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Obama talks up electrical grid improvements on cable tv — seriously, I have video evidence

On Thursday night, Barack Obama appeared on the (highly rated) Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. Continuing his comprehensive effort to say things that make me really happy, he had a long exchange with Maddow about … the electrical grid. Seriously! He says, “we’re going to have to have a smart grid — if we want […]

Groups warn of possible EPA moves to weaken standards for radioactive releases

A group of 60 environmental and public health organizations sent a letter [PDF] to Environmental Protection Agency administrator Stephen Johnson expressing concern that the agency “is considering a series of actions aimed at dismantling and dramatically weakening decades of EPA policies for protection of the public from ionizing radiation” in the remaining weeks of the […]

Boxer says she’ll let a President Obama lead on greenhouse gas bill

OK. The chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee didn’t quite say that, at least not directly. But E&E News PM reports ($ub. req’d): Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) expects to take her cues on climate in the 111th Congress from the next president. The chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee […]

What pollsters can learn from climate modelers

Pollster.com has an interesting piece on the confusing disparity among all of the polls taken for this election. In particular, “likely voter model design depends significantly on judgments that pollsters make about how to model the likelihood that any voter sampled will actually turn out and vote in the election.” The author, Clark A. Miller, […]

I guess they call them ‘talking points’ for a reason

Hey, remember how eerily similar the talking points on energy (and everything else) were at the three presidential debates? Well, 23/6 puts them all side-by-side. Energy portion is at 1:53.

Michele Bachmann lowered gas prices

The latest wackadoo claim from the gift that keeps on giving, Michelle Bachmann: Bonus crazy! Bachmann claims that oil pipelines cause wildlife to flourish: (Thanks LL!)

Canada P.M. reshuffles cabinet, lumps environment and economy together

Recently reelected Conservative Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper reshuffled his cabinet Thursday, lumping the economy, environment, and energy security together into an environment ministry headed by former Industry Minister Jim Prentice. Harper also declared, “We want to work with the Americans on regulatory systems relating to greenhouse-gas emissions in order that we can work toward […]

Obama notes global warming as an issue that he and McCain should work on together post-election

Last night on The Daily Show, John Stewart asked Barack Obama what issues he could envision working on with rival John McCain after the election, regardless of who wins next week. Obama noted global warming as a distinct problem they should address together. “I hope that after the election we can work together, because some […]

How I beat KFC’s ‘family meal’ challenge

    Recently, the American public was issued a challenge by the folks at KFC (formerly “Kentucky Fried Chicken,” but “fried” just didn’t sound healthy). The fast-food joint argues in its latest commercial that you cannot “create a family meal for less than $10.” Their example is the “seven-piece meal deal,” which includes seven pieces […]

The oil companies should bail out the automakers

Cross-posted at the NDN blog —– As the U.S. auto companies frantically search for ways to stave off bankruptcy, an interesting bit of news surfaced yesterday: Exxon Mobil’s profit in the last quarter was the highest of any company ever in history: $14.83 billion. The company is on track to make $50 billion or so […]