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Tag: Environment

Lessons of the Exxon Valdez

Twenty years ago, the Exxon Valdez supertanker spilled at least 11 million gallons of oil into Alaska’s pristine Prince William Sound. The consequences of the spill were epic and continue to this day, impacting the environment and the economy.

Posted on Mar 24, 2009 READ MORE  |  16 COMMENTS



AP photo / Elizabeth Dalziel

Obama’s Plan to Save the World

Forget about terrorism for a moment. The potential catastrophe that climate change could unleash on America makes every other national security crisis pale in comparison. President Obama cannot secure the homeland without addressing this global emergency.

Posted on Mar 24, 2009 READ MORE  |  115 COMMENTS


Obama’s Fight Against the Politics of Evasion

Critics who argue that he is asking Congress to do too much are finding it far easier to talk about an overloaded system than to tell those without health insurance that they will have to wait a few more years.

Posted on Mar 22, 2009 READ MORE  |  11 COMMENTS


The Geezer Gang Is Staying on the Job

Amid the talk of generational conflict in these depressed times, there’s a chance for the boomer generation to make a virtue—or a revolution—out of the necessity of working longer.

Posted on Mar 19, 2009 READ MORE  |  2 COMMENTS


It’s Time to Put the Clamps on Tobacco

An idea that has been around for years now has reached that rarest of moments: There is a political environment that should, if reason prevails, produce legislation to require the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products.

Posted on Mar 16, 2009 READ MORE  |  32 COMMENTS



Flickr / cikaga jamie

Predicted Rise in Sea Levels May Be Way Short

A team of researchers has found that sea levels could rise up to three times higher over the next century than U.N. estimates have indicated. The findings have dire implications for the 600 million people who live in vulnerable areas. Scientists gathered in Denmark said they expect polar and glacial melting to accelerate.

Posted on Mar 10, 2009 READ MORE  |  3 COMMENTS



Flickr / kimberlyfaye

House Flummoxed by Green Initiatives

The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives had hoped to set an environmental example, but going green is turning out to be a bit of a challenge for the cigar-chomping Washington types.

Posted on Mar 2, 2009 READ MORE  |  1 COMMENT


Toxins ’R’ Us

The American Chemistry Council assures us that “we make the products that help keep you safe and healthy.” But U.S. consumers are actually exposed to a vast array of harmful chemicals and additives embedded in toys, cosmetics, plastic water bottles and countless other products.

Posted on Feb 24, 2009 READ MORE  |  16 COMMENTS



NASA / JPL

Global Warming Satellite Launch Is a Failure

NASA’s first effort to loft a satellite to help scientists determine where carbon dioxide is produced and stored around the globe ended in failure when the $270 million spacecraft crashed near Antarctica.

Posted on Feb 24, 2009 READ MORE  |  6 COMMENTS


Environment Probs
DFID / Hassan Bipul

Rich Nations Truant on Climate Pledges

Analysis is finding that, amid the historic neglect that rich nations show toward the poor, developing countries have received less than 10 percent of the funds promised to them by the developed world. This comes as countries in the global south struggle to respond to the myriad concerns about global warming.

Posted on Feb 20, 2009 READ MORE


Supreme Sexism

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s renewed struggle with cancer is both a demonstration of courage and a dismaying reminder that she represents a quota of one.

Posted on Feb 9, 2009 READ MORE  |  5 COMMENTS



Composite of images from Wikimedia Commons

Australia PM Calls Fires ‘Mass Murder’

Wildfires sweeping across southern Australia have killed more than 170 people, a number that is expected to rise. With news that arson could be to blame for some of the fires, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said, “There are no words to describe it other than mass murder.”

Posted on Feb 8, 2009 READ MORE  |  10 COMMENTS


Exxon Mobil
abcnews.com

Exxon Ignoble

Resilient and ultimately morally bankrupt, international oil darling Exxon Mobil has managed to take the 2008 medal for most profitable American corporation, despite a 33 percent fall in fourth-quarter earnings.

Posted on Jan 30, 2009 READ MORE  |  7 COMMENTS


stoplight
Flickr/takomabibelot

Obama Zeroes In on Auto Industry

President Barack Obama called for tougher regulations on auto emissions on Monday, promising not to let a sour economy stand in the way of progress. “I want to be clear from the beginning of this administration that we have made our choice: America will not be held hostage to dwindling resources, hostile regimes and a warming planet,” he said during a meeting with environmentalists in the White House’s East Room.

Posted on Jan 26, 2009 READ MORE  |  1 COMMENT


Eco-Femme

There’s No Delicate Way to Put This ...

Hello ladies. Would you consider reusable menstrual items? Please stay with me. 

Posted on Jan 12, 2009 READ MORE  |  45 COMMENTS


Work Hard, but Pray for Luck

The standard male narrative about flying solo to the top, bootstraps in hand, energized only by your own talents, always seemed a bit cockeyed to me. The female narrative was not so much self-effacing as it was realistic.

Posted on Jan 8, 2009 READ MORE  |  10 COMMENTS


On Thin Ice

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Posted on Jan 4, 2009 READ MORE  |  4 COMMENTS


ENTER_ALT_TEXT
pacific.edu

Great Barrier’s Grief

Leave it to global warming to ruin both a day at the beach and an entire oceanic ecosystem. Researchers are blaming the environment’s public enemy No. 1 as well as rising seawater acidity for what has been the slowest coral growth rate at the Great Barrier Reef in more than 400 years.

Posted on Jan 2, 2009 READ MORE  |  1 COMMENT


Let’s Pledge to Stop Being Stupid About Teen Sex

“Virginity pledges” are one of the ways that government officials measure whether abstinence-only education is “working.” They count the pledges as proof that teens will abstain. It turns out that this is like counting New Year’s resolutions as proof that you lost 10 pounds.

Posted on Jan 1, 2009 READ MORE  |  12 COMMENTS



AP photo / Craig Ruttle

Why I Am a Socialist

The free market and globalization, promised as the route to worldwide prosperity, have been exposed as a con game. We will either find our way out of this mess by embracing an uncompromising democratic socialism or we will continue to be fleeced and impoverished by our bankrupt elite.

Posted on Dec 29, 2008 READ MORE  |  210 COMMENTS


One Man’s Bid to Aid the Environment

A Utah student’s disruption of a federal auction has temporarily blocked a Bush-enabled land grab by the oil and gas industries.

Posted on Dec 23, 2008 READ MORE  |  30 COMMENTS


Schwarzenegger Wants It All

California’s governor tells “60 Minutes” how he went from a guy who drives a Hummer to a guy who drives a Hummer that runs on vegetable oil and why he wouldn’t count out a run for the White House.

Posted on Dec 21, 2008 READ MORE  |  17 COMMENTS


Rick Warren

Why Gays Are Upset About the Rev. Rick Warren

Rick Warren’s work on the environment, poverty and AIDS make him hard to pigeonhole, but a recent interview, during which he compared homosexuality to incest and pedophilia, crossed a line.

Posted on Dec 19, 2008 READ MORE  |  55 COMMENTS


It’s a Man’s Meltdown

Today’s brainteaser: Name the top female executives who were forced to go before Congress, explaining why their companies made multibillion-dollar mistakes that helped wreck the economy but nonetheless deserve billions in taxpayer bailouts.

Posted on Dec 18, 2008 READ MORE  |  16 COMMENTS


Olberman

Bush’s Legacy Untangled

Keith Olbermann, in this comma-laden “Countdown” diatribe, really lets loose on the idea of George Bush’s legacy being anything but a dishonorable, terror-filled and disastrous eight years.

Posted on Dec 10, 2008 READ MORE  |  14 COMMENTS


Chevron in the White House

President-elect Barack Obama introduced his principal national security Cabinet selections to the world Monday and left no doubt that he intends to start his administration on a war footing. It is revealing that his choice for national security adviser is a director of Boeing, a weapons manufacturer, and Chevron, an oil giant.

Posted on Dec 2, 2008 READ MORE  |  47 COMMENTS



Richard Ellis on ‘Diagnosis: Mercury’

Thinking of whipping up another tuna casserole? You may change your mind after reading this convincing expose by Jane M. Hightower, a San Francisco doctor.

Posted on Nov 28, 2008 READ MORE  |  16 COMMENTS


The Smoke Is Clearing

This week marks a decade since a consortium of state attorneys general negotiated the landmark settlement of lawsuits against tobacco companies. The results are in: Cigarette consumption has declined by 28 percent in the past 10 years.

Posted on Nov 24, 2008 READ MORE  |  3 COMMENTS



White House / Paul Morse

Bush Pardons 14

George W. Bush pardoned 14 criminals Monday, including a convicted violator of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. Of the 14, 12 were from states that voted for the president in 2004. Most had been convicted of drug-related crimes.

Posted on Nov 24, 2008 READ MORE  |  7 COMMENTS



AP photo / Carlos Osorio

Bailout or Bust: How to Save the Big Three From Themselves

There’s no guarantee that a bailout would save the incompetently managed American automobile industry. However, doing nothing may be worse, especially for the state of Michigan.

Posted on Nov 20, 2008 READ MORE  |  58 COMMENTS



Flickr / oxfam international

Bush Wants to Shaft Endangered Species Before Leaving Office

He may be a lame duck, but the president still has the power to mess with America. His latest project: pushing through rule changes that would reduce protections for endangered species. Given the wonky complexities of the rule-changing process, it will be difficult for Barack Obama to undo the damage, but then that’s the whole point.

Posted on Nov 20, 2008 READ MORE  |  10 COMMENTS


Obama
AP via YouTube

Obama Offers Change on Climate Change

How will an Obama administration differ its predecessor in terms of climate change? President-elect Barack Obama made a virtual appearance at a Los Angeles climate conference to drop some hints.

Posted on Nov 18, 2008 READ MORE  |  3 COMMENTS


Joe Lieberman
newsweek.com

Lieberman to Keep Homeland Security Post

After weeks of deliberation about former Democrat-turned-independent Sen. Joe Lieberman, congressional leaders from his former party came to some conclusions Tuesday about his political future.

Posted on Nov 18, 2008 READ MORE  |  17 COMMENTS



Flickr / Brave New Films

A Wal-Mart Christmas for a Wal-Mart Country

The giant discounter is the only store where hard-squeezed consumers can afford to buy anything, and so it has kept posting sales gains amid the retail bloodbath.

Posted on Nov 18, 2008 READ MORE  |  26 COMMENTS



imdb.com

Turning Trash Into Electricity

Here’s a solution to the energy crisis Americans are sure to love: A company called Geoplasma is building a plant in Florida that will vaporize garbage with a plasma torch, turning 1,500 tons of waste into 60 megawatts of the good stuff. It may not be as clean as solar, but hey, America is the Saudi Arabia of trash.

Posted on Nov 13, 2008 READ MORE  |  2 COMMENTS


Da Earth
bfs.admin.ch

Wanted: New Planet

If first you don’t succeed, get a new planet. A new World Wildlife Fund survey has found that, given the current rate of global consumption and taking into account the capacity of the Earth to regenerate its own resources, the human species will need an entirely new planet by mid-2030 to keep up with our demand for resources and waste disposal.

Posted on Oct 29, 2008 READ MORE  |  7 COMMENTS



Flickr / Oop

FDA Plastic Decision ‘Creates a False Sense of Security’

The chemical BPA is common in plastic products such as baby bottles and food containers, despite concerns among scientists and environmentalists about its safety. The FDA has defended BPA use and recently turned to an outside panel for backup. That group of scientists, however, ended up criticizing the agency’s guidelines.

Posted on Oct 29, 2008 READ MORE  |  8 COMMENTS



AP photo / Gerald Herbert

America’s Political Cannibalism

It is no longer our economy but our democracy that is in peril. Financial collapses lead to political extremism. The rage bubbling up from our impoverished and disenfranchised working class, glimpsed at John McCain rallies, presages a looming and dangerous right-wing backlash.

Posted on Oct 13, 2008 READ MORE  |  323 COMMENTS


ENTER_ALT_TEXT
wikimedia commons / Samuel Blanc

One-Fourth of Mammals Face Extinction

According to a new report, roughly a quarter of the world’s mammal species are at risk of extinction. Deforestation, loss of habitat and hunting are to blame for declining mammal populations around the world.

Posted on Oct 6, 2008 READ MORE  |  11 COMMENTS


Drill, Baby, Drill!

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Posted on Oct 5, 2008 READ MORE  |  4 COMMENTS



Flickr / dsearis

R.I.P. Offshore Drilling Ban

Congressional Democrats seemed to have turned in their spine—yet again—Tuesday when they announced they would allow the 26-year-old ban on offshore drilling to expire, a resounding sellout to the rhetoric of the McCain campaign and a reactionary move aimed at accommodating the crisis-ridden financial markets.

Posted on Sep 24, 2008 READ MORE  |  10 COMMENTS



chryslerllc.com

Chrysler’s Electric Car Coming in 2010

With gas-guzzling brands such as Jeep and Dodge, Chrysler has had a particularly hard time selling its cars to weary consumers, but it turns out that the company has three forward-thinking models headed to a showroom near you.

Posted on Sep 23, 2008 READ MORE  |  10 COMMENTS


Got Gas?

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Posted on Sep 21, 2008 READ MORE        


book cover

Does the Cold War Have Lessons for Today?

Carolyn Eisenberg takes a close look at Melvyn Leffler’s “For the Soul of Mankind” to ask whether our current troubles are rooted in a history that continues to haunt us.

Posted on Sep 19, 2008 READ MORE  |  22 COMMENTS


Fun With John and Sarah

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Posted on Sep 15, 2008 READ MORE  |  1 COMMENT


Palin and a Dead Bear
grizzlybay.org

Palin Finally Accepts Global Warming

After years of looking to energy profits instead of science, Sarah Palin has finally accepted the argument that human activity has led to an increase in global warming. Palin now says, “I believe that man’s activities certainly can be contributing to the issue of global warming, climate change.”

Posted on Sep 12, 2008 READ MORE  |  16 COMMENTS


Memoir Politics

Talk about role reversal. The Republican Party, which scoffs at the nonsense of “identity politics,” has staked everything on the compelling life stories of its presidential and vice presidential candidates.

Posted on Sep 4, 2008 READ MORE  |  8 COMMENTS


ENTER_ALT_TEXT
wikimedia.org

China Gets the (Sooty) Gold in Power Emissions

China’s unceasing economic growth has always worried environmentalists, and a new report by the Center for Global Development may put those concerns on a new level. After increasing power-plant emissions by a third this year, China’s coal-based power sector is poised to be the most polluting in the world ... even worse than that of the United States.

Posted on Aug 27, 2008 READ MORE  |  5 COMMENTS



Wikimedia Commons / Ansgar Walk

Interior Dept.: Talk to the Hand

Not only is George W. Bush’s secretary of the interior trying to rewrite endangered species protections, he also appears to be tuning out public input, which is required by law. Scientists and activists from more than 100 environmental groups have signed a petition demanding a longer, more democratic hearing before environmental protection goes the way of the icecaps.

Posted on Aug 22, 2008 READ MORE  |  10 COMMENTS


Smarter Than You!

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Posted on Aug 15, 2008 READ MORE  |  2 COMMENTS


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