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There’s Nothing to Fear But Clear Itself

Bush administration gamed analysis of competing air-pollution plans Now, we know you’re going to find this hard to believe, but … it seems the Bush administration has been less than truthful about its industry-friendly air-pollution proposal. In late October, the U.S. EPA released a report purporting to demonstrate that its “Clear Skies” legislation delivered the […]

March of Climes

Thousands march worldwide for action on global warming On Saturday, 100,000-plus people in over 30 countries put feet to street and called for effective action to fight global warming — marches timed to coincide with the midpoint of the climate summit in Montreal. Enviros at the summit delivered a 600,000-signature petition to the U.S. consulate […]

Umbra on green roofs

Dear Umbra, Our garage is in need of a new roof. We would like to build a “living roof” and are wondering where to start. Our long-term plan is to convert the space into an art studio, complete with insulation, electricity, and finished walls and floor. Do you have any pithy suggestions for us to […]

Pajamas, Truthdig, and China

Compare and contrast:

Pajamas Media -- a collection of rightwing bloggers that promises nothing less than a full-fledged alternative to the dread mainstream media -- is announced amidst a flurry of hype, having rustled up $3.5 million in venture capital. It is a fiasco from the word go, featuring discredited NYT reporter Judy Miller as its keynote speaker, pissing off its friends, changing its name to Open Source Media and then, under threat of lawsuit, changing it back. The resulting site is, to put it charitably, underwhelming, still bizarrely located at the domain osm.org and sporting a comically self-parodying logo.

Back at the grown-ups' table:

The progressive magazine TruthDig.com launched -- quietly -- about a week ago. Its design is top notch, its goals well-articulated, its content rich and sophisticated. And I kinda doubt it has $3.5 million behind it.

Draw whatever lessons you see fit.

Anyhoo.

I bring all this up because there's a must-read piece on truthdig right now called "China: Boom or Boomerang?" by UC-Berkley Journo Graduate School dean Orville Schell. It's as clear, cogent, and comprehensive a presentation of the paradoxical phenomenon of modern China as you're likely to find. It covers a lot of ground, but it's clear that the environment is foremost of Schell's concerns:

An insider shares the backstory

Wondering what's up with Participate.net, the social-action community run by Participant Productions, the film production company behind Good Night, and Good Luck and Syriana?

Over on Worldchanging, Micki Krimmel offers an insider's view. Interesting stuff.

(For all you CMS geeks out there, turns out Participate is run on Drupal and actively involved in developing new modules for it.)

Another nonpartisan agency calls B.S. on Clear Skies

In April, Sen. Thomas Carper (D-Del.) threatened to block the nomination of Stephen Johnson as EPA chief until the agency agreed to compare three plans to cut power-plant pollution: his own, a bill from James M. Jeffords (I-Vt.), and Bush's "Clear Skies" legislation. Clear Skies contained weaker pollution targets and longer timelines for compliance.

So the EPA did the analysis and reported that -- whaddya know! -- the other plans cost too darn much and Clear Skies is the best bang for the buck.

Now the Congressional Research Service has issued a report confirming what was widely suspected: The EPA was full of shit.

The Environmental Protection Agency's Oct. 27 analysis of its plan -- along with those of Sens. Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.) and James M. Jeffords (I-Vt.) -- exaggerated the costs and underestimated the benefits of imposing more stringent pollution curbs, the independent, nonpartisan congressional researchers wrote in a Nov. 23 report. ...

The administration's "Clear Skies" legislation aims to achieve a 70 percent cut in emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide after 2018, while Carper's and Jeffords's bills demand steeper and faster cuts and would also reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, which are linked to global warming. The Bush plan would also cut emissions of neurotoxic mercury by 70 percent, while Jeffords's bill reduces them by 90 percent.

"Although it represents a step toward understanding the impacts of legislative options, EPA's analysis is not as useful as one could hope," the Research Service report said. "The result is an analysis that some will argue is no longer sufficiently up-to-date to contribute substantially to congressional debate."

In circumspect bureaucratese, "not as useful as one could hope" pretty much translates to "full of shit."

Now, recall:

Rush’s opinion, for what it’s worth.

Want to read something truly, truly bizarre?

Here, via Chris Mooney, are Rush Limbaugh's thoughts about the recent study showing that Atlantic Ocean currents are shifting.

The strangest thing about it is that he summarizes the science pretty well. He's explaining the science, quoting from news reports, and then, out of nowhere ...

Now, you might be asking yourself, "Okay, how is global warming causing this cooling?" Well, the first thing you have to understand is that global warming explains everything! Global warming explains why Bush sent troops to Iraq. Global warming explains what happened to New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina. Global warming is said to be the reason for everything. Global warming is a political issue.

Global warming is a political issue, and as such, it cannot die; it will not die. It is an issue that leftists around world are carrying in their hip pockets and trumpeting from their mouths as a means of doing their best to destroy or weaken capitalist industrial societies.

And then it's back to summarizing the science.

He doesn't even seem to be questioning the science, or skeptical about it. Nor does he seem to notice that the science is directly at odds with his well-worn political screed about global warming. There's no sign of cognitive dissonance. It makes my brain hurt.

And then this:

The Brits need power, quick

Blair is discussing the possibility of building more nuclear power plants. Some of the U.K.'s older plants will be going offline in the next decade or so and according to CarbonFree (a company betting on renewable energy schemes):

November was a bad month in the UK for advocates of power generated from renewable sources. There was a seven-day cold period during which temperatures hovered around zero; a lack of wind becalmed wind turbines and fog blinded solar panels. Panic over bird flu was replaced by concerns that gas producers in the rest of the EU were reluctant to pump natural gas into a pipe under the North Sea that supplies power stations and homes in the UK. Rumours circulated that this winter will see rolling power cuts, firms shutting down and old people shivering around candles.

Enviros need to get social, says activist-turned-sociologist Marshall Ganz

Most of us can probably name a grandfather or great-aunt who was active in a chapter of a national association. My own uncle was a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Yet how many of us can say the same about ourselves? Marshall Ganz. Photo: Harvard University/Justin Ide. As voluntary associations fade […]

From Yeehaw to Yoots

Heart your engines Tired of pretty-boy actors flashing their newfangled wheels? Here’s something grittier: hybrids may be coming to a Formula One track near you. It makes sense, says one rep, since “Formula One is all about efficiency.” Well, that and the fiery crashes. Photo: iStockphoto. All the smews that’s fit to print Some words […]