Lake Mead, near Las Vegas, Nevada, taken last week. The “bathtub ring” records the water level less than a decade ago. Until recently, there was a “No Fishing” sign on the cantilevered pier. The road on the left was carved from what used to be lakebed. The triangle-shaped hill in the upper right is Pyramid Island, although it’s no … Read More
Quote Of The Day
This Week With George Stephenapolous: STEPHANOPOULOS: So what is the responsible way? That’s my question. What is the Republican plan to deal with carbon emissions, which every major scientific organization has said is contributing to climate change? BOEHNER: George, the idea that carbon dioxide is a carcinogen that is harmful to our environment is almost comical. Every time we exhale, … Read More
Ice Shelf Breaking Up
The Wilkins Ice Shelf is a shelf of ice in the Antarctica, one of ten on the Antarctic peninsula. Due to global warming, it has been breaking up for a couple of decades. In the 1990s it measured 6,200 square miles. Now it is thought to be at least half that size. Scientists were still unsure how long the … Read More
Why Many People Can’t Take Congress Seriously
Exhibit A. This is Representative John Shimkus, Republican from Illinois. He serves on the U.S. House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, a body which considers, among other things, global warming and climate change. Below is a clip of Representative Shimkus speaking on March 25 in the Energy and Environment Subcommittee. He is expressing his view that global warming is not … Read More
When Volcanos Tweet
Yes, Mount Redoubt in Alaska, the volcano which erupted last week, has its on Twitter account so you can follow along.
Greenland and Iceland
From Michael Steele, the chairman of the RNC (which is second in charge of the Republican Party right behind Rush Limbaugh) on global warming: “Thank you, thank you,” he said. “We are cooling. We are not warming. The warming you see out there, the supposed warming, and I am using my finger quotation marks here, is part of the cooling … Read More
Dumb Idea
AP: Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says he wants to consider taxing motorists based on how many miles they drive rather than how much gasoline they burn—an idea that has angered drivers in some states where it has been proposed. The reason, says LaHood, is that gas taxes don't cover the cost of the federal and state highway and road infrastructure. … Read More
Speedy Trials? Not In These Bad Economic Times
This is bad: The economic storm has come to this: Justice is being delayed or disrupted in state courtrooms across the country. Financially strapped New Hampshire has become a poster child for the problem. Among other cost-cutting measures, state courts will halt for a month all civil and criminal jury trials early next year to save $73,000 in jurors' per … Read More
Fueling Your Car With Your Fat
It's possible: Love handles can power a car? Frighteningly, yes. Fat–whether animal or vegetable–contains triglycerides that can be extracted and turned into diesel. Poultry companies such as Tyson are looking into powering their trucks on chicken schmaltz, and biofuel start-ups such as Nova Biosource are mixing beef tallow and pig lard with more palatable sources such as soybean oil. Mike … Read More
Oxford Word Of The Year: “Hypermiling”
Annoucement here, from the New Oxford American Dictionary. I actually know this word, because I actually do this. "Hypermiling" is defined as "an attempt to maximize gas mileage by making fuel-conserving adjustments to one’s car and one’s driving techniques." I do this all the time, and I expect most hybrid drivers do. When you get below a certain mph, the gas … Read More
Waxman In
Dingell is out and Waxman is in as Energy And Commerce Chair. That may seem like inside-politics baseball, but it is kind of a big deal. This is a huge victory for environmentalists. TPM has the details: Dingell, who first entered the House way back when Eisenhower was president, had been the head Democrat on this committee ever since 1981. But … Read More
Time Travel
I saw a station selling gas at $2.05 a gallon this morning, and for a split second, it was as if I had travelled back in time. I wonder how long it was when gas around here was at $2.00 or under. Turns out, not that long ago… In Christmas 2005, gas prices were around the $2.00 mark.
The Price Of Oil
A pretty amazing graph, wouldn't you say? When Bush came into office, oil was at $23 a barrel. It's now just below $60, but was as high as $140 just a few months ago.
Screwing The Environment Before The Clock Runs Out
Meanwhile…. Bush is still the president. And he can still do a lot of things. By law, new regulations and executive orders don't take effect until 60 days after they are issued, which means if Bush is going to do stuff, he has until November 20 to get them done. (The Clinton Administration messed up on this — they issued … Read More
Closer To Home
(1) Oil prices plunged today, which is good, because we’ll see lower gas prices. Too bad we won’t have much around here. (2) Wachovia, my bank, got bought today by Citicorp. I’m assured that my money is safe. Riiiiight.