Elizabeth Warren Warns GOP-Controlled Senate Would Make Climate Denier Jim Inhofe Head Of Environment Committee

Elizabeth Warren Warns GOP-Controlled Senate Would Make Climate Denier Jim Inhofe Head Of Environment Committee: With more than 300 votes targeting the Environmental Protection Agency, de-funding clean energy, and promoting unfettered use of fossil fuels, the current House of Representatives has been dubbed the most anti-environmental House in history. And if Republicans gain control of the Senate, the same record will define that body too. That’s the warning from Elizabeth [...]/p

Idaho Wildfires Head Toward Radioactive Sites | Common Dreams

Idaho Wildfires Head Toward Radioactive Sites | Common Dreams
"The wildfires that have ravaged Idaho for over a month are now bringing new fears as the fires have burned through three radioactive mining sites and are heading towards a fourth, Reuters reports."

Bill McKibben: Go After the “Outlaw” Fossil Fuel Companies

Fifty Years After ‘Silent Spring,’ Let’s Not Roll Back Environmental Protections | Common Dreams

Fifty Years After ‘Silent Spring,’ Let’s Not Roll Back Environmental Protections | Common Dreams
"Mitt Romney wants to open up more federal lands and waters to drilling for oil and natural gas. His party is pushing, in the name of freedom and economic opportunity, to roll back a variety of environmental protections. Republicans, including U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas, are seeking to ease pesticide regulations; some are even questioning the Environmental Protection Agency’s ban on DDT, reopening a controversy that stretches back half a century."

Melting Arctic ice cap is like an open door on the earth’s freezer, warns climate activist

Shell Sues to Ban Public Protest Against Arctic Drilling | Common Dreams

Shell Sues to Ban Public Protest Against Arctic Drilling | Common Dreams
"Oil company Royal Dutch Shell went to court Friday to ban public protest against the company's Arctic drilling plans."

The Trillion-Gallon Loophole: Lax Rules for Drillers that Inject Pollutants Into the Earth | Common Dreams

The Trillion-Gallon Loophole: Lax Rules for Drillers that Inject Pollutants Into the Earth | Common Dreams
"The waste – the byproduct of oil and gas drilling – was described in regulatory documents as a benign mixture of salt and water. But as the liquid rushed from the trucks, it released a billowing vapor of far more volatile materials, including benzene and other flammable hydrocarbons."

Koch Brothers Cashing in 220,000 Acres of Tar Sands Holdings

Koch Brothers Cashing in 220,000 Acres of Tar Sands Holdings
"Recent action by Koch Oil Sands pulls the curtain back further on the Koch family's deep but quiet involvement in Canada's oil sands industry."

Ice-Free Arctic Is “Uncharted Territory” | Common Dreams

Ice-Free Arctic Is “Uncharted Territory” | Common Dreams
"The melt of Arctic sea ice has reached its lowest point this year, shrinking 18 percent from last year’s near-record low."

How Mitt Romney and Bain Helped Grow Monsanto Into a Biotech Giant | Alternet

How Mitt Romney and Bain Helped Grow Monsanto Into a Biotech Giant | Alternet
"The romance between Romney and Monsanto began back in 1977, when the recently minted Harvard Law and Business School graduate joined Bain, the Boston-based consulting firm launched in 1973, the same year Monsanto became one of its first clients. One of Bain’s founding partners, Ralph Willard, described to theBoston Globe  in 2007 how “Romney learned the technical aspects of the chemical business so thoroughly that he sounded as if he had gone to engineering school instead of business school,” and that Monsanto executives soon began “bypassing” him to go directly to Romney.This history matters not just because of the light it sheds on Romney’s self-ballyhooed business experience but because of the litany of Monsanto corporate objectives that clash with planetary concerns. If Romney is elected, this bête noire of environmentalists will have a very old friend in a very high place."

Bill McKibben’s Rolling Stone Article Was a Hit — So Why Didn’t It Make a Splash? | Common Dreams

Bill McKibben’s Rolling Stone Article Was a Hit — So Why Didn’t It Make a Splash? | Common Dreams
"Have you seen the numbers on Bill McKibben’s numbers? If you follow environment-related news (and even if you don’t), there’s a good chance you’ve read Bill McKibben’s recentRolling Stone article, Global Warming’s Terrifying New Math. I know this because of the numbers displayed right below the article’s headline: 112k Facebook likes, more than 12,000 mentions on Twitter, 7,300 Stumble Upon tags, and nearly 5,000 reader comments. “Wickedly viral,” is how the New England-dwelling McKibben has described the response to the piece."

When will the total collapse of the Arctic ice sheet occur?

Professor Peter Wadhams, Professor of Ocean Physics and Head of the Polar Ocean Physics Group - Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge joins Thom Hartmann. According to one of the world's top sea-ice experts - the entire Arctic ice shelf could be completely melted in just a couple of years - spelling disaster for the Earth. Have we reached the breaking point of the planet - or it there still time to get our acts together - and save the only home we know?

STUDY: Agriculture Giant Monsanto’s Products Cause Tumors, Organ Damage In Rats

STUDY: Agriculture Giant Monsanto’s Products Cause Tumors, Organ Damage In Rats: A new study out today may hurt efforts by America’s largest biotechnology company, Monsanto, to defeat a California ballot initiative that would require labels on genetically modified foods (GMOs). The French study found that rats who were either fed a lifetime diet of Monsanto’s genetically modified corn or exposed to the company’s popular herbicide, Roundup, [...]/p

'Planetary Emergency': New Data Elevates Climate Change Alarm | Common Dreams

'Planetary Emergency': New Data Elevates Climate Change Alarm | Common Dreams
"Drawing on new data on the rate of melting arctic ice released Wednesday by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), leading scientific experts and environmental campaigners upped the level of alarm and issued a renewed call to action by calling the growing reality of climate change a "planetary emergency"."

NOAA: Record High Ocean Temperatures in North Atlantic | Common Dreams

NOAA: Record High Ocean Temperatures in North Atlantic | Common Dreams
"Ocean temperatures -- from the ocean bottom to the sea surface -- off the northeast coast of the U.S. have soared to their warmest ever, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Tuesday."

New Study Links BPA to Obesity in Kids | Common Dreams

New Study Links BPA to Obesity in Kids | Common Dreams
"Children with higher levels of BPA (bisphenol A) may be more likely to be obese, according to a study published today in The Journal of the American Medical Association."

19 Companies, Including Starbucks And Levi Strauss, Urge Congress To Extend Wind Tax Credit

19 Companies, Including Starbucks And Levi Strauss, Urge Congress To Extend Wind Tax Credit: A group of 19 leading companies has sent a letter to Congress asking lawmakers to immediately extend a key tax credit for wind that is set to expire at the end of the year. The diverse coalition of firms, which includes Ben & Jerry’s, Johnson & Johnson, Levi Strauss, Starbucks, and Yahoo!, says that raising [...]/p

Study: Deeper CO2 Cuts Needed to Save World's Dying Corals | Common Dreams

Study: Deeper CO2 Cuts Needed to Save World's Dying Corals | Common Dreams
"Limiting climate change to two degrees C won’t save most coral reefs, according to new, state-of-the-art research."

Arctic Sea Ice Will Reach 'Final Collapse' Within Four Years: Expert | Common Dreams

Arctic Sea Ice Will Reach 'Final Collapse' Within Four Years: Expert | Common Dreams
"Arctic waters will be completely ice free within four years, according to leading Arctic ice expert Professor Peter Wadhams of Cambridge University."

France Says No to Genetically Modified Crops, No to Fracking | Common Dreams

France Says No to Genetically Modified Crops, No to Fracking | Common Dreams
"France will maintain its ban on genetically modified crops [GMOs] and will ban fracking, politicians announced during an environmental conference held in Paris Friday and Saturday."

House Republicans Voted Against The Environment More Than 300 Times Since 2011

House Republicans Voted Against The Environment More Than 300 Times Since 2011: The House of Representatives added to its historic tally of anti-environment votes with a 245 to 161 vote on Friday approving the GOP’s “No More Solyndras Act” — a messaging bill that hampers Department of Energy loan guarantees to clean energy projects. Under GOP leadership, the House has voted 302 times against the environment since [...]/p

Environmentalists Plan Mass Mobilization Against Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline | Common Dreams

Environmentalists Plan Mass Mobilization Against Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline | Common Dreams
"Environmental activists in Canada have announced plans for a mass sit in at the British Columbia legislature, to protest the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline. Greenpeace Canada has claimed that the organizers's goal is to create the "biggest act of civil disobedience" on the tarsands issue in Canada to date.

The action is backed by over 80 community, union, business and First Nation leaders, including Stephen Lewis, David Suzuki, Maude Barlow, Naomi Klein, Tom Goldtooth, David Coles, Vandana Shiva, Bill McKibben, John O’Connor, and Tony Clarke. You can view the full list at defendourcoast.ca."

House GOP Votes to Transfer Tens of Thousands of Acres of Minnesota Public Lands to the State for Sulfide Mining | Alternet

House GOP Votes to Transfer Tens of Thousands of Acres of Minnesota Public Lands to the State for Sulfide Mining | Alternet
"At issue is a bill introduced by Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN), called the “Minnesota Education Investment and Employment Act” (H.R. 5544). The bill would give 86,000 acres of state-owned “school trust” lands within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness to the federal government in exchange for similar but unspecified acreage in Superior National Forest outside of the wilderness area."

Harvesting a Climate Disaster | Common Dreams

Harvesting a Climate Disaster | Common Dreams
"Farmers went to Washington yesterday. Members of a coalition representing more than 80 agricultural organizations rallied on Capitol Hill to demand passage of a new farm bill that has been stalled in Congress."

Environmentalist Bill McKibben on Keeping a Strong Focus on Climate Change

Environmentalist Bill McKibben on Keeping a Strong Focus on Climate Change
"Bill McKibben, founder of the international climate change group 350.org, is one of the world's leading campaigners on the climate change crisis. In 2010, theBoston Globe called him "probably the nation's leading environmentalist." The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) interviewed McKibben to ask about the status of the global climate change movement and the current priorities of 350.org. McKibben will be in Madison, WI to address "Fighting Bob Fest" September 15."

Big Ag Directly Funded Anti-Organics Stanford Study: Report | Common Dreams

Big Ag Directly Funded Anti-Organics Stanford Study: Report | Common Dreams
"A study released last week by Stanford scientists, which claims organic foods are no more healthy than non-organic foods, was funded by corporate agriculture and biotechnology giants, according to a new report by the Cornucopia Institute."

Scotts Miracle-Gro to Pay Record Fines for Poisoning Birds and Selling Illegal Pesticides

Scotts Miracle-Gro to Pay Record Fines for Poisoning Birds and Selling Illegal Pesticides
"America's leading lawn care company is in big trouble for potentially poisoning wild birds across the country, and lying to the government and consumers about pesticide products."

Arctic Death Spiral: The Video

Arctic Death Spiral: The Video: Last week, I reported that leading scientific experts were warning we could see a “near ice-free Arctic in summer” in a decade — if volume trends continue. Here’s a short video showing those ominous trends from 1979 through early September 2012: Since 1979, the volume of summer Arctic sea ice has declined by 75% and [...]/p

Conservationists Issue Plea to Save 100 Most Endangered Species | Common Dreams

Conservationists Issue Plea to Save 100 Most Endangered Species | Common Dreams
"Over 8,000 conservation experts have issued a plea to save the world's 100 most endangered species."

Mountains, Environmentalists Mourn Loss of Larry Gibson | Common Dreams

Mountains, Environmentalists Mourn Loss of Larry Gibson | Common Dreams
"Few people in our country were so fearless in the face of political pressure, bankers, Big Coal backlash and even death threats; and fewer people had the inspiring impact of this determined mountaineer, who had spent the last two decades crisscrossing the country, leading protests and beseeching power brokers to defend his Appalachian mountains from reckless strip mining operations.

His message was simple and to the point: Love them or leave them, just don’t destroy them."

US Just Experienced Warmest Year-to-Date Period Ever | Common Dreams

US Just Experienced Warmest Year-to-Date Period Ever | Common Dreams
"Climate change continues to bring extreme, record breaking weather to the U.S., according to the most recent calculations from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released Monday.

The contiguous U.S. just experienced the third hottest summer ever. And the year-to-date (Jan. - Aug.) period was also the warmest first 8 months ever recorded for the contiguous U.S.

The summer (June - Aug.) national average was 2.3°F above the 20th century average at 74.4°F, surpassed only by the summers of 2011 and 1936 for warmest summer in recorded history.

For the year-to-date period, the contiguous U.S. was 4.0°F above the 20^th century average at 58.7°F, surpassing the previous record for this period set in 2006."

Paul Ryan Supported Green Auto Loans Before Launching A Political Attack On The Program

Paul Ryan Supported Green Auto Loans Before Launching A Political Attack On The Program: Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan, the father of the GOP’s slash and burn budget, is once again coming under scrutiny for asking the federal government for clean energy stimulus money. Last month, Ryan was called out for securing more than $25 million in stimulus funds for clean energy programs in 2009 — even while publicly [...]/p

Kit To Turn Gas Engine Into Hybrid To Be Released This Year

Kit To Turn Gas Engine Into Hybrid To Be Released This Year
"And since the Obama administration recently announced new fuel efficiency standards of 54.5 mpg by 2025, it makes it even more likely that this technology will spread in order to meet the new goals."

Why Climate Change Is A Public Health Issue

Why Climate Change Is A Public Health Issue: Some public health officials argue that the image associated with global warming shouldn’t be a polar bear surrounded by melting ice caps, but rather a child suffering from heat exhaustion. Some social scientists believe that the issue of global warming could resonate with a larger segment of the general population if it is framed in [...]/p

Gov. Romney And Rep. Paul Ryan Want To Drill, Slash, And Sell Our Public Lands

Gov. Romney And Rep. Paul Ryan Want To Drill, Slash, And Sell Our Public Lands: by Jessica Goad Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential nominee, told The Reno Gazette-Journal earlier this year that he doesn’t know “the purpose of ” public lands. Presidents since Theodore Roosevelt—who was an avid hunter and the father of American conservation—have realized the many purposes of public lands. They support our nation’s energy [...]/p

Shell Bores Into Arctic Sea Despite Flimsy Safety Tests | Common Dreams

Shell Bores Into Arctic Sea Despite Flimsy Safety Tests | Common Dreams
"Shell began drilling into the Arctic on Sunday despite little safety testing and without its containment barge."

America Is Only Nation Where Climate Scientists Face Organized Harassment

America Is Only Nation Where Climate Scientists Face Organized Harassment: Katherine Bagley, via InsideClimate News The harassment faced by U.S.-based climate scientists has been well documented in the media—but not the harassment of scientists in Europe, Canada or the rest of the world. That’s because there hasn’t been much to report. While outspoken scientists of human-caused climate change in the United States endure torrents of [...]/p

Romney Funder Miracle Gro Fined $12.5 Million For Violating Pesticide Laws

Romney Funder Miracle Gro Fined $12.5 Million For Violating Pesticide Laws: Scotts Miracle-Gro, the company best known for its eponymous fertilizer, has been ordered to pay $12.5 million in civil and criminal fines for violating the Environmental Protection Agency’s pesticide laws, a judge ruled on Friday. The company plead guilty to “illegally applying insecticides to its wild bird food products that are toxic to birds, falsifying [...]/p

Climate Change Wreaks Havoc on US Power Plants | Common Dreams

Climate Change Wreaks Havoc on US Power Plants | Common Dreams
"The warmest summer on record in the US, along with increased demand and diminished water supplies have put intense and unexpected pressure on the nation's power plants, according to new reporting by the Washington Post."

At Universities, Fracking Research Funded by Oil and Gas Companies | Common Dreams

At Universities, Fracking Research Funded by Oil and Gas Companies | Common Dreams
"Critics are calling it "frackademia"—the nexus between academia and companies with a stake in "fracking," the controversial method of extracting gas and oil from shales."

National Pork Producers Council: Anti-Science & Anti-Animal | Common Dreams

National Pork Producers Council: Anti-Science & Anti-Animal | Common Dreams
"The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) summed up its anti-scientific and anti-animal views when, in attempting to defend the industry’s confinement of mother pigs in cages so small the animals can’t even turn around, NPPC communications director Dave Warner told the National Journal, “So our animals can’t turn around for the 2.5 years that they are in the stalls producing piglets. I don’t know who asked the sow if she wanted to turn around....."

'Unprecedented,' 'Amazing,' 'Goliath': Scientists Describe Arctic Sea Ice Melt | Common Dreams

'Unprecedented,' 'Amazing,' 'Goliath': Scientists Describe Arctic Sea Ice Melt | Common Dreams
"he rate of Arctic Sea ice melt has caught scientists by surprise, leaving them to describe the current record low levels as "amazing," "a Goliath" and "unprecedented."  While a record low was recorded on Aug. 26, the ice level continues to fall, and the National Snow and Ice Data Center reports that there is still a week left in the melting season."

Study: Extreme Weather Hammers Global Food System | Common Dreams

Study: Extreme Weather Hammers Global Food System | Common Dreams
"A new report released Wednesday says that the full impact of climate change and extreme weather events on global food prices is being underestimated and warns that without a more acute understanding of how global warming threatens agricultural systems and economies, governments will be unable to prepare for future disasters"

Genetically Modified Corn Gives Rise To Superworms As Agribusiness Lobbies Against GMO Labeling

Genetically Modified Corn Gives Rise To Superworms As Agribusiness Lobbies Against GMO Labeling: Agricultural giant Monsanto Company has risen to the top of the corporate food chain largely thanks to its seeds. These are no ordinary seeds — they have been genetically modified (GM) to withstand and even produce herbicides and pesticides. Monsanto’s GM corn and soybean seeds have become so widespread over the past two decades that [...]/p

Study: Extreme Weather Hammers Global Food System | Common Dreams

Study: Extreme Weather Hammers Global Food System | Common Dreams
"A new report released Wednesday says that the full impact of climate change and extreme weather events on global food prices is being underestimated and warns that without a more acute understanding of how global warming threatens agricultural systems and economies, governments will be unable to prepare for future disasters."

US-Funded Armies Slaughtering Record Number of Elephants | Common Dreams

US-Funded Armies Slaughtering Record Number of Elephants | Common Dreams
"The illegal elephant ivory trade is reaching record levels and “Africa is in the midst of an epic elephant slaughter,” reports the New York Times. As demand for elephant ivory grows in China, more and more poachers, including some of Africa’s most infamous armed groups, are killing elephants to cash in. Tens of thousands of elephants are being killed every year in Africa, conservationists say, as poachers kill them for nothing other than their tusks."

The Six Stages of Climate Grief | Common Dreams

The Six Stages of Climate Grief | Common Dreams
"Acceptance is the hardest stage, because what experts tell us lies ahead is so damn scary, it will make you want to hop into Rush Limbaugh's lap and stay there: We are surpassing all of scientists' worst-case scenarios by a long shot — we are now on track to an 11-degree Fahrenheit rise by the end of the century, according to the International Energy Agency. We've broken over 4,000 temperature records in the United States just this year, and scientists tell us record droughts, floods, storms, and forest fires all may become "the new normal."

We must accept this dreadful prognosis if we are to act appropriately."

Brooklyn's Self-Powered Solar Building: A Game-Changer for Green Construction?

Brooklyn's Self-Powered Solar Building: A Game-Changer for Green Construction?
"New York City's triangular-shaped buildings are notorious for being problematic sites for solar panels. Starting this fall, one five-story Brooklyn complex will defy that notion—by generating more solar power than it uses and becoming one of the city's greenest structures."

Drug Company Apology "Too Little, Too Late" for Thalidomide Victims | Common Dreams

Drug Company Apology "Too Little, Too Late" for Thalidomide Victims | Common Dreams
"Thalidomide, which was marketed worldwide in the 1950's and 1960's as a cure for pregnant women's morning sickness and other ailments, caused thousands of babies to be born with extreme birth defects, including missing limbs, malformed organs and blindness."

We Are Writing the Epilogue to the World We Knew | Common Dreams

We Are Writing the Epilogue to the World We Knew | Common Dreams
"The data continue to roll in, and they are telling us we are in the process of bringing an end to the world we evolved in, and creating a new, harsher world. We will be forced to devote more and more of our resources trying to adapt to this new world, and less on development."

5 National Parks That Could Be Threatened Under The Romney Energy Plan | Alternet

5 National Parks That Could Be Threatened Under The Romney Energy Plan | Alternet
"Mitt Romney recently released his  energy plan , which focuses extensively on turning energy development on federal public lands over to the states.  If states are determined to aggressively push fossil energy development, giving oversight of mining and drilling to them could put some of our special places at risk. "

Pledge to Resist Fracking: Writer-Biologist Sandra Steingraber Issues a Call for Action and a Warning to the Gas Industry | Alternet

Pledge to Resist Fracking: Writer-Biologist Sandra Steingraber Issues a Call for Action and a Warning to the Gas Industry | Alternet
"I choose to belong to a vision of an unfractured New York that turns its back on 19th century thinking and death-dealing fossil fuels and leads the world in the creation of a clean energy economy."

Rupert Murdoch's Foul Fukushima Flim-Flam | Common Dreams

Rupert Murdoch's Foul Fukushima Flim-Flam | Common Dreams
"And Rupert Murdoch's Wall Street Journal has just painted a tragic new coat over the radioactive wasteland of atomic flim-flam.

Its "Panic at Fukushima" speaks volumes to a nuclear power industry now crumbling at the core.  It fits an historic pattern:
When yet another radioactive leak emits from the local nuke---no matter how serious---the official response is hard-wired to include the phrase "no danger to the public."
When serious structural cracks surface at reactors like Ohio's Davis-Besse or Crystal River, Florida,  safety concerns are invariably dismissed with well-funded contempt.
As with fatally flawed steam generators at California's San Onofre, if it can make an extra buck, the industry will run these reactors into the ground, safety-be-damned.  Protected by federal taxpayer insurance and the bankruptcy laws, they know even a catastrophic disaster need not trouble their bottom line.  
When earthquakes rattle reactors in Virginia and Ohio, or threaten others near New York City and Los Angeles, the public is "never in danger."  Likewise a generation of Japanese heard for decades that reactors at Fukushima and Kashiwazaki were "perfectly safe."
But, now that earthquakes have hammered them both, we know who pays."

Climate Change Likely To Increase Spread Of The Flu

Climate Change Likely To Increase Spread Of The Flu: The U.S. is going through the worst outbreak of West Nile virus in history, a problem likely to be exacerbated by climate change. Today, new research from the University of Michigan suggests that climate change is also likely to spread the flu: [C]limate change could upset the carefully choreographed interactions between ruddy turnstone shorebirds and [...]/p

Avista investment to help Matrix strike oil in algae | Business & Technology | The Seattle Times

Avista investment to help Matrix strike oil in algae | Business & Technology | The Seattle Times
"Seattle-based Matrix Genetics is spinning out of Targeted Growth and launching its business of developing biofuels made from algae."

Renewable Electricity Nearly Doubles Under Obama: ‘I Think They’re The Future. They’re Worth Fighting For’

Renewable Electricity Nearly Doubles Under Obama: ‘I Think They’re The Future. They’re Worth Fighting For’: Non-hydro renewable electricity generation has nearly doubled since President Obama took office, reaching 5.75 percent of net electricity, according to figures from the Energy Information Administration. In 2008, before Obama entered the White House, non-hydro resources like solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass represented just over 3 percent of generation. Today, they total nearly 6 percent. [...]/p

GOP Budget Cuts Would Devastate Hurricane And Weather Forecasting

GOP Budget Cuts Would Devastate Hurricane And Weather Forecasting:  It’s late August. The Republicans are having their national convention. A huge tropical storm is bearing down on the U.S. Gulf Coast. So what’s new? We have had major hurricanes bearing down on the United States during four of the past six Republican conventions: Andrew in 1992, Frances in 2004, Gustav in [...]/p