The Coming Crash: Our Addiction to Endless Growth on a Finite Planet [With Photo Slideshow] | Alternet

The Coming Crash: Our Addiction to Endless Growth on a Finite Planet [With Photo Slideshow] | Alternet
"Richard Heinberg talks about the new book "Energy: Overdevelopment and the Delusion of Endless Growth," a haunting look at our current energy path."

Exxon's Pegasus Tar Sands Pipeline Ruptures in Central Arkansas

Exxon's Pegasus Tar Sands Pipeline Ruptures in Central Arkansas
"An ExxonMobile underground pipeline ruptured in a Mayflower, Arkansas subdivision on Friday, forcing the evacuation of 40 homes."

Bombshell IMF Study: United States Is World’s Number One Fossil Fuel Subsidizer

Bombshell IMF Study: United States Is World’s Number One Fossil Fuel Subsidizer: Between directly lowered prices, tax breaks, and the failure to properly price carbon, the world subsidized fossil fuel use by over $1.9 trillion in 2011 — or eight percent of global government revenues — according to a study released this week by the International Monetary Fund. The biggest offender was by far the United States, [...]/p

So Your Groundwater's Poison and Your Tap Water's On Fire. Not to Worry: Fracking Chemicals Are Trade Secrets You Don't Need To Know About | Common Dreams

So Your Groundwater's Poison and Your Tap Water's On Fire. Not to Worry: Fracking Chemicals Are Trade Secrets You Don't Need To Know About | Common Dreams
"A judge in Wyoming has denied a lawsuit by environmental groups against the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission demanding that the list of chemicals in fracking fluids be made public, ruling such lists are trade secrets that may be withheld under Wyoming’s open records law. Soooo: Never mind that fracking wastewater, shown to conain benzene, xylene, methane, radioactive materials and other deadly toxins, has already appeared in Wyoming water"

What You Need to Know About the Terrifying Monsanto Protection Act - Truthdig

What You Need to Know About the Terrifying Monsanto Protection Act - Truthdig
"In case you haven’t yet heard of the so-called Monsanto Protection Act—which was buried deep in the spending bill recently passed by Congress to avert a government shutdown and signed into law by President Obama on Tuesday—it’s a horrific piece of legislation that is tantamount to a huge corporate giveaway to the agricultural biotech giant Monsanto."

Noam Chomsky: If Nuclear War Doesn't Get Us, Climate Change Will

Are Exploding Manhole Covers In Washington DC Caused By Shocking Levels Of Leaking Natural Gas?

Are Exploding Manhole Covers In Washington DC Caused By Shocking Levels Of Leaking Natural Gas?: Residents of Washington, DC are used to jokes about metaphorical hot air, humidity, and the swampy history of their city. But there’s something they may not know about the District: it’s overrun with methane, which sometimes makes manhole covers explode. Natural gas is mostly methane, and it is carried through underground pipes to heat buildings [...]/p

Despite 'Enormous Risk' White House Reaffirms Commitment to Arctic Drilling | Common Dreams

Despite 'Enormous Risk' White House Reaffirms Commitment to Arctic Drilling | Common Dreams
"A White House official reaffirmed Wednesday the Obama administration's commitment to the Arctic offshore drilling program despite the "dangerous risk" of catastrophic consequences for the pristine marine ecosystem."

As Scientists Predicted, Global Warming Continues

As Scientists Predicted, Global Warming Continues: Most of manmade global warming is ending up in the ocean, just as scientists had predicted (see “Global Warming Has Accelerated In Past 15 Years“). And while recent “observations support predictions of extreme warming” this century, even sophisticated media outlets, like “The Economist,” get the story wrong (see “Memo To Media: ‘Climate Sensitivity’ Is NOT [...]/p

Republican Mayor Leads City To First-Ever Solar Energy Mandate

Republican Mayor Leads City To First-Ever Solar Energy Mandate: On Tuesday, the City Council of Lancaster, California approved a mandate that most new homes must produce solar energy. This is the first such mandate in the nation. Lancaster is a suburb in northeast Los Angeles county, and this new rule had no bigger advocate that Mayor Rex Parris, who is a Republican. He has [...]/p

New Research Shows Global Warming Speeding Up | Common Dreams

New Research Shows Global Warming Speeding Up | Common Dreams
"The rate of global warming is speeding up, say scientists, despite the apparent stagnation in the rise of global surface air temperatures that may have prevented people from recognizing "the danger of the climate problem we face."
A new study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters says that in the past 15 years we've undergone "the most sustained warming trend"."

How a New Study Seriously Challenges the Claim That Natural Gas Is a Clean Fossil Fuel | Alternet

How a New Study Seriously Challenges the Claim That Natural Gas Is a Clean Fossil Fuel | Alternet
"Last week, investigators studying methane leakage levels in Manhattan reportedalarming preliminary findings. The gas industry and Con Edison estimate 2.2% leakage in its distribution systems, and at leakage above 3.2%, according to the Environmental Defense Fund, natural gas ceases to have any climate advantage over other fossil fuels. But the study found an average cumulative leakage of over 5% in natural gas production and delivery. At these levels, natural gas—93% of which is methane—has a far more potent greenhouse gas impact than burned coal or oil"

Learning From The German Transition To Renewable Energy

Learning From The German Transition To Renewable Energy: by Julius Fischer Germany is moving forward to replace fossil fuels with renewables faster than most countries. But there is always pushback, most recently in the form of much media discourse about rising electricity prices spearheaded by the Federal Minister of Environment Peter Altmaier. Like many politicians, he is already preparing for national elections in September, [...]/p

Hunters, Anglers, and Climate Change

Sequestration Cuts Hit The National Parks Hard

Sequestration Cuts Hit The National Parks Hard: The effects of massive government budget cuts that took effect on March 1 are being felt across the country already, from the closure of air traffic control towers to cancellation of White House tours to hundreds of thousands of furloughs. Another agency that is beginning to make cuts — just as the spring and summer tourism [...]/p

More Than Half of U.S. Rivers in Trouble - Truthdig

More Than Half of U.S. Rivers in Trouble - Truthdig
"More than half of the country’s rivers and streams are unable to support healthy populations of aquatic insects and other creatures, a survey of nearly 2,000 locations by the Environmental Protection Agency reported Tuesday."

In Hot Water: Global Warming Has Accelerated In Past 15 Years, New Study Of Oceans Confirms

In Hot Water: Global Warming Has Accelerated In Past 15 Years, New Study Of Oceans Confirms: By Dana Nuccitelli via Skeptical Science. A new study of ocean warming has just been published in Geophysical Research Letters by Balmaseda, Trenberth, and Källén (2013). There are several important conclusions which can be drawn from this paper. Completely contrary to the popular contrarian myth, global warming has accelerated, with more overall global warming in the [...]/p

Heating Homes With Switchgrass Pellets Could Save Northeasterners Billions And Cut Their Carbon Emissions

Heating Homes With Switchgrass Pellets Could Save Northeasterners Billions And Cut Their Carbon Emissions: According to a new cost-benefit analysis by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), a switch from burning oil for heat to burning switchgrass biomass would cut down on both energy costs and carbon emissions for homes in the northeastern United States. What’s especially significant is that study’s accounting of carbon emissions considered the entire life cycle [...]/p

Vermont Energy Independence Day: A Film by the People of Vermont

You're Eating Wood, Ammonia & Arsenic

Wine: Global Warming's Latest Casualty | Common Dreams

Wine: Global Warming's Latest Casualty | Common Dreams
"Move over polar bears. Yet another of mankind's most beloved gifts of nature is now reportedly a casualty of human-caused global warming."

Thanks To Factory Farming, Backyard Eggs Are Still A Better Choice Than Store-Bought Ones

Thanks To Factory Farming, Backyard Eggs Are Still A Better Choice Than Store-Bought Ones: Backyard chickens raised for eggs and meat have been linked to an outbreak of salmonella, according to a recent story published by NPR. But though the outbreak was the largest ever to stem from contact with live poultry, it isn’t reason for people to abandon their outdoor flocks out of fear of illness. The story [...]/p

As Neoliberal Order Wreaks Havoc, World Social Forum Gathers in Tunisia | Common Dreams

As Neoliberal Order Wreaks Havoc, World Social Forum Gathers in Tunisia | Common Dreams
"In a world witnessing revolutions in mid-stride, flourishing climate crises, and the reign of austerity economics, tens of thousands of people from all over the globe are gathering in Tunisia for the 2013 World Social Forum to confront the contemporary situation with their consistent call: "another world is possible"."

Scientists Link Harsh Winters to Dramatic Decline in Arctic Ice | Common Dreams

Scientists Link Harsh Winters to Dramatic Decline in Arctic Ice | Common Dreams
"As the Eastern Seaboard of the United States bears the brunt of yet another late season snow storm, a growing body of research proves that the record decline in Arctic sea ice has played a "critical role" in the large and southerly snowfalls of recent years."

7 Deadly Amendments That Would’ve Protected Dirty Energy And Trashed The Climate

7 Deadly Amendments That Would’ve Protected Dirty Energy And Trashed The Climate: This weekend, Senate Democrats passed a federal budget for Fiscal Year 2014. In order to do so, Senate rules allow for consideration of any amendment that is brought to the floor. Senators introduced hundreds of amendments, which resulted in a “vote-o-rama.” Many conservatives offered amendments to undermine existing and potential public health safeguards, particularly those [...]/p

Victory at Hand for the Climate Movement? | Common Dreams

Victory at Hand for the Climate Movement? | Common Dreams
"To understand this incredible potential we first have to step back and understand the unique structure of this social change movement, which may rank among the most influential in history."

Living and Breathing in the Shadow of Chevron

On World Water Day, A Reminder About What You’re Really Drinking

On World Water Day, A Reminder About What You’re Really Drinking: Friday is the 20th anniversary of World Water Day. Ten years from now, by 2030, the U.S. State Department expects the demand for fresh water to outrun supply by 40 percent. Around the world, over 780 million people lack access to clean drinking water. Water and sanitation could prevent 9.1 percent of diseases and 6.3 [...]/p

EPA Favors 'Bee-Toxic Pesticides' Over Future of Food, Groups Charge | Common Dreams

EPA Favors 'Bee-Toxic Pesticides' Over Future of Food, Groups Charge | Common Dreams
"Arguing that the Environmental Protection Agency has failed in its obligation to protect the nation's bee population—one of the Earth's most vital pollinators—from dangerous pesticides, a group of beekeepers and environmental groups have filed a lawsuit in federal court saying the EPA's inaction is causing great harm to biodiversity and the future of food in the U.S."

Obama Administration To Protect More Than 240,000 Acres Of American Treasures

Obama Administration To Protect More Than 240,000 Acres Of American Treasures: President Obama plans to use his executive authority to permanently protect five new national monuments next week.  This marks a significant step for the administration: It is now willing to step in and protect special places when Congress refuses to act. The new monuments will be: -  Rio Grande del Norte, in New Mexico -  [...]/p

A Growing Drought for Some, Flood Warnings for Others, says New Report | Common Dreams

A Growing Drought for Some, Flood Warnings for Others, says New Report | Common Dreams
"In a report released Thursday, the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA) warned that the drought that plagued the U.S. in 2012 will continue this year and that extreme weather—a mix of continued dryness in some areas, flooding in others and the destructive interplay of a warming world in general—is what farmers and U.S. residents should expect as the main growing season arrives."

GOP Congressman: ‘The Best Thing About The Earth Is If You Poke Holes In It Oil And Gas Come Out’

GOP Congressman: ‘The Best Thing About The Earth Is If You Poke Holes In It Oil And Gas Come Out’: The planet we live on is valuable only as a repository for natural resources, according to Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX). Stockman, a lawmaker best known for bringing Ted Nugent to the State of the Union and opposing the Violence Against Women Act because it protected “change-gender” individuals, went on an extended Twitter rant Thursday afternoon [...]/p

Weather Extremes: Atmospheric Waves And Climate Change

Weather Extremes: Atmospheric Waves And Climate Change: The northern hemisphere has experienced a spate of extreme weather in recent times. In 2012 there were destructive heat waves in the U.S. and southern Europe, accompanied by floods in China. This followed a heat wave in the U.S. in 2011 and one in Russia in [...]/p

NOAA: ‘Robust, Unambiguous’ Independent Evidence Confirms The Recent Global Warming Measured By Thermometers

NOAA: ‘Robust, Unambiguous’ Independent Evidence Confirms The Recent Global Warming Measured By Thermometers: Yes, The Modern Instruments Are Right. Just Ask The Coral. Or The Caves. Or The Ice Cores. Or The…. Climate deniers claim you can’t trust thermometers because they change0 locations or are too close to warmer urban environments. They have tried and failed to disprove millions of temperature observations all over the world. But the [...]/p

Utah Schoolchildren Asked To Celebrate Fossil Fuels And Mining On Earth Day

Utah Schoolchildren Asked To Celebrate Fossil Fuels And Mining On Earth Day: Earth Day is April 22, and today is the last day children in Utah can send in their submissions for the state-sponsored Earth Day poster contest lauding fossil fuel production. This year’s theme is “Where Would WE Be Without Oil, Gas & Mining?” Last year’s theme was “How Do YOU Use Oil, Gas, and Mining?” [...]/p

Earthjustice: The Wild Future

Two Reasons Climate Change Is Not Like Other Environmental Problems | Common Dreams

Two Reasons Climate Change Is Not Like Other Environmental Problems | Common Dreams
"The damage we’re doing now is something the next 40 to 50 generations will have to cope with, even if we stop emitting CO2 tomorrow. And the CO2 we’ve already released has locked in another 50 or 100 years of damage (because of the slow draining). There is no “reversing” climate change. There is only reducing the amount we change the climate."

FDA Ready to Approve Frankenfish Despite Fishy Science

FDA Ready to Approve Frankenfish Despite Fishy Science
"Some day soon, you might tuck into a plate of salmon without knowing that the fish you are eating was genetically engineered. The so-called AquAdvantage salmon, a salmon genetically engineered to grow faster than normal salmon, just moved one step closer to legalization"

If An Oil And Gas Company Wants To Drill In A Forest, Can We Know Their Name?

If An Oil And Gas Company Wants To Drill In A Forest, Can We Know Their Name?: If an oil and gas company has proposed to drill on federal lands near you, shouldn’t you be able to find out the name of that company? Common sense says, “you bet.” But common sense is sometimes a stranger at the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which is fighting a legal battle [...]/p

NYT: E-Waste Epidemic Creating a Toxic 'Glass Tsunami' | Common Dreams

NYT: E-Waste Epidemic Creating a Toxic 'Glass Tsunami' | Common Dreams
"The proliferation of toxic electronic waste is creating a "glass tsunami," according to New York Times writer Ian Urbina, whose new piece highlights the surging epidemic of e-waste stockpiles and the disturbing lack of oversight that has all-but absolved the consumer electronics industry behind the mess."

All Things GMO

The Folly of Endless Growth on a Finite Planet | Common Dreams

The Folly of Endless Growth on a Finite Planet | Common Dreams
"Because the plain fact is, the economy can’t continuously grow in a finite world, and we are already bumping up against limits.

Right now, it takes 1.5 Earths worth of resources to maintain our current economy.  By 2050, assuming only moderate growth, we’ll consume nearly 3 Earths worth."

Ending the Silence on Climate Change

Sore Mussels? More Evidence Climate Change Is Dooming Ocean Bivalves

Sore Mussels? More Evidence Climate Change Is Dooming Ocean Bivalves: In 2010, researchers at the University of South Carolina found that the ranges of blue mussels had shifted 350 kilometers north as summer ocean temperatures rose. Along the southern portion of its range, intertidal populations of M. edulis have experienced catastrophic mortality directly associated with summer high temperatures. Over the past 50 years, a geographic [...]/p

The Brutal and Secretive Trade of American Horses Killed For Their Meat | Alternet

The Brutal and Secretive Trade of American Horses Killed For Their Meat | Alternet
"Few Americans are aware that our country's horses are being exported and slaughtered abroad to supply other nations' taste for a meat that's shunned at home."

Big Oil Attempts to End-Run Keystone XL with Congressional Approval | Common Dreams

Big Oil Attempts to End-Run Keystone XL with Congressional Approval | Common Dreams
"he oil industry is planning an end-run around the President and State Department as they linger over the impending decision on whether to authorize the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline by pushing for Big Oil friendly Congressional approval of the project."

Interior Department: Shell 'Screwed Up' in the Arctic | Common Dreams

Interior Department: Shell 'Screwed Up' in the Arctic | Common Dreams
"Shell "screwed up in 2012," US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said of the company's blunder-filled year in Arctic waters, and said it was barred—for now—from drilling in the Arctic. His comments came after the release Thursday of a government review (pdf) which concluded that Shell was not prepared for the extreme conditions in the Arctic."

Fearing Radiation Poisoning from Fukushima, Lawsuit Against TEPCO Grows | Common Dreams

Fearing Radiation Poisoning from Fukushima, Lawsuit Against TEPCO Grows | Common Dreams
"Claiming that TEPCO, the Japanese energy company that owns the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear reactor, knowingly withheld vital information about the levels of radiation released following the plant's disaster in 2010, a growing number of US service members are joining a lawsuit seeking more than $2 billion in damages."

Monsanto: Patenting Death | Common Dreams

Monsanto: Patenting Death | Common Dreams
"Monsanto has yet another case pending in the court system, this time before the U.S. Supreme Court on the exclusivity of its genetically modified seed patents. Narrowly at issue is whether Monsanto retains patent rights on soybeans that have been replanted after showing up in generic stocks rather than being sold specifically as seeds, or whether those patent rights are “exhausted” after the initial planting. But more broadly the case also raises implications regarding control of the food supply"

EU Vote Allows 'Disastrous Chemical Armageddon' on Bees to Continue | Common Dreams

EU Vote Allows 'Disastrous Chemical Armageddon' on Bees to Continue | Common Dreams
"The "disastrous chemical armageddon on bees" is going to continue, according to one campaigner, after the European Union failed to reach a decision on Friday on the ban of three widely used insecticides linked to the decline of the pollinators."

How Arctic Ice Loss Amplified Superstorm Sandy — Oceanography Journal

How Arctic Ice Loss Amplified Superstorm Sandy — Oceanography Journal: We’ve written extensively about how global warming worsened the impact of Superstorm Sandy. Now a new article, “Superstorm Sandy: A Series of Unfortunate Events?” (PDF here) connects the dots even more explicitly: Cornell and Rutgers researchers report in the March issue of Oceanography that the severe loss of summertime Arctic sea ice — attributed to [...]/p

Superheated American City Dealing with 110 Degrees for 33 Days -- Phoenix Confronts Apocalyptic Climate Change | Alternet

Superheated American City Dealing with 110 Degrees for 33 Days -- Phoenix Confronts Apocalyptic Climate Change | Alternet
"Horrific heat, droughts, windstorms, water shortages and forest fires will plague nation's 13th largest city."

Pesticides for GMOs Driving Monarch Butterfly Populations to 'Ominous' Brink | Common Dreams

Pesticides for GMOs Driving Monarch Butterfly Populations to 'Ominous' Brink | Common Dreams
"Like bees, butterflies provide essential pollinating functions for entire ecosystems."The fruits, nuts, seeds and foliage that everything else feeds on," said Taylor. "If we pull the monarchs out of the system, we're really pulling the rug out from under a whole lot of other species"."

Why Climate Change Matters: A Three-Minute Analogy

Good And Green Reasons To Buy An Electric Car This Year

Good And Green Reasons To Buy An Electric Car This Year: By Felix Kramer and Max Baumhefner, via Switchboard When it comes to consumer products, environmentalists generally don’t encourage people to buy new and buy now. But that’s what we’re about to do because electric cars are significantly cleaner than gasoline vehicles, and driving one can save you serious cash at the pump. Perhaps you’ve already [...]/p

Doomed: Phoenix Arizona Sits Squarely in Climate Change Crosshairs | Alternet

Doomed: Phoenix Arizona Sits Squarely in Climate Change Crosshairs | Alternet
"Phoenix’s pyramid of complexities looks shakier than most because it stands squarely in the crosshairs of climate change. The area, like  much of the rest of the American Southwest, is already hot and dry; it’s getting ever hotter and drier, and is increasingly battered by powerful storms. Sandy and Katrina previewed how coastal cities can expect to fare as seas rise and storms strengthen. Phoenix pulls back the curtain on the future of inland empires. If you want a taste of the brutal new climate to come, the place to look is where that climate is already harsh, and growing more so -- the aptly named Valley of the Sun."

Gag Order: Town Board Decides Community Can No Longer Discuss Fracking at Town Meetings | Alternet

Gag Order: Town Board Decides Community Can No Longer Discuss Fracking at Town Meetings | Alternet
"Still, I had never heard of a town that actually imposed a gag order on its own citizens, until the Natural Resources Defense Council (which publishes OnEarth) received complaints about a town board in Sanford, New York (population: 2,400), that told its residents they could no longer bring up concerns about fracking at town meetings."

Wave of "Ag Gag" Bills Threaten Food Safety and Freedom of the Press

Wave of "Ag Gag" Bills Threaten Food Safety and Freedom of the Press
"In its original form, the "ag gag" bill was a blatant violation of the First Amendment right to freedom of speech and expression and would have quashed the right of independent investigators to document the truth. So legislators in Iowa and Utah changed the bills to make lying on employment applications a crime. Now factory farms and slaughterhouses can screen out reporters and other investigators by asking on job applications, "Are you affiliated with a news organization, labor union, or animal protection group"?"

'Funeral for our Future' Keystone XL Pipeline Protest

'Funeral for our Future' Keystone XL Pipeline Protest
"Here's some new video footage of the protest at TransCanada's Massachusetts office"

Healthy Kids Need Time in Nature | Common Dreams

Healthy Kids Need Time in Nature | Common Dreams
"It will take public education and awareness-building as well as changes to the way we build cities and live in our communities to bring nature back into our lives. Connecting kids to nature every day needs to be a priority policy objective in any strategy for healthy children and could easily have been integrated into the recommendations from the Ontario Healthy Kids Panel. Taking our kids by the hand and spending time outside with them will have the added benefit of making us healthier and happier adults."

New-And-Improved Biofuels: Report Predicts Cost-Competitive Cellulosic Ethanol By 2016

New-And-Improved Biofuels: Report Predicts Cost-Competitive Cellulosic Ethanol By 2016: Cellulosic ethanol is a biofuel produced from grass, wood chips, and other feedstocks that don’t double as food. So unlike traditional corn-based ethanol, it promises to avoid encroaching upon and destabilizing human food supplies — assuming it can become commercially viable. And according to a survey by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), that time may [...]/p

Republican Reversal On Science, Energy, Puts US At Disadvantage

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As CO2 Emissions Rise, So Will Pollen Counts And Asthma Attacks

As CO2 Emissions Rise, So Will Pollen Counts And Asthma Attacks: Climate change could cause pollen counts to more than double over the next 30 years, according to an ongoing Rutgers University study. The research, presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology conference in November, tested how allergenic plants respond to conditions that mimic those of a warming world, including changing weather patterns [...]/p

Top Navy Brass on Biggest Threat in Pacific: Climate Change, Not North Korea | Common Dreams

Top Navy Brass on Biggest Threat in Pacific: Climate Change, Not North Korea | Common Dreams
"America’s top military officer in charge of monitoring the Pacific region—which currently includes threats of a preemptive strike from North Korea and heightened tensions between Japan and neighboring China—believes the number one threat to stability in the region is climate change."

The Conquest of Nature And What We’ve Lost | Common Dreams

The Conquest of Nature And What We’ve Lost | Common Dreams
"The environmental casualty reports filed from the four corners of the earth over the last two hundred years don’t leave much ground for argument on Montaigne’s question as to who is the beast and who is the man. Whether attempted by men armed with test tubes or bulldozers, the conquest of nature is a fool’s errand. However it so happens that the beasts manage to live not only at ease within the great chain of being but also in concert with the tides and the season and the presence of death, it is the great lesson they teach to humanity. Either we learn it, or we go the way of the great auk."

Nuclear Energy: Technological Insanity

Paul Ryan Budget Contemplates Selling Off ‘Millions Of Acres’ Of Public Land

Paul Ryan Budget Contemplates Selling Off ‘Millions Of Acres’ Of Public Land: This morning House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) offered his fiscal year 2014 budget, which the Wall Street Journal called “almost identical” to the Romney-Ryan presidential platform last year.  In addition to cutting taxes for the rich and preserving tax breaks for Big Oil, the budget offers an extreme and flawed view of public [...]/p

Hot Water, a new documentary exposing the long-term devastation wrought by uranium mining and the nuclear industry

EU Bans Sale of Cosmetics Tested on Animals | Common Dreams

EU Bans Sale of Cosmetics Tested on Animals | Common Dreams
"A ban on the sale of cosmetics tested on animals takes effect in the European Union on Monday."

We Must Make the Whole Planet a 'Nuclear Free Zone' | Common Dreams

We Must Make the Whole Planet a 'Nuclear Free Zone' | Common Dreams
"With the second anniversary of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster this week, with North Korea having just threatened a “pre-emptive nuclear attack” against the United States and a U.S. senator saying this would result in “suicide” for North Korea, with Iran suspected of moving to build nuclear weapons, with the continuing spread of nuclear technology globally, the future looks precarious as to humankind and the atom.

Can humanity at this rate make it through the 21^st Century?"

Official: 'Catastrophic Threat' of Antibiotic-Resistant 'Superbugs' | Common Dreams

Official: 'Catastrophic Threat' of Antibiotic-Resistant 'Superbugs' | Common Dreams
"Antibiotic resistant "superbugs" pose a "catastrophic threat" as untreatable infections may prove lethal, Britain's top health official warned in a new report published Monday."

State Efforts To ‘Reclaim’ Our Public Lands Traced To Koch-Fueled ALEC

State Efforts To ‘Reclaim’ Our Public Lands Traced To Koch-Fueled ALEC: By Jessica Goad and Tom Kenworthy via CAP Despite the many problems that states and municipalities face today—from budget shortfalls to unemployment—seven western states have decided to embark on unconstitutional and quixotic battles attempting to force the federal government to turn millions of acres of public lands over to the states. Doing so, however, would [...]/p

'Funeral for Our Future': Protesters Blockade Transcada's Offices to Oppose Keystone XL | Common Dreams

'Funeral for Our Future': Protesters Blockade Transcada's Offices to Oppose Keystone XL | Common Dreams
"Climate activists in Westborough, Massachusetts were being arrested on Monday after blockading the entrance to corporate offices of the TransCanada corporation, the Canandian tar sands pipeline company hoping to receive approval for its controversial Keystone XL project."

U.S. Pacific Commander: Climate Change Greatest Threat In Region

U.S. Pacific Commander: Climate Change Greatest Threat In Region: Admiral Samuel J. Locklear III, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, gave a striking answer when asked about the greatest threat the region faces: climate change. Locklear spoke to the Boston Globe on the topic after spending two days in the Boston-area talking to scholars and foreign policy experts on the situation in the Pacific. [...]/p

The Inevitable 2014 Headline: ‘Global CO2 Level Reaches 400 PPM For First Time In Human Existence.’

The Inevitable 2014 Headline: ‘Global CO2 Level Reaches 400 PPM For First Time In Human Existence.’: By Peter Gleick, via Science Blogs Sometime, about one year from now, the front pages of whatever decent newspapers are left will carry a headline like the one above, announcing that for the first time in human existence (or in nearly a million years, or 3 million years, or 15 million years), the global atmospheric [...]/p

Fukushima's Fallout Is Already Harming Our Children | Common Dreams

Fukushima's Fallout Is Already Harming Our Children | Common Dreams
"Fukushima's airborne fallout came to our west coast within a week of the catastrophe.  It's a virtual certainty American children are being affected.  As health researcher Joe Mangano puts it:  "Reports of rising numbers of West Coast infants with under-active thyroid glands after Fukushima suggest that Americans may have been harmed by Fukushima fallout.  Studies, especially of the youngest, must proceed immediately"."

Oil Company Lawsuit May Set Dangerous Precedent For Local Government

Oil Company Lawsuit May Set Dangerous Precedent For Local Government
"San Luis Obispo County's Huasna Valley is one of the most beautiful open space areas along the California coast. As a native Californian who has passed through it many times, I can recall times where the landscape was awash in California poppies and winters where it was green and lush, dotted with winter-barren trees. It's home to hawks and deer, with patches of coastal vineyards criss-crossing the landscape."

Bombshell: Recent Warming Is ‘Amazing And Atypical’ And Poised To Destroy Stable Climate That Enabled Civilization

Bombshell: Recent Warming Is ‘Amazing And Atypical’ And Poised To Destroy Stable Climate That Enabled Civilization: New Science Study Confirms ‘Hockey Stick’: The Rate Of Warming Since 1900 Is 50 Times Greater Than The Rate Of Cooling In Previous 5000 Years Temperature change over past 11,300 years (in blue, via Science, 2013) plus projected warming this century on humanity’s current emissions path (in red, via recent literature). A stable climate enabled the development [...]/p

Across US, Health Concerns Vie with Fracking Profits | Common Dreams

Across US, Health Concerns Vie with Fracking Profits | Common Dreams
"Formally termed “high pressure hydraulic fracturing”, fracking is a method used to capture natural gas from shale rocks. It requires horizontal drilling deep beneath the earth’s surface, then pressurising fluid to fracture shale rocks, which allows natural gas to escape.

According to the letter, health risks associated with fracking include hazardous air pollutants; improper disposal of radioactive wastewater; and climate-altering methane emissions."

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse Sets the Record Straight on Climate Change

Fox And Friends: Polar Bears Prove Climate Change Is ‘Not Really Real’

Fox And Friends: Polar Bears Prove Climate Change Is ‘Not Really Real’: Polar bears can’t catch a break anywhere, least of all Fox News. On Fox and Friends this morning, Fox Legal Analyst Peter Johnson Jr. was asked about last week’s ruling by the D.C. Circuit to uphold the decision to protect polar bears as a “threatened” species. He made the case that environmentalists use polar bears [...]/p

Climate Catastrophe - Closer Than We Think

NY Assembly Passes Two Year Fracking Moratorium, Senate Hoped to Follow | Common Dreams

NY Assembly Passes Two Year Fracking Moratorium, Senate Hoped to Follow | Common Dreams
"In a roll call vote of 95-40, the New York State Assembly has passed a two-year moratoriumon hydraulic fracturing ("fracking"), the toxic horizontal drilling process through which oil and gas is procured that's found within shale rock basins across the country and the world."

Visions of the Arctic

Big One-Year Jump In Atmospheric CO2 Brings Climate Catastrophe Closer

Big One-Year Jump In Atmospheric CO2 Brings Climate Catastrophe Closer: The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere underwent one of its biggest single-year jumps ever in 2012, according to researchers at the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. Between the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2013, carbon dioxide levels increased by 2.67 parts per million — a rise topped only by the spike in [...]/p

US Climate Bomb is Ticking: What the Gas Industry Doesn't Want You to Know

US Climate Bomb is Ticking: What the Gas Industry Doesn't Want You to Know
"There is another climate bomb in the United States, shale gas hydraulic fracking, which emits methane, more dangerous than CO2. While many rhetorically call natural gas a bridge to the clean energy future, new information is showing the opposite; natural gas will hasten climate change, poisons the air, land and water, and carries unacceptable risks to our health."

Clean Air, Safe Communities, and Good Jobs? It’s Ours If We Want It. | Common Dreams

Clean Air, Safe Communities, and Good Jobs? It’s Ours If We Want It. | Common Dreams
"The challenges our country faces have never been more daunting. With nearly 50 million Americans struggling just to get by, it’s time to take a different economic route.  And the way forward begins with finding common ground and a path that will benefit all of us—not just a few.
We can do it by investing in clean energy innovation, green infrastructure, and community resilience. We can stand up to big polluters—and stand up for our vulnerable neighbors. Together, we can restore American leadership and create a healthier, brighter, more prosperous future for all of our children and grandchildren."

Third Maine Town Passes 'No Tar Sands' Resolution to Fight Pipeline | Common Dreams

Third Maine Town Passes 'No Tar Sands' Resolution to Fight Pipeline | Common Dreams
"The small town of Waterford, Maine over the weekend became the third town in the state to pass a resolution declaring opposition to a plan aimed at bringing Canadian tar sands oil through an existing oil pipeline running from Montreal to the New England coast."

With Climate Change, a Bad Deal Gets Even Worse for the Global South | The Nation

With Climate Change, a Bad Deal Gets Even Worse for the Global South | The Nation
"On the heels of 40,000 people taking to the streets of DC in the largest climate change mobilization in US history, the pressure on President Obama is building to take decisive action to curb carbon emissions. However, what’s often missing from the US climate change movement are conversations about those people who are already most harmed by carbon emissions, and a historical understanding about how we got to this point. Along with Crystal Lameman (Beaver Lake Cree) and Ellen Dorsey, I was asked to give a keynote address at the Power Up! Divest Fossil Fuels: Student Convergence on February 23, 2013 at Swarthmore College. In my speech, I talked about why the climate justice movement would do well to also think about immigrant justice. The full transcript of my speech is below."

What it Means that Monsanto Holds the Patents on Life | Alternet

What it Means that Monsanto Holds the Patents on Life | Alternet
"The real issue is this: Why have we surrendered control over something so basic to human survival as seeds? Why have we bought into the biotech industry’s program, which pushes a few monoculture commodity crops, when history and science have proven that seed biodiversity is essential for growing crops capable of surviving severe climate conditions, such as drought and floods?"

Keystone: Exporting Canadian Oil Across America’s Backyard

Keystone: Exporting Canadian Oil Across America’s Backyard: Cross-posted from Huffington Post Given the relentless “all of the above” energy strategy pursued by the Obama Administration, the release this past Friday of a positive environmental impact report for the proposed Keystone oil pipeline was no big surprise. The U.S. State Department essentially declared that since the extra-dirty tar sands oil designated for the [...]/p

'Survival of Great Apes' Imperiled as 3,000 Lost to Illegal Trade Each Year | Common Dreams

'Survival of Great Apes' Imperiled as 3,000 Lost to Illegal Trade Each Year | Common Dreams
"Roughly 3,000 great apes are stolen, traded, or killed each year, according to a new report by the UN Environment Program, which warns that the vast disappearance of primates will do great harm to the forest ecosystems of Africa and South-east Asia."

"BP Stands for Bad People": Film Brings Heartbreaking Stories From Residents of the Louisiana Bayou

"BP Stands for Bad People": Film Brings Heartbreaking Stories From Residents of the Louisiana Bayou
"Dirty Energy is a powerful wake-up call, showcasing the dangers of offshore drilling, the lackadaisical response of the industry to potential environmental and health crises and the inevitable result of government pandering to corporate donors."

The Loophole That’s Letting Conservatives Manipulate Renewable Energy Standards

The Loophole That’s Letting Conservatives Manipulate Renewable Energy Standards: By Tiffany Germain and Matt Kasper As the Heartland Institute and the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, continue to target states’ renewable energy standard (RES) with their model legislation — the Electricity Freedom Act — conservative lawmakers are using other unethical tactics to weaken or repeal standards. Currently, at least five states — Connecticut, [...]/p

Enbridge Refuses to Pay for Onoing Damage Study of Michigan Tar Sands Disaster | Common Dreams

Enbridge Refuses to Pay for Onoing Damage Study of Michigan Tar Sands Disaster | Common Dreams
"Canadian pipeline company Enbridge Inc. is refusing to pay for an independent review designed to the ongoing environmental impacts caused by the nearly one million gallons of tar sands oil that spilled into Michigan's Kalamazoo River following a pipeline rupture in 2010."

Wenohah Hauter, Author of "Foodopoly," Discusses Why Corporate Control of America's Food System Affects YOU

Wenohah Hauter, Author of "Foodopoly," Discusses Why Corporate Control of America's Food System Affects YOU
"Since 2005, Food and Water Watch has lead the fight against corporate control of the U.S. food system, against the privatization of the U.S. water supply and against water contamination by hydraulic fracturing or fracking."

King Tides Offer California a Preview of Sea Level Rise (With Photo Slideshow) | Alternet

King Tides Offer California a Preview of Sea Level Rise (With Photo Slideshow) | Alternet
"Recent King Tides in the San Francisco Bay area gave a glimpse of what sea level rise could look like."

The Environmental Impact of the Sequester Cuts | Common Dreams

The Environmental Impact of the Sequester Cuts | Common Dreams
"Environmental programs within the United States – everything from wildlife refuges to clean air and water programs – have already been grossly underfunded for years, and the sequester cuts are only going to make things much, much worse for our environment."

Atmospheric Warming Altering Ocean Salinity And The Water Cycle

Atmospheric Warming Altering Ocean Salinity And The Water Cycle: Taking the opportunity I'm in the hospital to clear out some old unpublished posts -- JR.] Lawrence Livermore Lab News Release A clear change in salinity has been detected in the world’s oceans, signaling shifts and acceleration in the global rainfall and evaporation cycle tied directly to climate change. In a paper published … in [...]/p

Return of the Wild: Will Humans Make Way for the Greatest Conservation Experiment in Centuries? | Common Dreams

Return of the Wild: Will Humans Make Way for the Greatest Conservation Experiment in Centuries? | Common Dreams
"Making ecosystems whole. That is the aim of rewilding. The science is there: We now know that even parts of the East, once written off as untenable sites for reintroduction, are capable of supporting wolves and cougars. If given the opportunity, there is little doubt that they would continue to expand their range. The question is whether humans will allow for their return."

10 Stunning Things You Should Know About the Environmental Movement -- 'A Fierce Green Fire' Film Inspires | Alternet

10 Stunning Things You Should Know About the Environmental Movement -- 'A Fierce Green Fire' Film Inspires | Alternet
"With runaway global warming threatening to annihilate climate stability and perhaps life on Earth as we know it, there's no bigger issue on humanity's crowded docket and no better time to catch up on the history of the environmental movement. So let's give thanks that writer, producer and director Mark Kitchell's A Fierce Green Fire has arrived to exhaustively school us all. Especially since the Obama administration has gone long on rhetoric but short on activism, and practically begged to be pushed into action by the American people."

Kansas Legislature Rejects Koch-Backed Effort To Chip Away At Renewable Energy Standards

Kansas Legislature Rejects Koch-Backed Effort To Chip Away At Renewable Energy Standards: The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that twin votes in Kansas State House and Senate on Thursday put the kibosh on legislative efforts to roll back and delay Kansas’ renewable energy standard (RES). Passed in 2009, Kansas’ RES requires investor-owned utilities to generate 20 percent of peak demand electrical capacity from renewable sources by 2020. The American [...]/p

USDA Considers Reintroducing Horse Slaughter to US | Common Dreams

USDA Considers Reintroducing Horse Slaughter to US | Common Dreams
"Animal rights advocates are voicing outrage over attempts to push the US Department of Agriculture to expand the slaughtering of horses within the United States. "

State Dept. Releases Keystone XL Environmental Impact Statement | Common Dreams

State Dept. Releases Keystone XL Environmental Impact Statement | Common Dreams
"The US State Department on Friday afternoon released a newly updated draft of its Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which, if approved, would dramatically increase the extraction and transfer of Canadian tar sands oil to the Gulf coast."

Hanford Nuclear Waste is Leaking...on the way to the Columbia River

ALEC Sham Chemical Disclosure Model Tucked Into Illinois Fracking Bill | Common Dreams

ALEC Sham Chemical Disclosure Model Tucked Into Illinois Fracking Bill | Common Dreams
"Illinois is the next state on the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)'s target list for putting the oil industry's interests ahead of the public interest. 98 percent funded by multinational corporations, ALEC is described by its critics as a "corporate bill mill" and a lobbyist-legislator dating service. It brings together corporate lobbyists and right wing politicians to vote up or down on "model bills" written by lobbyists in service to their corporate clientele behind closed doors at its annual meetings.
These "models" snake their way into statehouses nationwide as proposed legislation and quite often become the law of the land."