With the majority of the GOP caucus in denial about climate change, there was talk during the campaign about abolishing the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. But it now looks like they’ll use it instead – as a platform to smear the EPA, the Obama admistration, and climate scientists. Representative Jim […]
After failing to provide adequate disaster relief resources during Hurricane Katrina the scenario is repeated in California, where an estimated 600 to 900 wildfires are burning.
I was appalled and shocked to read that President Bush is proposing to take $70 million from the $180 million salmon disaster relief funds included in the farm bill to pay for the census. My family is supported by commercial fishing, and following a poor dungeness crab season, fisherman along the West Coast are really […]
$1 per barrel increase in the price of oil costs U.S. $130 million Whenever I’m involved in a discussion about government waste and/or the politics of bureaucratic budgeting, I undoubtedly recount a story that usually leaves people nodding in agreement or shaking their head in disbelief. The story goes like this: A friend of mine […]
Feds suggest a delay in 3 projects so they can study dying bats [social_buttons]The U.S. Fish and Wildlife service has sent a letter to to the developers of three wind farms in upstate New York strongly urging they consider other locations for their proposed projects. Biologists for the agency are concerned that the wind farms […]
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a statewide drought today, following two straight years of below-average rainfall, very low snowmelt runoff and the largest court-ordered water transfer restrictions of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in state history. The governor also issued an Executive Order meant to address related problems caused by the water shortages, such as extreme […]
[social_buttons] Since 1990, every four years the US government has been required to issue a “scientific” report on climate change and its effects on the economy, environment, and public health. In typical George W. Bush cavalier cowboy style, the 2004 deadline for this report was ignored and the government was sued by green groups. Finally, […]
The US Government’s Drug War has spurred many social and environmental consequences throughout the world. Widespread aerial herbicide spraying aimed at eradication has caused environmental damage from Central America to Central Asia. Recently, I learned you can add the sale of child brides in Afghanistan to the list of social ills caused by the Drug […]
Agency permanently extends comment period for alt. energy leases In the fall of 2001, Jim Gordon of Energy Management Inc. (EMI) announced his intentions to build a 420 megawatt wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts – the nation’s first. Now, the long permitting process that was made even longer by powerful opposition groups, is […]
HG Wells said, “When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the human race.” I agree. Hate rising gas prices? Ride your bike! In cities like Copenhagen and Amsterdam they seem to outnumber cars. Portland and Chicago are catching up. People of all ages, all over the world ride them […]
The Environmental Protection Agency has begun a “National Dialogue” about what information the public needs from the agency and how the agency can better provide that information. Interested parties can now let the agency know what they think on EPA’s new interactive Web page (I’d love to a fly on that digital wall). Additionally, agency […]
The US government likes to declare war on issues in which there are no clear enemies, while physically fighting undeclared wars against foreign people. President Lyndon Johnson declared war on poverty. President Richard Nixon declared war on cancer and recreational drugs. Will George W. Bush declare war on climate change? Tim Hurst wrote, “I would […]
Over the last 7 years, the current administration has meddled with the affairs of the Environmental Protection Agency to such a degree, that the badgering and tampering is having a detrimental effect on the morale of agency staffers. And the latest news that EPA officials have ceased their efforts to follow a Supreme Court order […]
A federal judge has blocked a mining company from exploring for any further uranium near the grand Canyon. Several groups had sued the U.S. Forest Service for backing the plan without full environmental reviews. U.S. District Court Judge Mary Murguia of the U.S. [social_buttons]District Court in Arizona issued a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction […]
This cartoon popped in my head after reading colleague Tim Hurst’s article “Feds Issue Waiver of Environmental Rules for Border Fence” in Red Green and Blue last week. Other motivation for this cartoon comes from the historical (and current) treatment of native Americans, and this unsourced quote from MAD Magazine: “The suburbs are where they […]