It’s Not the Climate Bill, Stupid

by Heather TaylorMiesle NRDC Action Fund

The role of federal climate legislation in the mid-term Congressional elections, to paraphrase Mark Twain, is being greatly exaggerated. For instance, Politico was quick to blame last year’s vote on the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) for the defeat of House Democrats.

In reality, 160 Democratic representatives who voted for the House climate bill won their elections yesterday. (This does not include four races that are still too close to call as of this writing.) On the other hand, 19 of 34 representatives who voted against the bill went down in defeat. (This excludes two races that were not decided as of this writing.)

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The F*** America Project: Climate Change Denial.

by LaFeminista

So here we are with a whole new batch of climate change deniers coming to Washington DC early next year. Tired that the US is no longer number one in pollution and seeing China's problem as a threat to US supremacy and the idiots way of life; they mean to assure that this is only temporary.

But there was a decisive power shift in Congress towards those who deny the existence of manmade climate change or who oppose government action on global warming. An investigation by Think Progress, a website run by the liberal Centre for American Progress think tank, found 50% of the more than 100 Republican newcomers deny the existence of man-made climate change. An overwhelming majority, 86%, oppose legislation that would raise taxes on polluting industries. That could spell the end for progressive energy legislation and could herald a return to the George Bush era of environmental deregulation.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/...

The one bright spot is California, but the GOP and the corporations may decide that life is so much 'better' in the increasingly deregulated 'heartland'.

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Underwater Hawai'i - A Photo Diary

by Haole in Hawaii

This is a photo diaries meant only as a brief respite from the ugliness of the day and as a reminder that we share this fragile planet with all manner of amazing creatures. I hope you enjoy your visit here.

The Waianae Coast

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No Solar Energy Until You Eat Up All the Oil

by gmoke

All I know about simple solar at
http://solarray.blogspot.com/...
http://solarray.blogspot.com/...

Solar IS Civil Defense
http://solarray.blogspot.com/...

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Wednesday eKos Earthship

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

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

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More Like an Oil Spill Than a Landslide

by Michael Brune

The 2010 election was the year of The Empire Strikes Back. Big Oil, the coal industry, and corporate polluters are desperate to stop the momentum toward clean energy that's been building for years. You can't stop the construction of 139 coal-fired power plants, implement the first-ever fuel-economy standards for medium and heavy trucks, or put the "protect" back into the Environmental Protection Agency without provoking a reaction.

In this case, the Dirty Energy Empire broke all campaign spending records and used their financial Death Star to target any politician who took a stand on clean energy and global warming. It may not have been a subtle strategy, but it was effective. What it doesn't change, though, is that most Americans still disagree with Big Oil and Big Coal about environmental and energy issues.

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Nourishing the Planet TV: From the Township Garden to the City Table

by NourishingthePlanet

Around 1 million people in South Africa—the majority of whom are recent arrivals from the former apartheid homelands, Transkei and Ciskei— live in the shacks that make up Khayelitsha, Nyanga and the area surrounding the Cape Flats outside Cape Town.  Just under half, or 40 percent, of the population is unemployed, while the rest barely earn enough income to feed their families. In this week’s episode, Nourishing the Planet research fellow, Molly Theobald, introduces an innovation that is helping families in these settlements become farmers to improve their diets, create a source of income, restore the local environment and bring fresh produce to the city.

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Climate hearings: go on the offensive!

by John Q

So the Republicans are threatening to hold hearings on climate science, with the intent of attacking scientists with the false "climategate" charges.

I say: bring it on!  Properly handled, it could really help muster support for effective action to slow global warming

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Gulf Watchers Wednesday - BP & MMS deception about toxic plumes - BP Catastrophe AUV #419

by peraspera

You are in the current Gulf Watchers BP Catastrophe - AUV #419. ROV #418 is here.

Bookmark this link to find the latest Gulf Watchers diaries.

Please RECOMMEND THIS DIARY, the motherships have been discontinued.

The digest of diaries is here.

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!

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BREAKING: KS Gov Sacks Health Official to Please Coal Interests, Republican Legislature

by greendem

Roderick Bremby, the Kansas official who blocked the proposed Sunflower coal plant on global warming and health grounds during the Governorship of Kathleen Sebelius, was forced out of office today by "Democratic" Governor Mark Parkinson in an election-day push designed to avoid media scrutiny.

The move is being seen by Kansans as a dirty-trick designed to please Big Coal and ram through a new plant most Kansans neither want nor need before the EPA steps in with new regulations.

The plant's power would largely be sent out of state, while the pollution would accumulate in state.

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