Joseph J. Romm's Blog, page 1104

Right wing freaks out over Tea Party tracking effort

Tea party extremists backed by Big Oil and corporate polluters want to stop and then reverse all efforts to advance clean energy or avoid catastrophic global warming (see "New Yorker exposes Koch brothers").

It is crucial that their self-destructive ideas and plans be made as widely known as possible, if we are to have any chance of preserving the health and well-being of our children and grandchildren and countless future generations (see, for instance, Ohio Tea Party survey to candidates:...

Philippe Cousteau: "Time is running out for ourselves and future generations." - John Doerr: If we don't embrace a low carbon economy this decade, it won't just harm the planet, but also the U.S. economy.

Philippe Cousteau is becoming a true champion of the ocean and the climate (see "Stunning video makes clear prevention is the only cure: What dispersants have really done to Gulf").  He is following in the footsteps of his famous father and even more famous grandfather with his work at Earth Echo.

He spoke earlier today at the third annual National Clean Energy Summit (webcast here), and was pretty blunt about the dire nature of our current situation:

The current status quo is an illusion.

"The...

PBS ombudsman Getler whitewashes the Koch-funded greenwashing episode of Nova that whitewashes the threat of human-caused climate change

If you think Getler missed the boat on this, you can email him here.

They don't make ombudsmen like they used to. Once upon a time, when numerous viewers launched a credible complaint against even the appearance of loss of objectivity and conflict of interest, the ombudsman would seriously investigate the matter, talking to parties on both sides, and then rendering some considered independent judgment.

But not PBS ombudsman Michael Getler.  He seems to have no trouble whatsoever with David...

Energy and Global Warming News for September 7th: Marine creatures warn of Antarctic ice sheet instability; IBM working to develop 500-mile battery pack

A climate warning from the deep

Bryozoans make unlikely prophets of doom. Nevertheless, scientists believe these tiny marine creatures, which live glued to the side of boulders, rocks and other surfaces, reveal a disturbing aspect about Antarctica that has critical implications for understanding the impact of climate change.

British Antarctic Survey researchers have found the dispersal of these minute animals suggests a sea passage once divided Antarctica 125,000 years ago. The discovery was...

Federal, state, and local leaders unite against Prop 23

Guest blogger Jorge Madrid is a CAP Research Associate.

"Go home Texas oil companies!" exclaimed Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at a No on 23 rally this week.  He joins numerous prominent California elected leaders in denouncing the dirty air initiative, including Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, US Senator Dianne Feinstein, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti, and current and former speakers of the California State Assembly...

Newark Star Ledger Editorial Board — "Face facts: Climate change is unfolding as predicted" - "If the scientists are right, a lot of people are going to die as a result of climate change."

As the world dawdles, this problem will grow worse, and the solution will have to be more drastic, more expensive and disruptive. For that, we will have the climate-change skeptics to thank.

The Newark Star Ledger's Editorial Board had a terrific piece Friday:  "Face facts: Climate change is unfolding as predicted."

It's so rare for any major newspaper to tell it like it is that I'm reprinting the whole thing:

The wildfires in Russia, the floods in Pakistan and the record heat this summer in...

David Brooks: The Alternate History

The Democrats could be heading toward a defeat of historic proportions in November, but it is possible to imagine a scenario in which things might have turned out differently:

Since things on planet Earth, or, rather, Eaarth, aren't going to so well, we're seeing more people propose counterfactuals.

I don't buy all of what conservative columnist David Brooks put forward in his NYT column, "The Alternate History" — the Democratic defeat is going to be grim, but unlikely to break historical...

Labor Day 2060: Endless summer

Who ever would've guessed that there would be a Labor Day card for global warming.  But that is what SomeEcards are for:

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But "The Onion" of e-card companies makes a serious point:  In the not-too-distant future, people are going to be amazed that anybody ever thought Labor Day signified the unofficial end of summer (see Our hellish future: Definitive NOAA-led report on U.S. climate impacts warns of scorching 9 to 11°F warming over most of inland U.S. by 2090 — and that isn't...

Fool me once, shame on Big Oil…. - How many Gulf rigs need to explode before we realize the future lies with clean, safe energy that never runs out?

Today's guest bloggers are CAP's Van Jones and Jorge Madrid.

Failing oil rigs are like roaches — if you see one, it probably means that you have 1,000 more somewhere in your house.  So it is not surprise that another offshore oil rig exploded last week in the Gulf of Mexico about 100 miles off the Louisiana coast.

Thankfully, no lives were lost, but at least one was injured, according to early reports.  We were told that the rig was not 'producing' oil and gas at the time – but then again, the ...

National Clean Energy Summit livestream Tuesday - Hear Philippe Cousteau, John Podesta, John Doerr and others

The third annual National Clean Energy Summit is being webcast tomorrow.  You can view the live stream of this event here.  They have a good lineup of speakers:

[Note:  I am posting this today since in the past many e-mail subscribers have pointed out they often get notice of these livestreams too late to watch.]

All times are PDT.

9:05 AM Clean Energy Blooming in Nevada

Michael Yackira, One Nevada Line
Jim Murren, MGM City Center Project
Sharon Burke, Department of Defense Leadership on Clean...