Congo Plan Is A Dirty Cocktail of Climate Destruction Projects

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:17:02 GMT

Photo via Flickr Riddle me this. What do you get when you combine rainforest destruction, tar sands, and palm oil plantations in one project? You guessed it, an environmental nightmare. This perfect storm of climate disruption badness can all be found in oil company Eni's plans to develop tar sands and oil palm in the Congo Basin, one of the most biodiverse places on earth. This would be the first tar sands exploration in Africa and one of the largest palm oil plantations, which produce the oil used in thousands of household products from detergents to Pringles. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

US Pulls the Plug On Copenhagen

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:45:29 GMT

Todd Stern and Hillary Clinton (Photo: EPA) The head US climate negotiator, Todd Stern, and Sen. John Kerry have announced that they are giving up hope of reaching a deal for a new climate change pact at next month's meeting in Copenhagen. The move comes as world leaders are meeting in Barcelona to finalize negotiating text in advance of the December meeting in Copenhagen. Without the US's participation, there is no hope for a treaty that will result in capping emissions any time soon.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

The Washington Post's Powerful Total and Per Capita Emissions Tool

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:54:43 GMT

As the climate negotiations in Barcelona continue this week, issues of social justice and economic equity are at the forefront. A group of African nations walked out today, supported by Bolivia, Benin and Venezuela, over issues of funding and the weak emissions reduction targets set by developed countries. The arguments about fairness from developing countries, which will be disproportionally affected by climate change, are clear when you look at the Washington Post's amazing tool that tracks total national emissions and emissions per capita over the past 50 years. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

What to Do When You Can't Move About Without the Internal Combustion Engine

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:26:33 GMT

Photo via Flickr I'm in Jakarta, Indonesia, for two weeks. It's 95 degrees everyday here, and the metro area is a concrete jungle of 23 million fed by street vendors, choked by traffic, and populated by what must be the nicest collection of people on the planet. Scooters fill the narrow streets like swarms of bees, weaving in and out of traffic with reckless abandon. There are no sidewalks or much public transit to speak of, and even if there were to walk anywhere is to agree to become a sweaty mess. When I'm at home, I'm a bike rider who uses his two wheel machines to commute, for exercise, and as political statement to show that we can power ourselves and not be reliant on fossil fuels to live a comfortable life.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Out of Ideas, Senate Climate Deniers Go To Procedural Tricks

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:26:28 GMT

Sen. James Inhofe (Image via Flickr) The Senate's Environment and Public Works committee is set to begin mark up of the Senate climate bill next week, but Republicans on the committee, led by prominent climate change denier Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, are threatening to boycott the hearing, making progress difficult for chair Sen. Barbara Boxer of California. Inhofe claims a proper economic analysis of the bill hasn't yet been done, but Boxer is pushing back, setting up a showdown. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Big Coal Wins Fight to Name U of Kentucky Dorm After Coal

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:08:29 GMT

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A group led by Alliance Coal has received approval from the University of Kentucky to build a new $7 million dorm for the men's basketball team. The dorm has created controversy because it will be named the "Wildcat Coal Lodge." One professor said that the name could "make it difficult to attract top students and faculty members to the university." MSNBC host Rachel Maddow and Dave Zirin, sports editor for The Nation, covered the controversy on Maddow's show.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

What's Beck's Beef? Vegetarians, This Time

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:05:35 GMT

I've been following Glenn Beck's exploits for a while now, from his take down of Van Jones to his paranoid tirades against AmeriCorp. But Beck hit a new all time high for spewing paranoid nonsense after he went off on comments made by the UK climate chief who said that not eating meat was better for the planet. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Desmond Tutu Endorses 350 Target

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:09:59 GMT

Photo via Flickr The people at 350.org continue to amaze with their organizing and advocacy for climate action. Their latest triumph is getting Desmond Tutu, the former Anglican archbishop of South Africa, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, to endorse a target of 350 parts per million of CO2--the number many scientists say is a safe level. In a widely circulated opinion editorial, Tutu said, "In South Africa, we showed that if we act on the side of justice, we have the power to turn tides. Worldwide, we have a chance to start turning the tide of climate change with just such a concerted effort today."... Read the full story on TreeHugger

10:10 Campaign Gains Traction in UK

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:32:41 GMT

The campaign started by filmmaker Franny Armstrong, who made the film "The Age of Stupid", to create a critical mass to pressure the UK government to get serious about climate change is gaining serious momentum. The campaign asks people to reduce their carbon emissions by 10% in 2010 to help meet the overall goal of an 80% reduction in the UK's greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Since its start in September, the 10:10 campaign has picked up loads of supporters, including many in Parliament.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Rush Limbaugh Wishes NYT Climate Reporter Would "Go Kill Himself"

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:14:54 GMT

We all know that environmental journalists are a dying breed but this is just ridiculous. On his nationally syndicated radio show today, climate expert Rush Limbaugh invited noted New York Times reporter Andrew Revkin to "go kill youself." Revkin's offense was posting a blog that talked about a new report that shows that access to reproductive health care could be an important tool to help stop climate change. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Amazing Video of Fake Chamber of Commerce Press Conference

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:47:16 GMT

This morning I posted on a hoax perpetrated by the Yes Men and the Avaaz Action Factory in which they posed as representatives of the Chamber of Commerce and announced that the business group had changed their position on climate legislation from not supporting it to giving it a full throated endorsment. The ruse hooked Reuters, the Washington Post and others, but it didn't fool the Chamber itself, which sent a representative to the fake press conference at the John Peter Zenger Room at the National Press Club to put a stop to things.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

In Hoax, Avaaz Has Chamber Flipping Its Position, Now Supporting Climate Action

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:33:50 GMT

In an amazing turn of events, the US Chamber of Commerce has changed its position and now supports action on global warming. Well, this would be true if the folks at Avaaz Action Factory had their way. The group put on a fake press conference today posing as the Chamber to draw attention to the business association's backward looking position on climate action. The ruse worked for Reuters, which covered the "press conference" as if it was real.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Maldives Holds Underwater Cabinet Meeting To Bring Attention to Climate Change

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 12:03:40 GMT

Photo via 350.org The president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, and his ministers yesterday held an official cabinet meeting underwater as part of an international movement organized by 350.org to bring increased global attention to climate change. 350.org is organizing a global day of action on Oct. 24 and Maldives, a country of just 350,000, has organized an amazing 14 events.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Colbert Mocks Bonner For Fake Letters That Say No To Climate Action

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 08:56:00 GMT

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A few months ago a scandal broke involving the American Coalition for Clean Coal Energy after they hired a PR firm, Bonner and Associates, to send fake letters to members of Congress imploring them to vote against the Waxman-Markey climate bill, then working its way through the House. Comedian Stephen Colbert wasn't willing to let the story die and featured it this week on his Comedy Central show.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Seventh Generation's Hollender Calls Out Chamber On Their Climate Position

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 10:33:35 GMT

Last week, 150 corporate heads came up to the Hill to lobby for cap and trade legislation to pass this year. One of the business leaders was Jeffrey Hollender of Seventh Generation, who told ThinkProgress that climate action is good for business and that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the country's leading business group, is wrong for their opposition to the energy and climate legislation now being debated in Congress.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Another Bad PR Week for the Chamber of Commerce Over Climate Policy

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:55:47 GMT

The much beleaguered U.S. Chamber of Commerce is having another bad PR week after Mother Jones revealed yesterday that they have inflated their membership numbers and that the holding company owned by multi-billionaire Ronald Perelman is thinking of leaving the Chamber because of their policy on climate change action. Two weeks ago, Apple left the Chamber saying they were out of touch on the need to do something about global warming.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Hannity Says "The Debate's Over. There's No Global Warming."

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:22:12 GMT

Have you heard the good news? There is no global warming. Sean Hannity said so. On his Fox News show last night, Hannity covered a confrontation between a journalist and Al Gore at the Society of Environmental Journalist conference in Madison, WI. The journalist went after Gore over inconsistencies in his film "An Inconvenient Truth." Never shy, Hannity, let loose with, "The debate's over. There's no global warming." ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

New York Times Explores Ecuador's Battle Against Chevron

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 13:12:52 GMT

Photo via Flickr After 16 years, several judges, accusations of espionage, and more twists and turns than a spy novel, the case of Amazon peasants versus the mighty Chevron may soon be coming to an end. If you're unfamiliar with the case, Chevron stands accused of dumping more than 18 billion gallons of toxic wastewater into the Amazon rainforest, which left local people stricken by cancer, miscarriages and birth defects. The New York Times yesterday looked into some of the recent plot twists that involve a revolving door for judges and secret video tapes.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

US Chamber Lashes Out At Apple Over Climate Fight

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:13:22 GMT

Yesterday, Apple made news when it announced it would be leaving the U.S. Chamber of Commerce because of the Chamber's positions on climate change. Now the head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has hit back at Apple Inc. and Chief Executive Steve Jobs. On Monday, Catherine A. Novelli, the vice-president of worldwide government affairs at Apple, wrote in a letter to Thomas J. Donohue, president and chief executive of the Chamber: "We strongly object to the chamber's recent comments opposing the E.P.A.'s effort to limit greenhouse gases. Apple supports regulating greenhouse gas emissions, and it is frustrating to find the chamber at odds with us in this effort."... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Apple Leaves Climate Change Denying Chamber of Commerce

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:12:32 GMT

Apple, long in the cultural vanguard, announced today they are leaving the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the business interest group, over the Chamber's position on climate change. Apple joins PG&E, Exelon, and PNM Resources as groups that have left the Chamber in recent weeks. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Can You Help? My Third Attempt At Vegetarianism Goes Down In Flames

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:52:57 GMT

Photo via Flickr Can you help me? I've just violated my third pledge to myself and to the planet to forsake meat and become a vegetarian. I don't want to eat meat any more--mostly as a political act, but also for health reasons--yet my head and my stomach have been forced into a civil war over what I consider to be my responsibility to the world and the creatures that call it home. Each time I've entered in this pact with myself, I've come out of it not for gastronomic reasons, but because I've felt sluggish and weak. Do any Treehugger readers have any advice? Oh, one more detail, I have Crohn's Disease, an inflammatory disease of the intestines that interferes with the digestion of essential nutrients. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Whole Foods CEO Defends Health Insurance Views, His Right to Speak, in New WSJ Interview

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 12:03:27 GMT

Treehugger has been closely following the saga of Whole Foods CEO and co-founder John Mackey since he published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal saying, among other things, that "A careful reading of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution will not reveal any intrinsic right to health care, food or shelter." Many felt outraged that the leader of a company that is often viewed as a leader of a new more sustainable business model would take such a draconian view on health care, and they expressed their disapproval with boycotts and protests. But Mackey is a thoughtful guy, as demonstrated in a new Wall Street Journal interview, and his views on health care reform are more complex than they may first appear.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Sierra Nevada Comes Through For Wild Rivers

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 16:02:05 GMT

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., which produces a most excellent Pale Ale that's currently in my fridge (but not for too long), has helped to raise $73,342 for Western Rivers Conservancy from the beer maker's 2009 "Wild Rivers" campaign. Sierra Nevada donated 25 cents to the Conservancy from the sale of every 12-pack of Pale Ale and Summerfest Lager purchased in the U.S. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Browner: Climate Bill Before Copenhagen? Probably Not.

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 23:48:20 GMT

Photo via Flickr Carol Browner, President Obama's director of the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy, said Friday that the chance that Congress will pass a climate bill before December, when the international climate negotiations in Copenhagen will take place, is "not likely." With a bill or not, Browner said the U.S. is serious about action as demonstrated by the EPA's announcement this week that the agency will begin regulating so called stationary sources of greenhouse gas emissions that exceed 25,000 tons per year of emissions.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Obama Went to Copenhagen. Will He Go Again in December?

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 11:58:11 GMT

Photo via Flickr Environmentalists are all a flutter with the news that President Obama brought his lead negotiator on climate change, Todd Stern, with him on his trip to Copenhagen to lobby for the 2016 Summer Olympics in his hometown of Chicago. The pairing raises the question that many greens have been asking for months: Will Obama personally attend the make-or-break climate negotiations in Copenhagen in December?... Read the full story on TreeHugger

George Will Joins Chamber to Call for Scope's Trial on Climate Change

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:54:05 GMT

Clarence Darrow, defense attorney in the Scopes evolution case, and William Jennings Bryan, associated prosecuting counsel. Washington Post columnist George Will has again entered the climate fray. The last time he did this, Will was called out for spreading misinformation by his own newspaper not less than three times. If you remember, Will was shot down over his assertion that climate change was not melting the Arctic. Now he's back at it, and he's joined with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to call for a "Scopes Monkey Trial" on the veracity of climate change science. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Oh Don, Go On (Saying that Climate Change Isn't Real and that Coal is Good)

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:37:02 GMT

In a new interview with Forbes magazine, Don Blankenship, CEO of Massey Energy, lets loose on the global warming "hoax", coal's central role in our lives, and the schemes of environmentalists, who appear to be powerful enough to manipulate, according to Blankenship, every top climate scientist in the world. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Food for Thought: Do The Health Care Views of Whole Food's CEO Keep You Away?

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 22:15:47 GMT

I went to Whole Foods in Oakland on Saturday, like I do most weekends, but I missed the dance/theater/protest against the grocery chain's co-founder and CEO John Mackey, he of the now infamous quote: "A careful reading of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution will not reveal any intrinsic right to health care, food or shelter." Whole Foods is known for its gentle touch on the planet, but Mackey has obviously steered into rough waters with his shoppers over his health care views.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

MoveOn's "Will Work for Clean Energy" Events Scheduled for Friday

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:07:18 GMT

Photo via Flickr The U.S. unemployment rate hit 9.7% in July, the highest rate since 1983. Information about the August unemployment rate will come out at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on October 2, so MoveOn is helping to organize "Will Work for Clean Energy" events across the country to bring attention to the potential job creation of investment in renewable energy. The group is encouraging people to dress up in their best "depression-era" clothing and organize in groups of 5 to 25 to form symbolic unemployment lines.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

James Hansen, In His Own Words

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 13:41:05 GMT

Photo via Flickr Dr. James Hansen--scientist, father, grandfather, and activist--is often called the "grandfather of climate change science," although he eschews the moniker. In the 1970s and 80s, his advanced climate modeling and impassioned pleas for action brought the issue of global warming to the forefront, but since then too little has been done to slow our emissions. Hansen recently sat down with the Earth Island Institute for a taped interview to discuss his legacy and the prospects for a climate bill this year.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Recent Posts by TreeHugger's Daniel Kessler, San Francisco, California