Category Archives: politics

Why 400+ PPM Matters – it’s not an environmental issue

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So I for one am horrified at recent news of atmospheric CO2-e concentration reaching 400+ppm… Why? Climate Change is a serious problem. Not because it can harm the environment (though it will, and that does pain me) but because of the wicked uncertain predicaments we face. The bigger issue with uncertainty is the threat it poses to national security- and even more, global human stability (i.e., peace).

In 2009, the Pentagon made a formal claim that climate change was then (is still now) a threat to U.S. national security.

And for those of you (how!?) still on the fence about whether climate change is real, is caused by CO2-e, is man-made or not, etc. This video is awesome! It uses no climate models (something anti-climate change folks use in their debate to say it’s all guess-work) and it’s not funded by or produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (again, often sited as spinning fallacies and using scare-tactics claiming it’s all for the sake of folks like Al Gore to get rich or whatever…). This is based on historical, peer-reviewed, science. Science. Not speculation. Not feelings or emotions. Not guess-work. Science.

The evidence for climate change WITHOUT computer models or the IPCC

Public school swaps chicken nuggets for tofu, becomes first all-vegetarian cafeteria

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WOW! This really goes beyond Meatless Monday. I would love to hear a response to this… could it be done at Moraine Valley? Or a local K12 school? Why or why not?

REPOST: By Elizabeth Chuck, Staff Writer, NBC News Braised black beans and plantains. Tofu roasted in Asian sesame sauce. Falafel and cucumber salad. These aren’t menu items from a high-end restaurant; they’re lunchtime grub for students at a Flushing, Queens, public school’s all-vegetarian cafeteria, the first in New York City to nix meat and believed to be one of the first public school in the nation to serve only vegetarian fare. … full article linked below

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/01/17999627-nyc-public-school-swaps-chicken-nuggets-for-tofu-becomes-first-all-vegetarian-cafeteria?lite%3

Climate Change & NY State’s Bond Offerings

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So there you have it. NY State just listed climate change as a real threat to the value of the State’s bonds. This is alongside other risks like unresolved litigation and potential cuts in federal spending! Here’s a clip from the Environmental Leader article about this:

“The decision by Gov. Andrew Cuomo Administration follows Hurricane Sandy, which caused more than $40 billion in damage in the state after it made landfall last year, according to Bloomberg News. New York may be the first US state to warn investors of the risk caused by climate change, such as rising sea levels, flooding and erosion, the news agency says.”

It goes to reason that other states will soon follow NY’s lead.  Of course, there are a lot of concerns with increased hurricanes and sea-level rise, so coastal states are sure to consider this. But, climate change affects us in the middle, too, with increased droughts and mega-snow storms. Perhaps Illinois will be next?

A New Record 55.3, Warmest Year Ever

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NOAA announced that 2012 was the warmest year on record (see NCDC Announces Warmest Year on Record for Contiguous U.S.). Chicagoland has had a strange winter, and we also had a long drought over the summer, but it is difficult to recognize if we are just having a localized, abnormal year, or if out local weather is connected to larger trends. The NOAA report may suggest that our local weather is impacted by larger trends. Interestingly enough, Fox News has questioned the NOAA report and has given climate skeptics a platform (see Fox News Questions Whether Government Faked Hottest Year On Record Quotes “Skeptic” Blogger Sugges). It is interesting to watch how ideology colors this debate.

Melting permafrost exposes huge risks

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Melting permafrost being ignored at climate talks, experts warn
More on the melting permafrost can be found in a story by Miguel Llanos of NBC News. Llanos sites an over view of the huge risks at hand and quotes U.N. Environment Program Director Achim Steiner who in announcing the report by top permafrost scientists said,

“Permafrost is one of the keys to the planet’s future because it contains large stores of frozen organic matter that, if thawed and released into the atmosphere, would amplify current global warming… Continuing to ignore the challenges of warming permafrost is not an option…”

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Global Food Security and Sustainability

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We wanted to spread the work about this Global Education event that connects to our sustainability mission.

Global Food Security and Sustainability
December 4th: 10:30-12:30, Moraine Room 2 (M Building)
Two key issues in nearly every country are the cost and availability of food and energy. Rising prices of commodities, such as wheat, corn, rice, and gasoline can lead to many problems, including: riots, hunger, malnutrition, and poverty. This event will discuss the causes, interconnections, and implications of rising commodity prices throughout the world.

 

 

Politics vs Science: Climate of Doubt

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The Frontline piece about the anti-climate change movement is very interesting. They build an argument where the down turn in the economy opened up an opportunity to attack climate science. The partisans working against climate change ignore the science in order to advance their political agenda.

Frontline: Climate of Doubt: An investigative report on the movement against climate change.


Watch Climate of Doubt on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

Global Warming Absent from Last Night’s Debate

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Last night was the last of the 3 presidential debates.  Obama and Romney covered many topics, but the newspaper the Guardian noted that one topic that they did not cover was climate change. The Pentagon has listed climate change as one of the most significant security threats facing our country, so it would seem that this would have been a relevant discussion to have. Here is a link to the article from the Guardian: 

US presidential debates’ great unmentionable: climate change: No mention of global warming for the first time since Congress was briefed on the threat in 1988

 

What is the real impact of increased oil & gas production?

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Recently, the presidential candidates have been debating the benefits and pitfalls of increased oil and gas production. I have the feeling that increasing output is an easy short-term solution but don’t we know that there are negative, long-term consequences? Here is a short video covering the debate:

Weighing Benefits and Pitfalls of Increased Oil and Gas Production in the U.S.
SUMMARY: Two years ago, the U.S imported two-thirds of its oil. Now, imports are less than half of U.S. oil needs. Jeffrey Brown talks to National Resources Defense Council’s Kate Sinding and the Manhattan Institute’s Robert Bryce about increased domestic energy production and whether economic benefits outweigh environmental concerns.

Paranoia Threatens Smart Meters

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Pseudoscience and paranoia are the newest threats to implementing smart-grid technologies. A “smart grid” has the potential to increase efficiency within our electrical grid by collecting data. This could help ease environmental risks and improve service. But, there is a growing fear that the use of smart meters in homes could pose a threat to the health of the people living in the home. Liberal and conservative activists are opposing smart-grid technologies even thought they cannot really define the threat that these technologies post. The activists fear the transmissions that smart meters make but they fail to note that:

1. Smart grid transmissions are nothing compared to transmissions from radios, TVs, cell phones (which most of us keep on our bodies), wireless internet hubs, and countless other wireless technologies.
2. They note a fear of the technology but there is no solid evidence that actually defines harm from the technology.

The fear of smart meters echoes past fears of fluoride in drinking water and electricity in homes. There is a naturally concern over an innovation and benefits are discounted while fears are given more credit than they deserve.

Here is a Newshour story about fears around smart meters and their impact in California, “California Activists Want Smart Meters Banned, Claim They’re Bad for Health.”

SUMMARY: Within the next three years, it is expected that nearly 65 million homes in the U.S. will have wireless smart meters. But some California environmentalists, liberals, Tea Party supporters and other activists are not enthused by this. At the heart of the debate is whether smart meters can cause illness. Spencer Michels reports

Watch Activists Want Smart Meters Gone, Say They’re Bad for Health on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.