Latest Articles
-
Another pathetic day in the U.S. Senate
Today was an important day for the energy bill. Sort of. The entire Democratic Senate caucus met to discuss how to move forward on climate and energy. Kerry, Bingaman, and Cantwell all presented — and argued for — their respective bills. (They made videos, too — Kerry’s; Cantwell’s.) The intent was to make some kind […]
-
Solar panels’ deadly attraction lures some to their demise
masterjack.roger via FlickrPV, I only have eyes for you. It really bugs us that there are (naturally) some down sides to renewable energy solutions, such as solar or wind. Which makes the news that the brilliant shine of solar panels is luring some insects to their deaths sting even more. Wasp could be worse than […]
-
The Climate Post: Nothing shaking on Barton’s ‘shakedown’ street
First things first: Congressional investigators have released material documenting troubles at the Deepwater Horizon site before it failed–and a culture of cost-cutting at BP that elevated catastrophic risk. Five days before the April 20 explosion, a BP engineer called it a “nightmare well which [sic] has everyone all over the place.” A detailed letter to […]
-
60 Percent of U.S. Tidal Marshes Threatened By BP Oil Slick
New data released by NOAA shows that the massive BP oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico is already contaminating one major protected North American Marine Ecoregion, containing more than 60 percent of America’s tidal marshes. The slick also threatens to impact at least two more Ecoregions in the near future. The site of the […]
-
Republican infighting overshadows the Tony Hayward show
CSPANBP America CEO Tony McGaffeypants Hayward made his first appearance before Congress today, facing questions from the House Energy and Commerce Committee. What did it accomplish? What new information did it unearth? Ha, ha. Maybe you haven’t seen a Congressional hearing before. Hayward had little to say beyond a chorus of “I don’t know”s in […]
-
A new era dawns in the wine world
[Warning: your earnest food-politics commentator is about to burrow headfirst into a wine rabbit hole. Follow him — it will be fun!] In a micro-screed issued Feb. 13 on Twitter, wine’s most influential writer railed against what he called the “anti-flavor wine elite.” Now, ours is a severely troubled world, and a tweet from a […]
-
Behind Obama's Speech: a stale strategy and a value vacuum
If in the wake of the President’s flaccid oval office speech there are still any doubts lingering in anyone’s mind about whether the administration is planning to use the spill as a chance to unleash a game-changing energy policy strategy, a recent DNC oil-spill messaging briefing should put them to rest. The report, compiled by […]
-
Kick ass or buy gas?
The Pentagon — BP’s best friend?Photo courtesy of Wikipedia commons This essay was originally published on TomDispatch and is republished here with Tom’s kind permission. Residents of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida are livid with BP in the wake of the massive, never-ending oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico — and Barack Obama says they […]
-
What we need here is a little R&D
Thank God for the small people. Or at least allusions to them. BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg’s gaffe gave Barack Obama a brief reprieve from the pundit pummeling that mostly dismissed his first Oval Office speech as more slick than oil. But some columnists, Grist’s David Roberts for one, did spot a glint of promise in […]
