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Which of these three …

Exxon has hit back at the Royal Society, Britain's premier scientific organization. A few days ago news broke that the RS had sent Exxon a letter in September scolding it for funding organizations that mislead the public on global warming. This was a highly unusual thing for any august scientific body to do, but those familiar with the traditionally staid RS were particularly surprised.

Exxon accuses the RS of "inaccurately and unfairly" depicting it as an agent of scientific misinformation on global warming. That's horsesh*t. As anyone who's read Chris Mooney's definitive "Some Like It Hot" knows, the characterization is entirely accurate.

The more interesting question has to do with Exxon's relationship to the Competitive Enterprise Institute, source of this Spring's delightfully and unintentionally hilarious "CO2 ... we call it life" ads. Those ads kicked up a lot of dust, and since then Exxon reps have privately told a number of people -- including Bob Ward at the RS -- that it is no longer funding CEI.

No

As you probably know, gas prices -- which peaked in August with a national average just over $3 -- are falling. Some optimists think the national average could drop below $2 by the end of the year.

This autumn also happens to mark the U.S. mid-term congressional elections.

Hmm ... [strokes chin, adjusts tinfoil hat] ... is something fishy going on here? Is Big Oil colluding with Big GOP to dampen voter discontent and preserve a Republican majority?

A little media criticism

Unlike my blogospheric brethren, I rarely indulge in media criticism. Poking around for flaws and bias in mainstream news reporting is a rather masturbatory undertaking -- everybody who looks will find exactly what they're looking for, and the entire exercise will do nothing but decrease the prestige and authority of the press, which I happen to think is a bad thing on balance.

But. That's not to say reporters don't have their annoying habits, and just this once I'll indulge in a little rant about them.

50 minutes of wonky goodness

Below the fold is a 50-minute video of an interview Al Gore did with The Guardian.

No month is complete without it

For those of you who missed a remarkable discovery earlier this summer: a snake of a different color.

"The discovery of the 'chameleon' snake exposes one of nature's best kept secrets deep in the heart of Borneo," WWF's Stuart Chapman said in a press release. "Its ability to change color has kept it hidden from science until now. I guess it just picked the wrong color that day."

Indeed. I have hopes that its habitat does not one day become a biofuel farm.

As predicted, producers of palm oil are already running out of land.

"There's just not enough land to plant in Malaysia ... At the end of the day, there's no other way but to expand overseas."

Here’s how

The following is a guest essay by Jan Lundberg, who, in search of depaving opportunities, lives in San Francisco with no car. He founded Culturechange.org and organizes Petrocollapse Conferences. He can be reached emailE=('jan@' + 'culturechange.org') document.write('' + 'via email' + '') . The essay may find its way into his forthcoming book.

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As a petroleum industry analyst who gave up material security for a career as an activist against petroleum industry expansion, I've developed a unique understanding of the global peak in oil extraction. Questioning society's energy needs has always been my tendency. But I gained further understanding of our culture by giving up affluence and many conveniences. This was an attempt to get closer to nature and live by my wits with the support of activists and my growing community of friends far and wide.

In 2004 I hit the road (the rails, usually) to spread the word about the plastic plague, petrocollapse, and the positive future that culture change will present. It was fitting that the nonprofit organization I founded in 1988, Fossil Fuels Policy Action, eventually became known as Culture Change. I was delighted to learn last year that geologist M. King Hubbert, who discovered peak oil, identified the fact that we do not have an energy crisis but a culture crisis:

Terry Troth

California campaigner spreading carbon-cap gospel to other states Terry Tamminen is restyling himself as the “Johnny Appleseed” of carbon caps. Formerly environmental adviser and cabinet secretary for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), he’s now working to spread California’s climate policy to other states, and eventually, he hopes, to the country as a whole. First he’ll focus […]

Johnson Resists Lobbying of Special-Interest “Science” Groups

EPA chief spurns scientific advice, rejects stricter particulate controls Yesterday, U.S. EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson — rejecting the near-unanimous recommendation of his agency’s own scientific advisory council, as well as the pleas of health and environmental advocates — failed to strengthen the Clean Air Act’s standards for maximum annual soot-particle levels. Johnson did strengthen the […]

Sigh

Here's the Big Dog, talking to Jon Stewart about his Global Initiative:

The Al Gore way

It's called moral leadership. Maybe you remember it from last century.

Sir Richard said his new commitment grew out of a visit to his London home a few months ago by former Vice President Al Gore ...

"You are in a position maybe to make a difference," Sir Richard said Mr. Gore told him. "If you can make a giant step forward other people will follow."

Update [2006-9-22 9:59:46 by David Roberts]: ThinkProgress has footage of Gore and Branson discussing the issue on ABC.