Climate Champion Ed Markey Wins Massachusetts Senate Race

Climate Champion Ed Markey Wins Massachusetts Senate Race: Representative Ed Markey will soon have a new title: United States Senator. In Tuesday’s special election to replace current Secretary of State John Kerry, Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly backed the longtime congressman over private equity investor Republican Gabriel Gomez. Throughout his 37 years in Congress, Markey has fought for an array of clean energy and environmental [...]/p

The Texas-Oklahoma Red River Smackdown Foreshadows Water Fights To Come

The Texas-Oklahoma Red River Smackdown Foreshadows Water Fights To Come: Here’s a preview of the way climate change and human-driven global warming could upend our society, in the form of a recently decided Supreme Court case. Over the last few years, a dispute between Texas and Oklahoma over the 35-year old Red River Compact has been winding its way through the court system. The compact [...]/p

Possible And Profitable Action On Climate Change: Danish Minister Praises Obama’s New Plan

Possible And Profitable Action On Climate Change: Danish Minister Praises Obama’s New Plan: President Obama’s Climate Action Plan is promising. Curbing global warming will demand serious action from all of us. Needless to say, US leadership makes a great difference. Denmark is a mouse compared to the US elephant, but our experience proves that the President’s Plan is indeed possible and can be profitable. Over the past 30 years, the [...]/p

How The Supreme Court Just Undercut The Environmental Progress Obama Envisions

How The Supreme Court Just Undercut The Environmental Progress Obama Envisions: On the day that President Obama made a major announcement on his commitment to protecting the environment, the U.S. Supreme Court had other ideas. In a 5-4 ruling that could dramatically expand challenges to environmental land use laws, the court held Tuesday that a state’s regulation of privately owned wetlands was subject to severe constitutional [...]/p

Cable News Virtually Ignores Obama’s Major Climate Speech

Cable News Virtually Ignores Obama’s Major Climate Speech: On Tuesday, President Obama rolled out a plan to cap carbon emissions at existing power plants, improve efficiency standards on automobiles, double the amount of electricity produced with renewables, and lead a global movement to address climate change. But the media virtually ignored it. All of the three major news networks spent mere minutes on [...]/p

The Oil Industry Must Pay for Their Waste

Why the U.S. Is Becoming Ground Zero For the Dirtiest Energy [With Slideshow] | Alternet

Why the U.S. Is Becoming Ground Zero For the Dirtiest Energy [With Slideshow] | Alternet
"The practice that has devastated parts of Canada is already underway in the U.S. and things could get a lot worse."

President Obama’s Second-Term Plan To Address Climate Change

President Obama’s Second-Term Plan To Address Climate Change: On Tuesday, at 1:35 p.m. in a speech at Georgetown University, President Obama will tell the country in detail how he will address climate change during his second term. The plan, according to senior administration officials, has three pillars: cutting carbon pollution in America, leading international efforts to cut global emissions, and preparing the U.S. [...]/p

Why You Shouldn’t Be Surprised That The National Zoo Lost A Red Panda

Why You Shouldn’t Be Surprised That The National Zoo Lost A Red Panda: Rusty, the adorable red panda pictured above, escaped from Washington’s National Zoo today. While everyone is hoping for Rusty’s safe return, it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on the decrepit state of America’s zoo system — and what that says about America’s budget priorities. Though zoo officials still aren’t sure how Rusty got out, [...]/p

How Hot will it Get?

The Price of Sand

The Price of Sand
'The industry can't do without the silica - hence the gold rush in sand that is destroying landscapes, particularly in Wisconsin and Illinois, but increasingly in Minnesota."

Scientist: ‘Miami, As We Know It Today, Is Doomed. It’s Not A Question Of If. It’s A Question Of When.’

Scientist: ‘Miami, As We Know It Today, Is Doomed. It’s Not A Question Of If. It’s A Question Of When.’: pJeff Goodell has a must-read piece in Rolling Stone, “Goodbye, Miami: By century’s end, rising sea levels will turn the nation’s urban fantasyland into an American Atlantis. But long before the city is completely underwater, chaos will begin.” Goodell has talked to many of the leading experts on Miami including Harold Wanless, chair of University [...]/p

Obama Will Announce Regulation Of CO2 From Existing Power Plants On Tuesday

Obama Will Announce Regulation Of CO2 From Existing Power Plants On Tuesday: The White House tweeted on Saturday that Obama’s long-awaited climate speech will come Tuesday afternoon at Georgetown University. The President said in an accompanying video (below): In my inaugural address, I pledged that America would respond to the growing threat of climate change for the sake of our children and future generations. This Tuesday, I’ll [...]/p

Massive Flooding In Alberta Canada Forces 75,000 To Flee

Massive Flooding In Alberta Canada Forces 75,000 To Flee: Parts of Alberta, Canada were hit by extreme flooding the size of New York State on Friday, forcing 75,000 to evacuate their homes. Hit by heavy rain, people have abandoned their cars and low-lying residences in flooded waters Mayor Naheed Nenshi described as “an ocean at the moment.” Across the world, cities in Germany have [...]/p

The Alarming Science Behind Climate Change’s Increasingly Wild Weather: Ostro And Francis On Video

The Alarming Science Behind Climate Change’s Increasingly Wild Weather: Ostro And Francis On Video: Earlier this month, Chris Mooney moderated a terrific Climate Desk event featuring top climate researcher Jennifer Francis along with senior Weather Channel meteorologist (and former skeptic) Stu Ostro. Climate Desk summarizes their findings: Ostro’s observations suggest that global warming is increasing the atmosphere’s thickness, leading to stronger and more persistent ridges of high pressure, which [...]/p

Nurses, Environmentalists Lead Keystone XL Protest in San Francisco

NASA ScienceCasts: Arctic Permafrost

Climate Change, Migration and Security in South Asia

Tennessee Official Says Complaining About Water Quality Could Be Considered 'Act of Terrorism' | Alternet

Tennessee Official Says Complaining About Water Quality Could Be Considered 'Act of Terrorism' | Alternet
"The claim was made during a meeting with residents who say the "cloudy, odd-tasting water" is making their children sick."

Time for the Fossil Fuel Industry to Pay for Their Waste...

Top Ten Things The President Should Announce In His Highly-Anticipated Climate Speech

Top Ten Things The President Should Announce In His Highly-Anticipated Climate Speech: On Wednesday at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, President Obama said “we have to get to work on” climate change, “the global threat of our time.” The president has said as much many times over the last five years. His remarks on global warming under the surprisingly sweltering German sun were only a few paragraphs [...]/p

Federal Government Charges Lower Royalties Than Many States For Oil And Gas Drilling, Taxpayers Lose Out

Federal Government Charges Lower Royalties Than Many States For Oil And Gas Drilling, Taxpayers Lose Out: A report released today by the Center for Western Priorities shows that taxpayers are potentially losing hundreds of millions of dollars from low royalty rates for oil and gas drilling on public lands. And, as seen in the graph above, many states charge a higher royalty rate than the federal government for drilling on their [...]/p

Puerto Rico Senate Fights Back Against Monsanto GMO and Toxic Research on Island

Puerto Rico Senate Fights Back Against Monsanto GMO and Toxic Research on Island
"The Puerto Rico Senate agricultural committee is attempting to regulate experimentation with GMO seeds, specifically due to Monsanto research facilities located on the island.  According to the website Corpwatch, however, Monsanto wouldn't even send a representative to testify at a hearing about GMO research and its potential dangers."

The end of sockeye salmon?

The end of sockeye salmon?
"The habitat for half the world supply of wild sockeye salmon — as well as a critical area for other wildlife, tourism and native peoples — is at urgent risk of being filled with pollutants, and sterilized in the name of gold and copper mining."

Palm-Oil Giants Dodge Responsibility for Toxic Smog Covering Singapore | Common Dreams

Palm-Oil Giants Dodge Responsibility for Toxic Smog Covering Singapore | Common Dreams
"As a hazardous pollution fog blankets Singapore, environmentalists charge that the nation's vast palm-oil industry's slash-and-burn tactics sparked the environmental disaster."

Clear Evidence That Corporate America Wants the Govt. to Treat Protesters as 'Terrorists' | Alternet

Clear Evidence That Corporate America Wants the Govt. to Treat Protesters as 'Terrorists' | Alternet
"Corporations are trying to use the PATRIOT Act in ways that have nothing to do with Osama Bin Laden because the PATRIOT Act gives transnational corporations the power to snuff out the activism of all those who oppose them."

Oil spill...Every Plant & Tree Died

Congress no help in Obama's push to address climate, energy issues

Largest Toxic Wastewater Spill Goes Unreported for 11 Days | Common Dreams

Largest Toxic Wastewater Spill Goes Unreported for 11 Days | Common Dreams
"When toxic wastewater spills in the woods and no one's there to see it, does it leave a mark?

Or, rather, when the agency responsible for the property fails to report it, can it just go away?"

Nobel Laureates to Obama: No Keystone XL! | Common Dreams

Nobel Laureates to Obama: No Keystone XL! | Common Dreams
"A group of Nobel Peace laureates called for the immediate rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline in a letter sent to President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry Tuesday."

Buzz off, Monsanto

Buzz off, Monsanto
"Last week, the term “bee-washing” emerged in public conversation. It doesn’t refer to some new bee cleaning service, but to the insidious efforts of Monsanto and other pesticide corporations to discredit science about the impacts of pesticides on bees — especially neonicotinoids — by creating public relations tours, new research centers and new marketing strategies."

Toxic Radiation Soars in Fukushima Groundwater | Common Dreams

Toxic Radiation Soars in Fukushima Groundwater | Common Dreams
"High levels of a cancer-causing radioactive substance has been found in groundwater surrounding the Fukushima nuclear power plant, following reports of storage tank leaks and  concerns that more contaminated waste-water will soon reach the ocean."

Back-Door Tar Sands Scheme Blocked by Local Community | Common Dreams

Back-Door Tar Sands Scheme Blocked by Local Community | Common Dreams
"A backdoor plan by Canada's Enbridge and the US-based ExxonMobil to establish an alternate tar sands pipeline has met fierce resistance in the small town of South Portland, Maine where the proposed export terminal would be built."

Processed Food Companies Spend Big Bucks Making Food Look ‘Imperfect’ To Make You Think It’s Natural

Processed Food Companies Spend Big Bucks Making Food Look ‘Imperfect’ To Make You Think It’s Natural: That natural-looking sliced turkey you buy from the grocery store may not actually be very “natural.” The Associated Press reports that fast and processed food makers have been trying their hardest to make products look “imperfect” in an attempt to convince consumers that they’re just as natural or fresh as a home-cooked meal. For instance, [...]/p

New York’s ‘Food Recycling’ Program Could Be The Future Of Waste And Energy

New York’s ‘Food Recycling’ Program Could Be The Future Of Waste And Energy: New Yorkers’ food scraps will soon be turned into electricity, thanks to a new initiative announced Sunday by the office of Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The new “food recycling” program will call for the construction of a composting facility in the New York region to take 100,000 tons of food waste a year — just one [...]/p

‘Every Plant And Tree Died’: Huge Alberta Pipeline Spill Raises Safety Questions As Keystone Decision Looms

‘Every Plant And Tree Died’: Huge Alberta Pipeline Spill Raises Safety Questions As Keystone Decision Looms: As the Obama administration’s decision regarding whether to approve the controversial Keystone XL pipeline draws nearer, the latest disaster is raising serious concerns about the safety of Canada’s rapidly expanding pipeline network. A massive toxic waste spill from an oil and gas operation in northern Alberta is being called one of the largest recent environmental [...]/p

Gov. Rick Scott Deflowers Florida

www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/06/gov-rick-scott-deflowers-florida
"The proceeds would have gone to the Florida Wildflower Foundation, which for 13 years has been using license plate fees to dole out $2.5 million in grants to schools, garden clubs and other green-thumb groups to plant native Florida flowers. The only problem is that on Friday afternoon, Gov. Rick Scott (R) vetoed the bill."

New Poll: Voters Favor Protecting Public Lands Over Drilling Them

New Poll: Voters Favor Protecting Public Lands Over Drilling Them: A poll released today by the Center for American Progress shows strong evidence that Americans believe energy development and land conservation are out of balance. It also demonstrates that there is a wide gap between political rhetoric by the oil and gas industry and their allies in Congress and the opinions of westerners about oil [...]/p

Exceptional 2012 Greenland Ice Melt Caused By Jet Stream Changes That May Be Driven By Global Warming

Exceptional 2012 Greenland Ice Melt Caused By Jet Stream Changes That May Be Driven By Global Warming: New research finds that “unusual changes in atmospheric jet stream circulation caused the exceptional surface melt of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) in summer 2012.” Prof. Jennifer Francis tells me these changes are consistent with those caused by warming-driven “Arctic Amplification.” And that means GrIS may melt faster than climate models have projected. Extent of [...]/p

June 18 News: Autism Is Twice As Likely In Children Living Near High Air Pollution Areas

June 18 News: Autism Is Twice As Likely In Children Living Near High Air Pollution Areas: The largest study to date that examines the link between air pollution and autism found that women living in high-pollution areas were twice as likely to have a child with the disorder. [Bloomberg] Researchers seeking the roots of autism have linked the disorder to chemicals in air pollution and, in a separate study, found that [...]/p

June 17 News: Tar Balls Continue To Wash Up On Gulf Coast Beaches

June 17 News: Tar Balls Continue To Wash Up On Gulf Coast Beaches: BP is stopping regular cleanup patrols in the Gulf, even though oil continues to wash up on the shores of the region. [AP] Finding tar balls linked to the BP oil spill isn’t difficult on some Gulf Coast beaches, but the company and the government say it isn’t common enough to keep sending out the [...]/p

What Fighting Deforestation Can And Can’t Achieve

What Fighting Deforestation Can And Can’t Achieve: When we talk about combating climate, the most obvious issues that come to mind are policies to prevent carbon dioxide emissions — cap-and-trade programs and carbon taxes and environmental regulations. Then there are the technological solutions like renewable energy and electrified vehicle fleets and more energy efficient infrastructure. If people are feeling desperate, they start [...]/p

Fracking Puts Squeeze on Drought-Striken Farmers | Common Dreams

Fracking Puts Squeeze on Drought-Striken Farmers | Common Dreams
"The fracking industry is putting the squeeze on water-strapped farmers in the central United States according to a new analysis released Monday by the Associated Press."

ALEC Tours Tar Sands, Works with Industry Groups to Block Low-Carbon Fuel Standards

ALEC Tours Tar Sands, Works with Industry Groups to Block Low-Carbon Fuel Standards
"The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) recently adopted a “model” bill from an oil-industry lobby group, that would limit the ability of states to negotiate regional “low-carbon fuel standards” (LCFS), a mechanism designed to reduce the carbon intensity of transportation fuels."

Six Horrifying Things About Pork Everyone Should Know

Six Horrifying Things About Pork Everyone Should Know
"American hog farmers have managed to eliminate all wholesomeness, purity, ethics and animal welfare from the pork industry."

The Father’s Day Present I Want: Action On Climate Change | Common Dreams

The Father’s Day Present I Want: Action On Climate Change | Common Dreams
"As a new father, the notion of creating a better world for our children became imperative, urgent. At the top of my list was helping to turn the tide on climate change, which will create an increasingly chaotic world for our children if we stay the current course."

Daddy, Could We Have Our Planet Back Now?

Daddy, Could We Have Our Planet Back Now?: A Father’s Day essay on the world we’re leaving our children On the one hand, should I be blogging on Father’s Day? On the other hand, what more important day is there to blog on climate change than Father’s Day? So as a compromise, I’m doing a repost. Salon published my Father’s Day essay back [...]/p

NASA Finds ‘Amazing’ Levels Of Arctic Methane And CO2, Asks ‘Is a Sleeping Climate Giant Stirring in the Arctic?’

NASA Finds ‘Amazing’ Levels Of Arctic Methane And CO2, Asks ‘Is a Sleeping Climate Giant Stirring in the Arctic?’: A NASA science team has observed “amazing and potentially troubling” levels of methane and CO2 from the rapidly warming Arctic. Given the staggering amount of carbon trapped in the permafrost — and the fact that methane is a very potent heat-trapping gas — the space agency is now asking: “Is a Sleeping Climate Giant Stirring [...]/p

Amid Soaring Demand For Soldiers Trained In Solar Power A New Scholarship Program Begins

Amid Soaring Demand For Soldiers Trained In Solar Power A New Scholarship Program Begins: Clean Technica took note on Thursday of new developments in the growing partnership between Solar Energy International (SEI) and the United States military. The former is an educational organization, founded in 1991, that offers training in solar power jobs as well as other renewable industries. They just recently passed the 30,000 alumni mark. Now SEI [...]/p

Sailing to Save The Polynesian Islands From Climate Destruction | Alternet

Sailing to Save The Polynesian Islands From Climate Destruction | Alternet
"This four-year worldwide voyage, which launched on May 29, aims to raise awareness about climate change and its imminent threat to the Polynesian Islands, including Hawaii."

Sick Pigs from GMO Foods

University of Tennessee Set to Lease Forest For Fracking, Enriching Governor's Family

University of Tennessee Set to Lease Forest For Fracking, Enriching Governor's Family
"8,600 acres of the Cumberland Forest owned by University of Tennessee-Knoxville will be leased off to the oil and gas industry this August in a new form of "frackademia" - and one of the top financial beneficiaries will be the family of Republican Gov. Bill Haslam, who sits on UT-Knoxville's Board of Trustees."

Self-Proclaimed ‘Green Republican’ Has One Climate Policy: Build Keystone Tar Sands Pipeline

Self-Proclaimed ‘Green Republican’ Has One Climate Policy: Build Keystone Tar Sands Pipeline: Cohasset, MA — In Tuesday evening’s U.S. Senate debate in Springfield, Massachusetts between Rep. Ed Markey (D) and venture capitalist Gabriel Gomez, the Republican nominee uttered a sentence rarely heard from the mouth of a conservative politician. “I’m a green Republican,” he said. “I believe in climate change, and I believe that humans have had [...]/p

Nestle: Water's Corporate Takeover

Climate Scientists Ring Alarm Bell, NY Times Hits Snooze Button

Climate Scientists Ring Alarm Bell, NY Times Hits Snooze Button: The planet just keeps warming, as NASA data makes clear (via Tamino). It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. So the New York Times asserts today, “As unlikely as this may sound, we have lucked out in recent years when it comes to global warming.” But just last week, some [...]/p

Landslide Vote for GMO Labeling in Maine Legislature | Common Dreams

Landslide Vote for GMO Labeling in Maine Legislature | Common Dreams
"In a landslide 141-4 vote, the Maine House of Representatives voted Tuesday to advance bill LD 718, which would require special labeling for seeds and foods made with genetically modified (GMO) ingredients."

ANALYSIS: Fossil Fuels Extracted From Public Lands And Waters Emit 427 Coal-Fired Power Plants’ Worth Of Carbon Pollution

ANALYSIS: Fossil Fuels Extracted From Public Lands And Waters Emit 427 Coal-Fired Power Plants’ Worth Of Carbon Pollution: The hundreds of millions of acres of lands and nearly 1.7 billion acres of waters managed by the federal government are producing more fossil fuels than you might think. And more carbon pollution as well. The Energy Information Administration released new data last week showing the amount of oil, gas, and coal that were extracted [...]/p