Environment

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

McCain Needs to Do His Homework About Offshore Drilling and Environmental Safety
Posted by Pat Garofalo, Think Progress on July 20, 2008 at 12:27 PM.

Yesterday, Nancy Pfotenhauer, Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) senior policy adviser, claimed that she had been “misinformed” when she falsely stated that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita “did not spill a drop of oil.”

Today, McCain made another “misinformed” argument, claiming that oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico “have survived, very successfully, the impacts of hurricanes”:

Q: I’ve been listening to your comments around renewable resources -- solar, tide, and wind –- you’ve talked a lot about that, but you keep peppering your comments with offshore drilling. But I’m not sure what you think the impact on our environment is based on that.

A: Keep the microphone. I’m aware that off the coast of Louisiana and Texas there are oil rigs, as we well know, and those rigs have survived, very successfully, the impacts of hurricanes –- hurricane Katrina as far as Louisiana is concerned.

McCain is wrong.

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At Netroots, Pelosi Ducks Impeachment; Gore Calls for National Grassroots Movement
Posted by Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet on July 19, 2008 at 10:20 AM.

Karl Rove should be put in the jail cell at the U.S. Capitol for defying a congressional subpeona to testify before Judiciary Committee, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told a national bloggers conference on Saturday morning, but she did not directly answer questions on why the House has not pursued impeachment charges against the president.

Meanwhile, former Vice President Al Gore, who made a surprise appearance at the "Ask The Speaker" session at the Netroots Nation conference, urged those in attendance to help him create a national grassroots movement to counter corporate interests and others ignoring the global climate crisis.

Gore said the best way for the country to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy was not to push car companies to build different vehicles, but rather to rebuild the country's electricity infrastructure so the U.S. Relied on 100 percent renewable sources in a decade.

"The easiest and cheapest way to shift over to a new energy is to start with electricity," Gore said. "Cars will follow. A new national grid is the centerpiece of this agenda. We have to switch our electricity generation system to get 100 percent from renewable sources."

"We can do it, but I need your help," Gore said, urging the bloggers to encourage people to join his new organization, wecansolveit.org. The group has 1.3 million members, but Gore said it needs 10 million members to counter corporate and political opposition to real change - even if a Democratic president and Congress is elected in the fall.

"I need your help," Gore said. "You speak to and connect with so many millions of people. I ask for you help to build that group of people. You will not see this organization getting partisan or turning to some other agenda. We will not back down."

ARREST KARL ROVE

The organizers of Netroots Nation created an "Ask the Speaker" website where people voted on the questions they most wanted to ask Pelosi. Impeachment topped the list. Pelosi did not reply directly, but instead said the House Judiciary Committee Chairman, Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) would be pursuing a contempt of Congress resolution against Rove, just as it had with other White House staffers who did not testify when ordered to do so by House committees.

"Now the committee is considering contempt for Karl Rove," she said. "That will be up for the committee to decide. Mr. Conyers says I am in charge and I accept that."

When another questioner asked if Rove should be in the Capitol's jail, Pelosi replied, "That's where he belongs. As Mr. Conyers says, 'leave it up to me.'"

Pelosi also defended the recently-passed FISA bill, which deals with how the federal government can monitor the personal communications of U.S. Citizens when fighting terrorism. She said the House's version of the recently passed bill did not grant retroactive immunity for telecom companies that helped the government spy on what some believe is millions of Americans. But she said House Democrats could do little when 17 Democratic senators sided with their Republican colleagues and supported a version of the bill that gave telecom companies retroactive immunity.

She said the bill that was passed, the product of a conference committee, included the immunity but also for the first time brought oversight of the FISA law to two House committees and the Inspector General's office, which she said was some progress.

"I'll never understand how Dem 17 senators voted with the GOP on FISA," Pelosi said. "I have serious sadness over two things in the congress. One is that they sent us the (Senate) FISA bill and that we could not overcome 60 votes in the Senate to end the war in Iraq."

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Naomi Klein Tears into Bush's Offshore Drilling Plan on Fox
Posted by Naomi Klein on July 18, 2008 at 1:00 PM.

Naomi Klein debunks Bush's offshore drilling plan on Fox Business News' Happy Hour Program.

Congress Catches the Bus on Public Transportation
Posted by Amy Traub, Open Left on July 18, 2008 at 4:56 AM.

Just about every politician out there would like to find the quick fix for the soaring gasoline prices that are straining the budgets of America's current and aspiring middle class. We know a gas tax "holiday" a la John McCain won't have any real impact on consumers. We know a miscellany of proposed new locations to drill for oil won't help for years -- if ever. And while those stimulus checks may have been somewhat useful in offsetting the prices at the pump, Americans facing hard times also need the cash to pay for the rising price of everything else under the sun.

So the question remains: how are we going to get to work today - and tomorrow -- without the cost of the commute eating a huge chunk out of the paycheck?

For a growing number of Americans, the answer is to hop the train. "Even regions that have traditionally resisted giving up cars and have limited access to mass transit are reporting a surge in public transportation use," according to CNN. And it's little wonder. Even before the price of gas reached its current peak, American households that relied on public transportation saved an average of $6,251 a year compared to a two-car household without transit access. (pdf)

These days the commuter train makes more sense than ever.

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Al Gore Throws Down the Gauntlet in Today's Energy Challenge Speech
Posted by Seth Colter Walls, Huffington Post on July 17, 2008 at 2:40 PM.

Just after taking the stage at Daughters of the American Revolution Hall in Washington, D.C. Thursday, former Vice President Al Gore thanked a packed house for attending his speech on how to combat climate change. And then he pointed to a couple of special guests: Libertarian Presidential Candidate Bob Barr and Black Eyed Peas rapper will.i.am (he of the now-famous "Yes We Can" YouTube video in support of Barack Obama).

Gore thanked will.i.am for making the trip from California, and praised Barr for his serious attention to the issue of global climate change.

After the crowd settled down, it wasn't long before Gore brought them to rapturous applause when he said, "We're borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the planet. Every bit of that's got to change."

Then Gore threw down his gauntlet: "Today I challenge our nation to commit to producing 100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources within 10 years."

The former vice president said his challenge is achievable and affordable now in a way it wasn't mere years ago, given the rising cost of oil and the impact of increased investment in new technologies. Specifically, Gore cited the fact that silicon needed for solar panels once fetched $300 per kilogram, but now only costs $50.

Perhaps acknowledging rumblings from Democrats who were reportedly worried that the speech comes at a time when Americans are more interested in lower gas prices than environmental lectures, Gore described his challenge as a necessary part of efforts to foster economic development and improve national security.

"Our dangerous over-reliance on carbon-based fuels is at the core of all three of [our] challenges -- the economic, environmental and national security crises."

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Bush Tries to Hide Rising Death Tolls Linked to Global Warming
Posted by Steven D., Booman Tribune on July 17, 2008 at 1:14 PM.

Imagine if you will a thought crossing George Bush's brain (it's a hypothetical so please suspend your disbelief) regarding the issue of global climate change. I imagine it might go something like this:

Nope, no global warming issues here. Nosiree. Can't find a one. Maybe study it a little more just to make ever' body happy. Yeah. But not let that interfear with oil drillin. Or treaty makin'. Or carbon emitting fedral reg-you-lashuns. Cuz that would be wrong. Bad fer the economee. And bad fer my base.

Now imagine you are a political appointee, the Bush administration's top official at the Environmental Protection Agency, and you know the President doesn't want to be bothered with any inappropriate facts regarding the consequences of man made climate change. What would you do? Well, probably something exactly like this:

WASHINGTON: The White House has reportedly buried a report prepared by scientists which detailed a rising death toll from heat waves, fires, disease and smog.

Environmental advocates have accused the Bush Administration of delaying the release of the 149-page report so that it could avoid regulating greenhouse gases.

They claimed that the Bush Administration has worked to discourage a link between public health and climate change, fearing this would compel the government to regulate greenhouse gases

It's not as if Bush had to actually convey this message to anyone at EPA. They all know very well what the administration's policy on the environment and carbon emissions is. Call it the "do nothing" approach. And to allow this "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" policy to work, well, sometimes you just have to fail to tell the whole truth. You have to ignore the facts, or at least those facts which would force you to do something about the reality of anthropogenic climate change which Mr. Bush and his friends in the "Energy Industry" prefer not to acknowledge. So, as the good Bushie that you are, you employ a strategy I call sinnning by omission. Even if that means suppressing and denying the opinions of your very own EPA scientists:

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29 Years Ago Jimmy Carter Tried to Fix Today's Energy Crisis
Posted by Jonathan Schwarz, A Tiny Revolution on July 17, 2008 at 12:07 PM.

29 Years Successfully Wasted.

Jimmy Carter delivered his so-called "malaise" speech 29 years ago today. What we wouldn't give today to have done what he advocated (except perhaps for the expanded use of coal):

CARTER: Point one: I am tonight setting a clear goal for the energy policy of the United States. Beginning this moment, this nation will never use more foreign oil than we did in 1977 -- never...

Point two: To ensure that we meet these targets, I will use my presidential authority to set import quotas...

Point three: To give us energy security, I am asking for the most massive peacetime commitment of funds and resources in our nation's history to develop America's own alternative sources of fuel...

I will soon submit legislation to Congress calling for the creation of this nation's first solar bank, which will help us achieve the crucial goal of 20 percent of our energy coming from solar power by the year 2000.

These efforts will cost money, a lot of money, and that is why Congress must enact the windfall profits tax without delay...

Point four: I'm asking Congress to mandate, to require as a matter of law, that our nation's utility companies cut their massive use of oil by 50 percent within the next decade and switch to other fuels, especially coal, our most abundant energy source...

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Don't Just Change Your Lightbulbs, Change Our Leadership
Posted by Tara Lohan, AlterNet on July 16, 2008 at 3:20 PM.

We're passed the point where we can just do simple things at home and think we'll avert a climate crisis. We need wholesale change from the highest levels of government. And we need it soon. The Sierra Club is working on a campaign called "Lightbulbs to Leadership." It's an important step toward getting leaders to take necessary action. Here's what they are up to:

Sierra Club activists have signed up to host more than 250 Lightbulbs to Leadership House Parties this Thursday, July 17th. Clearly we're in the mood to party for a good cause: telling our policymakers to take bold, serious and urgent action on global warming and green jobs.

I'm particularly excited to hear from Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire and Green For All President Van Jones on the national conference call that party-goers will be listening to that evening. The two worked together this past spring on clean energy investment and green job training in Washington State. Jones and Gov. Gregoire will join Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope on the call to discuss how solving global warming can revitalize our economy.

You can find out more about where to find a party and how to get involved here.

Bush Joins In: Says Economic Woes Are All in Our Heads
Posted by Blue Texan, Firedoglake on July 15, 2008 at 4:43 PM.

Mr. 26% gave a totally pointless presser this morning to screw with the coverage of Obama's excellent speech and repeated the latest wingnut talking point on the Bush Recession: the serious economic and energy problems the country faces are just all in everyone's head. Quoth President Arbusto:

"I readily concede that it's [drilling] not going to produce a barrel of oil tomorrow, but it's going to change the psychology."

And don't you know it -- McSame said exactly the same thing a couple weeks ago.

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As Facts Emerge, the False Promise of Offshore Drilling Becomes Clear
Posted by Bill Scher, Campaign for America's Future on July 15, 2008 at 5:28 AM.

After a big PR push to exploit public frustration with high gas prices and open up our coastlines to more oil drilling, the facts on how little drilling can help are starting to surface.

Recall that last week, President George Bush said coastal drilling was part of the "short run" answer to high gas prices. As noted here previously, that is false. The oil would take years to get out the ocean floor and into our cars. More importantly, there is too little oil off the coasts to make a serious dent in the price gas twenty years from now, let alone this year.

And yesterday, White House spokesperson Dana Perino admitted it (via Think Progress).

Asked by the reporter about the logic of trying to lower gas prices today with "oil that can't be gathered for another 10 years," Perino conceded the point:

...there's not a real good short-term answer. And we've been very explicit about that from the beginning...

...So the important thing that we need to do is continue on -- to continue the conservation measures, work on a way to send a signal to the market that we're serious about increasing domestic production here in environmentally sensitive ways, and in addition to that, find ways that we can continually express to the American people not to expect a short-term response. There's not going to be a short-term response, and it would be irresponsible for anybody to suggest there would be.

Apparently, that means President Bush is being "irresponsible."

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New Yorkers Realize Their Connection to Mountaintop Removal Mining
Posted by JW Randolph, Appalachian Voices on July 14, 2008 at 2:46 PM.

It doesn't always occur to us that our electricity comes from somewhere.

But for many people on the east coast, every time we flip on a light switch, we are connected to the blowing up of the oldest mountains in the world - the Appalachian Mountains - where coal is being extracted using a barbaric form of coal-mining called mountaintop removal.

This weekend, not only did the iLoveMountains.org Bloggers Challenge hit 300 participants (woah!), but I witnessed several incredible citizens who realized that they were connected to mountaintop removal put on an incredible 3 day event in NYC called New York Loves Mountains, in order to raise awareness in New York about the destruction of Appalachia, and the fact that EVEN IN NEW YORK Americans are using electricity generated by mountaintop removal. In fact, 13 power plants in 11 NY counties purchase and burn coal from mountaintop removal mines in Appalachia. Speakers came from all over the east coast, including West Virginia, Kentucky, and Virginia in order to meet New Yorkers who are engaging their peers on the issue.

Not only are New Yorkers engaging their peers and fellow statesmen, but they are engaging their Representatives in Congress regarding the Clean Water Protection Act (HR 2169). The bill would stop the dumping of toxic mountaintop removal mining waste into our headwater streams.

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Bush Spins a Big Lie About Offshore Drilling
Posted by A Siegel, Get Energy Smart! NOW!!! on July 14, 2008 at 10:56 AM.

The push is on, big time. The solution to all of America's problems, evidently, is to drill, drill, drill. This is now the Republican mantra as they seem to believe that they have found a winning political issue, no matter what the implications of this "win" might be for America's future.

Let us be clear. Efforts to increase (actually, struggle to maintain) America's oil production can be part of a holistic energy package. But, only part: far more critical is to use efficiency to produce negagallons to help provide some breathing space to move as much of America's transportation off oil. (To me, the most fruitful path for results by 2020 is mass electrification: rail and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles along with GEM-full flex-fuel for the liquid portion of the ground transportation system.) Even if transportation is 100% non-oil, we will still want oil for many industrial processes and to support manufacture of many products. But, efforts and discussion to explore additional oil production should be part of a larger discussion. And, they should be grounded in truth.

George W Bush, in Saturday's radio address, provided a clear example of how truthiness, rather than truth, reigns in the efforts to promote oil exploration and drilling in the outer continental shelf (OCS).

From that radio chat:

First, we should expand American oil production by increasing access to offshore exploration on the Outer Continental Shelf, or OCS. Experts believe that the OCS that is currently off-limits could produce enough oil to match America's current production for almost ten years.

Wow. The OCS would match today's US oil production for almost ten years? Want lower oil prices? Want Energy Independence? The answer is clear, Drill the OCS, NOW! That is, clear until you examine what the experts actually are saying:

A report last year by the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said that "access to the Pacific, Atlantic, and eastern Gulf regions would not have a significant impact on domestic crude oil and natural gas production or prices before 2030. Leasing would begin no sooner than 2012, and production would not be expected to start before 2017. --WashPost

George W Bush stated, quite bluntly, that opening up the OCS could match today's total US oil production for a decade. He failed to mention that this would have minimal, if any impact, on America's energy posture for literally decades. The Administration's own experts, who are far from enemies of the oil industry and oil production, state that this move would not begin to produce oil until one year short of that ten years and that would "not have a significant impact on domestic production ... before 2030." And, in 2030, that production level would be just a three percent increase on the case without additional OCS drilling. That three percent is only the slightest fraction of today's American oil production. The United States is producing about 5.1 million barrels of oil per day. The EIA estimate is that the additional offshore drilling would add 200,000 barrels to the 2030 production. To place this into context, US consumption is about 21 million barrels per day. Thus, the entire Republican effort to open up offshore drilling is talking about providing one percent of today's consumption levels 23 years from now.

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Billionaire T. Boone Pickens Has a Plan, but What's His Word Worth?
Posted by Phoenix Woman, Firedoglake on July 13, 2008 at 5:31 AM.

T. Boone Pickens has a Big Ol' Plan to get Americans off oil and onto wind. Which is all well and good, except that he has a tough time keeping his promises, as some Vietnam vets could tell you.

One thing that's been a constant throughout T-Bone's career: He does whatever's best for T-Bone. One of the reasons he's heavily into wind is that he figures that the more wind power there is, the more natural gas is freed up to be converted into fuel for cars and trucks -- and guess what? Mr. Pickens has got tons and tons of money in natural gas! Amazing how that works.

Of course, as the Houston Chronicle points out, there's one big problem with T-Bone's plan: It won't work. To wit:

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"Green" Stadium Named "ExxonMobil Nationals Park?"
Posted by ZP Heller, Brave New Films on July 10, 2008 at 12:43 PM.

The Washington Nationals ballpark is the first stadium to be LEED Silver Certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. Yet the Nationals continue to accept millions of advertising dollars from Exxon, by far one of the world's biggest contributors to global warming.

We've had early success in our campaign as Exxon has already stopped sponsoring the 7th-Inning Stretch. Now we're looking to have the team's assurance that the park will never sell corporate naming rights to the oil giant.

Strike Out Exxon!

As Global Food Crisis Tops G8 Summit Agenda, World Leaders Enjoy Lavish 18-Course Banquet
Posted by Democracy Now!, Democracy Now! on July 10, 2008 at 8:28 AM.

Shortly after saying they were “deeply concerned” about soaring global food prices and supply shortages, world leaders attending the G8 summit in Hokkaido sat down to an eighteen-course gastronomic extravaganza, courtesy of the Japanese government. We take a look at the global food crisis, food independence and real democracy with bestselling author, Frances Moore Lappé.

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