Rep. Jim Bridenstine of Oklahoma is staking a strong claim to join the Republican Crazy Caucus with this utterly moronic and hypocritical declaration on the House floor, falsely claiming that the federal government spends 30 times more on climate change research than on weather prediction — and that Obama should apologize for that.
Category Archive: Environment
Jun 14 2013
TransCanada Has a Whistleblower
Edward Snowden isn’t the only whistleblower getting attention at the moment. TransCanada, the company that owns the Keystone pipeline and wants to expand it all the way to the gulf coast, has a whistleblower named Evan Vokes who is making life difficult for them.
May 04 2013
Some Conservatives Turned Off by Helping Environment
Mother Jones reports on a remarkable new study that shows that some conservatives are actually less likely to choose a product if they are told that it will use less energy and thus be better for the environment. Here’s how the study actually worked:
Apr 07 2013
Look, an Environmentalist Billionaire
In a political system controlled by big money, environmentalists have long had a problem: They simply cannot match the spending of corporations and wealthy individuals with a vested interest in killing their agenda. But now they’ve got a billionaire on their side — and it’s got the Democrats sweating a bit, as Politico points out.
Mar 22 2013
Utah Celebrates Mining on Earth Day
April 22 is Earth Day and the state of Utah is celebrating…fossil fuels and the wonders of mining. The Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining is having a poster contest with the theme “Where would WE be without oil, gas and mining?” The goal is to “highlight how modern mining and petroleum extraction techniques …
Mar 20 2013
The Solar Energy Future
Glen Hiemstra has an article about what I think is a likely future development in the use of solar energy, which is solar roads that generate electricity. Combined with the ability to transfer electricity wirelessly to vehicles, I think this may ultimately replace our current system of inert roads and gas-guzzling cars.
Mar 05 2013
Obama Moves Closer to Approving Keystone XL Pipeline
In a move that should surprise absolutely no one, the State Department has issued its Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Keystone XL pipeline and concluded that the project is environmentally sound. Thus begins the official restart of the inevitable approval of the project.
Jan 14 2013
15 Year Old Gives Amazing Speech About His Mothers
This is an amazing speech by a 15 year old boy who has two mothers. You need to watch the whole thing. These kinds of stories are what change perception and help people see the humanity in others.
Jan 07 2013
The Importance of Lead Abatement
Kevin Drum has an article in Mother Jones arguing that the use of leaded gasoline is the real explanation for high crime rates from the 60s through the early 90s and that ending its use explains why crime began dropping thereafter. I’ve long argued that this was at least one factor in the trends in …
Dec 19 2012
40% of Americans Think Weather Caused by ‘End Times’
Here’s a perfect illustration of how the influence of religion can distort public policy and foster utter irrationality. A new survey from the Public Religion Research Institute finds that almost 40% of Americans believe that extreme weather events are a sign of the “end times” rather than having a natural cause.
Dec 13 2012
McKibben Still Naive on Keystone Pipeline
Environmentalist Bill McKibben, probably the most outspoken opponent of the Keystone XL pipeline and the use of tar sands oil in general, has an article at the Daily Beast taking Hillary Clinton to task for her support of that project. And it seems he still thinks Obama might decide not to approve it:
Dec 05 2012
Beisner: Not Using Fossil Fuels Insults God
Bryan Fischer had Calvin Beisner of the Cornwall Alliance, the wingnut world’s go-to guy for anti-environmental idiocy, on his radio show last week and they had their typically ridiculous conversation. They said that not using all the coal, oil and natural gas that God provided for us is an insult to God, just like being …
Dec 05 2012
Gov. Brewer Babbles on Global Warming
Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona was at a meeting this weekend of the Western Governor’s Association, where they will be talking about energy — a very important issue, especially in many parts of the west. But when asked about global warming, she offered up this idiotic answer:
Aug 31 2012
The Practical Path to Clean Energy
I found this picture on Facebook and it got me thinking about all the ways that this country could get serious about cutting down on the use of fossil fuels and speed the transition to clean, renewable energy production. This is a brilliant idea:
Aug 17 2012
Coal and the Art of Political Promises
HL Mencken once said of Harry Truman, while he ran for president, that if there had been a sizable number of cannibals in the country, he would have promised them a steady supply of missionaries, fattened at public expense. With that in mind, Romney gave a talk earlier this week to coal miners in Ohio, …
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