Thoreauvians

Three Climate Change Actions For Obama’s Second Term By Climate Guest Blogger on Nov 12, 2012 at 11:39 am by Kevin Kennedy, via WRI Insights With President Obama’s re-election, he has the opportunity to extend his legacy and take on big challenges. Climate change stands high on the list of issues that need to be addressed. As the President said in his acceptance speech: “We want our children to live in an America that isn’t burdened by debt, that isn’t weakened by inequality, that isn’t threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet.”

“Wall Street C.E.O.’s — the same ones who wrecked our economy and destroyed millions of jobs — still strut around Congress, no shame, demanding favors and acting like we should thank them,” Ms. Warren declared in her prime-time speech at the Democratic National Convention. That was the Elizabeth Warren who earned the adoration of millions of people across the country, the one who spoke truth to power and was not worried about sounding indiscreet. And it is what they expect of her now that she has a powerful new platform in Washington.

Instead, he believes that money is better spent promoting breakthroughs in the renewable energy sector, once more emphasizing economic responsibility rather than ethical responsibility. Growth in the renewable energy sector means growth in jobs, growth in energy output, and growth in profit. The wind industry alone now employs 75,000 working Americans, supplying residents with more than 50,000 megawatts of electricity (an output equivalent to 50 nuclear plants).  Similar numbers are seen in the solar energy and weatherization industries – a testament to the vitality and potential of the renewable energy sector.

E + ducere: “To lead or draw out.” The etymological Latin roots of “education.” According to a former Jesuit professor of mine, the fundamental sense of the word is to draw others out of “darkness,” into a “more magnanimous view” (he’d say, his arms spread wide). As inspirational as this speech was to a seminar group of budding higher educators, it failed to specify the means by which this might be done, or the reason. Lacking a Jesuit sense of mission, I had to figure out for myself what the “darkness” was, what to lead people towards, and why. It turned out to be simpler than I thought, in some respects, since I concluded that it wasn’t my job to decide these things, but rather to present points of view, a collection of methods—an intellectual toolkit, so to speak—and an enthusiastic model. Then get out of the way. That’s all an educator can, and should do, in my humble opinion. Anything more is not education, it’s indoctrination.

Bill McKibben on Hurricane Sandy and Climate Change: "If There Was Ever a Wake-up Call, This Is It"

As a member of both the Senate Energy and Environment committees, I am working to stop the handouts to the fossil fuel industry. I have introduced legislation called the End Polluter Welfare Act. Rep. Keith Ellison filed the companion bill in the House of Representatives. Our measure calls for the elimination for all subsidies to the oil, gas and coal industries.

82 comments 14 Ways to Reduce Cell Phone Radiation Exposure 15 comments Do You Have a Right to Know What’s In Your Food? (Funny Video) 75 comments 7 Ways to Use Herbs to Freshen Your House 26 comments Could Obesity Make Your Car Less Efficient? (Infographic) 17 comments The Benefits of Conscious Consumption 11 comments Classic VW Beetle Gets Electric Makeover 51 comments Dining In: 10 DIY Convenience Foods next #addressBook { width: 550px; font: normal 11px Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; } #addybook_title { padding-left: 100px; } #addybook_title span { display: block; padding-top: 10px; } #address_book_login_error { font-size: 16px; } #addressBook a { color: #0f6ffe; text-decoration: underline; } #addressBook_alphabet { margin-top: 4px; } #addressBook_alphabet span { color: #ccc; font-weight: bold; } #addressBook_alphabet a { text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; } #addressBook #addressBook_name { border-left: 1px solid #dbd9d9; border-right: 1px solid #999; } #addressBook #addressBook_email { border-right: 1px solid #dbd9d9; } #addressBook .title { background: #dbd9d9; font-weight: bold; padding: 5px; } #addressBook .list { margin: 0 auto; border: 1px solid #c4c3c3; margin-top: 10px; height: 195px; width: 500px; overflow: auto; } #addressBook .list table { width: 100%; min-height: 195px; height: 0; } #addressBook ul { margin: 1em 0; } #addressBook li { height: 1.7em; padding-left: 10px; } #addressBook_email li{line-height: 1.7em;overflow: hidden;} #addressBook_name li{line-height: 1.7em;overflow: hidden;padding-left:20px;} #addressBook_name li.friend{background: transparent url(http://dingo.care2.com/ecards/v1/friends_frog.gif) no-repeat scroll 3px 3px;} #addressBook li.over { background-color: #daf6d1; cursor:pointer; } #addressBook li.selected { background-color: #e9e5c7;/*#fdf9db;*/ } #addressBook_add_button, .button_generic { font: normal 11px Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; display: block; color: #000; text-decoration: none !important; padding: 6px 0 9px 13px; background: transparent url(http://dingo.care2.com/ecards/v1/button_generic_left.png) no-repeat scroll 0 0; } #addressBook_add_button span, .button_generic span { color: #000; padding: 6px 13px 9px 0; background: transparent url(http://dingo.care2.com/ecards/v1/button_generic_right.png) no-repeat scroll top right; } * html #addressBook_add_button, * html .button_generic { display: inline-block; } .importer_buttons li { padding: 0 !important; } #plaxo_div { margin-top: 12px; border-top: 1px solid #ccc; padding-top: 12px; font: normal 12px Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; } #plaxo_div .powered_by { clear: both; background: transparent url(http://dingo.care2.com/ecards/v1/plaxo_powered.gif) no-repeat scroll top left; width: 132px; padding-top: 26px; height: 0; overflow: hidden; margin-left: 37px; margin-bottom: 15px; } #plaxo_div .import_button { display: block; background: transparent url(http://dingo.care2.com/ecards/v1/plaxo_import.png) no-repeat scroll top left; width: 173px; padding-top: 30px; height: 0; overflow: hidden; margin: 15px auto; } #addybook_box { position: absolute; width: 570px; height: 366px; z-index: 999999; } #addressBook_alphabet .active { cursor: pointer; color: #0f6ffe; } Address Book Loading... /* tell a friend styles */ .tellafriend_container

WHAT would an ideal food label look like? By “ideal,” I mean from the perspective of consumers, not marketers. Multimedia Graphic The Proposed Nutrition Label: A Quick Read, Out Front Right now, the labels required on food give us loads of information, much of it useful. What they don’t do is tell us whether something is really beneficial, in every sense of the word. With a different set of criteria and some clear graphics, food packages could tell us much more.

At 16 years old, her resume is already more impressive than some twice her age. On the day we spoke, she was busy wrestling a solar panel project into fruition, laying the groundwork for a farm at her high school, and gearing up to deliver a TEDxKids B.C. talk titled “Don’t Eat Your Farmer.”

Joe Romm has been called "America's fiercest climate blogger."

Jacob Susman is frustrated again. Sitting in the bright green conference room of his company's trendy industrial office, overshadowed by the Brooklyn Bridge, he's a clean-cut poster child for the "green economy": Since 2007, Susman's OwnEnergy, which installs wind turbines, has grown to be one of the nation's most prominent wind installers. But he's plagued by a recurring nightmare: "Every few years the industry has to drop everything for six or nine months and focus exclusively on having the credit passed."

A Rogue Climate Experiment Outrages Scientists By HENRY FOUNTAIN

As I write this, President Obama and Governor Romney are preparing for their final pre-election debate in Boca Raton. Though Governor Romney has used climate change as joke material, it is no laughing matter in Florida, a place that has been called "ground zero when it comes to sea level rise." More than 120 city and county officials, scientists and concerned citizens are calling on the candidates to discuss their policies on this issue, so it's safe to assume that both candidates are rehearsing a response to the climate question.

Extreme Weather Hits the Poor First – and Hardest