What happened in Cancun: necessary but not sufficient.

by RLMiller

The UN negotiators reached a deal in Cancun very early this morning. It's being praised from virtually all angles, and it's being labeled as "modest" at the same time.

continued at Daily Kos....

We can do this

by LaughingPlanet

OK, so my previous post might have been a teeny bit alarmist. But, hey. We need a good slap in the face right now.

The good news is that those bleak scenarios need not become reality. The future has not yet been written. We are at what many call the jumping off point. We can stand on the edge of the diving board for hours, wetting ourselves, skeerd about diving in. We can succumb to cowardice & crawl backwards and give up.

OR, we can jump forward boldly and proudly. Who cares if we dive gracefully, cannonball, or belly flop? We will be in the pool where we wanted to be in the first place.

And, yes, if we don't jump in the pool, and quickly, the water will indeed rise and engulf us eventually anyway.

Hope for mankind is there to be found. Below are a few examples for those feeling exasperated and doomed. If we ramp up our efforts, the sky is the limit. Heck, we might even leave a world for our kids about which we can be proud!

continued at Daily Kos....

NYC Gov going "Locavore" Big Time!

by Eddie C

Today on The Leonard Lopate Show the lead story was called Feeding The Soul and for anyone seeking to restore their faith in good government, it did just that. Two guest in an interview to discuss Food Works in New York City that would have seemed an unlikely pair as recently as yesterday.

One was Chef Dan Barber who has been a great advocate in the New York area for the local food movement. The other was City Council speaker Christine Quinn. Today they were on the same page. It was amazing to hear Christine Quinn's introduction sounding more like Marion Nestle in talks about what the government needs to do, hearing a powerful politician discussing things being done now and progressive plans for a sustainable future. I've never heard such a merger of bottom up activism and top down good government action before.

The city has already moved $4.5 million in public school food spending over to local farms and is trying to change the $300,000 spent on school lettuce to money being pumped into the Rockland County farm economy and processing facilities in the economically depressed Bronx. But that was just the tip of the iceberg.

continued at Daily Kos....

Time to Keep Fighting, Mr. President

by Michael Brune

Has someone discovered a way to travel back in time to the Bush administration? On Tuesday, the EPA asked for a one-year delay on new rules for air pollution from industrial boilers. The very next day, the agency announced it wants to wait for another half year before setting new standards for ozone smog. Both actions defy every kind of logic but one -- pandering to polluters and their scare-mongering political allies.

Barack Obama ran and was elected on a promise to protect Americans by cleaning up the air that we breathe every single day. But to clean the air, you have to get your hands dirty. If the polluters who are complaining today had gotten their way for the past 40 years, there never would have been a Clean Air Act, and millions more Americans would have been sickened or died. Many of these polluters -- and their allies in Congress -- have fought progress to improve people's health at every opportunity. We need our president to fight back.

continued at Daily Kos....

Blackened Pork: Liquid Coal Subsidies Sneak into Senate Tax Bill

by Target Global Warming

Is regular coal not dirty enough for you? Meet liquid coal fuel! Destructive to mine, water-intensive to manufacture, devastating to our climate at every step of the way – liquid coal is one of the world’s dirtiest fuels. Liquid coal production emits twice as much global warming pollution as gasoline & requires at least four gallons of water per gallon of fuel produced.  

Today the National Wildlife Federation has learned the Senate version of tax legislation includes subsidies for liquid coal fuels.

continued at Daily Kos....

Help Me Improve a Letter to Sens. Pryor and Lincoln

by sustainable

Subject: Please support Clean Renewable Energy Companies in Arkansas through the extension of Treasury Grant Program 1603 and 48c Clean Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit because "Renewable Energy is Homeland Security"

(The following is freely ripped off, rewritten and combined from emails of suggested letters to politicians compiled by Arkansas Business Leaders for a Clean Economy and Infocast)

Dear Senator _,

I believe that Treasury Grant Program 1603 and 48c Clean Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit are critical to the continuing development of solar power, wind power, and other forms of renewable energy, which are important to the secure economic and environmental future of the United States of America. The ability to create these clean renewable power sources, however, is being seriously threatened by the lapsing of key U.S. government supports of the Treasury 1603 (Treasury Grant) program and the 48c Clean Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit, originating in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

continued at Daily Kos....

Village Green: Retrofitting a DC neighborhood for deep sustainability

by Kaid at NRDC

Having already begun a comprehensive energy and environmental retrofit of a key part of Denver’s Lower Downtown, the nonprofit organization Living City Block is now looking to do the same in a neighborhood in the heart of Washington, DC.  It is a fantastic project that stands to become a model for the greening of mixed-use urban neighborhoods across the country.

continued at Daily Kos....

Big Oil Praises Latest Obama Cave on EPA Regs.

by TomP

The caves keep coming.  The Obama adminstration is delaying new rules governing smog and toxic emissions from industrial boilers, and keeping the Bush standards for now.  Big Oil loves it, but wants even more.  

The Obama administration is retreating on long-delayed environmental regulations — new rules governing smog and toxic emissions from industrial boilers — as it adjusts to a changed political dynamic in Washington with a more muscular Republican opposition.

The move to delay the rules, announced this week by the Environmental Protection Agency, will leave in place policies set by President George W. Bush. President Obama ran for office promising tougher standards, and the new rules were set to take effect over the next several weeks.

snip

But in a striking turnabout, the National Association of Manufacturers and the  American Petroleum Institute — which have been anything but friendly to Mr. Obama — are praising his administration.

NY Times: E.P.A. Delays Tougher Rules on Emissions

continued at Daily Kos....

Gulf Watchers Friday - Double Inspections, For Now - BP Catastrophe AUV #439

by Lorinda Pike

You are in the current Gulf Watchers BP Catastrophe - AUV #439. ROV #438 is here.

Bookmark this link to find the latest Gulf Watchers diaries.

Please RECOMMEND THIS DIARY, the motherships have been discontinued.
   
Gulf Watchers Diary Schedule
Monday - evening drive time
Wednesday - morning
Friday - morning
Friday Block Party - evening
Sunday - morning

Part one of the digest of diaries is here and part two is here.

Please be kind to kossacks with bandwidth issues. Please do not post images or videos. Again, many thanks for this.

continued at Daily Kos....

I Love You But You're Full of Shi... Poop

by Jill Richardson

This diary is about the Cancun summit, saving the rainforests, the climate crisis, and Jane Goodall. I love Jane Goodall, but right now, she's full of shit. If you're one of the world's leading conservationists and you find yourself agreeing with the head of Wal-mart and the head of the World Bank on something, you need to ask yourself why whatever you're for is probably something you oughta be against. And that's where Jane Goodall finds herself right now.

Now, she's not the only one to point a finger at. There are an awful lot of total sleezebags who are all for the same thing. She's the one in the group who shouldn't be there. She's the one who oughta know better.

I'm a newbie when it comes to learning about saving the rainforests and the rights of indigenous people's in the Global South. I've only just visited the Amazon for the very first time, this year. But it doesn't take a lot of time there to learn to recognize bullshit when you see it.

continued at Daily Kos....

bangladesh & COP16: "real people don't live underwater"

by boatsie

फ़ेस् फ़ीयर् विथौत् फ़ीयर्

"Fear the threat until it comes. When it comes, turn and face it without fear." Sanskrit.

In no uncertain terms, officials and scientists representing Bangladesh at the Cancun talks made it clear yesterday that their country, which unabashedly occupies Ground Zero in the climate wars, is fearless and righteously proud in its determination to save itself by ensuring it receives an equitable share of fast track financing to assist developing countries in adapting to climate change.

"Loans are not an option for my country," said Bangladesh Minister of State for the Environment Dr. Hasan Mahmud. "We did nothing to create this problem and we should not be charged in solving it."

Unless something is done now, chances are in less than 40 years you will look at the map and Bangladesh will no longer be there. What will remain of this country will not be recognizable.

continued at Daily Kos....

eKos: Acidifying Oceans Endanger Web of Life

by FishOutofWater

Oceans acidifying at the highest rate since the last great mass extinction 65 million years ago, threaten marine life, coral reefs and nutrition for over a billion people according to a report (PDF)just released by the UN. Fossil fuel burning, cement production, deforestation and land use changes have increased atmospheric CO2 from 280 to 390 PPMs. Increasing atmospheric CO2 has dissolved in the oceans, increasing the acidity (decreasing the pH) by 30%. Increasing acidity is destabilizing shells and corals, threatening the web of life in the ocean.

Recent studies of a Mediterranean vent in shallow waters revealed key ecosystem changes in high CO2 areas compared to normal CO2 areas. Certain algae and seagrasses were found to grow more efficiently closer to the vents where there was also a large reduction in biodiversity, notably a loss of calcifying organisms adjacent to the vents where the pH was lowest.

continued at Daily Kos....

How the West is Winning Against Coal

by Mary Anne Hitt

The past month across the western U.S. has been filled with victories against coal:

--After a two year campaign, we locked down the permanent retirement of the Oregon Boardman plant (600-megawatts of dirty coal power) by no later than 2020, and we continue to push for earlier date.

--Los Angeles recently released a draft plan for the nation's largest municipal utility that gets out of one of the dirtiest coal-fired power plants in the country - the Navajo Generating Station in Arizona (though the plan still needs a little work [PDF]).

continued at Daily Kos....

Unvarnished truth is hard to swallow

by Steve Masover

A summary for a study titled Global Warming Warnings Can Backfire begins:

From  Priuses to solar panels and plastic-bag bans (and even green dating!),  it seems that everyone’s going green. The message that our world is in  danger if we do not take action is also everywhere: from images of baby  polar bears drowning to frightening images of a parched barren future.  The push to go green is based in good intentions, but an upcoming study  in Psychological Science shows that the popular 'do or die'  global-warming messages can backfire if the situation is presented too  negatively.

continued at Daily Kos....

Gulf Seafood - It's what for dinner if you are military, a prisoner or a student.

by Pakalolo

BP is providing tens of millions of dollars for local gulf communities to nationally market and promote the seafood caught off of their coasts. A worthy goal to be sure considering how these communities were impacted because of BP's crimes.

BP is spending millions and the US Government has provided additional funds for local communites and the Gulf States to do the same. It is estimated that forty to fifty percent of Gulf Fisherman are back to work catching seafood in the Gulfs waters. Many of the docks hosting these fishing vessels are requiring the fisherman to sign waivers that their product is safe. I certainly can not blame the dock owners in requesting the waiver.

continued at Daily Kos....

Suntech CEO at MIT

by gmoke

On 12/7/10 Zhengrong Shi, the founder and CEO of Suntech, one of the largest PV manufacturers in the world spoke at MIT, which has about 45 faculty now involved in solar research.  The event was a joint presentation of the MIT China Energy and Environment Research Group, MIT Energy Initiative, and MIT Energy Club.

My telegraphic notes follow.

continued at Daily Kos....

COP16, hairy flies, and giant storks: a mishmash Earthship Wednesday

by eKos

Welcome to the eKos Earthship, your one-stop-shop for green diaries and series.

Beneath the fold you will find news and notes, community announcements, and our eco-diary roundup.

Peruse the eKos Library to find previously listed diaries. You can also follow eKos on Twitter.

Tonight's editor: patrickz

With contributions from: citisven and WarrenS

continued at Daily Kos....

While you were arguing about taxes...

by LaughingPlanet

primary challenges, and Dancing with the Stars, our planet is galloping one day closer to real-life Waterworld.

Yesterday on my local listener-supported radio, I heard a powerful & terrifying interview with the author of a book I am now afraid to read.

"The Flooded Earth" by University of Washington professor Peter D. Ward, paints a detailed picture of where we are headed in the not-distant future. If mankind does not change its ways, and quick, the reality of what our planet will look like is not pretty, to put it very mildly.

Hearing the facts about climate change, it is hard for me to watch our current discourse about minor day-to-day trifles when it is so clearly this one, singular issue which will supersede all else unless we turn our full attention to it right now.

continued at Daily Kos....

Nourishing the Planet TV: Banking on the Harvest

by NourishingthePlanet

Crossposted from the Worldwatch Institute's Nourishing the Planet.

In this week’s episode, Nourishing the Planet research intern, Abigail Massey, explains how women in Nigeria are using an innovative kind of bank to help their communities get through the hungry season between harvests. Instead of money, these banks give out credit in the form of cereal. And because they are managed entirely by women, the banks not only improve food security, but also help to improve overall gender equity.

continued at Daily Kos....

Gulf Watchers Wednesday - BP Contractor Thumbs Nose at Commission - BP Catastrophe AUV #438

by peraspera

You are in the current Gulf Watchers BP Catastrophe - AUV #438. ROV #437 is here.

Bookmark this link to find the latest Gulf Watchers diaries.

Please RECOMMEND THIS DIARY, the motherships have been discontinued.

Gulf Watchers Diary Schedule
Monday - evening drive time
Wednesday - morning
Friday - morning
Friday Block Party - evening
Sunday - morning

Part one of the digest of diaries is here and part two is here.

Please be kind to kossacks with bandwidth issues. Please do not post images or videos. Again, many thanks for this.

continued at Daily Kos....

New Plant to Make 100% American Made Wind Turbines

by Muskegon Critic

Wanna see some American jobs? A wind turbine assembly plant is opening in Saginaw, Michigan. That's right where the Thumb of the Mitten meets the Hand. Saginaw. And it'll be the first plant the US to make 100% American Made wind turbines. That's wind turbines spelled: j-o-b-s.

Score one more for Governor Granholm's long time push to diversify Michigan's economy...not just into anything, but into green manufacturing. Screw this being tied to one industry crap: the auto industry. She's doing what should have been done 50 years ago.

Northern Power Systems of Barre, Vt., intends to use a facility in Saginaw to manufacture its next-generation large wind turbines, expected to be the first ones built in the U.S. using 100% American-made parts. Plans call for sourcing as many parts as possible from Michigan companies.

[snip]

Northern Power already has a deal to supply 13 of the turbines for a Heritage Sustainable Energy wind farm near Escanaba that will supply power to Consumers Energy, state officials said.

continued at Daily Kos....

LocaPower to the People! - Cancun can because locals can

by citisven

I don't know about you, but following all the different angles of negotiation at a conference as broad and multidimensional as the UNFCCC makes my head spin. I understand that dealing with a complex problem like climate change that literally affects every nation and every individual on earth offers no simple solutions, but the pitfall of trying to think about everything can be that you end up doing nothing.

This is why I'm very pleased to see that local governments and their representatives are gaining some real traction in Cancun.  

On Saturday, local governments took a huge step when the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) officially adopted the concept of "governmental stakeholders" for the first time in UNFCCC history.

continued at Daily Kos....

The Biggest Obstacles to a Climate Deal at COP16 are Overwhelm and Emotional Disconnect

by greenmedia

In a completely unscientific study, Green Media News has found the biggest obstacles to reaching a global deal on climate change are the massive overwhelm and emotional disconnect that stop climate change issues from becoming part of the national discourse.

Huh?

OK, I'm overwhelmed with all this. And I have a high tolerance for minutia; if I'm overwhelmed, that's not a good sign for the climate movement.

I have to admit I'm torn. I've been reading news from Cancun all afternoon. And I'm tempted to go down the list and talk about all the things that are happening at COP16 and around the world relative to climate change.

Fyi this article was cross-posted to Green Media News at around midnight last night.

continued at Daily Kos....

Massey's Chance to Clean the Slate?

by Michael Brune

Don Blankenship, the chairman and CEO of America's most notorious coal company, unexpectedly announced his retirement this week. If you don't know who Blankenship is or why his departure from Massey Energy is significant, the profile that appeared in Rolling Stone last week ("The Dark Lord of Coal Country") covers that ground thoroughly.

Suffice to say that Blankenship ran Massey with an iron fist and a stunning disregard for the safety of its workers or the environmental effects of its mining practices. Last year alone, Massey had more than 500 safety violations and nearly $1 million in fines, and last April's explosion at Massey's Upper Big Branch Mine alone (29 men killed) was America's worst mining tragedy in 40 years.

continued at Daily Kos....

pakistan: climate = a human problem

by boatsie

In a stunning series of short films depicting last summer's biblical floods, Pakistan today issued a passionate and powerful appeal to the heart and soul of the international community.

Calling for COP16 negotiators to rise about politics and circumnavigate the complexities which have a stranglehold on both process and progress, a panel of Pakitani ministers, ambassadors and scientists called on the parties to reach agreement on an adaptation fund which recognizes and adequately addresses the disproportionate impact of climate change on the world's most vulnerable populations.

"Pakistan is on the front line in two wars, the war against terrorism and the war against climate change," said Khalid Sherdit, Director General of PDMA and General Relief, Punjab. "Both battles need global coordination and cooperation, Both are unpredictable. But in the war against climate change, there is no exit plan."

continued at Daily Kos....

Add Solar / Wind to Tax Cut ... a call for action

by A Siegel

You can count me among the millions not happy with the caving to give additional tax subsidies the unneedy rich.  With this deal, however, unless blocked, the true pain is wondering what we could -- or should -- have gotten in return.  

Why isn't there $200 billion (or, better yet, $500 billion) or so for stimulus in the coming 24 months. There won't be anything coming out of the R House that will stimulate job creation. The Administration should have gotten some on the table and in this deal.  
   
Staying within tax cuts and policy, why not include in clean-energy tax credits.  To provide one clear example, why not extend Section 1603 (action item)?  

continued at Daily Kos....

Fossil Energy Knows It’s a Full Contact Game – Does Cleantech?

by Scaling Green

Cross posted from Scaling Green

Cancun - When I started working on solar energy issues several years ago, I heard it repeatedly: “Everyone loves solar.” Back then, many people in solar and other cleantech sectors saw long-term meritocracy in the energy business. Public demand, technological advances and an inevitable price on carbon were going to drive cleantech to dominance over time. “Renewable energy,” it was often said, “will soon become just plain ‘energy’.”

continued at Daily Kos....

Did China just save the world?

by eKos

Welcome to the eKos Earthship, your one-stop-shop for green diaries and series.

Today's editor: LaughingPlanet

••
••

(Reuters) - China on Monday offered for the first time to submit its voluntary carbon emissions target to a binding U.N. resolution, buoying climate talks where Bolivia accused rich world policies of causing "genocide."

••
••

Beneath the fold you will find news and notes, community announcements, and our eco-diary roundup.

All views expressed by today's editor do not necessarily represent those of eKos or eKos listed diarists.

continued at Daily Kos....

Sneak Preview: State of the World 2011

by NourishingthePlanet

Crossposted from the Worldwatch Institute's Nourishing the Planet.

In just a few short weeks State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet will be launched! We’re excited to share with you a sneak preview of Chapter 1 entitled, "Charting a New Path to Eliminating Hunger," authored by co-project directors Brian Halweil and Danielle Nierenberg.

continued at Daily Kos....

Get Ready For Huge Reversals in Energy and Climate Change Policies

by BWISC

One overlooked election tidbit: GOP gains in state legislatures (and governors’ offices) will throw a major wrench into efforts to slow climate change. What follows is an explanation on why and how.

Basically, it’s all about buildings. The energy used to power commercial and residential buildings is responsible for 38 percent of the nation’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions – emissions that worsen climate change.

Rulemaking is not sexy, but in this case, the rules behind how buildings are designed and run have a huge impact on climate change. And this is why, if you care about the environment, there is about to be a very big problem.

continued at Daily Kos....

Oil Will Drive the U.S. to More Wars Unless America Changes

by Magnifico

The United States of America is the world's biggest military spender and allocates more on its war machine than any other nation in the world. The U.S. paid $661 billion to the armaments industry in 2009, a recession year, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). "This represented 43 percent of the total global spend, and was $47 billion higher than the 2008 U.S. expenditure, according to SIPRI." America has increased military spending by 63 precent since 2000, according to SIPRI. This increase has partially been driven by the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes estimate the "budgetary and economic costs" of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will now be "between $4 trillion and $6 trillion". An upwards revision of 25 percent in just two years. The U.S. has already spent $1 trillion in Iraq and "spending in Iraq and Afghanistan now comes to more than $3 billion weekly, making the wars a major reason for record-level budget deficits."

continued at Daily Kos....

Fossil Fools? Carbon Currencies & War Rooms

by boatsie

India’s Minister of State for Environment and Forests Shri Jairam Ramesh chaired a impassioned Saturday panel on "Equitable access to Carbon Space: A Paradigm for Agreement," promoting a 'shared vision' for negotiations based upon equitable 'carbon space' for developing countries

An enthusiastic crowd spilled out into the corridors to continue discussion after the expert panelists indicated keen interest in a few of the inspired ideas floated during the Q&A, all seemingly 'pie-in-the-sky' suggestions -- like advancing a shift from gold to a global carbon standard or replacing traditional finances with effort based systems as bargaining chips.

Later that evening, expectations ran high at the World Climate Summit, hosted by Carbon War Room co-founder and eco-gladiator Sir Richard Branson, who presented the first ever Gigaton Consumer Discretion Award to one of the  Global 1000 climate conscious companies.

Raising a buzz poolside today that if big news does breaks from Cancun, it just might come from a highly unexpected source.

continued at Daily Kos....

Eco Activists "Greatest Threat" to Society and Church

by Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse

A right-wing religious organization says that environmentalists are "one of the greatest threats to society and the church today." Not surprisingly, this right-wing group, the Cornwall Alliance, is a disinformation front group funded by Big Oil.  Cornwall Alliance calls environmentalists the "Green Dragon" on claims that activists are "using the message of climate change to take over the world" to place it "under its destructive control."

The scary part is not just that a GOP lawmaker who might become chair of an environmental committee may be an adherent of this group's extreme views, but the GOP selected the founder of Cornwall Alliance as a witness for Congressional hearing on climate policies.  

continued at Daily Kos....

A Song When Hope Dims: Pete Seeger and The Napalm Ladies

by WarrenS

I think I was twelve when my parents gave me a new Pete Seeger lp.  They knew I loved his music; I’d listened over and over to "We Shall Overcome: The Carnegie Hall Concert" and knew most of the songs, or at least their lyrics, by heart.  I’d memorized most of the songs on the "Children’s Concert at Town Hall," and forty years later I can get a good laugh from any kid by singing "Where have you been all the day long, Henry my boy?" with its gross, lugubrious "greeeeeeeeen and yeller" chorus.

But this was a new disc, and I’m quite sure my folks just went into the store and grabbed something off the shelf.  After all, Pete had a lot of albums, and they were all pretty much the same, right?

Well, actually, no.

continued at Daily Kos....

CONFESSIONS OF A REPENTANT CLICKTAVIST: WHY WE BADLY NEED FARMERS & GRANDMAS

by todbrilliant

I love Bill McKibben. And I love his team of whip smart writers and thinkers at 350.org. Right now, Bill is in Cancun at COP16 to observe and report. Recently, he had this to say -

"...after fifteen years of empty promises, it's pretty clear that Washington is playing the world for suckers . . .if we actually want to stop global warming, then we have to build a movement big enough to force change. Otherwise we're suckers too."

Right on, Bill. You see, Bill and 350 are building that movement, one big enough to combat the fossil fuel industry and, hopefully, all the crooked motherfuckers in Washington D.C. (sorry, but this includes our President, if only by willing association, if not slavish devotion) who see to it that the U.S. bullies the developing world into climate compliance. For Bill’s efforts in movement building, I commend him. Yet, as a fellow observer of the Climate Wars, I’m forced to wonder aloud whether any of us have really begun to build anything yet.

continued at Daily Kos....

Gulf Watchers Sunday - WikiLeaks to Target BP - BP Catastrophe AUV #436

by Yasuragi

You are in the current Gulf Watchers BP Catastrophe - AUV #436. ROV #435 is here.

Bookmark this link to find the latest Gulf Watchers diaries.

Please RECOMMEND THIS DIARY, the motherships have been discontinued.

Gulf Watchers Diary Schedule
Monday - evening drive time
Wednesday - morning
Friday - morning
Friday Block Party - evening
Sunday - morning

Part one of the digest of diaries is here and part two is here.

Please be kind to kossacks with bandwidth issues. Please do not post images or videos. Again, many thanks for this.

continued at Daily Kos....

Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (Arsenic Life edition)

by Neon Vincent

Welcome to Science Saturday, where the Overnight News Digest crew informs and entertains you with this week's news about science, space, and the environment.

This week's featured story comes from NPR.

Scientists Find Bacterium That Survives On Arsenic
by Jon Hamilton

Researchers say they have found a bacterium that defies scientific dogma: It's able to use the deadly poison arsenic in place of an element previously considered essential for life. The finding appears to expand the range of places where life could exist — both on Earth and elsewhere in the universe.

The discovery comes from a young NASA astrobiologist who likes to find exceptions to rules. Felisa Wolfe-Simon says she was fascinated by crustaceans because they don't use iron to carry oxygen around their bodies the way most species do. Instead, they use copper.

Wolfe-Simon thought this sort of chemical substitution might go even further.

More science, space, and environment stories after the jump.

continued at Daily Kos....

What matters.

by RLMiller

I'm sorry.  I've been lurking since the election, and now the recommended list is alien to me.  

Tax cuts.

Unemployment insurance.

Wikileaks.

These matter today, and they'll matter tomorrow, but I tend to take a long view: what will matter in 2020? what will matter in 2100?

continued at Daily Kos....

US Plays the Big Tease at Global Climate Talks

by Bill McKibben

We're staying at the youth hostel in downtown Cancun, away from the strip of beach hotels that draw $3 billion in tourist trade each year. But I went down there this morning for a meeting, and found myself in a little outpost of the United States: Starbucks, KFC. Chili's (Are you kidding me? Chili's in Mexico?)

And here's the thing--as usual, the conference center is an outpost of the U.S. too. From the very beginning of this process, 16 long Conferences of the Parties ago, it's U.S. politics that have set the tone and pace. And every time with the same message: be less ambitious, so Congress won't nix the deal. That's why we ended up with a Kyoto pact that was a babystep at best. That's why the treaty that was supposed to result from Copenhagen ended up an empty Obama-written 'pledge.' We're very, very mindful of the importance of our domestic legislation," his chief negotiator Todd Stern said at the time. "That's a core principle for me and everyone else working on this. You can't jeopardize that."

continued at Daily Kos....

Liveblog: Community Energy and Climate Action Conference

by radical simplicity

[Notes: (1) ALL is paraphrased, I can't type as quickly as people can speak, any errors or inaccuracies are strictly my fault. (2) My keys keep popping off of my keyboard, so there will be more than my usual number of typos. If I have time, I'll try to clean them up later, but please have patience in the mean time.]

These are my real-time notes from the Vermont Community Energy and Climate Action Conference in Fairlee VT.

"A Vision and Plan for Vermont's Energy Future" : Governor-elect Peter Shumlin

We have an extraordinary opportunity. Was in DC last week for "baby governor school." It was an eye-opening experience for a VT boy. There were lots of governors there who balance their budgets by producing coal. In closed door session they asked pres why EPA is so hard on them. We're trying to create jobs make America strong.

Update: added "Schools" session notes

continued at Daily Kos....

Have a Facebook? Want to Take Revenge?

by joelado

Revenge for the Gulf oil spill and the Exxon Valdez, our involvement in middle eastern wars and all the other crap that comes with petroleum oil can only be gotten one way.  That way is to stop using oil. So if you have a Facebook account and you want to take revenge, one way you can do it, which will only take a few clicks on a mouse, is to help promote the movie “Revenge of the Electric Car” the new documentary from Chris Paine director of “Who Killed the Electric Car? To do this you have to click on this link http://www.facebook.com/... .  Once at the “Revenge of the Electric Car” Facebook page go to the top of the page and click the thumbs up like button. Once 10,000 people say they like the Facebook page we will all be able to see the trailer, and the promotion for the movie begins in earnest. If you really want to take revenge you will tell all your Facebook friends about the movie by clicking the “Suggest to Friends” button on the left of the Revenge page. There are other things you can do as well such as register and purchase an electric car or a Volt and say goodbye to your contribution to all that mess caused by oil.

continued at Daily Kos....

live from cancun: heads in the sand: earthship friday

by eKos

Welcome to the eKos Earthship, your one-stop-shop for green diaries and series.

Beneath the fold you will find news and notes, community announcements, and our eco-diary roundup.

Peruse the eKos Library to find previously listed diaries. You can also follow eKos on Twitter.

Tonight's editor: boatsie reporting live from  Canunmesse

continued at Daily Kos....

Wintertime

by epjmcginley

The eagles are above in the trees and the sky. The clouds hang so low that they collect on the lenses of your sunglasses if you walk briskly enough. The forest is brilliant with Lichen and Moss. Colonies of green climb the trunks of the trees. The ground still erupting in mushrooms here and there, even as the buds are now set on the branches.

Today I started pruning the fruit trees behind the bakery, an annual privilege that I am granted this year as I was last. It is always more fun to prune a tree the year after you pruned it first. Invariably that encounter was spent correcting the branches that got away, and visualizing growth to look forward to. The second year, the tree has responded to your call, and it is your turn again. This is a lovely game to play with an old apple tree. The patterns of the individual distinctly respond to the cuts of the previous year, and so the interaction is unique. Every tree a different tendency; a novel predilection.

continued at Daily Kos....

Gulf Watchers Block Party---Duende; Say what????

by Phil S 33

Another Friday night; another exciting(?) GW Block Party.
This is where we gather as a community; and relax, and tell stories, or poke some fun, or even get downright cerebral at times. (of course, there are several here who can do that---I am not one of them)

Tonight for your pleasure, I offer up a challenge for those that love to
debate issues on which there may be two sides....depending on one's perspective.

Pull up a chair, get closer to your laptop; grab the extra glass of wine----and follow me for an interesting adventure....

continued at Daily Kos....

Schwarzenegger's Abysmal Environmental Legacy

by Dan Bacher

The Myth of the 'Jolly Green Giant' Exposed  

Political leaders, NGO representatives and the corporate media have incessantly greenwashed the deplorable environmental legacy of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in a series of photo opportunities, press releases, news conferences and awards ceremonies over the past several months. This disgusting campaign by the Governor and his collaborators to portray Schwarzenegger as the "Jolly Green Giant" is bound to get even worse as Schwarzenegger prepares to leave office.

On December 2, Schwarzenegger accepted an award from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) Region 9 Administrator Jared Blumenfeld for his "environmental leadership."  

continued at Daily Kos....

Top Down solutions, and other such myths

by jamess

Imagine you just moved into a New Place to live -- and after a week or so you realize that the place is very drafty and cold.  Brrrr!

What do you do?

If you're of the school of thought that "Top Down" Investments are the Laissez faire way to fix things

-- you do nothing except crank up the Thermostat and starting paying the higher Utility Bills  (ie. just keep throwing more money at it.)

If you're of the school of thought that "Bottom Up" Investments are the best way to "permanently" solve most any problem

-- you weather strip your windows, you insulate your attic etc.  (ie. you invest in things that actually address the problem and help it to be minimized, AND its continual costs.)

larger

PS. "Bottom Up" Investments actually Help to put other People to work too ... instead of just throwing that Cash --  "Out the the Window" !

continued at Daily Kos....

gender in cancun

by boatsie

For many women living in the Cook Islands, collecting yellow land snails to make jewelry and other handicrafts is their sole source of income.  Recent extensive dry spells have made these shells more difficult to find.

"Sometimes we will spend weeks on end to fill an empty can which we used to fill within a few hours," says Tangiruaine Ngaruaine. "At the beginning of this year, it was truly tough because there was hardly any rain. Whatever I make from selling these shells is my 'income' and it has been my only source of income."

Ngaruaine's story is represented here at COP16 by Ulamila Wragg, one of an expanding number of women participating in official UNFCCC climate negotiations.

Wragg is here at COP16 an an official delegate for the Cook Islands, one of the women delegates funded and trained by the Women's Development Fund to represent female voices, particularly those of women who are disproportionately impacted by the impacts of climate change in least developed countries.

continued at Daily Kos....

Urgent Action for CA's Green Chemistry Standards

by Colleen Fernald

Hello everyone,

All personal care, and cleaning products, etc. end up in our bodies, down the drain, in the air, and in the soil. What's on the label of the products you purchase? Can you trust them to be safe for all they touch?

Please see this important story from the San Fransisco Chronicle today.

continued at Daily Kos....

Our Orwellian Nightmare: Coal's Low Carbon Pitch

by Mary Anne Hitt

This week, I'm happy to introduce Justin Guay of the Sierra Club's International Climate Program, who is in Cancun at the international climate negotiations, and who draws our attention in this post to a little-known problem that could spur coal development around the world:

In Cancun all eyes are on climate finance and the role it will play in delivering progress on the international stage. Yet lurking beneath the surface lies a fatal incoherency in energy sector lending that has enabled coal to pass itself off as a low carbon option for developing countries.

continued at Daily Kos....

Weekly Mulch: If Cancun Climate Talks Falter, Blame the U.S.

by The Media Consortium

by Sarah Laskow, Media Consortium blogger

continued at Daily Kos....

FL Water Manager's Still Don't Like Everglades Restoration

by JDWolverton

The fight over Florida's Everglades is decades old. Among the multiple ongoing law suits concerning Everglades restoration, the Miccosukee suit got some uneven results. It is a complex issue that too few people really understand. All of Florida plus our tourists have a dog in this race, but maybe 1 in 20 are paying attention.

Most Floridians moved here long after the beginning of the battle over The River of Grass, better known as the Everglades. Newbie Floridians generally have no use for gators other than the Gainesville variety and they have no clue that the Everglades (gators and all) is key to a healthy Florida environment.

Giving into pro-business interests leads to more and more expensive water for all Floridians, but the average Floridian won't care about the Everglades until they get their first $150 a month water bill (sewage will be extra).

continued at Daily Kos....

US Green Energy Fail

by Steven D

Here's we in the United States should be doing now to keep up with the rest of the world's investment in research and development of green energy technologies:

The United States needs to more than triple its spending on energy research, development and demonstration projects, from about $5 billion now to $16 billion, and should review  national energy policy every four years, an advisory group of scientists and engineers said in a report to President Obama this week.

The US is falling behind almost every other major developed country in the world.  Look at this chart from 2007 that shows R & D spending as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product:

continued at Daily Kos....

Gulf Watchers Friday - Drop Back and Punt - BP Catastrophe AUV #435

by Lorinda Pike

You are in the current Gulf Watchers BP Catastrophe - AUV #435. AUV #434 is here.

Bookmark this link to find the latest Gulf Watchers diaries.

Please RECOMMEND THIS DIARY, the motherships have been discontinued.

Gulf Watchers Diary Schedule
Monday - evening drive time
Wednesday - morning
Friday - morning
Friday Block Party - evening
Sunday - morning

Part one of the digest of diaries is here and part two is here.

Please be kind to kossacks with bandwidth issues. Please do not post images or videos. Again, many thanks for this.

continued at Daily Kos....

The Earth is our Grandma

by Unenergy

Below is an extract from a movie I watched a while back which had a pretty powerful monologue at the end. Many people have likely forgotten or not seen this movie, and I have linked to it at the end with a video of the dialog, but it is as relevant today as it was back in 1994. To think that 16 years ago the same things were being warned about which we have seen over and over again, makes one wonder about the intelligence of man.

I'd like to start off by saying thank you to all the brothers and sisters that've come here today representing this cause.
       
I've been asked by Mr. Ittok and the Tribal Council to speak to you and the members of the press about the injustice that's been brought against us by some government officials and big business.

continued at Daily Kos....

The Tantra of Climate Change: Keep Holding Back

by greenmedia

Cross-posted to Green Media News.

Let's face it - Climate Change talk is boring. Most people just don't get excited talking about things like "MRV" (the monitoring, reporting, verifying and reducing of greenhouse gas emissions across geo-political borders) and those who aren't on the front lines of the climate change action movement generally don't have the attention span to focus on serious talk like this... well at least, not when "Dancing with the Stars" is on.

continued at Daily Kos....

eKos: Labrador Sea 9F Above Normal, Changing Global Weather

by FishOutofWater

Loss of Arctic sea ice is changing northern hemisphere ocean currents and atmospheric circulation patterns. A massive influx of warm water as much as 9° F above normal has flowed up the west coasts of both Greenland and Norway towards the Arctic ocean causing a new northern hemisphere weather pattern called the warm Arctic cold continents pattern to develop.

Temperature anomaly in ° C at 100 meters depth in far northern waters.

continued at Daily Kos....

We Protect Endangered Wildlife, Why Not Endangered People?

by Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse

On Monday, right-wing contrarian Bjorn Lomborg argued that we have "twenty to forty years" to spend on researching new technology for global warming.

He argues that "efforts to reduce global warming pollution can wait, because 'coping with climate change is something we know how to do.'"  Go tell this to Pakistan flood victims.

I guess "coping" now means death, illness, economic deficits, job losses, hunger, national security risks, environmental destruction, wildlife extinction and environmental racism.  

It also means allowing nations to face the threat of extinction. When wildlife is threatened by extinction, our endangered species law may provide protected status while recovery remedies are implemented to save the wildlife.  What about people threatened with rising sea levels that might swallow up entire nations?  Are people as important as our wildlife?

continued at Daily Kos....

Cancun climate summit: Island nations as collateral damage

by DWG

Delegates from island nations have come to the climate summit in Cancun to talk about sea level rise. Their concerns are understandable. Current projections for sea level rise range from 1 to 2 meters by end of the century if global temperatures rise 2 to 4 degrees C. A recent Oxford University study estimates these islands face devastatingly high annual costs to repair damage and maintain infrastructure from sea level increases of these magnitudes.

"All of us face disaster. We don't want to be the forgotten, the sacrificed countries of the 21st century."

Antonio Lima, UN ambassador for the Cape Verde Islands

continued at Daily Kos....

DailyCancun: That'd be Agri 'Culture' NOT Agri 'Business'

by boatsie

You know that time before takeoff? When you hear about how these invisible oxygen masks are going to magically drop down to save you in case of an emergency? How if you’re traveling with a child or someone with limitations, you should put yours on first and then help those who can’t help themselves?

No matter how many times I hear this, I think twice. My gut instinct is to help those who can’t help themselves before thinking of myself.

continued at Daily Kos....

Students Call for Clean Energy, Thank EPA

by Mary Anne Hitt

This post was co-written by Kim Teplitzky of the Sierra Student Coalition.

Yesterday, despite some fierce weather in our nation's capital, members of the Sierra Student Coalition hung bright, colorful pinwheels on Capitol Hill and in front of the Environmental Protection Agency headquarters. (Check out photos here)

The pinwheels came from thousands of college students across the U.S., all asking for clean energy and thanking EPA for its hard work over 40 years (Happy birthday, EPA!).

continued at Daily Kos....

NASA To Announce New Form Of Life

by Rimjob

Earlier this week, an announcement of a press conference today at NASA led to all sorts of speculation as to what would be announced. Based on who was appearing at the press conference, most of the speculation centered around the idea that maybe alien life had been discovered on Saturn's moon, Titan. Well, some of the information about the press conference has leaked, and the discovery is much more terrestrial. However, it does have implications for the discovery of life on other planets.

According to Gizmodo and NASA Watch, NASA will announce the discovery of a bacterium in California's Mono Lake that achieves the effect of phosphorylation differently than other known organisms. Instead of using phosphorus, the bacterium uses arsenic, which is usually toxic & deadly to living things. So if life can adapt to use arsenic here on Earth, it makes it possible that life can adapt to live off arsenic (and God knows what else) somewhere out there.

continued at Daily Kos....

Teh Crazy Lines Up Behind BP Apologist Barton

by TheGreenMiles

Rep. Joe Barton, best known for his groveling apology to BP CEO Tony Hayward at the height of the Gulf oil disaster, says the rules don't apply to him - he wants an exemption to committee chairmanship term limit rules so he can once again chair the House Energy & Commerce Committee in 2011.

His fight against Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) is looking increasingly quixotic. How bad is it? Just look at the members standing by him:

continued at Daily Kos....

Holiday lighting ... Scrooge or Santa (an annual refrain)

by A Siegel

Do you love those displays of Christmas (or Hannukah or Kwanza or Halloween or ...) lights?  Are you awed by those so impassioned that they string up 1000s of lights in awesome displays worthy of a city center? I once was, pausing on cold winter nights, white clouds issuing from my mouth, enjoying being in the glow of beautiful displays.  And, in a way, I was inspired that they would spend $1000s (or $10,000s) on displays and the electricity to power them so that others could enjoy the sight on those cold winter nights.

But ... no longer ... not for awhile. Far too often nowadays, my winter evenings I can wear short sleeve shirts rather than bulky coats and gloves. And, energy is no longer a question simply of money. I've reached the point of feeling like a Scrooge; feeling outrage over the tons of C02 going into the atmosphere via neighbors' 10,000 light displays rather than feeling 'joyous'.

But, a compromise does exist; a path to cut sharply those CO2 emissions while still putting out those lights:  LED lights.  But, far too many are unwilling to spend the money upfront to cut their electricial use, reduce their pollution, and -- actually -- save quite a lot of money.

continued at Daily Kos....

No Meta, just good news

by Jerome a Paris

As you know, I'm firmly (and rightly or wrongly) in the camp of those who are seriously disappointed with our current crop of leftwing politicians and who are quite pessimistic about the short term economic outlook. One of my diaries from this summer (Judging Obama) still sums up my views on the divide within the community and the positions of both sides.

One of the results of this mood of disappointment has been an inability to get worked up lately about politics, and to write anything much.

Another reason for my silence has been that I've been inordinately (and thankfully) busy at work. As you may remember, I created my own company earlier this year, after 15 years in the banking world, to help developers find money to build their renewable energy projects, in particular in the offshore wind sector where I've been involved in the past 5 years.

Well, I'm pleased to announce that the first transaction to happen with my new company's help was signed last week last week.

continued at Daily Kos....

Nourishing the Planet TV: Turning an Invasive Species into a Sustainable Livelihood

by NourishingthePlanet

Crossposted from the Worldwatch Institute's Nourishing the Planet.

In this week’s episode, Nourishing the Planet research intern, Elena Davert, explains how, in Kenya, the potentially devastating invasive plant, the water hyacinth, is being transformed into a boon for local livelihoods. With the help of organizations like Village Volunteers, farmers living on the shore of Lake Victoria are harvesting the water hyacinth to produce biodegradable furniture, fertilizer, and other commercial products to simultaneously clear the water of the dangerous plant and improve local livelihoods.

continued at Daily Kos....

DAILYCANCUN: Why I’m Voting TROTSKY/ASSANGE in 2012

by todbrilliant

One met death by ice pick seventy years ago, and the other is a furtive, fugitive Australian, but I’m giving my votes (thanks to my hacker buddies) to the TROTSKY/ASSANGE ticket in 2012.

WTF am I talking about and how does this apply to the ongoing UNFCC "negotiations" in Cancun? You'll see...

continued at Daily Kos....

A bit of perspective on President Obama (well, mine).

by erratic

A lot of people here are really pissed with President Obama right now. I certainly sympathize. He's made a number of decisions as President that don't make sense to me, decisions that I wouldn't have expected him to make. And he's failed to do things that I thought he would, or in the way I thought he would. I'm upset about Guantanamo, about his choices for the Fed, about his failure to play hardball with the republicans.

But from my perspective, I still have full respect for President Obama. I honestly still love just writing that. I respect his intelligence and experience, his tactical awareness, his decision-making skills. I believe he's doing the best he can, that he's committed to so doing, and there's still no one I'd rather have for president. But this isn't a diary about praise, it's a dairy about perspective.

And the perspective that I remember best is on election night, sitting at a crowded bar, waiting for the Pennsylvania returns...

continued at Daily Kos....

eKos Earthship Wednesday, Snow-pocalypse edition

by eKos

Welcome to the eKos Earthship, your one-stop-shop for green diaries and series.

Beneath the fold you will find news and notes, community announcements, and our eco-diary roundup.

Peruse the eKos Library to find previously listed diaries. You can also follow eKos on Twitter.

Tonight's editor: LokiMom

continued at Daily Kos....

a blessing for cancun

by boatsie

Black Zanate birds flock in the colorful framboyan trees above Plaza de la Forma as the citizens of Cancun convene to welcome and bless COP16 with a celebration of prayers, songs and short impassioned speeches.

"We need an answer," says Rodolfo Urapilleta, one of the few volunteers on hand who speaks English. "Tonight we are getting together to pray. I don’t know how but maybe the Lord can do something."

continued at Daily Kos....

DailyCancun: A Mayor Breakthrough!

by citisven

This week in Cancun, governments and NGOs from around the world are taking another shot at solving the climate crisis after last year's highly anticipated VIP-laden COP 15 conference in Copenhagen that created a big bubbly buzz and ended in a long contemplative sigh of nothingness.

While much of the approach to the Big Kahuna in Cancuna is still centered around cryptic diplomat speak that tries to accommodate everybody and pleases nobody, the one question that the indefatigable ecocity advocate Richard Register has been asking for over 35 years — Why on earth aren't they talking about cities??? —

seems to finally have been heard:

After cities were shut out at COP15, Marcelo Ebrard, Mayor of Mexico City and Chair of the World Mayors Council on Climate Change, has been invited to speak at a high level panel at COP16.

HALLELUJAH!

continued at Daily Kos....

COURT: Pull out the Monsanto Sugar Beets!

by greendem

Today Federal District Judge Jeffrey S. White issued a preliminary injunction ordering the immediate destruction of hundreds of acres of genetically engineered (GE) sugar beet seedlings planted in September after finding the seedlings had been planted in violation of federal law. The ruling comes in a lawsuit filed by Earthjustice and The Center for Food Safety on behalf of a coalition of farmers and conservation groups. The lawsuit was filed on September 9, shortly after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) revealed it had allowed the seedlings to be planted.

continued at Daily Kos....

"Weak" Obama Admin: Wind, not Oil!

by Lawrence

The current, popular narrative here at DailyKos seems to be that President Obama is weak and "capitulates" to Republicans more often than any of us can say capitulate between breakfast and lunch.

continued at Daily Kos....

Gulf Watchers Wednesday - 1990 Act of Congress Should Have Prevented Spill - BP Catastrophe AUV #434

by Yasuragi

You are in the current Gulf Watchers BP Catastrophe - AUV #434. ROV #433 is here.

Bookmark this link to find the latest Gulf Watchers diaries.

Please RECOMMEND THIS DIARY, the motherships have been discontinued.

Gulf Watchers Diary Schedule
Monday - evening drive time
Wednesday - morning
Friday - morning
Friday Block Party - evening
Sunday - morning

Part one of the digest of diaries is here and part two is here.

Please be kind to kossacks with bandwidth issues. Please do not post images or videos. Again, many thanks for this.

continued at Daily Kos....

At COP16, UNFCCC and USA Look for Agreement to Agree

by greenmedia

Cross-posted to Green Media News.

In her opening remarks at COP16 yesterday, United Nations Climate Chief Christiana Figueres called for a "solid response to climate change, using both reason and creativity."

Meanwhile, one delegate on the ground reported feeling a strange mix of hope and frustration in the air as the negotiations were about to begin.

Figueres concentrated her remarks on the three issues she sees as the most important reasons why a global climate action deal needs to be reached and why the UNFCCC is the right body to be driving the process:

continued at Daily Kos....