By Glynn Wilson – The Obama Administration released the Third U.S. National Climate Assessment report on Tuesday, May 6, calling it “the most authoritative and comprehensive source of scientific information to date about climate-change impacts across all U.S. regions and on critical sectors of the economy.” The report, a key part of President Obama’s so-called…
SCIENCE
Scientists Finally Count Dead Birds from BP Gulf Oil Disaster
Supreme Court Upholds EPA’s Power to Regulate Greenhouse Gases Under the Clean Air Act
By Glynn Wilson – The United States Supreme Court upheld the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate the air pollution from coal-fired power plants on Tuesday in a ruling that is being hailed as a major victory for the environment but a political setback for the Obama administration. The 6-to-2 ruling upholds the…
NASA Telescopes Find Close Neighbor of the Sun
NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and Spitzer Space Telescope have discovered what appears to be the coldest “brown dwarf” known — a dim, star-like body that, surprisingly, is as frosty as Earth’s North Pole. Images from the space telescopes also pinpointed the object’s distance to 7.2 light-years away, earning it the title for fourth closest…
Mobile Bucks National Trend, Sides With Polluting Industry Over Tourism and the Environment
By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. — While many local and state governments across the country are joining the federal government in turning away from the development of fossil fuel production in favor of clean, renewable energy to fight climate change due to global warming and create the good, high paying jobs of the future,…
President Obama’s Climate Action Plan Full of Good Ideas
Coming Clean By Michael Brune Choose Wisely… We all make choices, and some turn out better than others do. But the choices we end up regretting the most are usually the ones we make against our better judgment. Both individually and collectively, we humans seem uniquely capable of acting as our own worst enemy. We…
Get Over It: Yes the Universe is Expanding and Technological Progress is Inevitable
What Shall We Do With the Social and Political World? – The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – It took about 10,000 years of human existence and increasing knowledge for scientists to say definitively they proved that the universe is infinite and always expanding. When will political conservatives in the U.S. finally admit that…
A Steady Majority, 57 Percent of Americans, Blame Human Pollution for Global Warming
By Glynn Wilson – A majority of Americans, 57 percent, believe increases in the Earth’s temperature during the past century are due to pollution from human activities, while 40 percent still say it is due to naturally occurring changes in the environment, in spite of overwhelming scientific evidence and incredibly rare scientific consensus showing that…
Long-Term Global Warming Likely to Be Significant Despite Recent Slowdown
By Glynn Wilson – Earth’s climate will likely continue in a man-made warming trend for the remainder of the 21st century on track with previous estimates, despite the recent slowdown in the rate of global warming, a new NASA study concludes. The latest research hinges on a new and more detailed calculation of the sensitivity…
Astronomers Measure Spin of Distant Black Hole for First Time
By Glynn Wilson – Astronomers have accomplished the first direct measurement of the spin of a distant black hole, an important advance for understanding how black holes grow over time, scientists say. The research suggests that this black hole grew by gradually merging material rather than pulling in material in from different directions. NASA’s Chandra…
Obama Administration Releases Cleaner Fuel and Auto Emissions Standards
Slashing Air Pollution and Providing Health Benefits to ThousandsBy Glynn Wilson – The Obama administration issued the final emission standards for cars and gasoline Monday to improve fuel efficiency in cars and trucks, significantly reduce harmful pollution and prevent thousands of premature deaths and illnesses every year. Based on extensive input from the public and…
Climate Change Regulations Hit Supreme Court Docket
By Glynn Wilson – How the federal government fights climate change will be on the docket of the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday in a rare 90 minute oral argument session, an indication that the court thinks cases against the Environmental Protection Agency filed by chemical industry groups, conservative states and the U.S. Chamber of…
EPA’s Gina McCarthy Delivers Obama Administration Position on Rebuilding America’s Infrastructure With Green Jobs
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The EPA’s Gina McCarthy, a teacher from Boston, delivered one of the keynote addresses on repairing America’s infrastructure with green jobs Monday afternoon at the Good Jobs, Green Jobs annual conference, delivering the Obama administrations position before a new and powerful coalition of unions and environmentalists under the umbrella of the Blue…
Sierra Club’s Michael Brune Delivers Keynote Address at Green Jobs Conference
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Sierra Club’s Michael Brune delivered one of the keynote addresses on repairing America’s infrastructure with green jobs Monday afternoon at the Good Jobs, Green Jobs annual conference, put on by the Blue Green Alliance, a coalition of unions and environmental non-profit groups. With more than 15 million members through 14 affiliated…
How Unions and Environmentalists Might Build a Political Coalition to Save American Democracy
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – If only we could stop the bullshit, maybe unions and environmentalists could build a coalition to save American democracy. That was the view of labor union leaders and environmentalists this week at a national conference designed to build a sustainable future for good jobs in America, which it…
Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference Kicks off at the Washington Hilton
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – The opening session of the Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference for 2014 kicked off Sunday night with a dynamic panel of speakers who are at the forefront of the national discussion about how to address the country’s crumbling infrastructure, while at the same time beginning to deal with…
Blue Green Alliance Hosts ‘Good Jobs, Green Jobs’ Conference in Washington, D.C.
By Glynn Wilson – HUNGRY MOTHER STATE PARK, Virg. – Some of the most powerful and effective leaders of labor unions and environmental groups in the country, along with a horde of union members, environmental activists and college students, are headed to the nation’s capital this coming week for one of the most interesting and…
Let’s Stop Talking About Climate Change Like It’s Breaking News
Even though climate change is relatively new historically, journalists shouldn’t be treating it like Justin Bieber’s arrest. – By Tom Engelhardt – Here’s the scoop: When it comes to climate change, there is no “story,” not in the normal news sense anyway. The fact that 97 percent of scientists who have weighed in on the…
NASA Confirms Sustained Long-Term Climate Warming Trend
By Glynn Wilson – Scientists now say 2013 tied with 2009 and 2006 for the seventh warmest year since 1880, continuing a long-term trend of rising global temperatures, according to a new report out from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). With the exception of 1998, the 10 warmest years in the 134-year record…
New Study Documents Consequences of Climate Change on North American Forests
By Glynn Wilson – Climate change due to human induced global warming from the burning of fossil fuels makes North American forests more vulnerable to insects and disease, according to a new study published by a team of researchers from Dartmouth University in the journal Ecological Monographs. After reviewing about 500 scientific studies dating back…