachia alone, we've seen over 1 million acres of America's oldest mountains destroyed forever, 1200 miles of headwater streams buried, and some of the highest poverty in the nation due to mountaintop removal mining. But, though we have lost much, the people of Appalachia are fighting back through organizing and advocacy from Charleston to Frankfort to Washington DC.

Coal River Mountain, located in Raleigh County, West Virginia is one of America's Most Endangered Mountains. The communities surrounding the mountain have a rich and mixed history with America's most polluting fossil fuel. As the name implies, many of the towns in the Coal River Valley grew up with the expansion of coal-mining. But, 150 years after coal-mining began in Appalachia, much of the central and southern Appalachians stand devastated by mining, and impoverished by coal companies hell-bent on keeping coal "cheap" at the expense of our land and people. The communities of the Coal River Valley are no different. The people of the Coal River Valley -- having seen and experienced firsthand the devastation that the mining and processing of coal causes -- have seen enough to know that they need to take a new direction in choosing their future economic path.

When you're talking about Appalachia and coal, the word "battle" is not used lightly. From Matewan, to Harlan County, to Blair Mountain, violence and bloodshed are a very real part of our history. Now the inherently American legacy of the miners of Blair Mountain, courageous coalfield labor organizers, and the grassroots movement that led to surface mining laws in the 70s has reached a head. The Appalachian people have drawn our line in the sand. We stand here together to tell companies that would practice mountaintop removal to stop NOW. We have popular support for clean energy, a better economic alternative, and literally everything at stake, and the Appalachian people will win this battle of wind vs. fire.

Check out The Battle for Coal River Mountain to see maps of the area, more analysis, and job projections.