How Maryland’s New Climate Plan Could Actually Lower Energy Costs

How Maryland’s New Climate Plan Could Actually Lower Energy Costs: Maryland's Climate Action Plan could actually lower electricity prices and boost job growth for the state's residents.

It Can't Happen Here? But it IS Happening There!

Congressional Task Force: Yes, Intensifying Wildfires Are Due to Climate Change | Common Dreams

Congressional Task Force: Yes, Intensifying Wildfires Are Due to Climate Change | Common Dreams
"A Congressional task force of representatives and climate experts convened on Tuesday, where they concluded that the worsening of wildfires devastating the U.S. is in fact due to climate change, an unprecedented statement for a government body."

A Nation On Fire: Climate Change And The Burning Of America

A Nation On Fire: Climate Change And The Burning Of America: Climate change is altering the fundamentals in the West, bringing higher temperatures, earlier snowmelt that extends the fire season, severe and prolonged drought, and insect infestations that kill millions of acres of trees.

New Study Shows Sea Levels Rising Faster, Higher Than Previously Thought (INTERACTIVE MAP)

www.addictinginfo.org/2013/07/31/new-study-shows-sea-levels-rising-faster-higher-than-previously-thought/
"basically, atmospheric carbon levels are like a very heavy, very fast train. Even if we can put the brakes on it, the mass and inertia involved means it will take a while for the train to stop completely. We have ignored the problem for so long — thank you, climate change deniers and greedy oil & gas companies — that it’s nearly impossible, at this point, to even slow it down."

New Mexico’s Elephant Butte Reservoir Dries Up

New Mexico’s Elephant Butte Reservoir Dries Up: The extreme drought that's gripped New Mexico for the past three years hasn't let up. Now, the state's largest aquifer is down to historically low levels, causing major problems for the state's people and wildlife.

Alberta Regulator Approves Jackpine Mine Expansion Despite "Irreversible" Environmental Impacts

Tax Corporate Polluters, Not Students - with Robert Reich

Divestment: An Old But Effective Strategy Is Being Revived For Climate Change Fight

www.addictinginfo.org/2013/07/30/divestment-strategy-climate-change/
"This movement consists of students at more than 300 university campuses, including all eight Ivy League schools, and even got attention from President Obama in his big climate change speech. McKibben has been successful in shining a major political spotlight on the Keystone XL pipeline, the future of which is in serious doubt at the moment."

Fossil Fuels’ Deadly Summer and the Growing Resistance | Alternet

Fossil Fuels’ Deadly Summer and the Growing Resistance | Alternet
"Disaster after disaster has plagued the fossil fuel industry, just as pressure is mounting to end its dominance."

Is Monsanto Spying on You?

Tar Sands Oil Has Been Leaking Into Alberta For 10 Weeks And No One Knows How To Stop It

Tar Sands Oil Has Been Leaking Into Alberta For 10 Weeks And No One Knows How To Stop It: The first leak was reported on May 20, with three others following in the weeks after -- making it at least 10 weeks that oil has been flowing unabated.

Greenland Ice Sheet: "Starting to Slip"

President Obama Ruptures John Boehner’s Pipeline of Keystone XL Lies

www.politicususa.com/2013/07/28/obama-boehner-keystone.html
"What Rep. Boehner never tells anyone when he discusses the project is that he stands to personally benefit from its approval.Boehner is invested in seven tar sands companies that will benefit from the pipeline’s construction. This is why Boehner keeps lying about the values and virtues of Keystone."

'There Is An Alternative': 44 Arrested at Coal Plant Protest | Common Dreams

'There Is An Alternative': 44 Arrested at Coal Plant Protest | Common Dreams
"Hundreds of climate activists from across New England marched on the Brayton Point Coal Plant in Somerset, Massachusetts on Sunday in an attempt to shut down the largest—and protesters say "dirtiest"—fossil fuel plant in the northeast."

“Ridiculous pseudo-science garbage”: Meet the GOP’s environment leaders! | Alternet

“Ridiculous pseudo-science garbage”: Meet the GOP’s environment leaders! | Alternet
"What do the 8 Republicans who sit on the Senate Environment Committee think about climate change? We break it down"

Tsunami of Public Outrage Builds in Colorado as Fracking Invades Cities | Alternet

Tsunami of Public Outrage Builds in Colorado as Fracking Invades Cities | Alternet
"What's happening in Greeley should frighten the citizens of every city that sits atop a shale deposit."

Poll: Young Voters Call Climate Deniers "Ignorant," "Out of Touch," "Crazy"

www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/07/poll-young-voters-climate-lcv
"Republicans in Congress who reject the science behind climate change could soon be reduced to political fossils, with new polling on Wednesday suggesting three-quarters of young voters find such views "ignorant, out of touch or crazy"."

“Ridiculous pseudo-science garbage”: Meet the GOP’s environment leaders!

“Ridiculous pseudo-science garbage”: Meet the GOP’s environment leaders!
"As scientists agree that the problem of man-made climate change is getting more and more urgent, a review of their records reveals that all eight Republican senators on the Environment and Public Works Committee do not believe the phenomenon even exists."

The Scariest Lake in the World Sits at the North Pole | Common Dreams

The Scariest Lake in the World Sits at the North Pole | Common Dreams
"Though the area of ice cover expands and contracts each year with the change in seasons, the photos show that the pole has been progressively melting since at least 2002."

Halliburton Agrees To Plead Guilty To Destruction Of Evidence In 2010 BP Spill, Pay Maximum Fine

Halliburton Agrees To Plead Guilty To Destruction Of Evidence In 2010 BP Spill, Pay Maximum Fine: On Thursday, the Department of Justice announced that Halliburton had agreed to plead guilty to criminally destroying evidence in the investigation of the BP Gulf oil spill in 2010. The company “signed a cooperation and guilty plea agreement,” will pay the maximum fine of $200,000, and undergo three years of probation. It also had already [...]/p

Report: North Pole Now a Lake

Report: North Pole Now a Lake
"The north pole, that great bastion of eternal cold and barren ice, is now a lake.

It’s a shallow lake, about a foot deep. It’s a cold lake. But it is, actually, a lake."

Fungicides Kill Pollinators: Study Reveals Industrial Farming's Threat to Bees | Common Dreams

Fungicides Kill Pollinators: Study Reveals Industrial Farming's Threat to Bees | Common Dreams
"Bees exposed to the fungicide chlorothalonil were three times more likely to be infected by a parasite linked to Colony Collapse Disorder, according to the research published Wednesday in the journal PLoS ONE."

How Governor O’Malley Plans To Ensure Maryland Meets Its Greenhouse Gas Emissions Targets

How Governor O’Malley Plans To Ensure Maryland Meets Its Greenhouse Gas Emissions Targets: In 2009, Maryland set the goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent, and today, Governor Martin O’Malley announced a comprehensive plan that could actually allow the state to meet it. O’Malley, who has been governor since 2006, made the announcement at a climate change summit at the Maritime Institute in Linthicum, Maryland in [...]/p

Climate Poll: Three-Quarters Of Young, Independent Voters Describe Deniers As ‘Ignorant, Out Of Touch Or Crazy’

Climate Poll: Three-Quarters Of Young, Independent Voters Describe Deniers As ‘Ignorant, Out Of Touch Or Crazy’: A new poll has found climate science denialism in Congress is quickly losing favor among young voters, both Republican and Democrat. The poll, conducted by Democratic and Republican firms for the League of Conservation Voters, found 73 percent of respondents associate climate change deniers with words like “ignorant,” “out-of-touch” or “crazy.” The firms conducted telephone [...]/p

House Republicans Sacrifice Environment To Spite Obama

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Fukushima Continues to Spew Its Darkness | Common Dreams

Fukushima Continues to Spew Its Darkness | Common Dreams
"Radiation leaks, steam releases, disease and death continue to spew from Fukushima and a disaster which is far from over.  Its most profound threat to the global ecology—a spent fuel fire—is still very much with us."

Is a Sleeping Giant Stirring in the Arctic?

New Research Finds Melting Arctic May Cost Global Economy $60 Trillion

New Research Finds Melting Arctic May Cost Global Economy $60 Trillion: The rapidly melting Arctic is not only a looming climate catastrophe, but new research shows it could be an economic disaster, as well. In findings published in the journal Nature, economists and polar scientists from the University of Cambridge and Erasmus University Rotterdam found that the ripple effects of climate change in the Arctic — [...]/p

Fire Breaks Out On Evacuated Gulf Gas Well

Fire Breaks Out On Evacuated Gulf Gas Well
"Federal officials say fire has broken out on an out-of-control natural gas well in the Gulf of Mexico well just hours after it was evacuated on Tuesday."

11 Reasons to Divest from the Fossil Fuel Industry | Common Dreams

11 Reasons to Divest from the Fossil Fuel Industry | Common Dreams
"There is a robust debate happening in university halls, around religious congregations, and at individual kitchen tables nationwide. The driving question: Should we divest from the fossil fuel industry?"

Is Climate Change Driving the Southwest Toward a Dust Bowl? | Alternet

Is Climate Change Driving the Southwest Toward a Dust Bowl? | Alternet
"A severe drought in the Southwest is devastating crops and farm communities—and sending a warning about climate change."

Arctic Methane "Burp": A Climate Catastrophe with $60 Trillion Pricetag | Common Dreams

Arctic Methane "Burp": A Climate Catastrophe with $60 Trillion Pricetag | Common Dreams
"Warning that a dramatic "burp" or "pulse" of methane from beneath the fragile permafrost of the Arctic caused by continued global warming would set off a "climate catastrophe," a new study says that the continued melting is also an economic "time bomb" that could cost the global economy $60 trillion."

How Last Week’s Hearing On The Social Cost Of Carbon Put Right-Wing Objections To Bed

How Last Week’s Hearing On The Social Cost Of Carbon Put Right-Wing Objections To Bed: While the White House’s recent revision to the social cost of carbon (SCC) is still raising hackles amongst Republicans and conservatives, a hearing last week quietly put to bed any substantive concerns with the update. At their worst, critics of the move have characterized it as an environmentalist con or an undemocratic power grab, thus [...]/p

USDA Fast-Tracks 'Rubber-Stamp' Approval of 'Dangerous' GE Seeds | Common Dreams

USDA Fast-Tracks 'Rubber-Stamp' Approval of 'Dangerous' GE Seeds | Common Dreams
"The USDA 'rubber-stamped' the first of many 'dangerous' new genetically engineered (GE) seeds Friday under the department's new streamlined approval process."

'Something Like Steam' Still Billowing from Fukushima | Common Dreams

'Something Like Steam' Still Billowing from Fukushima | Common Dreams
"The presence of the emissions in the reactor building is the second instance in less than a week."

TEPCO Admits Radiation Leaking Into Sea For Past Two Years

TEPCO Admits Radiation Leaking Into Sea For Past Two Years
"I wonder what they're not telling us? Because it's a little odd that this isn't front page news in America"

Welcome to Portage County, the Fracking Waste Disposal Capital of Ohio

www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/07/portage-county-ohio-fracking-waste-disposal-capital-midwest
"Nestled in the northeast corner of Ohio, about halfway between Cleveland and Youngstown, this 500-square-mile county pumped 2,358,371 million barrels—almost 75 million gallons—of fracking brine into 15 wells last year, driving enough liquid into the ground to fill a train of tanker cars that would stretch 37 miles. Most of the waste came from out of state."

Go See 'Blackfish' Before Sea World Stops You

Go See 'Blackfish' Before Sea World Stops You
"Blackfish isn't showing everywhere this weekend; it's coming out in staggered releases nationally. Check thefilm's screen schedule for a complete rundown."

An Ominous Alliance: Militiamen Showing Up in Wisconsin as Mining Co. 'Security'

An Ominous Alliance: Militiamen Showing Up in Wisconsin as Mining Co. 'Security'
"The first of these goons to show up on behalf of the Canadian mining company -- Gogebic Taconite, or GTAC -- that wants to rip these woods apart were employed by an outfit from Arizona called Bulletproof Securities. Then they quickly vamoosed when it emerged that they were not licensed to operate in the state of Wisconsin."

Se. Bernie Sanders On The Costs Of Climate Change

Something You Can Do Right Now About Global Climate Change

Something You Can Do Right Now About Global Climate Change
"If you live in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, DC, Maryland or Delaware, you can become an Ethical Electric member today and power your home with 100% renewable energy."

BP's Attempt to Avoid Gulf Victim Payments Blocked by Judge | Common Dreams

BP's Attempt to Avoid Gulf Victim Payments Blocked by Judge | Common Dreams
"In a "harsh retort," a US federal judge has blocked attempts Friday by oil giant British Petroleum (BP) to temporarily suspend payments to victims of the 2010 Gulf oil spill—their latest effort to evade accountability and compensation for their role in a disaster which continues to plague both gulf residents and ecosystems alike."

Petraeus' Course Syllabus Features 'Frackademia' Readings

Petraeus' Course Syllabus Features 'Frackademia' Readings
"Records obtained by DeSmogBlog pertaining to City University of New York (CUNY) Macaulay Honors College's hiring of former head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) David Petraeus to teach a seminar this coming fall reveal that his syllabus features two of the most well-known "frackademia" studies. 

"Frackademia" is shorthand for oil and gas industry-funded research costumed as independent economics or science covering the topic ofhydraulic fracturing ("fracking"), the controversial horizontal drilling process via which oil and gas is obtained deep within shale rock basins."

Deadly Heat Waves Are Sending Americans To The ER This Week

Deadly Heat Waves Are Sending Americans To The ER This Week: This June was one of the hottest on record — and this month, the high temperatures show no signs of abating in the East and Midwest. The current heat wave is beginning to send some Americans to the emergency room, and medics expert numbers of people seeking treatment for heat-related illness to rise this weekend. [...]/p

July 19 News: In A Hot Summer, The Real Story May Be Rapid Sea Ice And Snow Melt

July 19 News: In A Hot Summer, The Real Story May Be Rapid Sea Ice And Snow Melt: June 2013 was one of the warmest on record, but the real story may be in the rapid snowmelt across North America in May and the fact that the Arctic is losing sea ice at an alarming rate. [Washington Post] NOAA and NASA both ranked June 2013 among the top five warmest (NOAA fifth warmest, [...]/p

Gamechanger: Next Generation Wind Turbines With Storage Are Cheap, Reliable And Brilliant

Gamechanger: Next Generation Wind Turbines With Storage Are Cheap, Reliable And Brilliant: What makes a new wind turbine exciting? Wind companies are always trying to making their next turbine spin more efficiently and generate more power than the last, just as car companies are looking for better fuel efficiency and engine power. Advances usually come in small jumps in both cases, with a single percentage improvement cause [...]/p

NASA: Globally, June Was Second Warmest On Record

NASA: Globally, June Was Second Warmest On Record: How hot was it in June? So hot that NASA reports the only warmer June in the global temperature record was 1998, a year juiced by both global warming and a super El Niño. By contrast, 2013 has been hovering between a weak La Niña and ENSO-neutral conditions, which would normally mean below-average global average [...]/p

Like Father, Like Daughter: Science Denier Liz Cheney To Run For Senate In Warming-Threatened Wyoming

Like Father, Like Daughter: Science Denier Liz Cheney To Run For Senate In Warming-Threatened Wyoming: Former Vice President Dick Cheney’s daughter Elizabeth (Liz) Cheney has announced she will run for U.S. Senate in Wyoming. This could mean a brutal primary with the current sitting Senator, Mike Enzi. Enzi is no climate warrior, even though the state faces a doubling or tripling of wildfires if we don’t slash carbon pollution soon. [...]/p

Fruits of Fukushima | Common Dreams

Fruits of Fukushima | Common Dreams
"Now pictures have surfaced of grotesquely deformed fruits, vegetables and flowers near the plant. Some argue there's no definitive proof they're the result of radioactive contamination because haven't you ever heard of coincidence? We report, you decide."

Josh Fox: Gasland 2, Fracking-Quake Link, Gas Industry’s Use of PSYOPs

Josh Fox: Gasland 2, Fracking-Quake Link, Gas Industry’s Use of PSYOPs
"Scientists are warning that the controversial practice of natural gas hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, may lead to far more powerful earthquakes than previously thought. Fracking injects millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals deep into the earth in order to break up shale rock and release natural gas."

Fukushima Plant Leaking Radiation Directly Into Ocean For Two Years

Fukushima Plant Leaking Radiation Directly Into Ocean For Two Years
"By official measurement, the water coming out of Fukushima is currently 90,000 times more radioactive than officially "safe" drinking water."

How Climate Change Is Fueling A Rise In Deadly Diseases

How Climate Change Is Fueling A Rise In Deadly Diseases: In the summer of 2012, the mosquito-borne West Nile virus made a surprising comeback in America. In Dallas, the most affected region, 400 people contracted the disease and 19 of them died. That came as a shock to public health officials, since West Nile virus was thought to be in such precipitous decline that it [...]/p

Obama’s Plan for Energy-Efficient Federal Buildings Powered by Clean Energy

Obama’s Plan for Energy-Efficient Federal Buildings Powered by Clean Energy: Just as big businesses across the country, like Walgreens and Wal-Mart, have been installing solar panels on their roofs and cutting costs with energy efficiency, so too has the federal government. Detailing his climate action plan during a speech at Georgetown University on June 25, President Obama called for federal leadership in energy efficiency and [...]/p

Nation's Farmworkers Demand Protections From Toxic Pesticides | Common Dreams

Nation's Farmworkers Demand Protections From Toxic Pesticides | Common Dreams
"Farmworkers and their advocates from across the nation descended on Washington, DC this week to demand better protection from the pesticides they're exposed to while picking the nation's produce."

CLIMATE 101 with BILL NYE

World's 'Last Ocean' Now Up for Grabs Following Russia No Vote | Common Dreams

World's 'Last Ocean' Now Up for Grabs Following Russia No Vote | Common Dreams
"The world's "last ocean" will remain open for exploitation following a failed agreement amongst several countries that would have protected the Ross Sea along with the East Antarctica coastline from the global fishing industry."