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By Zachary Karabell
17.79
By Jonah Raskin
$16.47
$22
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Mike Keefe, The Denver Post —
Posted on Aug 15, 2008
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NASA
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The agencies responsible for the welfare of endangered species are proposing rule changes that would cut through all the red tape keeping animals such as the bald eagle alive. True to the administration’s tradition of considering the fox before the hen house, officials hope the changes will assist frustrated developers.
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RJ Matson, The St. Louis Post Dispatch —
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By Joe Conason — Touring America’s oil rigs and nuclear plants, John McCain sometimes sounds as if he’ll produce enough wind to power the nation all by himself.
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Wiki Commons
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While National Geographic may be the best magazine educating Americans about the horrors of the modern world, the organization also makes a point of highlighting positive earth news when it happens, such as the discovery that Congo may hold an additional 125,000 western lowland gorillas, which would double the known population of the critically endangered beast.
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According to an internal e-mail obtained by the AP, the chief of staff of the EPA’s enforcement wing has issued a gag order, telling staffers in June exactly what to do should a reporter, the inspector general or the Government Accountability Office call: “Please do not respond to questions or make any statements.”
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namtheun2.com
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The World Bank is being criticized for a persistent lack of environmental focus in an internal review of its lending activities. The new report rails against the environmental degradation caused by many bank-funded projects in poor countries that harm local communities in the name of “development.”
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The former vice president had some choice words for big oil on Saturday, when he stopped by the Netroots Nation conference in the liberal heart of Texas to elaborate on his energy ideas and connect the dots between America’s economic and foreign policy quandaries.
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O'Farrell, The Illawarra Mercury, Australia —
Posted on Jul 20, 2008
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By E.J. Dionne, Jr. — On the issue of gasoline prices, Republicans think they have a winner in their call for new drilling and Democrats are playing defense. Democrats need—this is a technical term—a lot more oomph. Al Gore wants to help them.
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AP photo / Andrew Brownbill
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Pope Benedict XVI hit a green note Thursday, pontificating (har har) about the environment to a crowd of pilgrims at the Roman Catholic Church’s youth festival in Sydney, Australia, and making good on his eco-friendly nickname, “the green pope.”
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Flickr / World Resources Institute Staff, File
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The former vice president has given America 10 years to completely shuck carbon energy or face dire national security consequences. In remarks to an energy conference in the nation’s capital, Gore compared his challenge to John Kennedy’s 1961 moongazing.
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Flickr / ccgd
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In keeping with his image, the president made a lot of noise on Monday while accomplishing absolutely nothing. In keeping with theirs, the Democrats condemned the president while making plans to roll over. George W. Bush lifted an executive oil drilling ban, but a national moratorium remains in place. The hot air, meanwhile, is getting to the Democrats, some of whom chastised the president while others worked up one of their famous compromises.
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commons.wikimedia.org / NASA
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A former EPA official alleged Tuesday that the vice president’s office influenced congressional testimony about the public health effects of climate change. Last October, it was revealed that six of 14 pages of the proposed testimony of the director of the Centers for Disease Control were deleted because so many references to global warming had been cut.
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Flickr / jslander
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Starting with 2009 models, new cars in California will sport a sticker that rates just how environmentally friendly they are, based on emissions and fuel economy. Not to be outdone, the European Union might require governments to monetize and budget for emissions.
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Politicians usually try to explain away their records once they bid for higher office. Take the case of just about any big-time Democrat and the issue of gay marriage. But San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who formally launched an exploratory bid Tuesday for the California governorship, says he’s not worried about his gay rights legacy: “We’re about civil rights and equal rights, you better believe it. ... I’m proud of that, I’m not going to hide from that.”
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Richard Ellis
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By Richard Ellis —
More than any other mammal (except of course Mr. Homo sapiens), Ursus maritimus, which translates as maritime bear, has been in the forefront of the news lately, the subject of television specials, lawsuits, congressional debates, and New York Times editorials. Why?
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RJ Matson, The St. Louis Post Dispatch —
Posted on Jun 30, 2008
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NOAA
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Nineteen years ago, the Exxon Valdez supertanker struck a reef in Alaska, causing an environmental catastrophe so devastating its impact continues to be felt. A court later slapped Exxon with $5 billion in punitive damages, but on Wednesday the Supreme Court ruled that the oil giant shouldn’t have to pay more than about a tenth of that amount.
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U.S. Air Force / Airman 1st Class Nadine Y. Barclay
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The Guardian reports that New Mexico, with its thousands of square miles of sun-soaked, wind-swept land, is vying to become the epicenter of the new green economy. Given the right tax breaks and technological breakthroughs, the Land of Enchantment could become the Saudi Arabia of sun.
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UNHCR / John Wreford
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A U.N. report Tuesday estimated the number of the world’s displaced refugees in 2007 at 11.4 million, a majority of which the U.N. says come from the U.S.-led conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Analysts also say the number of refugees threatens to grow even more due to new concerns such as climate change, environmental degradation and increasingly scarce resources.
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Flickr / dsearis
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John McCain is hoping that Americans, particularly those living in coastal states, are so sick of high gas prices they won’t mind a little extra offshore drilling. That’s a risky assessment according to The Politico and the former head of the Florida GOP, who said that back before fuel costs skyrocketed it “would have been like pulling a pin on a grenade and rolling it into the state.”
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Flickr / BBQ Junkie
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Here’s a little something to get that dad or grad you may have missed these last couple of weeks: Honda is rolling out the first commercially available hydrogen fuel-cell car. They get great mileage, emit only water vapor and run real smooth, provided they don’t Hindenburg. True to form, some Southern Californians are already on the waiting list.
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Olle Johansson, Sweden —
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engadget.com
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Fuel economy has done wonders for Toyota’s bottom line, so the hybrid pioneer has decided to add a plug-in to its lineup by 2010 and will have a hybrid version of every vehicle it makes sometime in the 2020s. Why so long? Because new batteries have to be developed in order to make the plan work.
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Clinton enthusiast James Carville tells CNN that Barack Obama should select Al Gore as his vice president candidate and energy czar in order to “send a signal to the world ... that America’s gettin’ serious about this horrendous problem that we face.”
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imdb.com
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Al Gore has had no shortage of accolades since his rebirth as front man for the environment, but, true to form, Italy’s La Scala opera house is determined to take “An Inconvenient Truth” over the top. An opera of the award-winning book and movie is set to premiere in 2011, and because it’s hard to make a character out of carbon emissions, it’s very possible the production will center on a certain former vice president.
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EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson got the oversight chairman’s blood going by refusing to answer a straightforward question, but it was fellow Congressman Darrell Issa who sent Waxman’s gavel flying. The best part about being chairman is you get to say: “I will have you physically removed from this meeting if you don’t stop.”
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Flickr / alforque
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A former EPA official, Jason Burnett, told congressional investigators that the White House interfered in a decision regarding California’s regulation of carbon emissions. EPA staff members were unanimous in supporting California’s right to tougher restrictions, Burnett said, but after the agency spoke with the White House and got “input into the rationale” from Bush aides, the state’s request was denied.
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Flickr / feverblue
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The plight of the polar bear has come to represent the real-world impact of the climate crisis, so it is only fitting that the Bush administration had to be ordered by a court to make a decision on the endangered status of the species. After years of delay, the Interior Department finally classified the animal as threatened, but also promised to fight any meaningful protection.
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AP photo / Dean Rutz
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John McCain pranced through a Washington forest with reporters Tuesday, speaking of his historical support for the environment and his plan to slow global warming. The move is seen as an effort to differentiate McCain’s brand of Republicanism from Bush, who ritually regarded global warming as a “theory.”
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Flickr / LHOON
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Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton agree on many issues, but it’s a bit surprising to see two candidates who’ve talked so much about the climate crisis and a new green economy tout their love of coal. Obama has an ad up in Kentucky that claims “Barack understands” the plight of the coal industry, while Clinton has promised voters in the state she would put more money into coal programs.
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Flickr / azrainman
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Exxon Mobil made $10.9 billion last quarter, but investors were disappointed that the world’s biggest oil company had only its second-biggest quarter ever. With a product that is harder and harder to find, shareholders who demand even bigger windfalls and consumers who are about ready to revolt, you almost have to feel sorry for the oil companies. No, you really don’t.
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Flickr / mape_s
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George Bush’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hasn’t been the most proactive defender of the environment. The agency has been avoiding a decision on the fate of the polar bear since 2005, but a federal judge has just ordered the administration to officially classify the world’s largest land predator endangered or not by May 15.
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Tab, The Calgary Sun —
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DoD / Dan Heaton
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The Department of Homeland Security has received approval from Congress to ignore dozens of environmental laws in order to construct a 670-mile border fence. Environmentalists are worried about the impact the project could have on endangered species, and several property owners have attempted to obstruct the construction process.
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By Andy Borowitz — The president has confirmed that his gutting of the Endangered Species Act is part of a broader plan to phase out the environment entirely by the time he leaves office.
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By Mark Dowie — How a few brave Americans took on a powerful company and the federal government to save the land they love.
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Dario Castillejos, Dario La Crisis —
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By Ellen Goodman — Since this is the list-making time of year, allow me to add a tiny trophy to Al Gore’s very full shelf: the prize for the most elegant speech of 2007.
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philadelphiaweekly.com
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During his midnight Christmas mass at the Vatican on Tuesday, Pope Benedict XVI paid special attention to what he called the “ill-treated world” and our “selfish and reckless exploitation” of energy. He’s not just all talk: it turns out the Vatican bought carbon credits this holiday season to offset emissions. It’s just a little present to the world from the biggest little city in Italy.
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Why did Al Gore waste eight years of his life as America’s vice president? He’s much better at trying to save the world. Watch his Nobel Prize acceptance speech and see for yourself.
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