Latest Articles
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The wonkitude continues
DR: Over the past few years, the environmental movement has been in a period of self-flagellation about its ineffectiveness on the biggest issue of our time: climate change. You’ve been on both sides of the NGO/government divide. Do you have any words of wisdom on what environmental groups are doing wrong, or could do better? […]
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‘Kyoto is a big effort for almost nothing’–Kyoto is only in its first phase
(Part of the How to Talk to a Global Warming Skeptic guide)
Objection: The Kyoto treaty, even if fully implemented, would only save us about a tenth of a degree of future temperature rise many decades from now. What a waste of effort! You can see for yourself here at the Junk Science website.
Answer: There are three big problems with this claim.
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The Coup laments
In honor of President Bush’s speech tomorrow later today, in which he will announce a “surge” of new troops to Iraq, I give you the best love song of 2006: The Coup: “Baby Let’s Have a Baby Before Bush Do Somethin’ Crazy.” Lyrics below the fold. Baby let’s have a baby, before Bush do somethin’ […]
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Reserve a free copy of An Inconvenient Truth for your campus
The kids over at Campus Climate Challenge and Truth on Campus are gearing up for a Week of Action January 29th through February 2nd. The five days of demonstrations will kick start the Challenge’s second semester and “put the heat on a new U.S. Congress and a returning Canadian Parliament to begin aggressive national power […]
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Exxon brightens tone
Exxon is going to change the tone, but not the substance, of its position on global warming. Tone’s what matters, right?
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Only not
Greg Sargent responds to Joe Klein’s “dirty hippies are correct but I’m still no dirty hippie” post: To look into the mirror and see a brave and heroic pundit staring back, of course, you need to flatter yourself into believing that you’re challenging entrenched ideas and the people who hold them in some way, even […]
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Chinese company to make plug-in hybrid
I've long (at least 6 months anyway) said that the best thing that could happen to jumpstart the production of plug-in hybrids by American car companies would be for a Chinese car company to announce its intentions to build the same.
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In which I’m right about everything
From my top stories of 2006:: California has always kicked the rest of the nation’s ass on environmental policy. Today: Continuing his historic leadership to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and lower California’s reliance on foreign oil, Governor Schwarzenegger today announced he will issue an Executive Order establishing a groundbreaking Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) […]
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The problem is not how high the temperature may go, but how fast it is changing
(Part of the How to Talk to a Global Warming Skeptic guide)
Objection: The earth has had much warmer climates in the past. What's so special about the current climate? Anyway, it seems like a generally warmer world will be better.
Answer: I don't know if there is a meaningful way to define an "optimum" average temperature for planet earth. Surely it is better now for all of us than it was 20,000 years ago when so much land was trapped beneath ice sheets. Perhaps any point between the recent climate and the extreme one we may be heading for, with tropical forests inside the arctic circle, is as good as any other. Maybe it's even better with no ice caps anywhere.
It doesn't matter. The critical issue is not what the temperature is, or may be, or will be. The critical issue is how fast it is moving.
