Follow and stream @GreenNewsReport!…
(Or use “Click here to listen…” link below.)
IN TODAY’S AUDIO REPORT: Buh-bye, Evan Bayh; Supertrains for China, not so much for the U.S.; Freeways cause heart attacks; Train stations prevent foreclosures? … PLUS: Wacky weather complicates the Winter Olympics… 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.
Green News Report
with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen
2/16/2010
‘Green News Report’ – February 16, 2010 | With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen... · · · · · ‘Green News Report’ – February 16, 2010 | With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...
0:00
0:00
IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’: Nano breakthrough: sunlight + water= energy; Cities prepare for electric cars; ‘Solar roofs’ bill introduced in Senate; Breakthrough for BPA-free bottles; Should you upgrade to a white roof?; Coal Industry: only 5% of WV jobs; Is cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch even possible?; States fight over Asian carp invasion; Couric takes on factory farming industry … PLUS: IPCC errors: the facts vs. the spin …
Info/links on those stories and all the ones we talked about on today’s episode follow below…
- Wacky Weather Complicates Winter Olympics:
- Another Alpine skiing event canceled, this time because of snow: First it was too warm. Then it was too rainy. Next it was too slushy. And now it’s too snowy. At least we’re making progress. (Yahoo Sports)
- Weather throws cold water on ticket holders:
Thousands more tickets are at risk of cancellation as rain makes viewing areas unsafe (Vancouver Sun) - Heavy Snow Postpones Men’s Super Combined: Heavy snowfall makes it dangerous to contest the downhill portion because the racecourse must be hard and fast, not snow-covered. (NY Times Rings blog)
- Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) Will Not Seek Re-election:
- Breaking: Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) to retire: Now another swing Democrat has no reason to vote against the bipartisan climate and clean energy bill (Climate Progress)
- The Fix: Evan Bayh won’t seek re-election, Senate majority in play? (Washington Post)
- China Speeds Ahead of U.S. in High-Speed Rail:
- China Sees Growth Engine in a Web of Fast Trains (NY Times)
- High Speed Rail for Everyone!: New Report Maps a High-Speed Rail Link For Every Major U.S. City (DC Streets Blog)
- READ the report: The Right Track: Building a 21st Century High Speed Rail System for America (U.S. Public Interest Research Group)
- In The Public Interest: What’s Next for High-Speed Rail? (Huffington Post Green)
- Inside Obama’s Plan To Spend $8 Billion On High-Speed Rail (VIDEO) (Huffington Post Green)
- If You Could See America Through China’s Eyes (Talking Points Memo) [emphasis added]:
Several years ago, I met with the Deputy Director of the Policy Planning staff of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and I asked him what he was working on — and what China’s grand strategy was.
His reply: “We are trying to figure out how to keep you Americans distracted in small Middle Eastern countries.”
- Town Hall Meeting on Jobs and the Economy: President Obama’s Remarks on High Speed Rail in Tampa, FL (C-span)
- Freeways Cause Heart Attacks and Strokes?:
- Fewer Foreclosures Near Mass Transit:
- Can living near a train station save you from foreclosure?: Mortgage defaults higher in neighborhoods dependent on driving, research shows (Chicago Sun-Times)
- New Rules for Organic Dairy Industry:
- Splendor in the grass: USDA releases strict new pasture rules for organic dairy (Grist)
- USDA Tightens Organic Standards on Dairy and Livestock (Treehugger)
- Massive Producer Promiseland Livestock Has Organic Certification Suspended for 4 Years (Treehugger)
- Giant Organic Livestock Operation Decertified by USDA (Cornucopia Institute)
- History of Organic Dairy Farming: The organic movement is a civic process, not a set of standards (Grist)
- Organic dairy farmers debate change in federal regulations (Marin Independent Journal)
- ‘Climategate’ Hackers Located on East Coast of U.S.:
- Who Hacked the CRU?: More evidence is being unearthed on the sophisticated cyber-burglary of more than 1,000 emails from the Climate Research Unit (CRU) that sheds light on who did the stealing and why. (DeSmogBlog)
- Special Report: Climate Wars: The story of the hacked emails (Guardian UK)
- Hacking into the mind of the CRU climate change hacker (IT-Networks)
- Researcher on Climate Is Cleared in Inquiry (NY Times)
- US ‘climategate’ scientist all but cleared of misconduct (New Scientist)
- Climategate inquiry stumbles on the start line (New Scientist)
- The Leak Was Bad. Then Came the Death Threats. (Times Online UK)
- Sun-powered water splitter makes hydrogen tirelessly (New Scientist)
- Cities Prepare for Life With the Electric Car: Utilities are gearing up to cooperate with the automakers, a first for the two industries, and governments on the West Coast are focusing intently on the coming issues. Price and tax incentives need to be worked out. Locations must be found for charging stations. And local electrical grids may need reinforcement. (NY Times)
- A chat with Sen. Bernie Sanders on his new 10 million solar roofs bill (Grist)
- Breakthrough?: Blow molders plan for bigger BPA-free bottles (Plastics News)
- Should You Invest in a White Roof? (Mother Jones)
- It Ain’t About the Jobs: Coal Country Anxiety? Only 5% of WV Employed by Coal Industry (Inventing Green)
- Could We Clean Up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch Even if we Wanted to? (Planet Green)
- CBS News previews its no-holds-barred report on antibiotics in livestock (Grist)
- River town on front line of Asian carp invasion: Invasive Asian Carp Threaten Lifeblood of Illinois River Town
(Chicago Tribune) - IPCC errors: facts and spin (Real Climate)
- Why Is The British Press So Sloppy On Climate Issues? (The New Republic)
‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’: More green news not covered in today’s audio report…
Wacky weather…? Good grief. This is just sad. More Environmental kookiness from people drinking the AGW koolaid. Vancouver is Canada’s California. When spin is just lies, it’s pathetic.
The annual average temperature in Vancouver is 10.1 °C (50 °F), amongst the mildest anywhere in Canada. The warm Japanese current usually keeps winter temperatures mild. Hellooooo?
Nice to see your readership is improving.
Vancouver’s average annual temperature is not a relevant measure — it is an average of both winter and summer temperatures. Were you under the impression the IOC chose Vancouver for the Winter Olympics because of its track record of warm winters and lack of snow?
Actually, Nemo, Vancouver just experienced the warmest January on record, as did the rest of the globe.
The Royal Society UK and Britain’s Met Office have a good explanation on why changing and unpredictable weather patterns are in line with predictions. TIME explains how this winter’s wacky weather is in line with predictions, and Jeff Masters Weather Underground blog explains the science behind it very well, too.
For more information on the science instead of the spin, check this collection of work from actual scientists across multiple earth systems disciplines: An illustrated guide to the latest climate science.
Another easy-to-read compilation of the scientific evidence — and the gaps — is at Skeptical Science.com, also based on science and not spin.