The grim Arctic Report Card

by DWG

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has just published its 2010 update on the Arctic environment. This report was produced in collaboration with scientists from the United States, Canada, Russia, and European Union. The bottom line in this report can be summarized in a single sentence:

Return to previous Arctic conditions is unlikely.

Warming of the atmosphere and sea water in the northern hemisphere are expected to produce long-term changes in the polar region, including the loss of summer sea ice, depletion of Greenland glacial ice, permafrost melt, and stress on many animal populations. Scientists first raised the possibility of an Arctic "death spiral" several years ago, which was dismissed as a passing fantasy by the ethically-challenged, half-term governor of Alaska. The possibility of an Arctic "death spiral" now looks highly likely.

continued at Daily Kos....

Citizens Against Taxing Big Oil

by Forgiven

You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time. – (attributed to) Abraham Lincoln

One evening I was watching the news minding my own business when I was astonished by what I saw. It was an ad paid for and produced by the American Petroleum Institute or API the main trade association for the oil and natural gas industry. According to the commercial which depicted what appeared to be ordinary Americans upset because the Congress is considering raising the taxes on the industry by 80 billion dollars in the 2011 budget. According to these ordinary Americans raising taxes during a recession on anyone is bad policy. This rationale sounds eerily familiar to the rhetoric being used to justify keeping the Bush tax cuts. It is this type of blatant propaganda that must be exposed for what it is.

continued at Daily Kos....