Joel Francis, a Marine Corps veteran and senior at Cal State Los Angeles, has issued a debate challenge to Koch Industries' billionaire CEO Charles Koch on his support for the disastrous Prop 23 attack on California's climate and clean energy progress.
Maybe you've heard: Comedy Central's Jon Stewart is holding a "Rally to Restore Sanity" next week. His fellow satirist, Stephen Colbert, will be there, too, leading his "March to Keep Fear Alive." This is all going down on the day before Halloween, right on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Jon Stewart's not a politician (yet), but I suspect he'll get more people -- especially young people -- thinking about how politics work (or don't work) in this country than any elected official could. Stewart says the goal of his rally is to "take it down a notch for America." Sounds reasonable. Of course, with Colbert around, you can be sure things won't get too reasonable. This is the guy, after all, who once serenaded my predecessor, Carl Pope, with a suicidal black bear hand puppet.
Pacific Northwest residents have a last chance to stop the U.S. Navy from expanding deadly weapons and sonar operations off the California, Oregon, and Washington coasts. After widespread and intense opposition to its plans in 2009, the Navy has ignored or dismissed some 1,000 pages of critical comments in issuing its final environmental impact statement for this program. By the end of October, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is scheduled to authorize it.
Only the U.S. Congress can stop this carnage now. And only intense pressure from constitutuents and coastal governments will goad Congress into acting.
The NYTimes today reports on how the Tea Party is being spoon-fed climate denial by big polluters like Koch Industries, conveniently laundered by conservative media mouthpieces:
Seriously deranged people (or bought and paid for shills) attack the scientific consensus opinion that climate change is occurring at an ever accelerating rate as a result of greenhouse gas emissions (especially carbon dioxide). However, no one has ever accused Price Waterhouse Coopers, the second largest professional services firm in the world, of a lack of seriousness when it comes to analysing the risks of investments.
So when Price Waterhouse releases a study that suggests municipal bond rating companies are not taking into account the long term consequences of one of the effects of climate change, water scarcity, thus putting at risk the investments of municipal bond purchasers, I, for one, take note:
Earlier this week, I profiled three candidates on the the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Dirty Dozen list who are running for the House of Representatives. As I wrote then, "[t]hese candidates consistently vote (or promise to vote) against clean energy and natural resource conservation.
Join me over the fold for part 2, in which I profile the first four GOTeaP senate candidates on the LCV's list, along with action items for their Democratic opponents.
"Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting over."
-- Mark Twain (unverified)
Climate has always determined the availability of water resources. The human primate, proof of unintelligent design, has become a very potent force in depleting and destroying water resources. Together, it is recipe for disaster.
A study published in Nature last month showed that 80% of the human population lives in areas with severe threats to water security. A comprehensive review by Aiguo Dai at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) paints a grim picture of the effects of climate change on water resources during this coming century. Drought will be the hallmark of the 21st century.
The detailed analysis concludes that warming temperatures associated with climate change will likely create increasingly dry conditions across much of the globe in the next 30 years, possibly reaching a scale in some regions by the end of the century that has rarely, if ever, been observed in modern times.
This is a repost of a previously published diary.
Three Traditions of Rhythm
Come Together to Beat Climate Change!
Saturday, November 6 — 7:00 pm
Emmanuel Church, 15 Newbury Street, Boston
Crossposted from the Worldwatch Institute's Nourishing the Planet.
Nourishing the Planet research intern, Abisola Adekoya, explains how Farm Radio International is taking advantage of radio’s popularity throughout sub-Saharan Africa to improve livelihoods for smallscale farmers. By broadcasting shows about improved composting methods and organic fertilizer, for example, Farm Radio International is helping farmers to repair degraded soil, increase harvests, and improve their incomes.
You are in the current BP Catastrophe Morning Edition - AUV #411. ROV #410 is here.
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