Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Most People In Red States Are Not Climate Deniers, New Study Says

Most People In Red States Are Not Climate Deniers, New Study Says: Even Americans from the reddest of the red states overwhelmingly believe that climate change is happening, but sixteen states are doing absolutely nothing to prepare for it, according to two studies released this week.

The Climate Campaigner On The Senate Floor: Sheldon Whitehouse’s 50 Climate Speeches In 50 Weeks

The Climate Campaigner On The Senate Floor: Sheldon Whitehouse’s 50 Climate Speeches In 50 Weeks: Senator Whitehouse: "It’s one thing to be against science; it’s another to be the party against measurement. So the polluters and front groups don’t talk much about the oceans. But that doesn't change the fact. This is real. And it is past denying."

Following the Flow of Pollutants: Transport and Mixing in the Surf Zone

On Hotter Planet, Expect More Weather Extremes, say Reports | Common Dreams

On Hotter Planet, Expect More Weather Extremes, say Reports | Common Dreams
"While ice caps continue to melt and sea levels creep higher, low-lying coastal regions such as those devastated over the weekend by Super Typhoon Haiyan, are ever more susceptible to disaster"

World Scorns Australian Government For Abandoning Climate Agenda And Cutting Funds For Renewables

World Scorns Australian Government For Abandoning Climate Agenda And Cutting Funds For Renewables: The Conservative Australian Government has slashed renewable energy funding in its latest move to dismantle domestic climate change efforts. It also received negative international attention for lackluster action at the UN climate talks.

Climate Deniers Must Pay $90,000 For ‘Not Acting Reasonably,’ Court Rules

Climate Deniers Must Pay $90,000 For ‘Not Acting Reasonably,’ Court Rules: A New Zealand group dedicated to downplaying the existence of climate change has been ordered to pay $80,000 in costs for bringing a “faulty” lawsuit that had sought to invalidate data that proved the country’s temperatures were on the rise.

2013 On Track to Be One of the Hottest Years Ever | Alternet

2013 On Track to Be One of the Hottest Years Ever | Alternet
"This year is on track to be one of the hottest since record keeping began, according to a report released Wednesday by the World Meteorological Association (WMO)."

'Trust Us': World's Most Perilous Nuclear Operation Set To Begin | Common Dreams

'Trust Us': World's Most Perilous Nuclear Operation Set To Begin | Common Dreams
"the operation to remove the fuel rods from Reactor 4 has nuclear experts sounding every alarm bell they can find in order to draw attention to the potentially devastating results if something goes wrong with the effort."

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Climate Change Is Messing With Rainfall Across The Entire Planet

Climate Change Is Messing With Rainfall Across The Entire Planet: A new study finds that climate change is pushing rainfall patterns towards the poles, making wet areas wetter and dry areas dryer, as predicted by climate models.

Pennsylvania Looks To Double Its Renewable Energy Standard, For Real This Time

Pennsylvania Looks To Double Its Renewable Energy Standard, For Real This Time: The state legislature will consider bills that would require electric companies to obtain 15 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2023. Currently, the standard requires just 8 percent by 2020.

Amidst Major Solar Battle, Arizona’s Largest Utility Quietly Renews ALEC Membership

Amidst Major Solar Battle, Arizona’s Largest Utility Quietly Renews ALEC Membership: As hearings begin to determine the fate of Arizona's booming solar industry, Arizona Public Service, the state's largest utility, quietly renewed its membership in the corporate anti-clean energy group.

Can Supertyphoons Convince the Kochs to Stop Opposing US Carbon Controls? | Alternet

Can Supertyphoons Convince the Kochs to Stop Opposing US Carbon Controls? | Alternet
"Extreme weather and the extremist billionaires who back it."

THE FUKUSHIMA CRISIS COMES TO THE STATES

www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/fukushima-radiation-arrives-in-alaska-111213
"The catastrophe at the Fukushima nuclear power plant -- aka Yesterday's Tragedy -- appears to be ongoing, and Alaska now has become part of the story."

Read more: Fukushima Radiation Arrives In Alaska - The Fukushima Crisis Comes To The States - Esquire 
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Visit us at Esquire.com

TransCanada Has Already Had To Fix 125 Dents And Sags In Southern Keystone Pipeline

TransCanada Has Already Had To Fix 125 Dents And Sags In Southern Keystone Pipeline: Synthetic crude oil hasn't yet entered the southern segment of the Keystone XL pipeline, but a report released Tuesday by non-profit consumer rights group Public Citizen says the pipes are already bending, sagging and peeling to the point of a possible spill or leakage of toxic tar sands.

Ex-Prime Minister: Creating Nuclear-Free Japan Would Be 'Magnificent, Fantastic' | Common Dreams

Ex-Prime Minister: Creating Nuclear-Free Japan Would Be 'Magnificent, Fantastic' | Common Dreams
"Sitting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should follow the lead of the Japanese people by immediately abandoning nuclear power in the country, closing the existing plants and switching to safer and cleaner renewable energy options, urged two of Japan's former prime ministers on Tuesday."

Just Eat It: Big Money Spends Millions to Convince Washington It's None of Our Business What We Put In Our Mouths | Common Dreams

Just Eat It: Big Money Spends Millions to Convince Washington It's None of Our Business What We Put In Our Mouths | Common Dreams
"food, biotech and agribusiness giants barraged voters with ads and mailers to convince them labelling would raise prices and overwhelm their wee brains with too much information about what it is they're putting in their and their children's bodies"

National Geographic Maps Our Coastline After We Melt All Earth’s Ice, Raising Seas Over 200 Feet

National Geographic Maps Our Coastline After We Melt All Earth’s Ice, Raising Seas Over 200 Feet: The best science suggests that on our current CO2 emissions path, by 2100 we could well pass the tipping point that would make 200+ feet of sea level rise all but unstoppable -- though it would certainly take a long time after 2100 for the full melt-out to actually occur.

Stop Being 'Reasonable' With These Global Warming Enablers

Stop Being 'Reasonable' With These Global Warming Enablers
"First of all, let's get the terms straight. They're not climate change "deniers". They're climate change enablers.And I don't care if they're sincerely misinformed Christianists, Teabaggers, plutocrats or just stupid. Stop treating them as if they might have a point. They don't."

Yes, Typhoon Haiyan Was Caused by Climate Change | The Nation

Yes, Typhoon Haiyan Was Caused by Climate Change | The Nation
"It seems these days that whenever Mother Nature wants to send an urgent message to humankind, it sends it via the Philippines. This year the messenger was Haiyan, known in the Philippines as Yolanda."

The Untold Story Of The Dangerous New Experiment Coal Companies Want To Bring To America

The Untold Story Of The Dangerous New Experiment Coal Companies Want To Bring To America: On Nov. 14, the Wyoming Environmental Quality Council will review Linc Energy’s application for a “state research and development” license to drill thousands of feet into Wyoming’s portion of the Powder River Basin.

California Headed For Driest Year On Record

California Headed For Driest Year On Record: San Francisco received no rain in October and only 3.95 inches of precipitation since January.

Monday, November 11, 2013

We Have the Renewable Energy We Need to Power the World—So What's Stopping Us? | Alternet

We Have the Renewable Energy We Need to Power the World—So What's Stopping Us? | Alternet
"The environment is one bad news story after another. The Pacific Ocean is warming at a rate faster than anything seen in the last 10,000 years and we may have the warmest Arctic in the last 120,000 years. We’re told to brace for more and worse droughts, floods, heat waves, and storms. Coastal communities may disappear from rising seas, entire island nations are going under. If that all weren’t bad enough, there is a global wine shortage.
The bright side is that we aren’t being blindsided by an unknown enemy: Our relentless burning of fossil fuels is the big thing pushing us toward the brink."

New Apple Plant Will Run Entirely On Clean Energy

New Apple Plant Will Run Entirely On Clean Energy: The tech giant's new facility in Arizona will bring a manufacturing boost to the state, creating 2,000 jobs, all without requiring additional energy from Mesa.

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Expert: Typhoon Haiyan 'Off the Scale'

Expert: Typhoon Haiyan 'Off the Scale'
"Hugh Willoughby, professor of meteorology at Florida International University, says Typhoon Haiyan, which slammed the Philippines, is so powerful that instruments can't measure it's force. (Nov. 8)"

In Unprecedented Move, Spent Fuel Rods To Be Removed from Fukushima Reactors - Extended

The 10 Most Toxic Cities in the World | Alternet

The 10 Most Toxic Cities in the World | Alternet
"Toxic pollution can cause serious damage to human health. It’s a known cause of cancer, cognitive impairment, organ damage, and respiratory problems."

Friday, November 8, 2013

Tepco Strives for Milestone at Fukushima With Fuel Removal

www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-08/fukushima-chief-confident-spent-fuel-rods-can-be-removed-safely.html
"“The thing that keeps me up late at night is that they’re getting ready to unload the spent fuel in unit 4,” said Friedlander, who spent 13 years operating U.S. nuclear plants"

How A Modest, $12,000 Electric Car Could Be The Future Of The U.S. Urban Market

How A Modest, $12,000 Electric Car Could Be The Future Of The U.S. Urban Market: EcoV's new, cheap, low speed electric vehicles may not sound sexy, but they're well-suited to urban commutes and urban delivery fleets.

Fukushima: In-depth look at potential fallout

www.abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/world_news&id=9317789
"Nuclear Engineer Dr. Arjun Makhijani, president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, confirmed that ocean currents are carrying the radioactive water to the West Coast."

Exposed: Canadian Oil Industry's War Against Carbon Curbs | Common Dreams

Exposed: Canadian Oil Industry's War Against Carbon Curbs | Common Dreams
"Internal documents exposed publicly Friday have pulled back the curtain on the Canadian oil industry's war against carbon-curbing regulations in a bid to protect its profit margin over the planet."

Texas Homeowner Battles $3 Million Defamation Lawsuit For Exposing Fracking Company’s Pollution

Texas Homeowner Battles $3 Million Defamation Lawsuit For Exposing Fracking Company’s Pollution: Steve Lipsky, a Texas conservative homeowner, has found himself at the center of a $3 million lawsuit for defamation from an oil and gas company.

ALEC Forges New Bills for its Polluting Company Members

ALEC Forges New Bills for its Polluting Company Members
"Now, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is working on new model laws to protect its polluting member companies that participate in ALEC’s Energy, Environment and Agriculture task force (EEA)."

World Headed for a High-Speed Carbon Crash | Common Dreams

World Headed for a High-Speed Carbon Crash | Common Dreams
"If global carbon emissions continue to rise at their current rate, humanity will eventually be left with no other option than a costly, world war-like mobilisation, scientists warned this week."

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Monsanto Calls Out the Dogs in St. Louis: New Anger, Old Crimes Point to Reparations

Monsanto Calls Out the Dogs in St. Louis: New Anger, Old Crimes Point to Reparations
"The struggle against Monsanto is intensifying as a new awareness emerges that it must make up for the harm it has done."

Mysterious disease turning starfish to 'slime' on U.S. West Coast

www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=76044
"Scientists are struggling to find the trigger for a disease that appears to be ravaging starfish in record numbers along the U.S. West Coast, causing the sea creatures to lose their limbs and turn to slime in a matter of days."

Philippines Braces for 'One of the Strongest Storms Ever' | Common Dreams

Philippines Braces for 'One of the Strongest Storms Ever' | Common Dreams
"Super Typhoon Haiyan, known as Yolanda in the Philippines, has sustained winds of 195 mph with gusts up to 235 mph, according to recently updated data from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center."

A New Investment Project Could Point The Way To Renewables For The Global Poor

A New Investment Project Could Point The Way To Renewables For The Global Poor: In taking advantage of renewables, the global poor face the individual equivalent of the initial financing hurdles that often dog larger power plants.

Major Palm Oil Companies Accused of Breaking Ethical Promises | Alternet

Major Palm Oil Companies Accused of Breaking Ethical Promises | Alternet
"Large plantations are destroying forests, damaging wildlife and causing social conflict in Asia and Africa, a new report finds."

Four Reasons why Drilling for Oil in Yasuni National Park Needs to be Prevented | Common Dreams

Four Reasons why Drilling for Oil in Yasuni National Park Needs to be Prevented | Common Dreams
"If you ever wondered where the world's most biodiverse piece of land is, you might have guessed somewhere in the Amazon Rainforest. Well, there is a particular piece of the ever- dwindling-Amazon that takes the trophy for being the worlds richest place for animal and plant diversity: Yasuní National Park, inland Ecuador. However, in this incredible place it is located the largest reserve of heavy oil of this country."

How Does Your State Score On Energy Efficiency?

How Does Your State Score On Energy Efficiency?: For the third year, Massachusetts has taken the crown for most energy efficient state in an annual scorecard released Wednesday.

Handouts For Frackers: The Pennsylvania Plan To Give Drillers $1 Billion

Handouts For Frackers: The Pennsylvania Plan To Give Drillers $1 Billion: Supporters of the fossil fuel industry like to portray expanded drilling as a free market triumph, but in Pennsylvania, taxpayers pick up the bill.

Super Typhoon Haiyan, Stongest Storm On Earth This Year, Heading For Philippines

Super Typhoon Haiyan, Stongest Storm On Earth This Year, Heading For Philippines: Thousands are being evacuated as a super typhoon approaches the Philippines.

Fossil Fuels Receive $500 Billion A Year In Government Subsidies Worldwide

Fossil Fuels Receive $500 Billion A Year In Government Subsidies Worldwide: “If their aim is to avoid dangerous climate change, governments are shooting themselves in both feet,” a report by the Overseas Development Institute said.

Monsanto May Have Won the Battle for I-522, But the Future of Food Is Not Lost | Common Dreams

Monsanto May Have Won the Battle for I-522, But the Future of Food Is Not Lost | Common Dreams
"As national media outlets announced the failure of Washington state’s Initiative 522—a measure that would require labeling of foods containing genetically engineered ingredients—those advocating for the measure paused. The race was still too early to call, they said, despite a nearly 10 percent difference in early results."

Corporate cash sways voters on GMO foods

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Nuns Hold Anti-Pipeline Protest At The Kentucky State Capitol

Nuns Hold Anti-Pipeline Protest At The Kentucky State Capitol: “It matters how we treat the Earth, the land, the water and all inhabitants of the Earth,” one of the protesters said Tuesday.

Top Texas Republican Thinks Abortion Caused Global Warming

Top Texas Republican Thinks Abortion Caused Global Warming: David Barton: "A door has been opened and we have said, you know, we embrace a wicked policy. Okay, then I’ll take my hand of protection off your nation, and whap! Here comes storms like we’ve never seen before..."

Record-breaking Greenhouse Gas Levels in Atmosphere: 'Time is Not On Our Side' | Common Dreams

Record-breaking Greenhouse Gas Levels in Atmosphere: 'Time is Not On Our Side' | Common Dreams
"The amount of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in our atmosphere reached a record high in 2012, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), continuing an upward and accelerating trend which, according to report authors, spells "devastating consequences" for the future of the planet."

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Massive Toxic Japanese Tsunami Island of Trash Headed Toward US

Massive Toxic Japanese Tsunami Island of Trash Headed Toward US
"This is the type of radiation whose long term impact is still unknown.  But one can safely say, it is not something that improves the health of Mother Earth or the people who will come into contact with it.  In this case, individuals on the West Coast of North America are potentially endangered by the breakdown of a nuclear power plant in Japan."

Fukushima Trial Run Begins Dangerous Reactor 4 Clean-Up | Common Dreams

Fukushima Trial Run Begins Dangerous Reactor 4 Clean-Up | Common Dreams
"Preparations to begin the potentially catastrophic decommissioning of the crippled Reactor 4 at the Fukushima nuclear power plant will begin this week with a test run."

Friday, November 1, 2013

Nations Fail to Save 'Last Ocean' From Exploitation | Common Dreams

Nations Fail to Save 'Last Ocean' From Exploitation | Common Dreams
"For the third time in a row, nations who had gathered to create a plan to protect two massive areas of the Antarctic have failed, leaving a pristine area known as the "Last Ocean" for its abundant and largely untouched ecosystem open to industrial wreckage."

Say Hello To The First-Ever All-Electric School Bus

Say Hello To The First-Ever All-Electric School Bus: 2014 will be the first time U.S. drivers see an electric engine outfitted in the familiar black and yellow of a school bus.

New Executive Order Will Help Communities Prepare for Extreme Weather | Alternet

New Executive Order Will Help Communities Prepare for Extreme Weather | Alternet
"The order will encourage local planners to take the future effects of climate change into account when spending federal money to build infrastructure."

Humankind's Most Dangerous Moment?

The Fight to Take Public Assets Back from Private Control May Be Winning in California | Alternet

The Fight to Take Public Assets Back from Private Control May Be Winning in California | Alternet
"No state has seen more "reverse" privatizations of water resources than California."