Time was where "evangelical" evoked names like James Dobson and Jerry Falwell and, by necessary extension, the conservative GOP agenda. But Kevin Drum points to a considerable crack-up within the evangelical movement, which casts "old guard" evangelicals (Dobson et al.) on the outside of the National Association of Evangelicals (now headed by Richard Cizik), looking in with noses pressed to … Read More
Polar Bears And Soviet-Style Directives
The efforts of the Bush Adminstration to keep everyone "on message" (no matter how absurd that message is) are Stalineqsue: Internal memorandums circulated in the Alaskan division of the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service appear to require government biologists or other employees traveling in countries around the Arctic not to discuss climate change, polar bears or sea ice if they … Read More
Right-Wing Noise Machine Still Attacking Gore
Anonymous Liberal: The right-wing noise machine really is a remarkable thing to behold. Al Gore wins an Oscar, gets some well-deserved recognition for his efforts, and within hours the Republican noise machine is already in full smear mode, trying to undercut Gore’s message by attacking him personally. It began this morning when a group that no one has ever heard … Read More
The Gore Smear
The rightwing noise machine has set its sites on Al Gore. A group as sprung up overnight, calling itself the Tennessee Center for Policy Research (it is, despite its official sounding name, a rightwing organization founded by a member of the conservative thinktank, American Enterprise Institute). It issued a press release, picked up by Drudge Report, rightwing blogs, and Fox … Read More
I, For One, Welcome Our New Ape Overlords
They’ve figured out they have opposible thumbs or something: Chimpanzees have been seen using spears to hunt bush babies, U.S. researchers said on Thursday in a study that demonstrates a whole new level of tool use and planning by our closest living relatives. You know what this means, right? Actaully, if you read the article, you’ll learn that the innovative … Read More
Power To The People
With environment-conciousness on the rise, and much talk about alternative energies, one wonders what technology is in the offing. Sure, we all know about wind power and solar power, which are certainly better for the environment. But these have significant drawbacks, not the least of which is expense. But are there economically feasible alternative energy sources on the horizon? Current … Read More
So Long, Karibati
The Republic of Karibati — an English-speaking country consisting of 33 low-level islands in the North Pacific — population 105,000 — is considering the possibility of no longer being a country. International efforts to curb global warming have come too late and, according to the country’s president, they are now considering the possibility of evacuating and abandoning the country altogether. … Read More
Doubletalk
George W. Bush, in his 2007 State of the Union Address: "Let us build on the work we have done and reduce gasoline usage in the United States by 20 percent in the next ten years — thereby cutting our total imports by the equivalent of three-quarters of all the oil we now import from the Middle East. To reach … Read More
Bush Administration Strongarms Scientists
This is, well, orwellian. A new report presented to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee by the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Government Accountability Project shows 435 instances in which the Bush administration interfered into the global warming work of government scientists over the past five years. Some other findings of the survey: – 46 percent of government … Read More
Hello, Winter — You’re, Uh, Late
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM TO 6 PM EST THURSDAYUNTIL 6:00AM ESTUrgent – Winter Weather Message National Weather Service Raleigh NC 1000 PM EST Wed Jan 17 2007 Person-Forsyth-Guilford-Alamance-Orange-Davidson-Randolph-Stanly- Montgomery- Including The Cities Of… Roxboro… Winston-Salem… Greensboro… High Point… Burlington… Chapel Hill… Lexington… Asheboro… Albemarle… Troy … Winter Weather Advisory Remains In Effect From 6 AM … Read More
Frosty Responds
Last week, I blogged about the school system in Federal Way, Washington, which banned a showing of Al Gore’s climate change documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth". The ban was spearheaded by a man named Frosty Hardison, who has doubts on the "science" of climate change (as well as evolution, etc.). Since then, major bloggers have picked up and discussed the story. … Read More
“An Inconvenient Truth” Banned From Seattle School
There’s about nine things funny with this story. Sad, and funny: This week in Federal Way schools, it got a lot more inconvenient to show one of the top-grossing documentaries in U.S. history, the global-warming alert "An Inconvenient Truth." After a parent who supports the teaching of creationism and opposes sex education complained about the film, the Federal Way School … Read More
Hot Hot Hot
New England experienced its first snowless December in decades. And now this: 2007 predicted to be world’s warmest year This year is set to be the hottest on record worldwide due to global warming and the El Nino weather phenomenon, Britain’s Meteorological Office said on Thursday. The Met Office said the combination of factors would likely push average temperatures this … Read More
Our Melting World
Don’t tell me there’s no such thing as global warming: Ancient ice shelf breaks free in Canadian Arctic Breakaway may ‘signal the onset of accelerated change,’ researchers say TORONTO – A giant ice shelf has snapped free from an island south of the North Pole, scientists said Thursday, citing climate change as a “major” reason for the event. The Ayles … Read More