Today the Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar spoke to oil executives and stated: Just as your shareholders expect you to get a fair rate of return on your investments and to be wise stewards of your balance sheets, the American people are asking the same of us as we manage their resources Bravo, Ken. […]
It hasn’t been very long, as these things go, that this World Cup class assemblage of players has been in place. Many of the top deputies at the agencies and staffers at the White House are still in the pipeline. Yet, as we’ve seen, they are moving and, dare I say it, grooving. They’ve definitely […]
The United Kingdom government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, John Beddington, predicted that the year 2030 will witness a “perfect storm of food, energy and water shortages” across the globe. Speaking at the Sustainable Development UK 09 conference in London, Beddington cited a growing global population as the driving factor behind the anticipated shortages. Beddington predicts that […]
The Minerals Management Service (part of the Department of the Interior) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced they they will work together in regulating offshore alternative energy activities. This is a necessary but belated step. What’s worrisome is a nascent turf battle between the two agencies, especially at offshore sites that interest more than […]
There really is a Murderer’s Row of environmentalists, renewable energy advocates and all-purpose rainbow warriors coming into the Obama administration and springing into action. The three newest additions to the team are very strong. Gina McCarthy is Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The “Hartford Courant” reports here that McCarthy is being […]
That’s the title of the editorial from yesterday’s “NY Times” about The Crime of Mountaintop Removal Mining. I’ve been writing about this travesty for nearly a year here. My concern was triggered by this truly outstanding documentary, Burning the Future: Coal in America, and meeting the filmmaker and having him in my climate change class. […]
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) met for a two-day summit in Nigeria to review the impact of the food crisis in the region, especially over the last year, and devise a plan for countering the crisis ahead of the new farming season. ECOWAS principle programme officer Dr. Ernest Aubee said after the […]
Over the weekend OPEC members decided not to cut oil production levels. Instead, they chose to focus on doing what cartels are supposed to do: join together to regulate output. OPEC announced yesterday that member states would restrict oil production to their allotted amounts “to contribute to market stability” as members have yet to completely […]
President Barack Obama used his weekly address from the Whitehouse to call attention to food safety in the United States. “…[I]n recent years, we’ve seen a number of problems with the food making its way to our kitchen tables…Part of the reason is that many of the laws and regulations governing food safety in America […]
“And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.” I don’t mean to get Biblical on you, but that describes the sensation I’m getting these days. If you prefer Bobby Dylan, then how about “You don’t need a weatherman to […]
“Country Of Origin Labeling” (COOL) goes into effect today, expanding a labeling program from the 2002 Farm Bill, in response to concerns about contaminated food being imported into the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, consumer groups and some farmers pushed for the adoption of the new rules, which for now are voluntary: “I […]
You can’t praise Betsy Kolbert enough, in my opinion. She has been the must lucid, grounded, smart and committed journalist writing about climate change for several years. In The War on Rachel Carson here from a couple of years ago, I wrote “Nota Bene – I put Betsy Kolbert in a class with Rachel Carson. […]
The International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), ten of the world’s leading research universities, and the University of Copenhagen, organized a conference that took place in Copenhagen this week. The scientists, economists, journalists and others gathered heard some startling news in a series of updates on the science of climate change. The IPCC issued its […]
President Obama met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for the first time on Tuesday, talking at length about the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, the war in Afghanistan, the aftermath of Hurricanes in Haiti – and the ongoing shortages in global food supply, as reported in this Boston Globe article. Following the meeting, President Obama remarked […]
I’ve been lauding the new Presidential administration’s approach. See “Climate of Change” and “The Eagle Has Landed” and other posts going back to November. The new EPA has taken another critically important step: They are going to create a comprehensive, nationwide reporting system for greenhouse gases. This system is a critical component for any federal […]