Drill and Drill Some More

Recent oil pipeline spills have done little to slow the Bush administrations thirst for Alaskan oil. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne took his first trip to Alaska's North Slope Tuesday. Kempthorne is moving forward with a plan to begin drilling in the Lake Teshekpuk area despite opposition by both local leaders and environmental groups.

The Pope Weighs-in on Environment

In a speech that could have profound political impact in the U.S., Pope Benedict XVI called out for Catholics to conserve natural resources and take care of the earth.
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China, Acid Rain and $$

China's rapid industrial growth has created tremendous amounts of acid rain, smog and water pollution. In an ironic twist, local governments are standing in the way of implementing environmental regulations due to economic concerns. Ironically in the US of A, it's the federal government that seems to be the primary obstacle to regulation, as the Bush administration continues to weaken environmental regs. At least the Chinese government is aware of the threat and attempting to implement controls.

From the Story: Beijing plans to spend $175 billion on environmental protection over the next five years, up 60 percent from the previous five years, according to Mao Rupai, chairman of the parliament's environmental committee.
Lawmakers are considering raising fines for environmental violators in order to encourage companies to spend more on clean technology, Mao said at a news conference on Saturday.
Mao complained that local officials fail to enforce standards for fear of hurting businesses. He said some areas comply with as few as 30 percent of environmental regulations.
"It is true that in some areas, local governments focus more on economic development than on the environment," he said. "In the future, officials will be judged not just by their economic growth but by environmental protection as well."
MORE
Interesting concept Mr. Rupai.
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Tropical Fish Invade Rhode Island Waters

A larger than usual number of tropical fish and warm water critters have showed up in Narragansett Bay this summer. Water temperatures have increased three degrees in the bay over the last few decades, probably due to shifts in the path of the Gulf Stream. This may also explain the travels of my man the manatee.
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A Manatee goes where no manatee has gone before...

A manatee is making his way up to the Cape for the Labor Day weekend. The previous northern-most trek of a manatee was undertaken by the immortal (this may also be him) Chessie, who flippered his way up to Point Judith, Rhode Island back in 1995. Though some may attribute this northern extension of the warm water loving manatees range to global warming, I prefer to attribute it to the attractive vacation options offered by both, Point Judith and the lovely Cape of Cod.
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John McCain...a greener alternative....

The unlikely pair of Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman will be part of a Senate delegation visiting several countries exploring the impact of global warming. The Senators support legislation to control harmful industrial emissions, a distinct departure from Bush administration policy.
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Federal Judge Blocks Bush Logging Plan

Our nations environmentally sensitive president has seen his administration's plan to log the Giant Sequoia National Monument shutdown by a federal judge. The judge's decision described the Forest Services effort to log the preserve with this quote: "The Forest Service's interest in harvesting timber has trampled the applicable environmental laws," calling the agency's forest management plan "incomprehensible." The logging was to commence under the guise of "fire prevention" but would have gone well beyond the logging of smaller trees needed for protection of the majestic sequoias.

Incomprehensible is as good an adjective as any to describe much of what is going on in the Bush administrtation of late.
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Raccoons Gone Wild...

Olympia, Washington: Killer raccoons target neighborhood cats. This sort of story doesn't usually interest me but this is a behavior I've never seen from the fastidious, eastern raccoons that I've encountered. You know how people love their cats...so this one could get ugly before it's over.
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Dying Marshes Cause Concern

Some salt marshes along the norhteast coast of the U.S. are dying and the cause is unknown. STORY This type of habitat destruction can set bird, fish and plant populations into a downward spiral. The destruction of vital marshlands can also eliminate an important natural buffer to storm surge and deadly hurricane damage.
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Gore Walking...the Facts

Someone just sent me a comment debunking the editorial printed in USA Today a couple of weeks ago which accused Al Gore of not practicing what he preaches. One of the pieces is from Al Gores office (perhaps a letter to the editor) Check it out.


Schweizer is not a journalist who has done any meaningful investigation about Gore's life and collected evidence to prove his charges, but a right-wing political hack who works for a right-wing think tank -- which, not coincidentally, has received money from ExxonMobil.
http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/orgfactsheet.php?id=43 -- and who confuses his own perceptions with reality.

Given Schweizer's history and connections it's clear that he wants to maintain the status quo with regard to fossil fuel comsumption and because he cannot refute the science of global warming he wants to kill the messenger hoping that that will kill the message as well.


But he does that with a list of falsehoods about Gore.

Gores' green commitment

The op-ed attacking former vice president Al Gore's environmental record was extremely misleading.

Former vice president Gore has worked to implement the recommendations from his movie and book, An Inconvenient Truth, and that includes his personal commitment to live a zero-carbon lifestyle.

He reduces the global-warming pollution for which he is responsible and then, each year, finances additional reductions elsewhere until his net impact on the global climate is reduced to zero.

He has long since switched to a hybrid car and was already in the process of adding solar photovoltaic units to his home before the commentary was published.

In addition, the Gores have donated 100% of all the profits from his movie and book to the fight against global-warming pollution.

The assertion by author Peter Schweizer that the Gores were swimming in Occidental stock is also off base. At Mr. Gore's request, all of his father's stock in Occidental (Oxy) Petroleum was sold almost six years ago as the estate was closed. So, although Mr. Gore has and will continue to call on his fellow Americans to do their part to combat global warming, he isn't asking of them what he isn't willing to do himself.

Rather than vilifying a person who is trying to make a difference, wouldn't it be more fruitful for Schweizer to join the effort to solve the climate crisis?

Kalee Kreider, communications director

Office of Al Gore and Tipper Gore

Nashville

Corn Plastic

There's a new plastic on the block and companies like Walmart, Newman's Own and Wild Oats have begun using the corn plastic, or PLA, in some containers and packaging. The stuff is bio-degradable (under certain composting conditions) and requires far less energy to produce than petroleum based plastics. As with many new technologies there are a few major bugs to be worked out and the product is far from being a silver bullet, more of a first step in the right direction...ARTICLE
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Two steps forward, one step back...

Sometimes we try to solve one problem and cause another. Read an article this morning that highlights research that finds that in the effort to reduce CFC's (stuff used in air conditioners etc.), which eat up the ozone layer, alternatives have been used that do as much, if not more, harm. This situation points out the need for the constant revisiting of agreements like the Montreal and Kyoto Protocals as science, technology and research advance.

Seen some press lately referring to environmentally concerned individuals a "greens" a catchy little term for use by "non-greens", whatever.
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A Gift From the Midwest

Back in the early 90's, my buddies and I used to go fishing every spring or early summer in the Adirondacks. We were in pursuit of two of our favorite gamefish, the fearsome northern pike and the acrobatic smallmouth bass. Deep in the Adirondack Park, spots like Saranac, Long and Tupper Lakes provided both tremendous scenic beauty and the opportunity to tangle with some big, aggressive fish. Well, we enventually stopped going, the fish got shorter, the lakes weed beds and natural structures got a little less conducive to the health of our aquatic adversaries. The primary reason, acid rain, that incidious by-product of midwestern power production (coal fueled). Somebody turns on their air conditioner in Columbus and we get a bucket of nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide in upstate NY. A court case is making its way through the Federal Courts that would force power plants to improve air pollution controls when expanding. The case started, ironically enough, after the Bush administration took office and started weakening regulations....STORY

Visit "The Vegan Diet"

Click on "The Vegan Diet" thumbnail in our sidebar to experience an insightful look into the vegan dietary world. Jackie provides all the info you need to transform yourself into a vegetarian powerhouse. You'll improve your complexion, expedite your digestion, increase your lifespan and probably improve your attitude...check it out. I'm going to put down the steak sauce and saute some brussel sprouts right now...in canola oil of course.
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Senator George Allen Macaca Man

The right targets Al Gore and Barack Obama for the seeming hypocrisy of there lifestyles versus their positions on global warming, while the left digs out presidential candidate George Allen's "macaca" slur for a pungent airing out. I guess it's all just good clean American politics. I can't wait for Karl Rove to focus his friendship machine on attacking the real threats to America, pro-choice, gay married, treehugging, anti-war, immigrants.
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Obama Walks the Plank

Senator Barack Obama is the latest victim of a cheesey, anti-green, smear campaign. At a recent town hall meeting Senator Obama apparently spoke on a wide range of topics including global warming and the need for individuals to drive more fuel efficient vehicles. He mentioned that he himself favors using an SUV. It turns out his GMC Envoy is a flex-fuel vehicle capable of running on e85 (85% ethanol fuel), a step in the green direction. I guess The Drudge Report and its ilk just like the headline and figure nobody will dig any deeper and actually read the story. The whole thing would be a more obvious non-issue if Obama downsized to an armored Prius, but I don't think they're in production yet and it might be difficult to get his beefy security detail and press people into a fleet of tiny hybrids. Al Gore and Obama are addressing an issue that everyone should be aware and concerned about and are being targeted for doing so. It's an election year and the right-wing attack machine is just wetting its appetite on this one. The smear campaigns and personal attacks don't change the science or create more oil reserves. The, "there is no global warming" folks, are getting concerned at the traction and impact that "An Inconvenient Truth" and the global warming issue are making and are taking an old-school, attack politics, approach to the issue. Whether or not Al Gore uses a water conservation toilets in all of his oversized homes is really not the issue (politicians are usually rich guys with wives who like nice stuff). Story Partison politics is a dirty business so be prepared for more.
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Mayor Daley Walks the Walk

Chi-Town is home to more than just the sad little Cubbies and the impressive White Sox, Chicago has put some green in its diet. Mayor Richard Daley has eschewed the hard bitten political skulduggery of his esteemed Dad and moved the great city of Chicago away from the industrial dinginess of the Detroits of the midwest and toward the more utopian vision of Seattle and Portland. The man has created programs that in the last decade have planted over 400,000 trees and soon Chicago will have more than 2.5 million square feet of green rooftops. This is how America can overcome the miopic policies of the federal, pork fed beaurocracy...keep it local and do it yourself.
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On a lighter note....

I'm a little played out on the Al Gore/global warming issue, so on a more practical note...if anybody wants to swap links on their blog leave a comment on this post with your url and I'll check it out and we can swap next week when I'm back on a highspeed connection (I'm on a glacial dial-up right now at our northern bunker). I'll even consider blog rolling some of you, "I'm in global warming denial". guys if you have a good rap and a modicum of humor...

...and remember the gas is always greener...well you get the idea. (and about that picture, peace and love and all that....I am a treehugger ya'know...or so some people tell me)
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Scientific Evidence of Global Warming

There's so much info out there on global warming that it's ironic that people can still characterize global warming as a myth, "bad science",Al Gore's personal promo vehicle, something scientifically unsupported or some other bullcrap. Any individual or group that identifies the threat of global warming is immediately called a treehugging, birdwatching, pinko bomb-thrower. The deal is that it's not a political issue and shouldn't be a battle between the supposed, righteous right and loopy left. We can see the signs and problems ourselves and can realistically only argue about the timetable...(that should get a response)
The opposition to embracing global warming as a scientific fact is almost always built on economics not science and you've got to be a real jackass to make it a partisan issue.

Here's some more lefto propaganda from the Union of Concerned Scientists
and Science Magazine

Bush the Environmentalist

A recent survey by the L.A. Times and Bloomberg indicates the Bush administration my be out of step with the American public on issues such as global warming. As ludicrous as it sounds there are those who tout the Bush record on the environment citing his breakthrough standards to control emissions on non-road diesel engines...heady, important stuff. The current oil crunch will only accelerate the administration's efforts to drill in protected wildlife preserves and access near-shore oil reserves to feed our gulping need for oil while ignoring meaningful regulations, fuel taxes and incentives to industry to look for alternative energy sources. Bush's token support for the development of true alternative energy technology is nothing but a sham to obscure the issue while he works to protect his brethren in big oil.
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Is Al Gore Walking the Walk?

USA Today is running an editorial on Al Gore questioning just how "green" a lifestyle he actually lives. The author combs public records to find that Gore doesn't utilize the greenest utilities to power his two or three homes, his family trust owns large gobs of Oxydental Petroleum stock and he flies a private jet around to promote his Global Warming film (he says he trades renewable energy credits to cover this). Hypocrisy, maybe, but certainly not on the scale and malevolence of the Bush administration's big oil agenda.

Ultimately, Bush and Gore are merely spear-carriers for the two sides of the global warming issue. There is plenty of evidence out there for thinking people to form an opinion and take a position on the issue. Sky high gas and heating oil prices may utimately be the catalyst for change, but in the meantime, let's not kill the messenger. It's getting hot here in the city, I think I'll turn on the old AC....
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BP at Fault?

I don't know whether to be pissed, shocked, or depressed over revelations that BP may have shirked maintenance responsibilities on the Alaskan oil pipeline to save money, contributing greatly to the current pipeline shutdown. On further consideration, I think I'll go with pissed. A criminal investigation has ensued as Alaska is intending to hold BP responsible for the states crippling loss of oil income. America is once again faced with a painful economic reality at the hands of bog-oil. Gee, I guess we should just ignore anti-trust legislation and allow more big-oil company consolidation...that should create efficiencies of scale...
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Tap the Reserve

BP's announcement that they may have to stop oil production on one of Alaska's biggest oil pipelines is sending oil prices higher. As we've seen before, the per barrel price increases in oil are usually very disproportionate, to the high side, to any real threat of shortage or disruption. Speculators use these stories to artificially pump up prices which are almost immedialtely passed along to the average consumer (gouging). The feds are at least making noises about releasing some of the Federal Strategic Petroleum Reserve to offset the production shortage.
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Global Warming

Here in NYC the latest heat wave as done nothing to diminish the perception of the realities of global warming. I've seen hotter summers here, with more dispair and power outages, so I find it hard to make firm linkage between my sweaty chestnuts and the larger issue of global warming.

With the current hurricane season approaching, various media outlets will start pumping out terrifying predictions of the destruction and disasters to come, all amplified by the cumbustible effects of global warming. Yes, the weather has become big news. A frightened public makes for good ratings, as the networks and The Weather Channel pump out the horrorible predictions of what is going to befall us. Responsible scientists know that global warming is a slow, insidious, creeping process, a story that doesn't play well on the evening news, so television news outlets ratchet-up the estimates and the predictions to a shrieking, teeth gnashing, cresendo that may ultimately hurt the worldwide movement to control greenhouse gas emissions.

I, for one, would prefer that environmentally aware individuals not play into the stereotype of screeching, eggheaded, treehugging, oddballs, by exaggerating global warming as a component of daily weather change. On the other hand, the recent G8 conference is a prime example (with G.W. leading or not leading the way) of the major industrial powers dragging their feet on the issue. Let's strike some balance and get on with actually doing something constructive.
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Middle East Oil Slick

The Mid East conflict has opened another front, the environment. A vast oil spill caused by the Israeli bombing of a power plant in Lebanon is threatening the coastlines of Lebanon, Syria and neighboring countries. STORY

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Click on our renter's thumbnail in the sidebar. Texas RV Travel highlights all things Texas, from the natural beauty of the state's parks and highways to its landmarks and historic sites. You'll be in Texas before you know it.
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Backdoor Bush

Several international cities are banding together fight global warming under an initiative launched by the Clinton Foundation. We all well aware of our current president's disdain for, and myopic avoidance of, the Kyoto Agreement. It seems both appropriate and productive to go "local" and work independently to coordinate the efforts of large metropolitan cities in the development of programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. City to city alliances offer an innovative work-around to our head-in-the -sand president's partnership with big oil and special interest groups.
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