Canada's Tar Sands surrounded by ring of mercury-contaminated land and water

Endangered Species Act Turns 40 Facing Environmental And Political Dangers

www.thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/12/28/3106221/endangered-species-act-turns-40/
"Since then the ESA has been credited with saving a number of species from the brink of extinction, including the bald eagle, the American alligator, the grizzly bear and the prairie dog. The act has prevented the extinction of 99 percent of the more than 2,140 species it currently protects."

Earthquakes Rattle Fukushima Region Once More | Common Dreams

Earthquakes Rattle Fukushima Region Once More | Common Dreams
"Once again revealing its perilous geographic location, a pair of earthquakes shook the ground near the damaged nuclear power plant at Fukushima on Tuesday."

Burning cows: Extreme weather and America’s perilous food supply

Burning cows: Extreme weather and America’s perilous food supply
"The United States leads the world in staples like corn, beef and soybeans. Because the vast majority of these US foodstuffs are produced in the heartland, changes to climate here can affect dinner tables around the world."

New Greenhouse Gas Proves More Powerful Than CO2

New Greenhouse Gas Proves More Powerful Than CO2
"The newly discovered gas, perfluorotributylamine (PFTBA), has been in use by the electrical industry since the mid-20th century."

What The Hell Is Happening At Fukushima Reactor 3?

What The Hell Is Happening At Fukushima Reactor 3?
"We know that TEPCO has lied all along, and I don't think our own government is going to tell us even if something is going on (under the law, they have the authority to lie to us in order to prevent panic that would affect the food supply). So it's not unreasonable to assume that whatever's going on, it's usually a lot worse than what the Powers That Be will admit.
Because when corporate interests have become synonymous with those of a nation's government, the safety of the citizens is way down on the priority list."

Neurotoxic "Bull's-Eye" Surrounds Canadian Tar Sands: Scientists | Common Dreams

Neurotoxic "Bull's-Eye" Surrounds Canadian Tar Sands: Scientists | Common Dreams
"Levels of mercury in a vast area surrounding the controversial Alberta tar sands oil fields are on the rise and have reached levels up to 16 times higher than 'background' levels—a toxic side effect of the extraction process—according to a group of Canadian governmental scientists."

Climate change by the numbers: The worst is yet to come

Climate change by the numbers: The worst is yet to come
"Only in the future, looking back, will we be able to recognize the true significance of many of this year’s big numbers"

Booming Solar Energy Halted by Hawaii Utility Because Sun Produces Too Much Power!

Booming Solar Energy Halted by Hawaii Utility Because Sun Produces Too Much Power!
"Now, a nation that cannot invest in fixing its electrical grid -- if you believe the utility company excuse for basically shutting down solar expansion in Hawaii -- is a nation that is not the greatest on earth, but one doomed to failure while its energy policy is dictated by the profiteering, environmentally toxic fossil fuel industry and utility companies."

Coal Trains Run into Stiff Resistance in U.S. | Common Dreams

Coal Trains Run into Stiff Resistance in U.S. | Common Dreams
"Citizens and activists in the U.S. Pacific Northwest are fighting three different proposed coal terminals, including one in Oregon and two in Washington."

The National Memo » America’s Greediest: The Koch Brothers, The ‘Libertarians’ Who Hate The Free Market

The National Memo » America’s Greediest: The Koch Brothers, The ‘Libertarians’ Who Hate The Free Market
"While the Kochs insist that their goal is freedom, their agenda seems entirely based on policies that increase economic inequality and make it easy for carbon polluters like Koch Industries to continue their unfettered domination of energy markets.
Perhaps the best example of the Kochs’ hypocrisy comes in their war on solar power.
While the Kochs spent millions to try to put politicians in office who have vowed to never raise taxes on the rich or anyone, the billionaires are aiding efforts to “tax the sun” in an effort to squash the nascent solar industry."

Record Radiation: Handling of Fukushima cleanup is 'comedy of errors'

Scientists Link Spike in Thyroid Disease to Fukushima Disaster

Millions in Dark Money Funding Climate Change Denial: Report | Common Dreams

Millions in Dark Money Funding Climate Change Denial: Report | Common Dreams
"The expansive misinformation campaign behind climate change denial is increasingly being funded in the dark, reveals a new report published Friday in the journal Climatic Change
According to the study titled "Institutionalizing Delay: foundation funding and the creation of U.S. climate change counter-movement organizations," while the largest and most consistent funders of climate change denial are a number of well-known conservative foundations and industry groups, the majority of donations come from "dark money," or concealed funding."

Harvey Wasserman Wants You to Know the Truth About Fukushima

Harvey Wasserman Wants You to Know the Truth About Fukushima
"At Fukushima Unit 4, the impending removal of hugely radioactive spent fuel rods from a pool 100 feet in the air presents unparalleled scientific and engineering challenges."

Study Shows Gulf Oil Spill Linked to Dolphin Disease and Death | Common Dreams

Study Shows Gulf Oil Spill Linked to Dolphin Disease and Death | Common Dreams
"In the year following the massive BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, dolphins in the area developed severe lung disease, hormonal abnormalities and other deadly health problems that are likely linked to the toxic oil contamination, according to a report published Wednesday."

Let the Sun Shine In: The Rightwing Attack on Our Solar Future | Common Dreams

Let the Sun Shine In: The Rightwing Attack on Our Solar Future | Common Dreams
"According to the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative network better known as ALEC, our solar panels make us “free riders.” What?
 Yes, according to ALEC, an organization that specializes in getting the right-wing agenda written into state laws, people like me who invest in energy-efficiency and shrinking our carbon footprints ought to be penalized.
 Why does ALEC want us punished? Since it’s bankrolled by, among others, the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, it’s hard not to surmise that they’re worried about a threat to fossil fuels businesses. Koch Industries’ operations include refineries, oil and natural gas pipelines, and petrochemicals"

'Face of Resistance in Northwest' Blockades Tar Sands 'Megaload' | Common Dreams

'Face of Resistance in Northwest' Blockades Tar Sands 'Megaload' | Common Dreams
""The face of tar sands resistance in the Northwest" appeared again on Monday when 16 people were arrested in Oregon after blockading a "megaload" of equipment on its way to the Athabasca oil fields in Alberta, Canada."

Study: Chemicals Linked to Cancer, Birth Defects in Water Near Fracking Hotspots | Common Dreams

Study: Chemicals Linked to Cancer, Birth Defects in Water Near Fracking Hotspots | Common Dreams
"The controversial oil and gas extraction process known as "fracking" employs dangerous chemicals linked to cancer, birth defects, and infertility that then contaminate ground and surface water and may expose populations near sites to direct health risks."

U.S. Will Top Germany In Solar Installation For The First Time In 15 Years

www.thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/12/10/3042001/us-solar-record-installation/
"By the end of the year, more than 400,000 solar projects will be operating across the U.S. and installations will have grown 27 percent over 2012, with a 52 percent growth rate in the residential sector alone, according to GTM’s forecast."

The Koch Brothers Are Still Trying to Break Wind | Common Dreams

The Koch Brothers Are Still Trying to Break Wind | Common Dreams
"The Koch network is fighting the wind industry on a number of fronts."

Secretive Right-Wing Group Continues Its War On Clean Energy

www.thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/12/05/3022271/alec-solar-clean-energy-freeriders/
"The next day, the paper explained how ALEC “is mobilizing to penalize homeowners who install their own solar panels — casting them as “freeriders” — in a sweeping new offensive against renewable energy”."

Exposed: The Right Wing's National Plan To Crush Green Energy | Common Dreams

Exposed: The Right Wing's National Plan To Crush Green Energy | Common Dreams
"The American Legislative Exchange Council's war on green protections is poised to expand over the next year, taking aim at the Environmental Protection Agency, state regulations, and even solar panels installed in individual homes."

Humanity Wholly Unprepared for Abrupt Climate Impacts, Warns Report | Common Dreams

Humanity Wholly Unprepared for Abrupt Climate Impacts, Warns Report | Common Dreams
"Hang on. Get Ready.
Those are at least two of the takeaways from a new report released by scientists in the National Academy of Sciences on Tuesday which says the sudden impacts of climate change this century and beyond are inevitable but warn that far too little has been done to prepare for them."

Thanks for killing the planet, boomers!

Thanks for killing the planet, boomers!
"Unfortunately, the world as we know it is ending, and no one can reasonably hope to avoid the constellation of catastrophic, ecological and social disasters that are all but certain to manifest, exacerbating one another’s horrific, deadly consequences. And yet our politicians can’t be bothered to care, a substantial portion of Americans aren’t convinced that it’s even happening (despite overwhelming, unimpeachable evidence to the contrary), and the enormity of the issue is downplayed basically everywhere outside the bounds of the largely-ghettoized “environmental/green reporting,” uniformly marginalized and dismissed by the mainstream press."

TEPCO Downplays Huge Risks Involved in Removing Fukushima Fuel Rods

TEPCO Downplays Huge Risks Involved in Removing Fukushima Fuel Rods
"Arnie Gunderson: Agencies overseeing cleanup like the IAEA are biased towards defending and promoting nuclear power."