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Gore to announce climate-change concerts around the world

This July 7, the world will rock out in the name of stopping climate change. And at the head of it, global warming’s resident rock star: Al Gore. We mentioned this waaaay back in December, but news is hitting the rest of the dinosaurs mainstream media just today. Much like the worldwide party that rocked […]

Follow-up on think tank paying writers to question IPCC

The "AEI vs. AR/4" story has gotten a surprising amount of play in the mainstream press over the last few days. Briefly: last summer conservative think tank AEI sent letters to two of my colleagues asking them to participate in a "critique" of the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR/4). Oh yeah, and they offered them $10,000 to do this.

My initial blog post from July can be found here. It got picked up by the mainstream press and has been widely reported on over the last few days (e.g., here and here).

This morning I received an email from AEI, asking me to post a statement about this kerfuffle, as well as a revised description of their examination of the AR/4. I posted them on my personal blog here.

Here is my critique of AEI's new proposal to critique the AR/4.

Hey, We’ll Take Stewardship

Texan Baptists turn themselves into quiet anti-coal activists Duty says we should report on the $5.9 billion Kyoto loophole that let China add simple upgrades to plants making a gas called HFC-23 and reap gigantic benefits through carbon trading. But yawn! Wouldn’t you rather read about Texan Baptists busting the shackles of their anti-eco-activism past […]

Marlin Banned-O

Fisherfolk angle to keep marlin off of menus Hoping to smack down commercial fishing operations that are decimating Pacific marlin populations, sports anglers have launched a “No Marlin on the Menu!” campaign to discourage diners from ordering the popular game fish. To preserve marlin populations, many sportsfolk keep just one fish per day, per boat, […]

Try, Try Again

European Commission proposes revised vehicle emissions limits Last week, bullying from automakers and their allies led the European Commission to yank proposed rules regulating new-vehicle emissions. Now the commission has revised its proposal, and car czars are still in a swivet. Under the new rules, carbon dioxide emissions from new cars would be cut to […]

Vanna can’t save you now

Pat Sajak — yes, the host of Wheel of Fortune — weighs in on the whole global warming thing, and folks, he’s just not convinced. Which old chestnuts trouble Pat? Well, 30 years ago, scientists thought the earth was cooling! Anyway, it’s just a natural cycle. Let’s consult our Skeptics Guide. Yup: here and here. […]

Maybe

I'm a day or two late on this, but there's promising news from Oregon on Measure 37. Governor Kulongoski has proposed legislation that essentially puts a temporary moratorium on the most obnoxious results of the law. (See here and here [pdf] for the details.)

Kulongoski's bill will still allow rural landowners to continue with small-scale claims. In fact, it should actually speed up the processing of these claims. So legitimate claimants who want to build a single family house on their property -- or subdivide to build a new house -- will be allowed to.

Seems like smart politics to me.

You’ve got to see this photo

When it comes to effective messages, sometimes picture is worth a thousand books by George Lakoff. I'll give you a perfect case of well-intentioned words getting trounced in the marketplace of ideas. You have to see this.

DOE won’t pay up enough for nuclear cleanup

The following is a guest post from Natalie Troyer, publications and volunteer coordinator at Heart of America Northwest. —– Let’s shake a Magic 8-Ball and ask it a probing question. “Is it a good idea to dump more nuclear waste into a site that’s already listed as the most contaminated spot in the Western Hemisphere?” […]

Philly looking at recycled rubber for sidewalks

Philadelphia’s council-folk may soon be bouncing around the idea of utilizing recycled rubber tires for sidewalks. City official Jim Kenney, who has suggested the idea, says rubber sidewalks don’t crack and last longer than concrete. Kenney also says they’re very solid and not to expect to see people bouncing down the street. Yes, but what […]