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Iraqi catches shark, blames America

... in Iraq, a shark was found 160 miles from the sea in an irrigation canal that joins the Euphrates River. "I believe America is behind this matter," said the Iraqi who netted it ...

... the seasonal growth of water hyacinth disrupted local fishing activities along the coast of Lagos in Nigeria. The plant can grow rapidly enough to choke waterways overnight ...

... Turkish academics decided to establish the country's first rehabilitation center for sea turtles ...

... salmon fishing on Oregon's Rogue River was poor this season ...

... the New England Fishery Management Council decided not to end its scallop season on Nov. 1, a move usually made to protect sea turtles off the eastern U.S. coast ...

... an ocean quahog clam dredged up off the coast of Iceland was thought to be the oldest living creature ever discovered. The clam was nicknamed Ming in reference to the Chinese dynasty that was in power at the time of its birth 405 to 410 years ago. The clam died when the researchers counted its rings ...

The coming oil crisis

After the introduction, the next part of "Mideast Oil Forever?" (subs. req'd) predicted in 1996 that we would have an oil crisis in ten years, and that we would be in a weak position to respond if Congress succeeded in gutting our clean energy programs.

That may seem obvious now, but oil prices were low in the mid-1990s -- in the previous three years, oil prices had averaged about $16 a barrel -- and only a few oil/security analysts (whom we cite) were raising alarms.

This prediction proved to be right in the main, and I am especially proud of the final paragraph in this section, where we made what was, at the time, a fairly original geostrategic argument that has been proven all-too-true. Here is what we wrote:

Friday music blogging: Against Me!

A long day of speeches, hearings, and post-hearing drinking has left me exhausted, but never fear, Friday Music Blogging fan(s), I won’t let you down. This band, Against Me!, is huge in the punk/emo/whatever scene. Normally I stay far away from that particular genre, but there are rare occasions (see: Fugazi) when a band in […]

Who is at fault for the fires in SoCal?

After burning nearly half a million acres, the devastating wildfires of this past week in southern California have been put down. Controversy raged with the flames; now that the air is beginning to clear, it's time to comb through the wreckage for some insight worth remembering. And there's a lot to examine, as experts of all types came forward with reactions -- some to lead, some to offer insight, and some to smear.

The San Francisco Chronicle had uncharacteristically kind words for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Bill Whalen pointed out that:

Throughout the week, he stayed optimistic, talked action and results, and resisted the media's bait to blame someone -- anyone -- for California's misfortunes. It's exactly what you look for in a leader.

The governor won accolades, and the firefighters, working brutally hard while in danger, battling day and night against sixteen fires, fueled at the start by 100-degree temperatures and gale-force winds.

Watching the fires in southern California burn through the night. (Photo: San Diego Fire photo pool, via flickr)

From Timberlake to Tank

*NSYNC with wildlife JT ain’t gonna buy you a diamond ring (that sort of gift don’t mean anything). He wants to get you somethin’ special, Aussie Zoo: It’s his Hancock on a check. Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris / WireImage.com Could watching 30 Rock in our Scrubs while Singing Bee why we’re The Biggest Loser in The […]

Stop misleading the public on liquid coal

TO: William Anderson, assistant Air Force secretary

FROM: Climate Progress, blog

SUBJECT: Your nonsensical claims in a recent Reuters piece, "US Air Force Eyes Alternative Fuel, Slashing CO2."

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Liquid coal cannot be part of a plan to "zero out" the Air Force's carbon output -- contrary to your repeated claims.

BACKGROUND: The following press release masquerading as a genuine news story appeared this week:

The world's most powerful air force is seeking to wean itself from foreign oil and nearly zero out its carbon dioxide output as part of a sweeping alternative energy drive, a senior Pentagon official said on Friday.

Well, that certainly would be big news, if it were actually true. The press release story continues:

Whether Daylight Savings Time saves energy or not, don’t forget to turn your clocks back

Most American clocks will fall back at 2 a.m. on Sunday — a week later than last year, thanks to legislation that passed through Congress in 2005. The bill’s sponsors argued that moving the time that the time moves would save energy, a claim that is shabbily supported statistically. Especially since everybody spends that extra […]

Why isn’t Joe Lieberman scared of Bernie Sanders?

Readers following Brian’s excellent coverage will have noted that Joe Lieberman rejected most of the amendments offered by Bernie Sanders to the Lieberman-Warner climate bill. And if you watched the hearing, you’ll have seen that Lieberman was fairly obsequious to the Republicans on the subcommittee but briskly dismissive of Sanders. There are two theories for […]

Clinton and Gore, fox and hedgehog

Bill Clinton gave the keynote address at the conference. That means I got to see Gore and Clinton within a few hours of one another, and wow, what an interesting contrast. Isaiah Berlin famously divided thinkers into two categories, hedgehogs and foxes. The fox knows many things; the hedgehog knows a lot about one thing. […]

Grist: not yet universally beloved

So, the field hearing of the House global warming committee is just getting underway. I was chatting with Rep. Jay Inslee a few minutes ago, when a burly, ruddy-faced man tried to get past us. Inslee said, "Jim, this is David Roberts, he runs a blog with lots of environmental stuff of interest, you might […]