Coal Industry Highlights American Disgrace

by RDemocrat

Crossposted from Hillbilly Report.

It is no secret that Corporate America and big business are going all out to buy this next election. You see, to certain segments of our population profit margins are considered more valuable than life. While I am all for business making profit and people making money it is simply wrong in any society for all the money to be horded among a very small segment of the population who control, circumvent or completely ignore laws and regulations. It is wrong too for them to turn the very ideals our country was founded on up on their heels in their never-ending lust to control the money and our government.

continued at Daily Kos....

o what a fright! 1st ever eco-halloween 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: boatsie

continued at Daily Kos....

Unprecedented Tropical Storm Tomas Forms off S America

by FishOutofWater

Never in historic records has a tropical storm formed so far south and east in the north Atlantic this late in the season. Never. And Tomas has the potential to become a major hurricane in the Caribbean, possibly threatening Haiti, Jamaica or Cuba next week.

Tropical Storm Tomas forms Friday afternoon north of South America in the tropical Atlantic.

8pm EST Update: Tomas strengthening rapidly

AIR FORCE RECONNAISSANCE DATA INDICATE THAT MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS
HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 60 MPH...95 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS.  SOME
ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS...AND
TOMAS COULD BECOME A HURRICANE BY LATE SATURDAY.

TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 105 MILES...165 KM
FROM THE CENTER.

THE LATEST MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE ESTIMATED BY RECONNAISSANCE
AIRCRAFT WAS 999 MB...29.50 INCHES.

continued at Daily Kos....

Vote Sanity: you're mad, they're CRAZY!

by A Siegel

A new website went up: Vote Sanity!  Vote Sanity calls attention to how so many candidates' views are not extreme but, well, simply leave the reservation.

As Billy Wimsatt put it:

My Fellow Sane Americans,

What does it say about us that the most effective counterweight to the Tea Party is not a political party or leader, but a comedian?

continued at Daily Kos....

Defeat Texas!

by LaughingPlanet

This weekend, we will see a full-page ad in the California newspapers (just in case anyone still reads newspapers).

I heard about the ad via the internets' version of newpaper, or the  newpaper version of the internets.

http://www.sfgate.com/...

Leave it to our California activists to transform the California vs Texas World Series into a chance to make a political statement.

On Sunday, a huge print ad will run in various publications opposing Prop 23 -- the measure that would overturn California's ground-breaking 2006 climate change law.

It's the most creative static political ad I've seen in a long time.

We not only need Prop 23 to fail, we need an EPIC FAIL.

continued at Daily Kos....

Improving the Harvest, From the Soil to the Market

by NourishingthePlanet

Crossposted from the Worldwatch Institute's Nourishing the Planet.

Farmers in the Uluguru Mountains in Tanzania are fighting a losing battle against increasingly degraded land. Repeated plantings are quickly depleting the nutrients in the soil, leaving it nearly barren and vulnerable to erosion. Meanwhile, downstream, the water is dark with sediment, unfit for drinking and expensive to treat. "Downstream, people are complaining about the quality of water," says Lopa Dosteus, program manager for CARE International’s Equitable Payment for Watershed Management (EPWM) program. "And upstream, the farmers are struggling to grow enough food while their soil washes away."

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Gulf Watchers Friday: GOTV-All Politics is Local: Kamala Harris/CA-AG: BP Catastrophe AUV#416

by ArthurPoet

This is a Gulf Watchers GOTV SPECIAL MID-TERM ELECTION EDITION: Focusing on 2 CA Local Ticket Items:

1. Kamala Harris for CA-AG

2. NO on PROP 23

California sets the direction for our nation, and as such, this is probably one of the most critical battles for our environment today. Her opponent is backed by big oil. The latest poll shows Kamala slightly up, but she has been behind up until now. Please help if you can.

"All Politics is Local" ~ Former Speaker of the House ~ Tip O'Neil ~

You are in the current BP Catastrophe Morning Edition: AUV #416. ROV #415 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.

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NCAR Predicts Possible Extreme Drought In Next Decades

by Something the Dog Said

They say in the Mountain West that whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting. This simple saying shows how little water there really is and how critical it is a semi-arid environment like Colorado. There are more law practices that deal with water rights here than anywhere else in the United States. However what is the normal way of life for the Rockies might become the norm for large parts of the country and the world.

The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) has released a new study combining 22 climate models. These models are not looking at global warming, but rather the chance of increased drought world wide as temperatures climb. (Just a quick aside, you see real scientists aren’t falling for the "debate" meme that climate change deniers push. They know what is going on and have moved on to what will happen)

"Originally posted at Squarestate.net"

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Could the stakes be higher?

by A Siegel

Simply put, I wish that I could say yes ... that the 2010 election does not have the potential for undermining our already horribly weak fiscal system, for deepening the incredible gap between haves and have-nots, for worsening our blind rush into the looming crash of Peak Oil, for cementing our spiraling descent into catastrophic chaos, for ...

Let me be clear, despite some tremendous appointments and some great actions, the Administration has fallen short on too many issues. In the face of the devastating situation when he entered office and the Republican "Just Say No" to everything style, the actual achievements are not to be discounted.

If, come next Wednesday, the Republicans take the House (and, even worse, the Senate) the progress since the 2008 election will screech to a halt in Washington -- on issue, after issue, after issue.  

FOR ACTION: Act Blue for Climate Heroes

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Stupid Goes Viral: Toomey's Not A Witch, Either

by RLMiller

They roam the once-pristine shores of Chesapeake Bay, moaning for caaasshh.

Their stupid has gone viral.

And if they win, humanity loses.

I'm tracking Climate Zombies: every Republican candidate for House, Senate, and Governor who doubts, denies, or derides the science of climate change. Today, I visit Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania, where I also stumble upon a ResistNet member running for Congress: Rick Hellberg in PA-02.

continued at Daily Kos....