As most of you are well aware, last week was a snow week in Washington, DC, and the odds are pretty good that there‘s something like that going on for you as well.
Our good friends in the conservative community have seized upon the moment as proof that this whole “global warming” thing is just a big scam perpetrated by the likes of Al Gore and his Legion Of Weather Nazis; their mission being only to deprive the American people of their Constitutional right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of a Ford Super Duty F-450 King Ranch Edition with the Heavy Service Suspension Package, Snow Plow Prep Package, Transmission Power Take-Off Provision, dual alternators, and supplemental cab heater.
To drive the point home, last week Senator James Inhofe’s family went to the time and trouble to build a little igloo on the National Mall for our amusement.
But here’s a question: just what has the weather been like in other places—for example, in my part of the world...or in the Senator’s home State of Oklahoma?
It’s a good question—and the Senator won’t like the answer.
Yesterday evening East Lansing became the forth Earth Hour City in Michigan by endorsing Earth Hour 2009 and passing a resolution encouraging EL residents to participate in this important symbolic event (the others are Detroit, Ann Arbor and Ferndale). Earth Hour is a global initiative led by the World Wildlife Fund that encourages individuals, families, businesses and governments to turn off their lights for one hour to express support for action on global warming and climate change. This year Earth Hour will be held on Saturday, March 28th at 8:30 p.m.
(Welcome, Councilman Triplett! - promoted by ScottyUrb)
When most people think of climate change, what comes to mind are pictures of car exhaust pipes and the towering smokestacks of coal power plants. There is no doubt that reducing carbon emissions from cars and coal by investing in renewable energy sources and alternative fuel technologies is vital to arresting the potentially catastrophic effects of global warming. What most people don't know is that the single largest source of carbon emissions in the United States is our built environment. A full 39% of all carbon dioxide emissions in America come from our buildings. If we are going to get serious about climate change then we need to get serious about making the buildings in our communities more sustainable and efficient.
That's just what I'm trying to do in East Lansing.
Tobacco money. Also money from the energy-related Koch Foundation, the founder of which helped to also fund the Cato Institute, which itself takes money from Altria (Ex-Phillip Morris, which gave money to Tim Walberg, who himself received $2,100 from uber rightwing money dude Richard Mellon Scaife in 2006), big oil, tobacco and Wal-Mart . Also, Cato Institute funder the JM Foundation, which also gives money to the American Enterprise Institute (which itself relies heavily on oil company money, and also shares Scaife money with the Heartland Institute).
There is something else that has the Heartland Institute and John Locke Foundation tangled up besides rightwing think tank money ... Climate Studies Watch, the director for which published an Op-Ed piece in this morning's Detroit News.
lays out the disturbing implications of some recent scientific studies.
The world must bring carbon emissions down to near zero to keep temperatures from rising further.
With only 80% reductions by 2050 on the policy table so far, it's clear we have yet to countenance the true dimensions of the problem of ameliorating climate change.
Moreover, the problem is not just one of acknowledging the science, but rather, as Stve Gardiner (Philosophy, University of Washington) put it, "is a classic inter-generational debate, where the short-term benefits of emitting carbon accrue mainly to us and where the dangers ... are largely put off until future generations."
The following is information from a flyer I received on a climate change conference at Michigan State University. And no, they will not be debating whether global warming is real. While the conference clearly has an academic bent, grassroots activists and the general citizenry are encouraged to attend and participate (that includes presenting).
Did you think the recent film "The Day After Tomorrow" was a fictional account of global warming consequences, or that things like ten or twenty foot rises in sea level and the rapid onset of a new ice age would never happen in your lifetime? Well, think again.
You can now expect rapid, drastic, and even cataclysmic climate change in the next few years, even as early as next year, given the facts revealed in several recent reports. The conditions depicted as a tipping point or trigger in the popular movie "The Day After Tomorrow" are now all but fait accompli.
There's a great debate heating things up in the Michigan legislature, and the giant power companies are hoping that Michigan's citizens will stay in the dark - so they can saddle the state with more coal plants. This fight for clean energy in Michigan has been brewing for a while now, and the power companies are pushing hard for more costly out-dated coal technology without regard to its significant environmental impact on the Great Lakes State. They are also banking that consumers won't wake up to the fact that coal costs are skyrocketing and expected to soar even further in the years to come.
The tide is starting to turn. You can help in the effort to stop the 'coal rush' and push the state in the direction of clean renewable energy by watching a new YouTube video and then taking action at http://progressmichigan.org/coal. The take action is in support of Clean Energy Now's campaign to stop more dirty coal-fired power plants from locating in Michigan. The state could see as many as seven new dirty coal-fired power plants unless the Legislature stands up to powerful coal and energy corporations and starts investing in more clean, renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar.
Presented on behalf of author Bill Rittenberg
December 19, 2007
As the earth heats up and the polar ice melts, President Bush may be siting on his haunches, but all over the country other citizens -- politicians, states, localities, ordinary people -- are responding. There is civic movement on the issue of climate change.
The Progressive Connection has been investigating what concrete actions on climate change are happening in our community. Here is what we found.
Most of Michigan's electricity currently comes from polluting coal-burning power plants, and the purchase of out-of-state coal drains billions from the Michigan economy.
In January, 2007 Governor Granholm brought out the Michigan 21st Century Energy Plan, which supports Michigan's energy independence and economic development by reducing reliance on fossil fuels, increasing energy efficiency and using more of the state's renewable energy resources.
At the very same time the governor released her plan to promote green energy, Michigan's largest electric power companies have come out with proposals to build seven more coal burning power plants. They are making these proposals even as Michigan's demand for electricity has leveled off and even though other states have rejected construction of new coal-burning power plants (Kansas, Texas). New coal plants in Michigan are vigorously opposed by Clean Energy Now -- a coalition of eight Michigan environmental groups -- under the rallying cry "no coal rush." The coalition argues that wind energy, a leading renewable resource in Michigan, is both clean and cheaper than coal in the present market.
Meanwhile, in the Michigan legislature the House Energy and Technology Committee is about to report out a package of energy bills that will go a long way to determine Michigan's energy future. Environmental groups and utilities are furiously lobbying over these bills. At issue are how much effort Michigan will put into improving energy efficiency, how much renewable energy will be tapped, and what kind of planning will be required before companies can get approval to build new coal-fired generating plants. Citizens who want to help tip the balance in favor of a "greener" package of bills can contact Jan O'Connell at jan.oconnell@sierraclub.org, or 616-956-6646, or Gayle Miller at gayle.miller@sierraclub.org.
Did you think the recent film "The Day After Tomorrow" was a fictional account of global warming consequences, or that things like ten or twenty foot rises in sea level and the rapid onset of a new ice age would never happen in your lifetime? Well, think again.
You can now expect rapid, drastic, and even cataclysmic climate change in the next few years, even as early as next year, given the facts revealed in several recent reports. The conditions depicted as a tipping point or trigger in the popular movie "The Day After Tomorrow" are now all but fait accompli.
...The package nearly fell apart this week when Mr. Dingell insisted on leaving sole authority to regulate automobile mileage standards with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, an arm of the Transportation Department. That would have weakened the power of the Environmental Protection Agency and the states, led by California, to regulate auto emissions of carbon dioxide, which are in large measure a function of the amount of fuel burned.
Federal court rulings this year have decided this so-called pre-emption issue in favor of the E.P.A. and the states, decisions that Mr. Dingell hoped to undo by Congressional action. ...
The authority of the E.P.A. to regulate tailpipe emissions and the right of California and other states to set their own, higher standards were considered deal-breakers by Ms. Pelosi and her fellow California Democrat, Senator Dianne Feinstein. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Republican governor of California, weighed in late in the week to tell negotiators that he would oppose the bill if the [sic] Mr. Dingell's preemption language stayed in.
Mrs. Pelosi and Democratic leaders in the Senate rejected Mr. Dingell's preemption effort, but softened the blow by agreeing to allow the car companies to retain a credit for vehicles capable of running on a blend of gasoline and ethanol. That credit was set to expire in 2008 but now will begin to decline in 2014 and be eliminated entirely by 2020. ...
Yes, you read that title right - I'm happy that it's cold out, really, truly happy. Call me strange, but while I love all four seasons for their own reasons, my absolute favorite day of the year is when you step outside only to have the wind knocked out of you because it's just so cold. Don't get me wrong, when it's like that it usually causes me to cough/wheeze a couple times afterwards, but I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't my favorite kind of day. Your next logical question may be "why?" and with good reason.
It makes me feel alive. Perhaps it's all I've been through, perhaps it's because I'm native Michigander, who knows. I think part of it maybe that it's Mother Nature's way of making sure we're awake. But the beauty that comes from a day like that, well it can be astounding. The trees and plants normally shimmer with ice or snow, the ground crunches as you step, and the air is just so crisp you can almost hear it snap.
Here in Lansing we got a healthy dose of snow on Monday. The sky was overcast, the roads slick and damp, and while most of the area was bemoaning the weather, all I could do was look out and be excited. Excited to dig out my boots, excited to have flannel sheets on my bed again, excited to experience a Michigan winter again.
I worry that even though I live in Michigan that someday soon I won't get anymore of my favorite days because of global warming. Just today I read again about water levels dropping to dangerous new lows in our Great Lakes, and that worries me. It also worries me that even in early November we experienced days in the 60 degree range. That's not normal for Michigan. Florida, yes, Michigan, no.
On that same note, I've got a confession to make...
I'm no Warren Buffet and I'm certainly no Dick DeVos (thank goodness) and as the price of oil continues to climb to all-new highs, the price at the pump has been really hitting me where it really hurts, my wallet.
Today I cringed when I heard my favorite local lefty talk-radio show host remark that some gas stations in California had already started selling gas for $5.00 a gallon. Are you kidding? Who can possibly afford that!?
I've already made a visible change to my normal driving habits over the past year. I've switched out renting movies from the local store to either buying them on demand or through Netflix, even though I know it's hurting local businesses. I only allow myself so many trips out per week, whether that means to see friends, run to the store, or errands. If I travel to see family in other parts of the state, I only do so when I'm carpooling with others.
Just last week when I flew out of state from Metro Airport, I made the point of skipping my usual Lansing to Detroit connection, and instead opting for the Michigan Flyer, a service that proudly boasts about how it helps lessen the environmental impact of transportation.
If I do something particularly extragant with my car (like drive more than 20 minutes to see a friend, take a road trip, etc) friends and family have often heard me say half-joking "You know, everytime we do this, Al Gore sheds a tear."
But I have to ask, how much more can I curtail my life while continuing to be a good environmental steward? I'm very concerned about the environment, and I fully believe in doing my part to lessen my carbon footprint on the earth. However, let's face reality. We live in Michigan, home of the Motor City, the Big Three, not the state where public transportation abounds.
Global warming could further damage Michigan's economy
This review posted on Good Morning Flint,Michigan USA http://goodmorningfl...
[Did you know..-trb]
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Michigan's carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels grew 4 percent between 1990 and 2004. Michigan ranked 10th nationwide for the most carbon dioxide emissions in 2004,...
...
By the time a baby born today gets out of college around 2030, local summers may feel noticeably warmer, more like those in current-day Ohio, according to a recent report from the Union of Concerned Scientists, an independent scientific research and analysis group.
...
By the time that newborn is a great-grandparent in 2095, a Michigan summer may feel like one in northern Arkansas today, with our winters milder and with little snow, like those now in Ohio.
By then, Michigan's average summer temperatures could be 5-10 degrees warmer in winter and 7-13 degrees hotter in summer, said the UCS report.
...
The bad news: The Great Lakes themselves are at risk as shrinking winter ice results in more evaporation and lower lake levels.
"Michigan's primary feature is the Great Lakes, and that's where we'll feel our largest economic impact," said Kaufman. "It may affect shipping, recreation and tourism just for starters. And that's huge."
Local winter sports businesses are already feeling the heat.
Snowmobilers are driving farther north each year to find usable trails, said Michael Nord, owner of Nord-Ride Motorsports Inc. in Mt. Morris Township.
Rep. John Dingell, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is disappointed a House-Senate committee won't tackle legislation to improve the fuel economy of the nation's vehicles. Instead, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has chosen Democratic leaders to write an energy bill -- which would include provisions on fuel economy -- behind closed doors, rather than through a conference committee of House and Senate negotiators. She cited Senate Republican opposition to appointing members. "We cannot have a situation where if they don't give us a conference, we don't have a bill," Pelosi said. "With or without a conference, we will proceed." ... Dingell wouldn't divulge whether he would mount an effort to kill an energy bill that was too harsh on automakers. "I'm not foreclosing any option," he said. "I don't make the jungle. I just live there." ...
No, he does make the jungle. Consistently. And now he is reaping the unpleasant fruits of that, though less unpleasant than the deaths that Katrina victims had to suffer, maybe because of global warming (with effects such as increased hurricane damage...) partially caused by Detroit automakers' failure to make better cars--a failure Dingell has been the chief legislative enabler for, for decades.
Directly or indirectly, Speaker Pelosi is preparing the way for Dingell's "transition out of power"; and that's a good thing, too. Feel free to suggest primary opponents for him beyond those already suggested here.
(Again, the question has to be asked ... why are the Big Three fighting so furiously a legal battle they're going to lose? And, why isn't the state encouraging them to find an alternative before this further hurts the rest of us? - promoted by Eric B.)
In a major blow to automakers, a Vermont judge rejected car companies' efforts to block 11 states from adopting California's stricter vehicle emissions requirements. It's the latest in a string of legal setbacks automakers face as they try to prevent what they call crippling emissions regulations from taking effect. At issue is Vermont's decision, along with nine other states, to adopt California's 2004 tailpipe emission rules. Beginning in 2009, the regulations require automakers to increase the fuel economy of vehicles by about 25 percent to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which have been linked to global warming. ... The decision rejected the automakers['] arguments -- in a case U.S. District Judge William K. Sessions III said largely hinged on whether the regulations were too draconian for automakers to comply with. "The court does not find convincing the claims that consumers will be deprived of their choice of vehicles, or that manufacturers will be forced to restrict or abandon their product lines," Sessions wrote. "The court remains unconvinced automakers cannot meet the challenge of Vermont and California's (greenhouse gas) regulations." He repeatedly referred to statements Detroit automakers made in the 1970s warning of the peril they faced if they were forced to install catalytic converters. ... He also rejected an argument that automakers could be forced to eliminate 65,000 auto jobs in the United States if the regulations took effect. ... Environmentalists hailed the 240-page decision. "The judge said baloney to all of Detroit's arguments," said David Bookbinder, a lawyer for Sierra Club who argued the case. "This was another example of Detroit crying wolf." ...
The chairman of the House Energy and Commerce committee said he expected a joint House-Senate conference will take up legislation to increase corporate average fuel economy -- and that he was prepared for a difficult fight but confident of victory. "We're going to win this fight," U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, told a gathering of auto dealers at a speech in Washington. ... Dingell said [a] Senate bill imposes "intolerable burdens" on auto companies. ... "I go into this tussle comforted (by the support of auto dealers) Go get 'em," he told the dealers. "We're going to win this fight." ...
The awareness phase of the campaign to stop global warming has reached a crescendo, which may also be a plateau. With the exception of front groups sponsored by oil companies, it is becoming more and more accepted that we, in fact, are the cause of global warming.
The action phase, however, trails the awareness phase significantly and most troubling of all is the growing belief that someone else is going to be the somebody to actually do something about global warming. Even worse, and most naively of all, that our federal government is going to solve the problem.
Recently at the Monroe County Unity dinner, Debbie Dingell said...
"...Democrats must put the needs of families above the interest of corporations in order for the party to win the 2008 presidential election."
Is anyone else gobsmacked by this irony? Her husband John is currently carrying massive amounts of water for some of America's biggest corporations (the Big Three) on one of the most important issues facing America these days (fuel economy standards, which are linked to consumers' pocketbooks, global warming, air pollution and national security.)
But you know, Representative Dingell's behavior can be better understood if we consider the following...
They've got to be kidding, right? Not only is coal the dirtiest source of energy, but mountain top mining-the preferred way of mining since the Reagan era-literally destroys mountains forever.
"John Dingell (D-Michigan) and Rick Boucher (D-Virginia) are divisive, obtuse, arrogant scumbags, pure and simple. These two men are the prime movers behind a bill in the House Energy and Commerce committee, of which Dingell is the chairman and Boucher a subcommittee head. Get this: The San Francisco Chronicle breaks the story and the draft legislation can be read here, supposedly and here.
Why is it always your friends who screw you over the hardest? (I don't know, David, but I have a feeling you've got more below the fold. -- E.B.)
