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  • Do climate scientists have to caveat every attribution? Not until reporters do.

    March 3, 2011 Here we show that human-induced increases in greenhouse gases have contributed to the observed intensification of heavy precipitation events found over approximately two-thirds of data-covered parts of Northern Hemisphere land areas. This statement is, according to NYT opinion blogger Andy Revkin, so unacceptably definitive as to warrant a whole blog post:  “In […]

  • WashPost’s Milbank slams fawning, stenographic media in Issa scandal

    [Fired Issa press aide Kurt] Bardella also disclosed contempt for reporters he described as “lazy as hell. There are times when I pitch a story and they do it word for word. That’s just embarrassing. They’re adjusting to a time that demands less quality and more quantity.” Readers outside of the Washington D.C. fishbowl probably […]

  • Relax, climate hawks, it’s not about the science

    Yes, my sources say the White House communications shop muzzled the Office of Science and Technology Policy from offering a robust defense of climate science after Climategate. And yes, Obama has utterly failed to offer a strong, coherent message on climate science and related energy policy (see “Obama calls for massive boost in low-carbon energy, […]

  • Current Arkansas earthquakes weak sauce compared to potential fracking-caused ‘Big One’

    Photo: Martin LuffI don’t mean to alarm you, but the 4.7 magnitude temblors felt last Sunday in Arkansas, part of a recent “swarm” of earthquakes in the area, could be just a prelude to something much more devastating. The threat would be lessened if oil and gas companies are barred from injecting post-fracking wastewater into […]

  • “Why Nukes are [not] the Most Urgent Environmental Threat”

    Environmentalists: Wake up! There is a greater and more urgent threat to the climate than even global warming: the threat posed by nuclear weapons. Uhh, no. As someone who spent a lot of time working on issues related to the threat posed by nuclear weapons — I was actually a Congressional science fellow two decades […]

  • NY Times on natural gas fracking:

    The New York Times has a multi-bombshell piece on natural gas fracking, “Regulation Lax as Gas Wells’ Tainted Water Hits Rivers.”  CP has done a great many pieces on the potential benefits of  fracking — and the potential dangers (see “Getting to the bottom of natural gas fracking and links below). But while unconventional natural […]

  • Appalachia Keeps Rising

    Without question, one of the most rewarding organizing experiences I have ever been a part of was the “Appalachia Rising” mobilization in late September of last year. Appalachia Rising consisted of three very successful days of action in Washington, D.C.: a two-day weekend conference, followed by a Monday morning march of 2,000 people to the […]

  • For once in its miserable life, is Koch Industries being unfairly attacked?

    Photo: Fibonacci BlueHacker hivemind Anonymous took some potshots at the Koch-fueled Americans for Prosperity website yesterday, taking the site down intermittently and disrupting the late-night propaganda snacking of insomniac right-wingers. It’s always fun to see Anonymous spank people, at least the ones who deserve it, but this time they may have misfired. The grievances that […]

  • How good is Obama on Western environmental issues?

    “Fly fishing in Montana, the President and his guide react after both thought he had hooked a fish; unfortunately, he hadn’t.” We leave it to you, the reader, to decide whether this shall serve as a metaphor for the president’s environmental policies.Photo: The White HouseIn the late fall of 2008, the staff of the nonprofit […]

  • Fighting Back for Clean Air and Water

    During the past week we’ve seen people across the country standing up to support the Environmental Protection Agency’s safeguards for public health. Many polluters and public officials don’t want the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address threats such as air toxics, soot and smog, coal ash, global warming, and water pollution. Thankfully, that didn’t stop […]