Trump EPA reportedly planning to kill money-saving Energy Star program; Trump cuts to science hurting U.S. economy; PLUS: GOP Congress targetting CA's clean air rules...
Liberal Party's Carney, climate action expert, wins in Canada; White House announces rare earth deal with Ukraine; PLUS: Half of Americans breathing dangerous levels of air pollution...
Trump fires all Nat'l Climate Assessment scientists; Denies disaster aid to AR, KY; Spain, Portugal blackout; PLUS: Oil company's caused $28 trillion in damage...
...and the DOJ Voting Rights Section ... and a 4-year old citizen with Stage 4 cancer; As Trump's approval ratings plunge ... on everything ... near 100th day in office...
THIS WEEK: China: 'No'...Harvard: 'No'...Ukraine: 'No'...Musk: 'WTF?'...Francis RIP ... And much more, in our latest collection of desperate toons for desperate times...
Guest: Joyce Howell, 30-year EPA attorney, AFGE Exec VP; Also: 'Bloodbath' at DoJ Civil Rights unit; Federal judges block three Trump anti-DEI and voting orders...
Largest coral bleaching event on record, on 84% of world reefs; Trump 'loves' coal miners so he's killing them; PLUS: Admin guts climate, weather research funding...
THIS WEEK: Constitutional Crises ... White House Easter ... From the Society Pages... And much more! In our latest collection of the week's most festive holiday toons...
Felony charges dropped against VA Republican caught trashing voter registrations before last year's election. Did GOP AG, Prosecutor conflicts of interest play role?...
State investigators widening criminal probe of man arrested destroying registration forms, said now looking at violations of law by Nathan Sproul's RNC-hired firm...
Arrest of RNC/Sproul man caught destroying registration forms brings official calls for wider criminal probe from compromised VA AG Cuccinelli and U.S. AG Holder...
'RNC official' charged on 13 counts, for allegely trashing voter registration forms in a dumpster, worked for Romney consultant, 'fired' GOP operative Nathan Sproul...
So much for the RNC's 'zero tolerance' policy, as discredited Republican registration fraud operative still hiring for dozens of GOP 'Get Out The Vote' campaigns...
The other companies of Romney's GOP operative Nathan Sproul, at center of Voter Registration Fraud Scandal, still at it; Congressional Dems seek answers...
The belated and begrudging coverage by Fox' Eric Shawn includes two different video reports featuring an interview with The BRAD BLOG's Brad Friedman...
FL Dept. of Law Enforcement confirms 'enough evidence to warrant full-blown investigation'; Election officials told fraudulent forms 'may become evidence in court'...
Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) sends blistering letter to Gov. Rick Scott (R) demanding bi-partisan reg fraud probe in FL; Slams 'shocking and hypocritical' silence, lack of action...
After FL & NC GOP fire Romney-tied group, RNC does same; Dead people found reg'd as new voters; RNC paid firm over $3m over 2 months in 5 battleground states...
After fraudulent registration forms from Romney-tied GOP firm found in Palm Beach, Election Supe says state's 'fraud'-obsessed top election official failed to return call...
IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Banning cars, cows and ice cream?! Republicans move quickly to demonize the Green New Deal; New study warns insects are declining at an alarming rate; Massive public lands bill passes in the Senate; PLUS: Los Angeles ditches natural gas for electricity... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.
IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): If Not the Green New Deal, Then What?: We asked two GND critics to share their good-faith alternatives for reversing climate change; EPA Scientists: The Toxic Chemicals Our Agency Won’t Regulate Are Definitely in Our Drinking Water; TVA board rebukes Trump, votes to close two coal-fired power plants; School climate strike children’s garners academics' support; Landmark Australian ruling rejects coal mine over global warming; Weedkiller 'raises risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma by 41 percent; With Democrats in Charge, House Science Committee Talks About Climate Science... PLUS: PGE, NextEra team up for largest wind-solar-storage project in US... and much, MUCH more! ...
IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT:GNR Special Coverage: Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey introduce The Green New Deal. What's in it, what's not, and what happens next... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.
IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Plummeting insect numbers 'threaten collapse of nature'; Los Angeles ditches plan to invest billions in fossil fuels; The East Coast Is Going to Get Arkansas-ified; America's Energy Future: What the Government Misses in Its Energy Outlook and Why It Matters; 'Astounded': former fire chief unloads on politicians over climate change inaction; TVA proposes to close Paradise, Bull Run coal units despite Trump tweet; Keystone Pipeline Likely Cause of Oil Spill in Missouri... PLUS: Cashing In on a Warming Arctic: In Maine, some see the melting ice to the north as an opportunity.... and much, MUCH more! ...
So, a 30-year old, landmark nuclear arms agreement between the U.S. and Russia is now history. Just like that. And, beyond a few short hours of media coverage, it now seems all but forgotten. No big deal at all. Our guest on today's BradCast, however, strongly disagrees. [Audio link to full show is posted after this summary.]
But first, a few quick items to kick off the show, including...
The Stupidest Man on the Internet (no, not Trump) tweets something incredibly dumb about solar power. (Hint: Solar power works because of the light from the sun, not from its heat.);
The Trump Administration vows that Tuesday night's State of the Union address will be a call for unity and bipartisan cooperation, before the Second Stupidest Man on the Internet (yes, Trump) attacks Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for not winning enough seats in last year's midterm elections;
And federal prosecutors in New York file a subpoena seeking a massive amount of documents from Trump's 2017 Inauguration Committee, looking at virtually every aspect of the record $107 million raised, whether any of it unlawfully came from foreign sources, whether anything was unlawfully offered in exchange for donations, whether even more more was unlawfully paid directly by donors to vendors (and thus, unlawfully undisclosed to the FEC), and where all of that money (legalized bribes, in fact, a disgrace for all modern Presidents) actually went. It all amounts to more seemingly criminal chaos from anything Trump touches, from his inaugural committee, to the Trump Organization (his main private company), to the Trump Foundation (his phony, self-dealing slush-fund and "charity"), to Trump University (his fraudulent scam that settled several cases for $25 million just before he took office), to the Trump Campaign (facing myriad criminal probes and several convictions, guilty pleas and indictments), to the Trump Administration and everyone involved in it --- all being investigated by multiple state and federal probes at this point, at the very same time.
Then, we're joined by former Deputy Assistant Sec. of State for East Asian and Pacific affairs under President Obama, MICHAEL FUCHS, now a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, to discuss the Trump Administration's announced withdrawal over the weekend from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) agreement struck between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. The historic pact had been the first to ban an entire class of nuclear weapons, ground-launched cruise missiles with a range between 310 and 3,400 miles.
With the Administration charging that Russia was in violation of the accord (which Fuchs confirms), Trump simply announced the U.S. pull-out, which was answered almost immediately by Russian President Vladimir Putin's own declaration in response that his country would now do the same. In the bargain, Fuchs explains, the U.S. has lost its ability under the agreement to inspect hundreds of nuclear missile sites and other weapons facilities.
What did we gain in return? Well, pretty much nothing, says Fuchs, who calls this "a very big deal", joining me in astonishment that coverage of this historic move to end such an important anti-nuclear proliferation treaty has all but disappeared from the corporate media within hours amidst continuing Trump-induced chaos. "In the age of Trump, nuclear weapons, climate change, things that could potentially end life on earth as we know it only merit fifteen minutes in the news cycle," Fuchs notes.
He goes on to detail what has been lost with the dissolution of "perhaps one of the biggest agreements ever reached as far as reducing the potential threat of nuclear weapons destroying us" and whether Trump's claims that this is all necessary to stand up against a supposedly growing military menace from China is actually true. We also discuss the real reasons that this "gift to Vladimir Putin" seems to have come about, how Trump's dangerous National Security Advisor John Bolton appears to oppose any and all international accords that tie the hands of the U.S. in any way, shape or form, and whether Trump's planned second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un can possibly bear any realistic denuclearization fruit --- particularly on the heels of Trump again sending the message to the world that treaties between the U.S. and other nations are meant to be broken at the whim of an angry, brain-addled, and clueless President of the United States.
"The major problem here with throwing out this treaty is that, it is equivalent to basically throwing the baby out with the bathwater," Fuchs tells me. "Right now Russia is violating this treaty in a specific way, but a lot of the benefits of the treaty are still intact. Which includes the ability of the United States to actually conduct inspections and do verification of a number of different aspects of Russia's compliance with the treaty. By taking ourselves out of treaty, we are taking away our ability to inspect the other things that the Russians are doing here. And not only does that allow Russia to potentially start violating it even more, posing more danger to the United States, but it's giving a giant gift to Vladimir Putin."
Finally, Desi Doyen returns to "cheer us all up" with the latest Green News Report on hellish global warming-related nightmares from Australia to the U.S. to Antarctica; the oil lobbyist now nominated to be the next Interior Secretary; and the Administration's imminent plans to bulldoze the National Butterfly Center wildlife refuge to make way for a new border wall on the banks of the Rio Grande in Texas...
While we post The BradCast here every day, and you can hear it across all of our great affiliate stations and websites, to automagically get new episodes as soon as they're available sent right to your computer or personal device, subscribe for free at iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn or our native RSS feed!
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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: From hellish heat to 'unprecedented' flooding, Australia hit with extreme weather whiplash; Meet the new Interior boss, even worse than the old Interior boss; Polar Vortex forces nuclear plant to shut down; PLUS: Trump Administration preparing to bulldoze National Butterfly Sanctuary to make way for his border wall... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.
IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): At State of the Union, guests will signal growing ‘Green New Deal’ and climate momentum; Climate change is roasting the Himalaya region, threatening water supply for millions; Study warns self-driving cars may cause endless traffic jams; More US companies discussing climate in wake of hurricanes, wildfires; Former Koch official runs EPA chemical research; Canadian firm scraps plan to mine former Utah monument land; U.S. Navy wants to build a wall to stave off climate change; Company gets water permit for refinery near national park... PLUS: Teenagers emerge as a force in climate protests across Europe... and much, MUCH more! ...
IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Bracing for an Arctic blast across America, and yes, it's linked to global warming; Hundreds dead after mining waste dam collapse in Brazil; Trump's government shutdown is over, for now, but some damage is irreversible; PLUS: 2020 Democratic presidential candidates are pushing for action on climate change... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.
IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Germany to close all 84 of its coal-fired power plants, will rely primarily on renewable energy; Across America, climate change is already disrupting lives; Trump rollbacks for fossil fuel industries carry steep cost to public health; 'Under siege', oil industry mulls raising returns and PR game; Methane Bomb in the Arctic: How imminent is the threat?; Montana's forests once helped blunt climate change. Now they contribute to it; Solutions to climate change get short shrift on broadcast TV news; Caterpillar unveils an all-electric 26-ton excavator... PLUS: VIDEO: Greta Thunberg issues climate warning at Davos: 'I want you to panic'... PLUS:
IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Climate change is expensive, particularly for the U.S. military; 2018 on track to be fourth costliest year in U.S. history for weather disasters; Polls show Americans waking up to climate change and the Green New Deal; PLUS: Cities and states step up, setting ambitious new climate goals at year's end... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.
IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Trump is undoing much more than Obama’s legacy. He's trying to destroy government regulation as we know it; That global warming hiatus? It never happened. Two new studies explain why; Companies are seriously underestimating how climate change will affect business; EU agrees to ban throw-away plastics to limit ocean pollution; Black lung disease is still killing miners. The coal industry doesn't want to hear it; Wetlands, lakes would lose protections under Michigan state legislature bill; What L.A. can learn from Minneapolis’ ban on single-family zoning; Would human extinction be a tragedy?... PLUS: Hot or Not?: Which 2018 climate trend is here to stay?... and much, MUCH more! ...
IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Bad news. As U.N. climate summit begins, global carbon emissions are now on the rise again; France suspends fuel tax hikes after violent 'yellow vest' protests; Greenland's ice melt has gone into overdrive, new study says; PLUS: Good news. World's largest shipping company targets 100% zero emissions by 2050... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.
IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): We're destroying the climate faster than we thought; Tackling climate change could save millions of lives, report says; Major changes needed to feed world population in 2050; Trump to rollback sage grouse protections to open more land for oil drilling out West; Trump EPA proposes rolling back another Obama-era coal rule; US coal consumption drops to lowest level since 1979; Final hurdle cleared in California’s solar mandate for new homes; Luxembourg to become first country to make all public transport free... PLUS: Poisoned Cities, Deadly Border... and much, MUCH more! ...
IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT:'GNR' Special Coverage: Major U.S. climate report warns global warming is already devastating America's environment and economy --- and unless we act aggressively to reduce emissions, it is going to get much worse... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.
IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): The world needs to quit coal. Why is it so hard?; Trump energy pick who falsely claimed renewable energy ‘screws up’ grid advances to full Senate for vote; Chemicals on our food --- when 'safe' may not really be safe; Super-bacteria show up in Puget Sound wildlife; Brazil says deforestation in The Amazon is at worst level in a decade; Hog farm waste agreement lacked teeth, North Carolinians left to suffer; Threatened ,ountain gorillas off ‘critically endangered’ species list... PLUS: The Insect Apocalypse is here... and much, MUCH more! ...
IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT:GNR Special Coverage --- Big wins and losses for the environment in the 2018 midterm elections; Science to return to the U.S. House Science Committee; PLUS: Big Oil's big money overwhelms state energy ballot initiatives... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.
IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): The First Climate Election; Federal jury sides with sickened workers and families in Tennessee coal ash cleanup case; Voters rejected most ballot measures aimed at curbing climate change; The nation just elected a bunch of governors who campaigned on clean energy; Science candidates prevail in US midterm elections; What I learnt pulling a straw out of a turtle's nose; UN says Earth’s ozone layer is healing; After Hurricane Michael, toxic algae has again spread; Is warming bringing a wave of new diseases to Arctic wildlife?... PLUS: The left vs. a carbon tax: The odd, agonizing political battle playing out in Washington state... and much, MUCH more! ...
IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: U.S. Supreme Court allows kids' landmark climate trial to proceed; New study finds 90% of world's children breathe highly polluted air; Plastic pollution is everywhere --- now even in human waste; PLUS: The World Bank finally ditches coal, because renewables are cheaper... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.
IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Facing climate change, states and cities seek to borrow billions; Judge blasts USF&WS, says endangered red wolves can't be shot; Trump backs wood power that scientists call dirtier than coal; Trump’s air pollution adviser says clean air saves no lives; Divisive Minnesota mine wins permits, but faces challenges; Wait, have we really wiped out 60 percent of animals?; Things aren’t looking good for climate change content on the EPA’s website; Large hydro-power dams 'not sustainable' in the developing world; Palau is first nation to ban 'reef-toxic' sunscreens... PLUS: "Ratpocalypse": Climate change could mean rat population explosion... and much, MUCH more! ...
IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Brazil's election of extreme far-right Jair Bolsonaro has grave implications for the Amazon rainforest and climate change; PLUS: Energy and the environment are on the November 6 ballot, with landmark ballot propositions in several states... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.
IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): The unseen driver behind the migrant caravan: climate change; Oil kingdom and a 'high priest' stall action for 30 years; 5 midterm votes that could have an outsize impact on climate change; More than 90% of world's children breathe toxic air, report says, as India prepares for most polluted season; Coastal Pacific oxygen levels now plummet once a year; Trump and Rauner administrations knew about Sterigenics cancer risks months before telling public; Cloud Peak cancels health care plan for retired miners; Army Corps, Texas officials propose sweeping hurricane protection plan... PLUS: Driven by Trump policy changes, fracking booms on public lands... and much, MUCH more! ...
IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Mexico braces for powerful Hurricane Willa --- and so does Central Texas; September 2018 was the fourth hottest September ever recorded; PLUS: Climate change and clean energy are on the ballot in the November midterms --- and even in the debates... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.
IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Late night shows find ways to joke about climate change; Trump tweets out photo-shopped map falsely claiming US has 'cleanest air'; Poll: Independents more likely to support candidate favoring climate action; Austin issues unprecedented boil-water notice after record flooding; Microplastics found in human poo; Water around Utah uranium mill grows more polluted; U.S. EPA withdraws Obama-era groundwater protection rule for uranium mining; Michigan warns of PFAS levels in deer around Air Force base; A remote Hawaiian island has now vanished beneath rising seas... PLUS: Supreme Court pauses kids' climate case in win for Trump... and much, MUCH more! ...
IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Hurricane Florence clocked in as the second wettest storm in US history; North Carolina now grappling with outbreak of giant mosquitoes; Trump Administration using catastrophic climate change to justify rolling back fuel efficiency standards; PLUS: French president calls on UN to reject trade deals with any country not in the Paris Climate Agreement... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.
IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Trump Administration prepares a major weakening of mercury emissions rules; No one knows what would happen if mosquitoes were to disappear; Republican Congress allows parks program to expire over the weekend; NAFTA 2.0 avoids 'climate change,' talks ozone, air and sea pollution; Across the Arctic, lakes are leaking dangerous greenhouse gases, and one lake is behaving very strangely; Federal court again upholds state nuclear subsidies; U.S. Supreme Court keeps ban on new uranium mining at Grand Canyon; EPA chief defends rule rollbacks while at children’s health event; Scientists uncover genetic basis for toxic algal blooms... PLUS: Supreme Court rejects California billionaire's 'private beach' case... and much, MUCH more! ...
IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: The impacts of Hurricane Florence ain't over yet, with new evacuations underway; As predicted, Florence flooding spills toxic coal ash waste in North Carolina; National TV media failed to connect the dots between Florence's impacts and climate change; PLUS: Endangered species and more hang in the balance as Republicans rush to get their nominee onto the U.S. Supreme Court... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.
IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Kavanaugh confirmation fight is also about the future of economic and environmental regulations; At this rate, Earth risks sea level rise of 20 to 30 feet, historical analysis shows; Hurricane Florence blows hole in Trump team's case for helping coal and nuclear power; ARPA-e seeks an energy holy grail: long-term energy storage; Super Typhoon Trami explodes in strength on its way toward Taiwan; Will Florence force a hog waste reckoning in N.C.?; Donald Trump called himself an environmentalist; Federal judge restores grizzly protections, canceling bear hunt; National parks are getting hotter and drier. What’s the outlook for 2100?... PLUS: The fracking industry's water nightmare is coming true... and much, MUCH more! ...
IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Powerful Hurricane Florence takes aim at the U.S. East Coast; Hawaii braces for its second major storm in two weeks; Brand new pipeline explodes in Pennsylvania; PLUS: California blazes new path of action to fight climate change... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Nearly 10K people have gotten cancer from toxic 9/11 dust; U.N. chief warns of a dangerous tipping point on climate change; Trump Administration wants to make it easier to release methane into the air; Brett Kavanaugh could be worse than you think - here's how he’ll gut environmental protection; Pipeline dumps 8,000 gallons of jet fuel into Indiana river; California fire agency requests more money; California passes 100 percent clean energy bill, but punts on several plans for getting there... PLUS: Superfund: Acting EPA chief Wheeler will shape massive cleanup efforts linked to his former clients... and much, MUCH more! ...
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