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Remember when stupidity was something to be ashamed of rather than a point of pride?

The saying goes that during one of his bids for the White House, a woman told Adlai Stevenson "Not to worry, Senator, all thinking people are with you," to which he replied: "But I need a majority!"

Not only was Stevenson smart and quick-witted enough to make that story plausible, it suggests that the smartest candidates have always had to do a little bit of hiding their lights under a bushel.

But now we live in what Vonnegut called the ultimate scary reality show: C-Students from Yale. The blog called The Daily Howler does a superb job, day in and day out, showing how the press has gone from chronicling our decline into demanding it, as the so-called liberal media positively makes intelligence into a disqualifying trait for leadership.

The relevance here is this: managing our multiple serious environmental challenges in the context of a world with diminishing resource availability and rising population (and poverty) is going to require the sustained application of intelligence of the first order. But rather than consider the intelligence of Bill Richardson a possible asset for a president, Dana Milbank speaks of the burden of having to listen to an erudite speaker drone on. Far more refreshing and relaxing to listen to the malapropisms that come tumbling out of Bush's mouth, perfectly reflecting the dysfunction and chaos behind his dull eyes.

From today's Howler:

Coal exec whines about regulations on his ability to destroy the earth and his workers

This is not helping me keep my blood pressure down. Poor, poor coal executive feels persecuted: A senior coal company executive on Wednesday lambasted U.S. lawmakers for proposing caps on emissions blamed for global warming, saying the Democrats were out to destroy America’s coal industry. Robert Murray, chairman, president and chief executive of Murray Energy […]

California is no longer leading the pack on wind energy

Last year, California suffered the ultimate indignity in its quest to be the “greenest state.” It was passed by red Texas — the oil heartland — for the title of state with the most wind-power generating capacity. The numbers get even more depressing. Last year, California’s wind capacity grew at a slower rate than any […]

Greenpeace mischief

Big Gav pointed me to this, which is awesome:

You ever have that nightmare where the lifeline becomes a deadly snake?

India's emissions may be higher due to dams:

In an op-ed, Russ George claims his company has been unfairly maligned

A company called Planktos has taken some lumps on our site, so when their president, Russ George, sent this response along, I agreed to run it. (It ran originally in the Ottawa Citizen.) Your responses are welcome, but please, keep them civil. —– As someone who has committed most of my waking life to caring […]

Tom DeLay crawls out from under his rock

Soon-to-be-felon Tom DeLay writes the dumbest thing I’ve ever read on climate change. Sir Oolius takes one for the team and smacks it about. It’s hard to believe someone as dumb as a box of rocks was running the House for so many years. Or I guess maybe it ought to be hard to believe.

Feel guilty yet?

Ever wondered if your state's climate policy really makes a difference in the big global scheme of things? If so, here's a little map I made.

For each state, the map shows a nation with equivalent greenhouse-gas emissions from energy.

The full U.S. version is here.

When I've shown drafts to people, almost everyone wants to compare populations. The western states population comparison is after the jump. The full data are here(xls).

Turning Lemons Into Powerade

Waste Management announces $400 million methane-to-energy plan Renewable energy got a boost this week: mega-hauler Waste Management said it will spend $400 million over five years to build 60 landfill-based facilities that will convert methane to electricity. The potent gas — which results from the decomposition of organic yummies like trash and cow manure — […]

It Was Sunny in Seattle

Global weather is bad and likely to get worse Within the last week, excessive heat — think 113 degrees Fahrenheit — has killed dozens of people in Greece, Romania, and Turkey. Storms killed some 150 people in India and about 220 people in Pakistan. Britain has been deluged by flooding. We like to think of […]