Three headlines this week drove home a point that I often make when discussing politics with friends. That point is a psychological phenomenon known as confirmation bias (a subset of cognitive bias), and it’s one of the most powerful forces at play in the world today, especially with regard to the increasing extremism of the Republican party […]
From Maxistentialism: “Philosophy, design, humor, and important news about bugs.” “It’s pretty amazing that our society has reached a point where the effort necessary to extract oil from the ground, ship it to a refinery, turn it into plastic, shape it appropriately, truck it to a store, buy it and bring it home is considered […]
There was a 5.6 magnitude earthquake in Oklahoma last night. Buildings shook, chimneys and towers collapsed, and there was other extensive property damage. It was the worst quake in Oklahoma history. The only question is: How long will authorities continue to deny that fracking is a problem? Last year, we reported on earthquakes in Cleburn, […]
In a crossover protest with members of Occupy Wall Street/Occupy DC – one which also had a very practical goal – climate activists demonstrating against the tar-sands oil pipeline camped out overnight for 14 hours in front of the State Department building.
We’ve talked quite a bit about subsidies. How Republicans oppose subsidies to help jump-start our clean energy economy on free-market grounds, but don’t seem to care about market forces when it comes to ending massive subsidies for oil, nuclear and coal.
Here’s a pretty thorough debunking of the subsidies question.
Bill McKibben may say he’s not going to attack President Obama, but other environmental activists aren’t being so shy.
At the Huffington Post, actor/director/activist Robert Redford asks, Is the Obama Administration Putting Corporate Profits Above Public Health?
By now you know what you accomplished: 1,253 arrests, according to some journalists the biggest civil disobedience action since 1977, and the most sustained since the epic campaigns of the civil rights movement. That was enough to take a regional issue and make it a national and even global one.
Here’s the plan for the next phase…
Bill McKibben updates us on the protest in front of the White House, now in its second week. There were 70 more arrests today, including actress Darryl Hannah.
By Roger Fox I doubt the Keystone project is even a real long term goal by TransCanada,. Certainly in the big picture Keystone is only a single chapter in a much larger book. If you read this diary you will risk information overload, you will be offered numerous disparate data points that at first glance may […]
Chevron may have lost in court, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to give up its 18-year battle to refuse to pay to clean up the mess it made in Ecuador.
Clearly, the oil giant is terrified that if it has to take responsibility for its actions in Ecuador, it may be forced to clean up the toxic legacy of its slovenly business practices all around the world, from Indonesia to Nigeria.
After 5 hours of deliberation today, a Salt Lake City jury found eco-activist Tim DeChristopher guilty of two felonies for “disrupting” a federal gas-lease auction. He could face 10 years in prison when he is sentenced later. “Tim has shown the power of civil disobedience to shine a light,” said Bill McKibben. “The government should […]
You may have heard the story: In the waning days of the Bush administration, the Interior Department tried to rush through a bunch of gas leases on public land. They knew the Obama admin wouldn’t allow them, so they tried to get them locked down, contractually, by holding an auction. Update: The jury found Tim […]
After 18 years of arduous legal battles, Chevron has finally been found guilty. An Ecuadoran court ruled that oil operations had led to massive contamination in the Amazon rainforest, and Chevron is responsible. But the giant oil company continues to play games to avoid paying to clean up its mess. The New York Times notes […]
Real classy, Chevron. Not content with ruining the lives of thousands of indigenous people across the Amazon by poisoning the land they live on and the water they drink, Chevron is suing them. Hunh? You heard right. Chevron is suing Amazon tribesmen whose only crime was imagining they might get Chevron to take responsibility and clean up […]
Thinking of attending next weekend’s rally in Washington DC, Stephen Colbert’s March to Keep Fear Alive? Here’s a little preview of what you might be able to expect – a Colbert Report greatest hits montage on the environment. Sample quotes: On the Cape Wind offshore windfarm: “What if it breaks and we have a catastrophic […]