Joseph J. Romm's Blog, page 1253

Matthews tells Obama to kill BP's disaster capitalism - "Millions of people in the American right who sit around and say there's no such thing as mankind destroying his environment through climate change or whatever, there's an example of what we're doing

On Monday, May 17, MSNBC's Chris Matthews erupted in anger at the oil disaster unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico. Matthews expressed his rage at the profits BP continues to reap as it fails to fix the growing environmental apocalypse.  Brad Johnson has the story and the video:

Matthews criticized the behavior of the Obama administration. Matthews wondered why President Obama doesn't "nationalize that industry and get the job done" and noted that in the "brutal society" of China, "they...

Did the GOP hamper Obama administration oversight of oil drilling?

Most of the blame for the BP oil disaster rests with BP, Big Oil, and its strong-arm supporters in Congress for the voluntary, "trust us," self-regulation we have today (see St. Petersburg Times: "It's becoming increasingly evident that self-regulation has not worked").  Some of the blame certainly resides with the Minerals Management Service, which became absurdly cozy with the industry (see "Flashback to 2008 MMS sex-for-oil scandal").

That doesn't let the Obama administration off the...

Energy and Global Warming News for May 24: Schooling fish offer new ideas for wind farming; Germans to build $10M turbine parts plant in Arkansas

Schooling Fish Offer New Ideas for Wind Farming

The quest to derive energy from wind may soon be getting some help from California Institute of Technology (Caltech) fluid-dynamics expert John Dabiri — and a school of fish.

As head of Caltech's Biological Propulsion Laboratory, Dabiri studies water- and wind-energy concepts that share the theme of bioinspiration: that is, identifying energy-related processes in biological systems that may provide insight into new approaches to — in this case —...

Bingaman slams Graham's climate bill incoherence: "I can't keep up with his various conditions." - Lost: Graham will vote for Dirty Air amendment, wants more drilling

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) said yesterday he was confused by Graham's demands for what needs to be done to win his vote on the climate bill.

Sen. Lindsey Graham's keeps issuing contradictory and cryptic statements on the climate bill (see Graham is incoherent).  He is now officially more incoherent and incomprehensible than Rand Paul and the TV series Lost respectively, as E&E News PM (subs. req'd) makes clear:

"I know we need to enhance on- and...

Luckovich cartoon: Wasting away in Petroville

Just about the only place you see this kind of pinprick on U.S. consumers in the MSM is in a political cartoon:

Related Post:

Is the global economy a Ponzi scheme?

The non-hype about climate change (and malaria) - A look at two new studies and how the media has misled both the public and the sloppy authors of the Nature study

There are many reasons why the public doesn't understand how dire the climate situation is.  We have a well-funded disinformation campaign, generally poor messaging by scientists, and many progressives and environmentalists who have been persuaded to downplay talk of global warming risks.

And we have dreadful coverage by the status quo media.  The media fails in countless ways, but one of its most insidious failings is to play up the occasional study that seems to suggest the threat of human...

Contests: Name the BP oil disaster and write Obama's 'pivot' speech to the climate and clean energy jobs bill

In my post last night, I noted that  many people are expecting the President to pivot from the BP oil disaster to the climate and clean energy bill.  But how exactly should he do that rhetorically?  I'm writing a piece on that subject and would love to hear your thoughts.

Also, I have been mostly calling the unfolding disaster in the Gulf the "BP oil disaster," which certainly beats the President's "BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill."  Guest blogger Dominique Browning has some  thoughts about...

Why the American Power Act is worth fighting for

[image error]My colleague David Roberts at Grist has a provocative post, "Leaning forward: Why the American Power Act is worth fighting for." It is sort of the climate change equivalent of Lori Gottlieb's even more provocative best-seller, "Marry Him: The Case for Settling for Mr. Good Enough." The perfect climate bill that could get 60 votes in the Senate simply doesn't exist.

I think Roberts' message is an important one for progressives to hear, so I am reprinting it in its entirety:

The...

Good for your buns, good for the environment - Plus exercise bikes that turn human power into electricity

Summer is right around the corner. This means that the time to make good on that New Year's resolution to get in shape for the summer is upon us. But while planning your routine to achieve those killer glutes and abs, don't forget about the effect your workout has on the environment. This CAP repost has some simple tips to keep getting fit earth friendly,  including how you can generate clean electricity during your workout.

First of all, the great outdoors has some of the most energy...

President's weekly address: "First and foremost, what led to this disaster was a breakdown of responsibility on the part of BP and perhaps others, including Transocean and Halliburton." - Obama misses another chance to reframe the debate

But even as we continue to hold BP accountable, we also need to hold Washington accountable….

If the laws on our books are inadequate to prevent such an oil spill, or if we didn't enforce those laws – I want to know it.  I want to know what worked and what didn't work in our response to the disaster, and where oversight of the oil and gas industry broke down. We know, for example, that a cozy relationship between oil and gas companies and agencies that regulate them has long been a...