We're Melting

Kevin Drum, Mother Jones: Chart of the Day - 2.14.2009

[I]n case you want to see what's really happening this winter, here's a NASA chart of global temps for January. As you can see, there are only two areas in the entire world that are colder than the 1951-1980 average: eastern Siberia and the American northeast, home to virtually the entire national press corps. So naturally cold temps are getting lots of media play. But, in fact, the rest of the world continues to be substantially warmer than in the recent past, and if you look at entire latitudes, even in this chilly month every single one is warmer than in the past. It would be nice if global warming really were taking a break, but it's not.

Hitting the Ground Running

WaPo: Obama Positioned to Quickly Reverse Bush Actions
Stem Cell, Climate Rules Among Targets of President-Elect's Team

Transition advisers to President-elect Barack Obama have compiled a list of about 200 Bush administration actions and executive orders that could be swiftly undone to reverse White House policies on climate change, stem cell research, reproductive rights and other issues, according to congressional Democrats, campaign aides and experts working with the transition team.

Global Warming: Weather Gets Weirder

Cars buried under three feet of hail stones in the town of Ottery St Mary

Daily Mail (uk): October's weird weather continues as hailstorm swamps one small town in 6ft drifts

New Defenders of WIldlife Ad: "Polar Bears"

From Defenders Action Fund:

Rather than working to save our polar bears, Governor Sarah Palin has launched an all-out effort to block protections for them. According to the Anchorage Daily News, Palin covered up evidence from her own scientists showing the need for polar bear protections. Now shes doing the bidding of the oil companies and trophy hunters in a lawsuit to prevent the government from listing of our polar bears as a threatened species. As governor, Sarah Palin has been a disaster for polar bears, wolves and other wildlife. A heartbeat away from the presidency, she could do even worse.

Good Question

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island asks this question at today's Senate Energy Policy Forum:

WHITEHOUSE: Gentlemen, we’re in the middle of a near total mortgage system meltdown in this country. We have a health care system that burns 16 percent of our GDP, in which the Medicare liability alone has been estimated at $34 trillion. We’re burning $10 billion a month in Iraq.

This administration has run up $7.7 trillion in national debt, by our calculation. And there is worsening evidence every day of global warming, with worsening environmental and national security ramifications. In light of those conditions, do any of you seriously contend that drilling for more oil is the number one issue facing the American people today?

(Long silent pause during which nobody answers.)

WHITEHOUSE: No, it doesn’t seem so.

Now that would make a powerful ad.

Read Liberally

What the heck happened in Georgia? Tristero at Hullabaloo points to an article in the NYTimes Review of Books explaining how the US helped Georgia rise to Russia's bait, with predictably disastrous consequences. (No one could have anticipated that Russia would fight back. Where have we heard that before?)

Voter caging is coming to a state near you. Mebe at dailykos points out that voter lists are being purged right now in Ohio, Louisiana, Michigan, Kansas, Florida, New Mexico, Colorado, and Nevada. And this year they're going after absentee ballots. Christy at firedoglake has a new "scholarly" article by Hans Von Vote Suppressor, and predicts that he is setting the stage for this year's election mau-mau by the Republicans, just as his previous articles set the stage for their voter fraud and voter caging shenanigans. Check that you are properly registered TODAY.

dengre at dailykos points out that Sarah Palin's $40 billion dollar natural gas pipeline will be both an environmental disaster and a boondoggle that will cost US taxpayers billions. And like all these hairbrained drilling proposals, there's no guarantee that the giant energy companies won't just sell all the gas to China anyway.

Josh Marshall outlines why the Charles Gibson interview of Sarah Palin will be unwatchable: Gibson has agreed to interview her over several days. He won't ask tough questions, because he won't want his access cut off. Journalism is dead, long live the bought and paid for corporate media.

Jill of Brilliant at Breakfast rips into NBC for dropping Olbermann/Matthews from their debate and election night coverage. Because the Republicans complained. No liberals on TeeVee! They're giving us David Gregory, the man who demonstrated his lack of journalistic integrity by dancing backup to Karl Rove at a White House press dinner. Lackey, anyone? Booman Tribune calls this the first GOP scalp in the war on the media.

Alaska blogger Mudflats (Palin: Republican Party Infiltrator?)has a video of the Vice Chairman of the Alaska Independence Party (the secessionists) claiming that Sarah Palin was indeed a member, and that she is only now a Republican to carry out their mission. Their founder Joe Voegler famously said:

“The fires of Hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government, and I won’t be buried under their damn flag!”

How to Buy Sustainable Fish

Look for the label of the Marine Stewardship Council. From their website;

Sustainable fishing

Throughout the world there are fisheries using good management practices to safeguard jobs, secure fish stocks for the future and help to protect the marine environment. At the Marine Stewardship Council, we believe that sustainable fishing is a powerful solution. We want to see well managed fisheries recognised and rewarded, and we want to encourage more fisheries to join them. Through our certification and ecolabelling program we seek to reverse the decline of fish stocks, safeguard livelihoods and deliver improvements in marine conservation worldwide. Our blue ecolabel makes it easy for everyone to make the best environmental choice in seafood.

I saw this at The Green Miles, which also links to the Monterey Bay Aquarium pocket seafood guide.

The North Pole Is An Island

Thawing ocean: The North-West Passage (circled left) and the North-East Passage (top right) are clear of ice

We must elect Barack Obama who will deal with global warming; not McCain and his global-warming-denying running mate [vlad the polar bear im]Palin.

DailyMail: The North Pole becomes an 'island' for the first time in history as ice melts

The North Pole has become an island for the first time in human history.

Startling satellite pictures taken three days ago show that melting ice has opened up the fabled North-West and North-East Passages - making it possible to sail around the Arctic ice cap.

The opening of the passages has been eagerly awaited by shipping companies which hope they will be able to cut thousands of miles off their routes.

But to climate change scientists it is yet another sign of the damage global warming is inflicting on the planet.

Mark Serreze, a sea ice specialist, described the images as an 'historic event' - but warned they added to fears that the Arctic icecap has entered a 'death spiral'.

The pictures, produced by Nasa, mark the first time in at least 125,000 years that the two shortcuts linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans have been ice-free at the same time.

DailyMail: The heartbreaking picture of the polar bears with 400 miles to swim to the nearest ice

We Tried Offshore Drilling, and Oil Prices Doubled

wikipedia: Oil Platform
A typical offshore Oil/Gas platform.

HuffPo: We Tried Offshore Drilling and Oil Prices Doubled

At the end of 2006, the Republican Congress and the president enacted "The Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act," which opened for drilling 8 million acres of the Outer Continental shelf estimated to contain more than 40 billion barrels of oil. Oil prices were only $60 a barrel then. In the two years since, prices have more than have doubled.

Doesn't that prove that legislation to permit offshore drilling increases oil prices? That seems to be the "logic" of John McCain and the Republicans. Late last month, "Republican John McCain on Wednesday credited the recent $10-a-barrel drop in the price of oil to President Bush's lifting of a presidential ban on offshore drilling."

That's right, the man who wants to be the next President of the United States believes that doing absolutely nothing -- which is what Bush did when he reversed his father's ban, since the congressional ban is still in place -- dropped oil prices $10.

Obama Getting His Message Out

Takes this conservative radio host to school:


His new ad attacking McCain the "Maverick":


Republicans take pride in being ignorant:


Unfortunately for the tire-gauge-waving Karl Rove operatives, yesterday McCain agreed with Obama on the tire gauge issue:

"And could I mention that Senator Obama a couple of days ago said that we ought to all inflate our tires, and I don’t disagree with that. The American Automobile Association strongly recommends it."

Bonus video: John McCain, May 8, 2008:


John McCain: Four More Years of Bushit.

John McCain (R-Hess Oil)

John McCain's Bushit Express continues, lubricated by Big Oil money.

After he reversed his position on offshore oil drilling, "executives" at Hess Oil gave him $285,000 in contributions.

I say "executives" in quotes, because one of the contributors was a Hess Oil office manager and her husband, am Amtrak worker. Both gave $28,500 to the RNC's committee to elect McCain President. Two people who have never given to a political campaign before this year give McCain $57,000! The couple rent their home in Flushing Queens, and the median annual income in their neighborhood is basically what they gave John McCain, so I doubt they're flush with cash.

The LA Times is now reporting that the massive fundraiser took place just before McCain flipped in Big Oil's favor, but it doesn't really matter. He's in the tank of Big Oil.

Obama, on the other hand, released his energy plan yesterday, and among many proposals, it contains this laudable goal: 1,000,000 plug-in hybrid cars -- 150 miles per gallon -- on the road by 2015.

The choice is clear. Vote for McCain, vote for Big Oil and Global Warming. Vote for Obama, vote to decrease energy use and save the planet.

Another Chunk of Ward Ice Shelf Disappears

Toronto Star: BOB WEBER/THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO
Canadian Ranger Samson Ejanqiaq looks along one of the gaping new cracks in the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, the largest left in the Arctic, in April 2008.

BBC: Canadian Arctic sheds ice chunk
A large chunk of an Arctic ice shelf has broken free of the northern Canadian coast, scientists say.

Nearly 20 sq km (eight sq miles) of ice from the Ward Hunt shelf has split away from Ellesmere Island, according to satellite pictures.

It is thought to be the biggest piece of ice shed in the region since 60 sq km of the nearby Ayles ice shelf broke away in 2005.

Scientists say further splitting could occur during the Arctic summer melt.

Globe & Mail (CAN): Huge chunk snaps off storied Arctic ice shelf
Break marks latest in erosion that has whittled 9,000 square kilometres down to 1,000 over past century

Toronto Star: Ice break ominous, Arctic scientist says
North's ancient shelves `are retreating and they are not coming back,' researcher warns

Surprise, Surprise

I am shocked, shocked, to find out that Darth Cheney is running U.S. energy policy into the dark, oily ground.

truthout: Report Links Cheney Office, Oil Giant [ExxonMovil] to Global Warming Policy Shift

[P]ressure from Vice President Dick Cheney's office, ExxonMobil and others in the oil industry led the Bush administration to change course [and decide not to use the Clean Air Act to limit greenhouse gas emissions].

27 Minutes To Save The World

Watch Al Gore's climate speech, challenging the U.S. to eliminate the use of fossil fuels in the next 10 years.

Or read the transcript at wecansolveit.org

Big Oil/Republican Lie of the Day: "Not A Drop of Oil Was Spilled"

National Geographic:
Near New Orleans a small oil-slickened dog was seen wandering in Chalmette, Louisiana, as cleanup crews recovered oil from a ruptured refinery tank on September 6, 2005. Tens of thousands of barrels of oil had spilled and mixed with receding floodwater from Hurricane Katrina.

Republicans and Big Oil, who want to open up the oceans, the wildlife sanctuaries -- basically the world -- to drilling, are putting out this zombie lie: Not a drop of oil was spilled during Hurricane Katrina.

The truth:

Actually, there were at least 146 reported spills in Federal waters after Katrina and Rita, totaling over 700,000 gallons, the equivalent of seven "MAJOR" spills. Here are 43 satellite pictures of giant oil slicks in the Gulf of Mexico after Katrina, stretching for scores of miles.

Worse, EIGHT MILLION gallons spilled out of Louisiana oil facilities after the storms. (The famous Exxon Valdez spill totaled 11 million.)

How is this not causing "a single oil spill"?

Watch the video below to see the zombie lie spread on cable TV, and pictures of the oil-slicked devastation left after the hurricane.

Replay video | Share video | Watch more videos

hat tip to First Draft, which I saw on Newsfare

Waste Not, Want Not

Library of Congress:
Farm Security Administration, Office of War Information Collection
Display of home-canned food
[between 1941 and 1945]
With the economy imploding (thanks a lot, George & Dick) everyone is looking to save money.

Britain's government is encouraging a return to Victory Gardens.

Towns in Massachusetts are doing all kinds of things to save money, including saving energy by installing solar roofs, closing buildings, and using more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Grocery shopping tips abound: here, here, here, here, here. I learned to grocery shop in Mrs. K's health class so I'm all set! Shop the exterior of the store for veggies, meat & dairy; the more processed & hence more expensive products are in the middle. Make a list using the store circular. Plan menus for the week. Stock up when pantry foods you eat often are on sale. Done!

The Boston Globe has an article today on recycling the ultimate waste: human. Ewwww.

Beware Dow Chemical Herbicide Aminopyralid

Mass spraying of pesticides on farms, pictured here in Florida, is putting gardens at risk. Photograph: David R. Frazier/Alamy

Beware of manure fertilizers. If they come from factory farms sprayed with the Dow Chemical herbicide/pesticide aminopyralid (found in products Cleanwave, Milestone vm, Forefront r&p, and Milestone, among others) they will be contaminated. Gardeners in Britain are finding that manure from fields sprayed a year ago still contains the toxic chemical.

Dow,, the company with the lying ad tagline, we bring good things to life. In my head I always add "and we kill them." From the people who brought you Agent Orange, another toxic nightmare.

firedoglake:
Persistent Herbicide In Compost Destroys UK Gardens - Can It Happen Here?

In today's Observer, Caroline Davies describes how this year British gardeners find their fruits and veggies are stunted, deformed, and dying. The culprit: Dow Chemical's persistent herbicide aminopyralid sprayed on grazing land or fodder. The herbicide stayed in the plants the cattle ate, stayed in the cattle (and horse) poop, stayed in the compost produced from the poop, and came out the other end of the process all ready to kill food crops and home gardens.

Problems with the herbicide emerged late last year, when some commercial potato growers reported damaged crops.

[snip]

[T]he herbicide has now entered the food chain. Those affected are demanding an investigation and a ban on the product. They say they have been given no definitive answer as to whether other produce on their gardens and allotments is safe to eat.

It appears that the contamination came from grass treated 12 months ago. Experts say the grass was probably made into silage, then fed to cattle during the winter months. The herbicide remained present in the silage, passed through the animal and into manure that was later sold. Horses fed on hay that had been treated could also be a channel.

It can't happen here?

Well, the EPA has licensed aminopyralid in several products used in the US: Cleanwave, Milestone vm, Forefront r&p, and Milestone.

Observer (uk): Home-grown veg ruined by toxic fertiliser

Gardeners across Britain are reaping a bitter harvest of rotten potatoes, withered salads and deformed tomatoes after an industrial herbicide tainted their soil. Caroline Davies reports on how the food chain became contaminated and talks to the angry allotment owners whose plots have been destroyed

50-50 Chance of NO ICE at the North Pole This Summer

Does water have to lap at the front steps of the Capital Building before Congress takes action? (Obviously we can forget C+ Augustus, who wouldn't know climate change if it knocked him off his bicycle.)

Independent (uk): Exclusive: No ice at the North Pole
Polar scientists reveal dramatic new evidence of climate change

Independent (uk): Peter Wadhams: Every time I visit the Arctic, the ice gets thinner

A Little Light Reading

flickr: SI Neg. 77-13915. Date: 1977...A close-up of the face and hands of the statue of President Abraham Lincoln which sits in the Lincoln Memorial. Created by American sculptor Daniel Chester French, the sculpture was completed in 1920. ..Credit: Dane A. Penland (Smithsonian Institution)

This should have led every national news program: NASA scientist Dr. James Hansen testified to Congress on Monday that we have one year -- one year -- to deal with climate change. One year, or it will be irreversible and too late for the planet. One year. In 2006 he gave us 20 years, but things have gotten much worse so quickly. Here's a pdf of his testimony;

The Boston Globe reports that military contractor KBR exposed Americans in Iraq to a form of chromium -- the stuff in the wells in the movie Erin Brockovich -- and now they're getting sick. The only small justice here is that KBR has been playing games & claiming their employees were employed by a shell corporation in the Caymans so they didn't have to pay unemployment & social security taxes. As a result, these employees may be able to sue KBR directly rather than being limited to worker's compensation.

The networks are spending two minutes a week covering the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. A near total news blackout.

Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge (and John McCain top adviser) lobbied for the government of Albania for two years without registering as a lobbyist. Laura Rozen asks, "curious if Ridge knows something about the strange DOD-US embassy-Albanian government-AEY-mothballed $300 million Chinese ammo weapons deal[?]" You can read all about that bizarre $300 million dollar contract being awarded to a bunch of 20-something losers here at TPM.

Surprise, surprise: The Bushies have loaded the Justice Dept. with unqualified Republican hacks, by illegally hiring on political grounds. Wingnuts in, liberals out. Dday at Hullabaloo points out that there will be a host of landmines awaiting Barack Obama when he gets to the Oval Office, crazed Regent University lawyers waiting to sabotage any Democrat.

Steny Hoyer is the Democratic sellout of the year, sez Digby. Farewell to the Fourth Amendment thanks to hack Steny.

Good News

NYTimes: Home Depot Offers Recycling for Compact Fluorescent Bulbs