As you may know from earlier coverage, the powerful G20 meeting this weekend in Brisbane didn’t go exactly the way its Australian planners intended when they drew up the agenda. However, it seems to have worked out as well as could be expected for the environment after all, considering the other glitches. The world leaders in
The G20 meeting of the world’s most influential political and economic leaders in Brisbane, Australia, began slightly off-track today, according to Reuters. President Obama put out a few words about climate change at the start, announcing a much-needed US pledge of $3 billion to get the world two-thirds of the way toward a $10 billion
The White House released a report this morning from the Council of Economic Advisers that shows the consequences of not doing something about climate change NOW. Our sister publication, CleanTechnica, has the full story, along with a word from noted Penn State climatologist Michael E. Mann. One important section of the report discusses a number of
In a couple of hours, everyone in the United States with access to cable TV and Showtime can hear President Barack Obama say he favors making the energy industry absorb the real price of the carbon it introduces into earth’s atmosphere. In other words, ante up the cost of carbon emissions. From Years of Living
Looks like a comment on today’s EPA carbon rule, but we do hope you’ll notice that this cartoon is seven years old. Thanks to the artist and the University of Colorado—Boulder for being ahead of their time! (Or not.)
(All figures are from the 2014 National Climate Assessment draft.) Later today (Tuesday, May 6), at 8 a.m. EDT, the National Climate Assessment and Development Advisory Committee of experts meets by conference call to approve the final version of the Third National Climate Assessment. The gist of their message, as Suzanne Goldenberg of The Guardian
Last week something rare and extraordinarily positive occurred on American television. Fortunately, through YouTube and 350.org, the rest of the world got to see it too. “Something positive?” a critic questions. “If climate change is as bad as you tree-hugger people claim it is, how can anything about it be positive?” The phenomenon tends to
President Obama meets with Kenguru CEO Stacy Zoern (photo: kenguru.com). More than three million Americans can celebrate when they hear this story. Made in the USA but in demand worldwide, the Kenguru—a driver-only electric vehicle with no seats—promises mobility-challenged people unprecedented access to the everyday world the rest of us take for granted. Imagine you
Fifty years ago, the drugstore giant CVS/Caremark came into being. Also 50 years ago, Surgeon General Luther Terry released the first federal government report linking smoking with disease. Today, the events have coalesced: CVS, one of the nation’s top retail pharmacy chains (Walgreen is #1, in number of retail stores; CVS, in overall sales), has
Readying Fukushima 1 Unit 4 for decommission operation, but… (Kyodo News/flickr.com/photos/simplyinfo/) Not so fast with the Fukushima decommissioning, TEPCO. A Japanese government-affiliated agency (the Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization) has advised the Tokyo Electric Power Company that its proposed method of clearing Reactor Unit 4’s exposed cooling pool needs a test run before anyone commits
President Obama in a report to Congress on Thursday announced his intention to follow the suggestions of then Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke to discourage Iceland from its whaling policy.
In a surprise move on Friday, President Obama ordered the EPA to withdraw its proposed regulation to tighten ground level ozone standards. Seen as yet another retreat from the president, the decision brought claims of victory from his GOP and industry rivals, and quick rebuke from his supporters and environmental watchdog groups.
Hurricane Irene has spent its force, entering New York as a downgraded Tropical Storm, and left many residents and experts breathing a sigh of relief over a storm that they thought could have been much, much worse.
Ending only September the 3rd, a group is planned to protest every day for two weeks, and more than 2100 people have signed up. Already, an estimated 222 people have been arrested, 65 on Saturday, 45 on Sunday, 52 on Monday and 60 on Tuesday, including Canadian actors Margot Kidder (best known as Lois Lane in four of the original Superman movies) and Tantoo Cardinal (indigenous actor best known for her roles in Legends of the Fall, Dances with Wolves, and Smoke Signals).
The U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today that up to $32 million dollars of Recovery Act funding will be used to expand the harvest of hydroelectric power. “There’s no one solution to the energy crisis, but hydro-power is clearly part of the solution and represents a major opportunity to create more clean energy jobs,” said Secretary Chu.
Full page ads questioning President Obama’s stance on climate change were published in the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Washington Times, and the Los Angeles Times last week, paid for by the Cato Institute. Environmentalists, journalists, and scientists alike are calling foul and poking holes in the assertion that “there
Last week news surfaced that several raccoons had been seen repeatedly in areas around the White House grounds. Humane traps have been set to capture them, and if caught, the fuzzy-looking bandits will be released in a forested area by the National Park Service. [social_buttons] Forget the need for economic stimulus, Barack, can you come
Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America today. As one of the first moves of his presidency, he has suspended all of former-President George Bush’s midnight regulations. The order was issued by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel directly following the swearing in of Obama. The
Over a hundred conservation, wildlife, and animal welfare groups have sent a letter to incoming Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack urging him to rethink the often cruel practice of “lethal control” of wildlife by the USDA. The coalition contends that animals are killed through such means as shooting from airplanes and helicopters, poisoning, gassing dens,
Last night, 12 homes across 400 acres of a Tennessee town were damaged after coal ash erupted out of a nearby storage pond. Today, thirty-nine environmental groups have petitioned Barack Obama to reject Bush’s new rule that will allow coal ash from power plants to be more easily dumped in abandoned mines, despite the known
As I mentioned earlier this week, Greenpeace will be holding rallies in 30 cities across America. Here in San Francisco, they will be showing off a 30 x 50 ft. banner (pictured here) in front the Golden Gate Bridge. Check back here at 1pm PST to see photos from the event.
[social_buttons]The UN Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Poland is ground zero for world leaders looking to take the next steps in tackling global warming. The international conference is aimed at negotiating a new agreement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, and to be finalized in Copenhagen in December of 2009.
[social_buttons] The League of Conservation Voters has launched a new campaign to counter Chevron’s newest greenwashed advertising blitz. In their new ads, Chevron asks, “Will You Join Us?” and gives examples of the things people can do on a personal level to stop global warming. They don’t mention what they as a company have the
To believe, or not to believe? That is the question of many on the far left and the fringes of the environmental movement. We cannot simply hope that Obama follows through with his promises, we must act to guarantee that he does. Nothing represents this dichotomy more than the mixed feelings I have about the
