OMB Censored Accurate Calculations of BP Oil Flow

by FishOutofWater

The OMB, headed by the anti-environment conservative Peter Orszag, censored NOAA's worst case estimates of the BP spill.National oil spill commission staff report PDF

It is the understanding of the Commission staff that the possibility of releasing the worst-case discharge figures was at least discussed at the Unified Command level.46 The Commission staff has also been advised that, in late April or early May 2010, NOAA wanted to make public some of its long-term, worst-case discharge models for the Deepwater Horizon spill, and requested approval to do so from the White House‟s Office of Management and Budget.47 Staff was told that the Office of Management and Budget denied NOAA‟s request.48

continued at Daily Kos....

Drumming For The Planet: MA Climate Action, 11/6/10

by WarrenS

Three Traditions of Rhythm
Come Together to Beat Climate Change!

Saturday, November 6 — 7:00 pm

Emmanuel Church, 15 Newbury Street, Boston

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Virginia AG Cuccinelli continues climate science witch hunt

by DWG

Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli has decided to continue to waste taxpayer money and embarrass the state with his witch hunt of climate scientist Michael Mann. Cuccinelli's attempts to harass Mann reveal the depths to which Republicans are willing to sink as full-fledged climate zombies in the service of fossil energy companies.

There are several reasons you should pay attention to the actions of Cuccinelli. First, he is attempting to intimidate a scientist that was formerly employed by a state university, leveling accusations of fraud, and demanding access to personal correspondence as part of a discovery process. Second, Cuccinelli has gained national prominence for his actions, endorsing candidates, and providing a blueprint for attacking federal regulations. Third, Virginia has become ground zero for Tea Party Republicanism.

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How to Say "Never Again"

by Michael Brune

When the BP oil disaster was raging this summer, much of the country was engaged in a conversation about how we could prevent something like this from ever happening again.

If there were an easy answer to that question, we would have found it already. Oil drilling is inherently dangerous and dirty. As long as we keep drilling for oil, there's simply no way to guarantee against another disaster. Sure, we can reduce the odds -- the new drilling regulations announced by the Interior Department last week  might make another accident less likely, but they don't address the fundamental challenge: getting off oil as quickly as possible.

continued at Daily Kos....

Obama's BP Oil-Spill Commision - Government Untruthful

by southof

Change of the culture in Washington after all of Bush's lies

It's not as if we didn't already know that the government was not being truthful with its initial estimates of the size of the BP oil spill.

Any doubts about whether the government was being truthful to the people in the Gulf, and the American people, are now dispelled by Obama's own oil-spill commission.

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration repeatedly underestimated how much oil  was flowing into the Gulf of Mexico from the stricken BP well, contributing to public fear about the accident and a loss of faith in the government’s ability to handle it, according to a sharply critical report from the presidential commission appointed to study the disaster.

continued at Daily Kos....

Peabody Coal's Plan to Save the World...Or Itself?

by Bruce Nilles

The coal industry is a filthy business, but that doesn't stop the industry from spending a fortune on PR consultants to try and distract attention away from the costs it imposes on Americans every day. With labels like "clean coal" and "green coal," the coal industry's spinmeisters spend a lot of time and money trying to pretend coal is something it is not.  

Now in response to a successful campaign by the Sierra Club and our allies in the United States to stop the construction of new coal plants - we are up to 145 plants stopped - Peabody Energy - the world's largest coal company - is proposing to grow its market by shipping coal overseas to impoverished countries.

continued at Daily Kos....

Nourishing the Planet TV: Reducing Post-Harvest Waste

by NourishingthePlanet

Crossposted from the Worldwatch Institute's Nourishing the Planet.

In this week’s episode, research intern, Matt Styslinger discusses how in sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 239 million people are hungry, more than a quarter of the food is lost before it can be eaten due to waste. Innovations in improved food storage can be an important tool for reducing world  hunger. From hermetically sealed bags developed by Purdue University to metallic silos in Afghanistan, innovations to improve food storage and reduce food waste are helping to improve food security around the globe.

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Gulf Watchers Morning Edition - BP Catastrophe AUV #404

by peraspera

You are in the current BP Catastrophe Morning Edition - AUV #404. ROV #403 is here.

The digest of diaries is here.

Please RECOMMEND THIS DIARY, the motherships have been discontinued.

Bookmark this link to find the latest Gulf Watchers diaries.

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

PLEASE visit Pam LaPier's diary to find out how you can help the Gulf now and in the future. We don't have to be idle! And thanks to Crashing Vor and Pam LaPier for working on this!

continued at Daily Kos....

VA AG re-files against UVA/Mann: Climate-change McCarthyism

by seesdifferent

VA AG Ken Cuccinelli has re-filed a subpoena alleging fraud and demanding documents from University of Virginia regarding Michael Mann's research prior to his leaving in 2005, the most notable of which is the so-called "hockey stick" work, showing the sudden increase in temperatures in the industrial era. Cuccinelli's previous subpoena, dealing with that research, was quashed because VA had no jurisdiction over federal grants. The new subpoena deals with Mann's only state grant, which had nothing to do with the hockey stick concept. However, Cuccinelli is clearly trying to get at Mann (and other climatologists) any way he can, and demands, as he did in his quashed subpoena, 10 years of emails between Mann and various other scientists.  His criteria for what constitutes fraud are bizarre.

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