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| *Items with asterisks are of particular interest. |
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NEWS SOURCES (a beginning)
American Wind Energy Association Newsroom
*Architecture 2030 News/Resources. Includes Breaking News and E-News (by free subscription and printer-friendly downloads of past issues).
CandidAnswers. Voter Guide for the Environment Election ’08. October 2008. -- "CandidAnswers is a survey about the environment, administered by you, the voters. We’ve put the candidates from your district side by side so that you can compare their answers. And if they haven't responded, you can ask them to now! Just plug your zip code into the form below to get started."
**Climate Debate Daily. An impressive new site in Beta version that includes sections: “Calls to Action, Dissenting Voices, Climate News, Official Sites, Climate Research, Climate Facts,” IPCC sites, etc.
Earth Equity News. A service of the Climate Crisis Coalition. -- Subscribe to the free Earth Equity News.
*Global Warming News. (U.S. Climate Emergency Council.)
**Green Energy Voter Guide. (Environmental Defense Action Fund). Lost Eight Years. No Federal Action Despite Dire Warnings.
Lost Eight Years by the Numbers. "Over the last eight years, global warming took its toll on the world. While climate scientists confirmed that it is undoubtedly a man-made phenomenon and predicted its disastrous future effects, the Bush Administration worked with various members of U.S. industry to bury this evidence and block action. Check out our 10 Facts About the Lost Eight Years to learn more."
Mother Earth News: The Original Guide to Living Wisely.
New York Times Warming Trends. Articles in this series will periodically explore how climate change is affecting American life.
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NEWS ARTICLES/PROGRAMS OF INTEREST (ongoing or upcoming events first; followed by articles in chronological order with most recent first)
JANUARY 2009
*Self-powered homes face law roadblock. Necessary insurance is not offered in Missouri. Published January 5, 2009, Columbia Daily Tribune. -- Kansas City (Associated Press) -- "Problems have arisen with a new Missouri law that was supposed to make it easy for residents powering their own homes to put in wind turbines or solar panels. The idea was for the homeowners to be able to send any excess power back to utilities. But the Missouri Public Service Commission, which oversees the utilities, is requiring homeowners to buy insurance before they start feeding electricity to the grid. And it appears that no Missouri insurance companies sell the insurance. Under the new rule, homeowners who produce 10 kilowatts or less of energy must carry $100,000 worth of liability insurance. Those who generate more than 10 kilowatts of electricity must have a $1 million liability insurance policy."
DECEMBER 2008
In Reversal, Court Allows a Bush Plan on Pollution. By Felicity Barringer, Published December 23, 2008, New York Times. -- "A federal appeals court in Washington reversed itself on Tuesday and temporarily reinstated a Bush administration plan to reduce pollution from coal-fired power plants. In July, the court struck down the rule, saying the Environmental Protection Agency had exceeded its authority in devising a new emissions-trading system to reduce that pollution, and must rewrite the rule to fix its 'fundamental flaws.' Environmentalists criticized the decision as a major setback for clean air. In Tuesday’s decision, the court said that having a flawed rule temporarily in place was better than having no rule at all.... Both the new Congress and President-elect Barack Obama are expected to tackle the problem of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide. That will include determining how the new controls on those emissions should dovetail with controls for mercury, a toxic pollutant, and with the carbon dioxide emissions that are associated with climate change.
Mobilizing to combat climate change. PRI’S The World . [Audio]. December 23, 2008. -- "Like Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President elect Obama is facing tough economic times, and an industrial challenge. While Roosevelt mobilized industry to fight a war, Obama pledges to mobilize to battle climate change. The World's Jason Margolis has more."
*Wind-farm plans lose power. Published December 22, 2008, Columbia Daily Tribune. -- Champaign, Ill. (Associated Press) -- "Grain farmer Mike Doyle has grown to love the big, spindly wind turbines that rise from his central Illinois prairie.... Doyle is paid just more than $35,000 a month for the seven wind turbines in his soybean and corn fields. Those turbines and thousands of others across the Midwest the past few years were part of an unprecedented build-out for the wind-power industry.... That expansion is now drastically slowing as financing dries up for many projects because of the global economic crisis. Companies that bankrolled much of the boom are among the meltdown’s biggest losers.... The country’s wind-power capacity has increased by 500 percent in the past 10 years, to just over 21,000 megawatts, according to the American Wind Industry Association. A one-megawatt wind turbine can generate enough electricity in a year to power up to 300 homes for a year...."
*Advocates for Action on Global Warming Chosen as Obama's Top Science Advisers. By Juliet Eilperin and Joel Achenbach, Washington Post , December 19, 2008. -- "President-elect Barack Obama has selected two of the nation's most prominent scientific advocates for a vigorous response to climate change to serve in his administration's top ranks, according to sources, sending the strongest signal yet that he will reverse Bush administration policies on energy and global warming. The appointments of Harvard University physicist John Holdren as presidential science adviser and Oregon State University marine biologist Jane Lubchenco as head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which will be announced tomorrow, dismayed conservatives but heartened environmentalists and researchers. Like Energy Secretary-designate Steven Chu, who directs the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Holdren and Lubchenco have argued repeatedly for a mandatory limit on greenhouse gas emissions to avert catastrophic climate change."
China battery company launches plug-in hybrid. Published December 19, 2008, Columbia Daily Tribune. -- Shanghai, China (Associated Press) -- "Battery maker turned car company BYD Co. has launched China’s first homegrown hybrid vehicle for the retail market, seeking an edge over its crisis-stricken international rivals.... The vehicle can run up to 62 miles on its electric engine, and when it runs low on power shifts to a back up gasoline engine. Its battery can fully charge in nine hours from a regular electrical outlet, or much faster at BYD’s own charging stations , the company said in a statement. The car will sell for 149,800 yuan - $22,000 - about the same as many Chinese-made midsize cars, it said."
Japan launches first solar cargo ship. Yahoo News, December 19, 2008. -- Tokyo (AFP) –- "The world's first cargo ship partly propelled by solar power took to the seas on Friday in Japan , aiming to cut fuel costs and carbon emissions when automakers export their products. Auriga Leader, a freighter developed by shipping line Nippon Yusen K.K . and oil distributor Nippon Oil Corp ., took off from a shipyard in the western city of Kobe, officials of the two firms said. The huge freighter capable of carrying 6,400 automobiles is equipped with 328 solar panels at a cost of 150 million yen (1.68 million dollars ), the officials said."
NASA set to launch 'CO2 hunter'. By Jonathan Amos, BBC News, December 18, 2008. -- "The US space agency is set to launch a satellite that can map in detail where carbon dioxide is in the atmosphere. Nasa's Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) will pinpoint the key locations on the Earth's surface where CO2 is being emitted and absorbed. CO2 from human activities is thought to be driving climate changes, but important facts about its movement through the atmosphere remain elusive."
Greenland losing the most ice. Global warming is detailed by NASA. Published December 17, 2008, Columbia Daily Tribune. -- Washington (Associated Press) - "More than 2 trillion tons of land ice in Greenland, Antarctica and Alaska have melted since 2003, according to new NASA satellite data that show the latest signs of what scientists say is global warming. More than half of the loss of landlocked ice in the past five years has occurred in Greenland, based on measurements of ice weight by NASA’s GRACE satellite, said NASA geophysicist Scott Luthcke. The water melting from Greenland in the past five years would fill up about 11 Chesapeake Bays, he said, and the Greenland melt seems to be accelerating."
President-Elect Barack Obama Names Environmental Team as Climate Change Conference Wraps Up in Poland. [Audio/Video] Democracy Now, December 16, 2008. -- "President-elect Barack Obama has unveiled his nominees for top climate change and energy positions in his administration. Nobel-winning physicist Steven Chu has been tapped to serve as Energy Secretary. Lisa Jackson, chief of staff to New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, will head the Environmental Protection Agency. Former EPA head Carol Browner will run a newly created White House council to oversee environmental issues. And Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Nancy Sutley will head the White House Council on Environmental Quality. At a news conference in Chicago Monday, Obama highlighted his plans to encourage innovation to address the US dependency on foreign oil."
Bolivian President Evo Morales: 20 Ways to Save Mother Earth and Prevent Environmental Disaster. By Evo Morales, International Journal of Socialist Renewal. Posted December 15, 2008 , AlterNet -- "Capitalism's glorification of competition and thirst for limitless profit are destroying the planet. Global warming is generating abrupt changes in the weather: the retreat of glaciers and the decrease of the polar ice caps; the increase of the sea level and the flooding of coastal areas, where approximately 60% of the world population live; the increase in the processes of desertification and the decrease of fresh water sources; a higher frequency in natural disasters that the communities of the earth suffer[1]; the extinction of animal and plant species; and the spread of diseases in areas that before were free from those diseases."
Chrysler's plan to beat the Chevy Volt. Electric vehicles are a 'big deal' for Chrysler, executive says in an exclusive interview. By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNNMoney.com. Last Updated December 15, 2008. -- "New York -- Chrysler is pinning a huge part of its future on a plan to produce a full line of electric vehicles, at a reasonable cost to both the carmaker and the consumer. While General Motors is moving ahead with its Volt electric midsized car, Chrysler says it already has plans in place, not just for electric cars, but also for minivans and even off-road vehicles. Chrysler's strategy hinges on keeping it cheap. The carmaker will dispense with flashy designs in exchange for low cost and flexibility. And it plans to pile on more electric-powered models quickly once the program launches in 2010."
Climate Change Lessons. It's not easy going green. Washingtonpost.com, December 14, 2008. -- "President-Elect Barack Obama is committed to ending the United States' inaction on global warming. He wants to reduce emissions through a cap-and-trade system. But a report from the Government Accountability Office on problems with Europe's system and the inability of climate talks in Poland last week to settle on a specific number for the "long-term global goal for emissions reductions" shows how difficult the task will be. Mr. Obama wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. He would accomplish this by auctioning all of the emission allowances that would be available through a cap-and-trade system that would put an annual declining cap on the number of pollution permits."
California adopts the most sweeping curbs on greenhouse gas emissions in U.S. The state air board orders a 15% cut in emissions over the next 12 years, bringing them down to 1990 levels. By Margot Roosevelt, December 12, 2008, Los Angeles Times. -- "California regulators adopted the nation's first comprehensive plan to slash greenhouse gases Thursday and characterized it as a model for President-elect Barack Obama, who has pledged an aggressive national and international effort to combat global warming. The ambitious blueprint by the world's eighth-largest economy would cut the state's emissions by 15% from today's level over the next 12 years, bringing them down to 1990 levels."
EU agrees to stick with climate pact. Published December 12, 2008, Columbia Daily Tribune. Brussels , Belgium (Associated Press) -- "European leaders agreed today to stick to an ambitious plan to fight global warming through emissions cuts and renewable energy and on ways to share the hefty costs of setting a global example. The plan includes concessions to heavy industry and countries in Eastern Europe worried that the cost of curbing pollution would impede economic growth. The expense of the plan had caused uproar among many countries as the continent grapples with economic downturn. The plan, agreed at an EU summit, lays out how the 27 member countries will cut carbon emissions by 20 percent by 2020."
EU leaders drastically weaken their emission ambition. By James Kanter and Stephen Castle. Published December 12, 2008, International Herald Tribune. -- "Brussels: European leaders agreed on Friday to binding measures to curb global warming but pushed back deadlines and granted significant concessions to smokestack industries that said they were struggling in a hard economic climate."
Nobel Physicist Chosen To Be Energy Secretary. Browner, Two Others to Get Climate Posts. By Steven Mufson and Philip Rucker. Washington Post, December 11, 2008. -- "President-elect Barack Obama has chosen Steven Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist who heads the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, to be the next energy secretary, and he has picked veteran regulators from diverse backgrounds to fill three other key jobs on his environmental and climate-change team, Democratic sources said yesterday."
**Obama Team Set on Environment. By John M. Broder. Published December 10, 2008, New York Times. -- "Washington — President-elect Barack Obama has selected his top energy and environmental advisers, including a Nobel Prize-winning physicist and the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, presidential transition officials said Wednesday. Collectively, they will have the task of carrying out Mr. Obama’s stated intent to curb global warming emissions drastically while fashioning a more efficient national energy system. And they will be able to work with strong allies in Congress who are interested in developing climate-change legislation, despite fierce economic headwinds that will amplify objections from manufacturers and energy producers. The officials said Mr. Obama would name Steven Chu, the director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, as his energy secretary, and Nancy Sutley, deputy mayor of Los Angeles for energy and environment, as head of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Mr. Obama also appears ready to name Carol M. Browner, the E.P.A. administrator under President Bill Clinton, as the top White House official on climate and energy policy and Lisa P. Jackson, who until recently was New Jersey’s commissioner of environmental protection, as the head of the E.P.A."
Taxing Cow Gas. By Brentin Mock, The American Prospect, December 10, 2008. -- "Climate mitigation schemes like 'cap-and-trade' (C&T) and 'clean coal' got reams of free promotion during the presidential campaign. But once the election was over, people had a chance to actually look up what both meant and saw both were filled with more than a fair share of hot air. So the prospect of a carbon tax -- or maybe something with an easier-to-swallow name -- is gaining traction...."
Capitol Hill Briefing on Carbon Taxes Draws Overflow Crowd. Carbon Tax Center. Washington DC – December 9, 2008 -- "At a Capitol Hill briefing today, NASA’s lead climate scientist, senior economists and environmental leaders urged Congress to move swiftly to enact a national carbon tax to reduce carbon emissions before they push Earth’s climate system past its “tipping point” into accelerating ecological and social collapse. After the resounding defeat of the Boxer-Lieberman-Warner cap-and-trade bill last spring, the carbon tax has emerged as a viable competitor to a cap-and-trade system. As Congress begins to ponder climate legislation widely expected in 2009, advocates at today’s briefing made the case for taxing carbon as a more effective and economically viable way to curb emissions while stimulating the economy...."
**Obama meets Gore on climate change, but things are still bad. [includes video] Los Angeles Times, December 9, 2008.
Climate protesters demand swifter U.N. action. Reuters India, December 7, 2008. -- "Poznan , Poland (Reuters) -- Thousands of climate protesters, some dressed as polar bears, devils or penguins, demanded on Saturday swifter action from the United Nations to combat global warming. Outside U.N.-led talks in Poland aimed at pushing 187 countries towards stiffer targets to fight global warming, some 1,000 demonstrators said governments were risking the planet's future by delaying action to squabble over who was to blame."
Report Says 2 Global Programs To Curb Emissions Fall Short. By Juliet Eilperin, washingtonpost.com . December 6, 2008. -- "The Government Accountability Office, in a report issued as negotiators convened the latest round of U.N. climate talks in Poland, has concluded that two key international programs aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions are not getting the job done...."
UN Climate Deal Could Pay for Forest Destruction. Carbon Karma Fortune-telling Action Foretells REDD Profits. December 5, 2008. CommonDreams.org. -- "Poznan, Poland -- Global Forest Coalition, The Wilderness Society, Global Justice Ecology Project and concerned youth highlighted the risks associated with the implementation of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) in a 'REDD fortune-telling' action today at the UN Climate conference here. In its current form, they argue, REDD could derail the Climate Convention and undermine a post-2012 Climate agreement."
As More Eat Meat, a Bid to Cut Emissions. By Elisabeth Rosenthal, New York Times. Published December 3, 2008. --"Sterksel, the Netherlands — The cows and pigs dotting these flat green plains in the southern Netherlands create a bucolic landscape. But looked at through the lens of greenhouse gas accounting, they are living smokestacks, spewing methane emissions into the air. That is why a group of farmers-turned-environmentalists here at a smelly but impeccably clean research farm have a new take on making a silk purse from a sow’s ear...."
US Government Releases 2007 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report. DESMOGBLOG.COM, December 3, 2008. -- "The US Department of Energy (DOE) has released its 2007 Greenhouse Gas Emissions report today, outlining the the latest trends in US energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. You can go here to download a full copy of the DOE's 'Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2007' (PDF) report."
*We Need a Global Carbon Tax. The cap-and-trade approach won't stop global warming. By Ralph Nader and Toby Heaps. Wall Street Journal , December 3, 2008. -- "If President Barack Obama wants to stop the descent toward dangerous global climate change, and avoid the trade anarchy that current approaches to this problem will invite, he should take Al Gore's proposal for a carbon tax and make it global. A tax on CO2 emissions -- not a cap-and-trade system -- offers the best prospect of meaningfully engaging China and the U.S., while avoiding the prospect of unhinged environmental protectionism."
NOVEMBER 2008
A Land Rush in Wyoming Spurred by Wind Power. By Felicity Barringer. Published November 27, 2008, New York Times. -- "Wheatland , Wyo. — The man who came to Elsie Bacon’s ranch house door in July asked the 71-year-old widow to grant access to a right of way across the dry hills and short grasses of her land here. Ms. Bacon remembered his insistence on a quick, secret deal. The man, a representative of the Little Rose Wind Farm of Boulder, Colo., sought an easement for a transmission line to carry his company’s wind-generated electricity to market. His offer: a fraction of the value of similar deals in the area. As Ms. Bacon, 71, recalled it: 'He said, ‘You sure I can’t write you out a check?’ He was really pushy.' A quiet land rush is under way among the buttes of southeastern Wyoming, and it is changing the local rancher culture...."
Kerry to make climate a top priority for Foreign Relations panel. Posted by Kate Sheppard, November 25, 2008, Grist. -- "Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) wasn't on the Democratic ticket this year, but he's set to gain some additional influence in Washington thanks to the Obama-Biden victory. With Biden leaving the Senate for the vice presidency, Kerry will become the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and today he told reporters that climate change will be an issue that is 'front and center' for the panel next year."
Pelosi will re-establish climate-change panel. Politico, November 21, 2008. -- "Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) plans to renew her select committee to address global warming next year, ending speculation that she would terminate the panel to clear the way for the next chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee. 'It is my intention to put forth a renewal of that committee in the new Congress,' the speaker told reporters on Friday. Pelosi established the committee to move forward on climate change legislation during her first year as speaker."
Waxman's win signals shift in Congress on climate and energy policy. Posted by Kate Sheppard, November 20, 2008, Grist. -- "House Democrats unceremoniously dethroned John Dingell (D-Mich.) as chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee , installing Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) in his stead -- a move that will have resounding implications for climate and energy policy going forward and demonstrates growing strength among the party's more liberal wing, especially when it comes to climate policy."
Climate Leadership Now Day of Action Roundup Thread (Updated). [Video] Posted by Melisa, November 19, 2008, 1Sky. -- "Here's our brand-new video about the November 18 day of action: From California to Florida, success stories and pictures are pouring into 1Sky headquarters, highlighting the collective power of the Climate Leadership Now day of action. We are thrilled about the thousands of people across the country who met with their newly-elected Members of Congress and their staffs to welcome them to the new Congress and call for leadership on bold climate policy immediately."
**President-elect Obama promises “new chapter” on climate change. [Video] November 18, 2008 , CHANGE.GOV. -- "More than 600 climate change leaders from across the country and around the world convened in Los Angeles today for the opening sessions of the Global Climate Summit, a 2-day event arranged by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to break gridlock on the issue ahead of next month's United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Poland. In a short video addressed to the Summit's attendees, President-elect Obama emphasized his enthusiasm for the Poznan Conference and promised that his administration would mark a 'new chapter in American leadership on climate change.'"
Weather causing war. Experts expect conflicts from climate change. By Scott Canon, McClatchy Newspapers. Published November 16, 2008, Columbia Daily Tribune. "Kansas City -- A warmer planet could find itself more often at war. The Earth’s fast-changing climate has a range of serious thinkers - from military brass to geographers to diplomats - predicting a spate of armed conflicts driven by the weather. Shifting temperatures lead to shifting populations, they say, and that throws together groups with long-standing rivalries and thrusts them into competition for food and water."
Climate change may carry huge price tag for California. About $2.5 trillion of real estate assets in California are at risk, with a projected annual price tag of between $300 million and $3.9 billion, according to a report by UC Berkeley researchers. By Margot Roosevelt, Los Angeles Times, November 14, 2008. –- "Eroding beaches, disappearing snowpacks, subdivisions decimated by wildfires -- climate change in California could be expensive. For the first time, the costs of global warming's projected effects in the nation's largest state have been quantified: About $2.5 trillion of real estate assets in California are at risk from extreme weather events, sea level rise and wildfires, with a projected annual price tag of between $300 million and $3.9 billion, according to a new report, "California Climate Risk and Response," written by UC Berkeley researchers Fredrich Kahrl and David Roland-Holst."
Environmentalists Win Big EPA Ruling. By Bryan Walsh, Time/CNN, November 13, 2008. -- "Environmentalists have long known that when it comes to climate change, coal will be a dealbreaker. The carbon-intensive fossil fuel provides nearly half of the United States' electricity, and is responsible for some 30% of the country's greenhouse gas emissions.... That's why a decision issued on Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Environmental Appeals Board is so important. Responding to a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club over a new coal plant being build on American Indian reservation land in Utah, the board ruled that the EPA has no valid reason to refuse to regulate the CO2 emissions that come from new coal-powered plants."
The Greenhouse Gas That Nobody Knew. By Richard Conniff, Yale Environment 360, November 13, 2008. -- "When industry began using NF3 in high-tech manufacturing, it was hailed as a way to fight global warming. But new research shows that this gas has 17,000 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide and is rapidly increasing in the atmosphere – and that's turning an environmental success story into a public relations disaster.... It may sound like somebody’s idea of a bad joke. But last month, a study from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography reported that nitrogen trifluoride (NF3), with a global warming potential of 17,000, is now present in the atmosphere at four times the expected level and rapidly rising. Use of NF3 is currently booming, for products from computer chips and flats-screen LCDs to thin-film solar photovoltaics, an economical and increasingly popular solar power format.
Water Laws May Be Used to Fight Warming. By Andrew C. Revkin, New York Times, November 13, 2008. -- "Environmental groups have sought to force the federal government to restrict carbon dioxide emissions using the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act (because of threats to polar bears from global warming) and other federal laws, and now they are poised to add the Clean Water Act to the list. The Center for Biological Diversity says it is prepared to sue the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to use the water law to respond to the threat of ocean acidification. This is the drop in seawater pH as the oceans absorb an estimated 22 million tons of carbon dioxide from the 80 million tons emitted each day by human activities. The result is a buildup of carbonic acid, which is lowering the pH of seawater. That trend toward acid conditions could threaten corals and plankton with shells containing calcium, biologists have warned."
A closer look at Obama’s energy plan. Economy may slow it, but ‘green’ jobs may grow it. By Mark Clayton, The Christian Science Monitor, November 12, 2008. -- "If President-elect Barack Obama enacts the energy plan he laid out during his campaign, American taxpayers will each get a $500 rebate check – funded by a windfall profits taxes on big oil companies. But that’s just for starters. Besides taxing oil giants more, Senator Obama’s detailed 30-point energy agenda calls for big changes to address carbon emissions, fuel efficiency for vehicles, and domestic and renewable power and efficiency."
Dirty coal to remain world's top power source: IEA. By Nao Nakanishi, Reuters, November 12, 2008. -- "London -- Coal, the dirtiest source of fuel, will remain the world's main source of power until 2030 and nuclear will lose market share, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday. Expectations of slower economic growth have led the IEA to downgrade its 2030 world electricity demand forecast to 23,141 terawatt hours (TWh), but the share of coal generated power would rise to 44 percent by 2015 from 41 percent in 2006. It would stay at that level to 2030. "Globally, coal-based electricity is projected to rise ... to almost 14,600 TWh by 2030, giving rise to significant increases in associated CO2 emissions," the Paris-based agency said in its World Energy Outlook."
The Climate for Change. By Al Gore. Published November 9, 2008, New York Times. -- "The inspiring and transformative choice by the American people to elect Barack Obama as our 44th president lays the foundation for another fateful choice that he — and we — must make this January to begin an emergency rescue of human civilization from the imminent and rapidly growing threat posed by the climate crisis."
Al Gore group urges Obama to create U.S. power grid. By Deborah Zabarenko. Reuters, November 6, 2008. -- "Washington -- Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection has some environmental advice for the incoming Obama administration: focus on energy efficiency and renewable resources, and create a unified U.S. power grid. On Thursday, the group Gore founded rolled out a new media campaign to push for immediate investments in three energy areas it maintains would help meet Gore's previously announced challenge to produce 100 percent clean electricity in the United States in a decade."
*President Obama’s Big Climate Challenge. By Bill McKibben, Yale Environment 360, November 6, 2008. -- "As he assumes the presidency, Barack Obama must make climate-change legislation and investment in green energy top priorities. And he must be ready to take bold — and politically unpopular — action to address global warming. And so our eight-year interlude from reality draws to a close, and the job of cleaning up begins. The trouble is, we’re not just cleaning up after a failed presidency. We’re cleaning up after a two-century binge. Barack Obama has won an historic victory, and with it the right to take office under the most difficult circumstances since Franklin D. Roosevelt. Maybe more difficult, because while both FDR and Obama had financial meltdowns to deal with, Obama also faces the meltdown meltdown — the rapid disintegration of the planet's climate system that threatens to challenge the very foundations of our civilization."
New Energy for America “Trumps "Drill Baby Drill.” Sierra Club, November 05, 2008. -- "Washington, DC -- Gerald Ford, on replacing Richard Nixon, declared 'our long national nightmare is over.' George Bush's administration has been a much longer national nightmare -- but we finally know that it will end on January 20. Barack Obama's transformational victory ended the notion that America is evenly and deeply divided between reactionaries mired in the past and more hopeful Americans looking to a future based on renewable energy, advanced biofuels, efficiency, and low greenhouse-gas-emitting technologies.
For previous news articles/programs go to:
NEWS ARTICLES/PROGRAMS OF INTEREST (complete, chronological, newest first)