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Aerosols

Andrew’s mentioned this stuff before, but if you want to learn more about aerosols and their role in climate change (and climate change modeling), RealClimate has a nice post up on it.

The system changes or we’re all screwed

Having finally gotten the memo that the debate on climate change science is over, conservatives now need a new attack on green advocates. It appears they’re reverting to an old standby: hypocrisy. Watch (via Hugg) as FOX News’ Sean Hannity lays out the charge against Al Gore: The hypocrisy attack on environmentalists is extremely common, […]

Umbra on air quality and temperature

Dear Umbra, Is there a relationship between air quality and temperature? I thought about this on my bike ride to work this morning when the smell of exhaust from cars seemed more potent, and the fumes were certainly more visible in the 32-degree air. I know that air quality in Los Angeles is worse during […]

Readers write in about GOP pollster Frank Luntz, whaling activists, and more

  Re: And Now, a Word From Our Detractor Dear Editor: I read your interview with GOP uber-flack Frank Luntz last week and thought, “Poor Frank. Losing on all fronts, rejected by his party and outsmarted by his opponents.” Luntz was dis-invited from the GOP’s cool-kids caucus after the election because, in a comprehensive, post-November […]

Check back for updates

Al Gore says the same thing he’s been saying for over a year — he does not intend to run for president and can’t imagine the circumstances under which he would — but this time AFP spins it as his "ruling out" a run. The story will probably get a bunch of links. It’s amazing: […]

New bill would mandate California-like carbon reductions

Whether you live in the Old Line State or not, this is of high interest: the "Global Warming Solutions Act," a bill that Orion Grassroots Network super group Chesapeake Climate Action Network thought could take years to pass, suddenly has a chance, thanks to recent changes in the political climate.

The bill would make Md. just the second in the U.S. -- behind California -- to mandate huge, statutory reductions in greenhouse gases by 2020. CCAN Director Mike Tidwell calls it a "radical and utterly appropriate commitment. More importantly, it encourages other states to do the same, raising pressure for strong federal legislation." Marylanders, get in touch with CCAN and with your reps!

So who's next?

What a fubar, eh?

James Surowiecki aptly captures the idiocy of our belligerence toward Iran: When buying and selling oil, traders don’t just look at today’s supply and demand. They also try to forecast the future. And if buyers think there’s a chance that supply is going to be lower down the line — because, say, Iranian oil fields […]

Blair gets thumb in eye

I forgot to mention this last week, but the Blair government’s decision that Nukes Rule has been dealt a grievous blow by the UK courts: A judge ruled Thursday that the government’s consultation process before making the decision was "seriously flawed" as well as "procedurally unfair", and granted Greenpeace an order quashing the decision because […]

The debate that has all the kids talking!

There’s been quite a bit of back and forth here recently about the merits of carbon offsets. Those interested in the subject should check out this new piece in the New York Times. It does an effective job of laying out the major criticisms, specifically around the lack of reliable monitoring and the dubious benefits […]

Goes Web 2.0

Big Picture TV, whose tagline is "talking heads, talking sense," has relaunched its website with a significantly improved design and a nicely implemented tag system (coming soon to a Grist page near you!).

They've migrated to Flash-based videos that can be browsed by category, tag or both, as well as speaker. And as I originally wrote, their speaker list is quite impressive.

I'm still not a fan of the talking head video approach (I need more visual stimuli), but their new site is clean and well organized. Check it out.