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A dust storm disrupts air traffic in Phoenix, watch the video of it arrive. [wsj.com] A list of the top beaches in US national parks. [yahoo.com] California is using wasps instead of insecticides to fight wasps. [latimes.com] Another Exxon Mobile spill, this time from a pipeline in Montana. [latimes.com] Yesterday, the RP conducted a fascinating interview with Christine Todd Whitman, the former GOP Governor from New Jersey and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency during George W. Bush’s first term in office. Whitman shared her frustrations with the hyper-partisanship in Washington, the impact of the Tea Party on her beloved GOP, and the gridlock on environmental action and climate change remediation. She also offers her ideas on how to fix her party and her country’s political system. Listen here: No Labels is a new grassroots movement of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents who are united in the belief that we do not have to give up our labels, merely put them aside to do what’s best for America. No Labels Radio will offer a weekly dose of news and interviews with the policymakers who are working to find bipartisan answers to the otherwise intractable problems our country faces. Heading to the beach this upcoming holiday weekend? You may want to check how clean that beach is. [npr.org] The fight over Federal MPG standards heats up. [msnbc.com] More sites added to the UNESCO endangered sites list. [msnbc.com] Mating turtles shutting down air traffic, not much more to say. [cnn.com]
Meanwhile, outside pressure on the Greeks has grown, with foreign observers declaring there is “no plan B” if this combination of austerity and bailout fails, markets swinging wildly on alternate waves of hope and fear, and many commentators concerned that even these programs will not be enough. As I write this article, the Greek parliament narrowly approved its austerity plan in the face of the public’s wrath, averting the possibility of national default, at least for now. No one disputes that Greece has, after years of generous public spending and indifferent-to-incompetent tax collection, run up such enormous debts that investors no longer believe in the Greek state’s ability to pay them. This is nothing new in the history of the world economy, or even in the history of Greece.
Read the rest of… Welcome to the Anthropocene Era, dominated by humans changing the environment. [npr.org] Wind power may be closer in the Great Lakes than in the Atlantic. [npr.org] Oceans may be heading for a mass extinction. [msnbc.com] New ice maps of the Antarctic can help analyze global warming. [bbc.co.uk]
As we begin to pack up the family car for that long-awaited summer vacation at Grandma’s house, a gallon of gasoline averages $3.80, $1.07 more than this time last year. Maybe you can just email Grandma a photo of the kids instead. Or better yet, maybe President Barack Obama could address workers at a research facility funded by a $528.7 million stimulus-act grant to develop a new alternative mode of energy-efficient transportation: airborne porcine units (also known as “flying pigs”). Although the facility won’t have produced a commercially viable prototype, Obama could go on to express confidence that, with additional government investment (aka “spending”), the needed technology breakthroughs would be achieved. I can hear him now: “When pigs fly, my energy policies will be vindicated, and the taxpayer dollars we have committed to this effort will greatly lessen our dependence on foreign oil.” Fantasy? Of course, but then again, taxpayers are on the hook for a $528.7 million loan to a company seeking to make plug-in electric cars that the Obama administration announced with great fanfare in 2009. The result? That company recently breathlessly announced that it plans to sell a car for the bargain price of $96,850 that charges in “as little as six hours” and has — wait for it — a 50-mile range before a backup gasoline engine kicks in. Read the rest of… In Austria there is a debate about selling public land to the highest bidder. [npr.com] Deforestation in the Amazon is more than just cutting down the trees. Loggers are being accused of murdering activists. [bbc.com] Wind farms may be one solution to our energy problems, but as Wales is experiencing, you must still get past the NIMBY mindset. [bbc.com] A list of American historical sites that are endangered, better see them while you can. [msnbc.com] It’s what you’ve been up late nights awaiting… The final episode of the RP’s classic quadrology (is that the next step after trilogy?): Part 4 of his home energy rehab. If you missed Parts 1-3, the audit and the rehab, which includes some exciting film of the geothermal work done on the Miller Home, click here. In Part 4, Jamie Clark of Arronco leads the RP through the final stages of the rehab, and then through the quality assessment, made possible by the Kentucky Home Performance program.
If you live outside of Kentucky, click here for a US Department of Energy site that provides links to programs in all 50 states. Read the rest of… Oyster Mushrooms can cut the time it takes diapers to biodegrade from 500 years to 6 months. [inhabitots.com] What to do with the contaminated water from Tokyo nuclear power plants. Releasing it into the ocean could be a disaster for local fisherman. [wsj.com] NJ Governor changes state’s renewable energy goals to more “realistic” numbers. [nytimes.com] Electric car companies aim to change the driving process, and also the buying process. [nytimes.com] Looking at the costs and benefits of the Clean Air Act in Chicago. [msnbc.com]
On its face, this routine—the Republican-controlled House passes a measure designed to annoy the White House, and the White House responds with annoyance—is not particularly unusual these days. In this case, though, the back-story is much more interesting. The original impetus came not from Republicans, but from liberal activist Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), whose resolution calling on President Obama to withdraw troops from Libya within two weeks and accept other restrictions forced Boehner’s hand. The House rejected Kucinich’s more forceful resolution, but just as many Democrats joined in supporting H.Res 292, many Republicans, especially Tea Party icons Ron Paul (R-TX) and Michelle Bachman (R-MI), voted for it, and Boehner himself realized that the House needed to put together some sort of resolution.
The permanent emergency of the Cold War, with troops stationed overseas, intermittent crises requiring fast action, and Congress members unwilling to appear weak on national security, all tipped the balance very far in favor of the President. Added to this was the President’s ultimate control over the nation’s nuclear forces (what Garry Wills has called his “Bomb Power”), which made both Congress and the concept of declaring war appear essentially irrelevant. Encouraged by a broad bipartisan consensus in favor of containment, the US Empire grew exponentially after 1945, and with it an increasingly imperial presidency. Read the rest of… |
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