IN TODAY'S AUDIO REPORT: Scientists' Himalayan glaciers mistake is more fodder for climate change deniers; FDA aims at BPA --- but powerless to do anything about it ... PLUS: Climate legislation, Scott Brown, the GOP's 49-51 majority, the Supreme Court and LOTS and LOTS of corporate money... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail, billions in corporate campaign cash? 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': President Obama's environmental report card; Asian Carp DNA found in Lake Michigan; Arctic tundra drying out; DOE hearts algae; The case for distributed renewable energy; Murkowski (R-AK) attacks EPA; "Just don't call it a 'carbon tax'" .... PLUS: Watch this video: Colbert hearts Mountaintop Removal ....

Info/links on those stories and all the ones we talked about on today's episode follow below...

• Climate Change Denier Alert: Are Himalayan Glaciers Really Melting? Um, yeah.
• A glacier melt mistake (Washington Post)
• Factcheck: Contrarians Attack IPCC Over Glacier Findings, But Glaciers are Still Melting (Union of Concerned Scientists) [emphasis added]:
  
  The claim was part of the full review of climate science and impacts provided in the dense, 3,000-page report, but was not mentioned in its highly visible summaries for policymakers.
  ...
  What should not get lost in this manufactured controversy is the fact that glaciers around the world are melting rapidly.

  A 2005 global survey of 442 glaciers from the World Glacier Monitoring Service found that only 26 were advancing, 18 were stationary, and 398 were retreating. In other words, 90 percent of the world's glaciers are shrinking as the planet warms.

• The real holes in climate science: Like any other field, research on climate change has some fundamental gaps, although not the ones typically claimed by sceptics. Quirin Schiermeier takes a hard look at some of the biggest problem areas. (Nature)
• Himalayan Glacier Goof-Up: More Fake Ammo For The Climate Denial Industry (Huffington Post Green)
• World misled over Himalayan glacier meltdown (Times UK)
• FDA Takes Aim at BPA --- But Powerless to Act:
  • FDA says it's unable to regulate BPA --- As 'indirect food additive,' substance is exempt from scrutiny (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) [emphasis added]:
    The FDA did not ban the chemical, although top scientists, including Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Toxicology Program, say they consider the safety of BPA to be uncertain. An agency source says some from within the FDA wanted to follow Canada's lead and ban it from baby bottles - or from the lining of infant formula cans - but administration officials have resisted, concerned that babies who rely on bottled formula would be left without healthy alternatives.
  • READ THE COMPLETE INVESTIGATIVE SERIES: Chemical Fallout: A Journal Sentinel Watchdog Report (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
  • Bush FDA relied heavily on BPA lobby: As federal regulators hold fast to their claim that a chemical in baby bottles is safe, e-mails obtained by the Journal Sentinel show that they relied on chemical industry lobbyists to examine bisphenol A's risks, track legislation to ban it and even monitor press coverage.
  • BPA leaches from 'microwave safe' products
  • AND MUCH MORE....
  • In Reversal, F.D.A. Concerned About Substance in Food Packaging: In a shift of position, the Food and Drug Administration is expressing concerns about possible health risks from bisphenol-A, or BPA, a widely used component of plastic bottles and food packaging that it declared safe in 2008. (NY Times)
  • Putting the lab in labyrinthine: FDA on BPA --- Our hands are tied (Grist)
  • Editorial: Heightened Concern Over BPA (NY Times)
  • READ THE REPORT: Update on Bisphenol A for Use in Food Contact Applications (U.S. Food and Drug Administration)
  • HHS Advisory: Bisphenol A (BPA) Information for Parents (U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services)
• The Republicans' 41-Seat "Majority" in the Senate:
• Did Scott Brown Kill Off Any Hope Of Tackling Climate Change? (The New Republic)
• Reid: Democrats Remain Committed To Putting Americans Back To Work, Strengthening Economy, Reforming Health Insurance [and Climate Change?] (Office of Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid)
• Graham, U.S. Chamber to meet on climate and energy bill (The Hill)
• The Big Murkowski: Hanging EPA regulations around Democrats’ necks (Grist)
• Supreme Court Opens Floodgates to Billions in Corporate Campaign Cash:
• Justices Overturn Key Campaign Limits : Overruling two important precedents, a bitterly divided Supreme Court ruled that the government may not ban political spending by corporations in candidate elections. (NY Times)
• The Pinocchio Project: Watching as the Supreme Court turns a corporation into a real live boy. (Slate)
• Fat Cats FTW!: Supreme Court ruling on elections puts concept of any kind of reform into doubt (Grist)
• ANALYSIS: Money Grubbers: The Supreme Court kills campaign finance reform. (Slate)
• Feingold: Supreme Court Ruling Could Reshape Campaign Finance Laws (Talking Points Memo)
• HAITI still needs YOU to TAKE ACTION: Building a Better, Stronger Haiti (Planet Green):
  
  Donate to non-profit organizations who are working to:
  1. Help build Haiti's economy
  2. Microfinance
  3. Help reforest and replant
  4. Help the animals of Haiti
  5. Help rebuild and reconstruct a stronger Haiti
  6. Help bring renewable energy like solar lanterns to Haiti
  7. Help provide clean water

'GREEN NEWS EXTRA': More green news not covered in today's audio report...

• Carl Pope: Barack Obama --- the Greenest President Yet? (Sierra Club):
  
  I took the last week of the Obama administration's first year, and culled from the trade press a relatively complete dossier of the Administration's environmental initiatives for a single week...
• Asian Carp DNA Is Found in Lake Michigan (NY Times)
• Arctic Tundra is Being Lost as Far North Quickly Warms: The treeless ecosystem of mosses, lichens, and berry plants is giving way to shrub land and boreal forest. As scientists study the transformation, they are discovering that major warming-related events, including fires and the collapse of slopes due to melting permafrost, are leading to the loss of tundra in the Arctic. (Yale 360)
• Algae Emerges as DOE Feedstock of Choice for Biofuel 2.0: Chu Pledges $80 Million for Algae R&D (Solve Climate)
• Taking distributed energy seriously (Grist)
• THIS JUST IN: Clean Air battle: Murkowski takes EPA fight to Senate floor (McClatchy DC)
• The New Storm Brewing On the Climate Front: With the cap and trade bill stalled, its foes move to block the Environmental Protection Agency from tackling greenhouse gases. (Mother Jones)
• Just Don't Call it a Carbon Tax (Mother Jones)
• Colbert Report: Margaret Palmer Talks Mountaintop Removal (VIDEO) (Huffington Post Green)

                 

Article Categories: Environment, Green News