Whatever, my kid can do that.Image: Pacific Tsunami Warning CenterIf we had any evidence that Republican House members were capable of feeling shame, we'd expect them to be so red right now. Mother Jones reports that one of the items on the GOP's budgetary chopping block is ... tsunami monitoring. Last month, they voted to hack out nearly a third of the funding for the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, which (go figure) warns about tsunamis in the Pacific: In February, the union representing the National Weather Service warned that the Republican cuts could place the residents of Hawaii in mortal …

March 11 tsunami leads to an explosion at Chiba Works, an industrial (chemical, steel, etc.) facility in Ichihara, Japan.Photo: @odyssey Update: The intent of this piece isn't to attribute today's tragedy to climate change. Apologies to those whom I misled with the headline. It was meant literally, as in: Tsunamis are inundations of shorelines and therefore have impacts that resemble storm surges, which are one of the most immediate threats of a warmer planet. In addition, climate change may cause tsunamis directly, so it's possible we'll someday see more images like this as a result. Update 2: Changed the headline (it …

Cross-posted from the Wonk Room. With sardonic humor, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) mocked today's markup of legislation to overturn the scientific finding that fossil-fuel pollution is causing dangerous climate change. Markey, who championed climate legislation that passed the House of Representatives in 2009, protested the energy subcommittee's consideration of the Upton-Inhofe bill to overturn the Environmental Protection Agency's rules on climate pollution, including its endangerment finding: Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to a bill that overturns the scientific finding that pollution is harming our people and our planet. However, I won't physically rise, because I'm worried that Republicans will …

Cross-posted from the Wonk Room. This is the first in a three-part interview with economist Lord Nicholas Stern on climate policy. Lord Nicholas Stern, one of the world's most prominent climate economists, believes that failure to address global warming could eventually lead to World War III. In 2006, he produced the "Stern Review" on behalf of the British government, clearly laying out the potentially catastrophic economic consequences of failing to address climate pollution. Since then, the scientific understanding of the damages from global warming has grown, and Stern has warned that his report "underestimated the risks." In an exclusive interview …

This picture is out of date. The race begun long ago, but the guy on the right is still pacing around trying to decide whether he should start.Republicans are far more skeptical of "global warming" than of "climate change," a study led by a University of Michigan psychologist found. Among Democrats, on the other hand, about 85 percent believe the planet is getting hotter and weather getting weirder, no matter which label you use. Meanwhile, in the U.S. Congress, hearings continued about a bill to block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from protecting the environment -- specifically, "from promulgating any regulation concerning, taking …

Photo: (C) 2011 Daphne HougardDearest readers, I had the good fortune of sitting down to chat by phone with climate activist Tim DeChristopher the other day. I wanted to hear how he's doing and how he's feeling about being sent to the clink. Ever joyous in his resolve to stand up for what he believes in, Tim said, "I’m feeling surprisingly good for being a newly convicted felon." For those of you new to this story, Tim DeChristopher is one of my all-time heroes because of the creative, articulate actions he has taken to fight the political and economic forces …

In what will mark the first vote on Republican efforts to prevent EPA from reducing climate pollution, a House Energy subcommittee is expected today to take up legislation from Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.). [See update at the bottom of post.] Their bill would amend the Clean Air Act to forbid consideration of CO2 or other greenhouse gases. Alice meets the cosponsors.For Congress to intervene in the scientific determinations of a public health agency is, as far as I know, unprecedented. You might think there would be urgent and compelling reasons for politicians to support such …

[See update at bottom.] Steve on climate change: "Just givitame straight!" In New York City last week, I found myself in a cab driven by a burly, jovial local named Steve. He's a jazz bassist and a vegetarian who recycles and composts, but is conservative in his politics, distrustful of government and anything associated with it. I asked about his general thoughts on climate change and his answer was absolutely fascinating. He started off tentatively, glancing at me as though I were going to judge him, but when I didn't he got rolling and ended up going on for a …

You don't have to been on Big Oil's payroll to be on National Public Radio's (NPR) clean energy panel, but it sure helps! I got a chance to watch the taping of this week's Intelligence Squared debate on clean energy, to air on NPR. The debate's sponsors sent up red flags right away: The American Clean Skies Foundation, a natural gas industry front group The Rosenkrantz Foundation, which in part funds the Cato Institute, cofounded by legendary polluter Charles Koch The Ohrstrom Foundation, chaired by Gerry Ohrstrom, who Sourcewatch reports is also the director of several organizations that fight regulations on polluters …

Cross-posted from the Wonk Room. Speaking at the Center for American Progress Action Fund today, House Energy Committee ranking member Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) railed against the toxic influence of Koch Industries on efforts to fight global warming. Waxman, who fought polluters to pass the Clean Air Act of 1990, is dismayed by the level of outright science denial among the Republican Party today, exemplified by their votes to slash and burn environmental protection, and the Upton-Inhofe bill to reverse the scientific finding that carbon pollution threatens public health: It apparently no longer matters in Congress what health experts and scientists …