Obama Frustrates Europe on Climate Change

"Obama Has Failed the World on Climate Change," blares a Spiegel op-ed by Christian Schwägerl.  The essay is another data point in the growing notion that the new American president's aura is fading on the other side of the Atlantic. But, as I argue in my New Atlanticist essay "Obama Disappoints Europe Ahead of Copenhagen," this was all too predictable.  Indeed, ...

Limbaugh: Reporter Should Kill Himself

Rush Limbaugh has gotten everyone from Media Matters to The Guardian to Andrew Sullivan to Paul Krugman to Raw Story to FireDogLake up in arms because he allegedly suggested that a NYT reporter kill himself.  Except that, to anyone familiar with either Limbaugh or the conventions of American English, it's rather obvious he was illustrating absurdity by being absurd. Here's the ...

The Great Green Jobs Claim

I periodically hear this during presidential campaigns and when various elected officials are trying to push a green policy, often in response to global warming. Because of [insert environmental problem here] we need to pursue a policies that will promote [insert one or more alternative fuel/energy sources here]. And not only will it address [the environmental problem noted above], but ...

Fly Green: Do Your Business First

Amusing but smart: Like many things in Japan, the message is subtle. At least Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA) hopes it is, now that the nation's second largest airline has started quietly asking passengers in Japanese to use the bathroom before boarding 38 domestic flights and four international flights between Tokyo and Singapore. The request is part of the airline's "ecological ...

Shrinkage

In a classic Seinfeld episode, a phenomenon known as "shrinkage" was attributed to cold water. Now, a study finds that European fish have been shrinking owing to warm water. Go figure.

A Reminder About Ocean Acidification

As Waxman-Markey goes up to the Senate, I think it's worth reminding people that there's more at stake to cutting CO2 emissions than climate. There is also the more pressing issue of ocean acidification (which I've written about previously on OTB here). The science behind acidification is simple. As the oceans dissolve more carbon dioxide, the ocean ...

Star Trek Climate Reform

Matt Yglesias has an interesting suggestion for a preachy movie revival: [W]hat the new rebooted Trek really needs is a re-do of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home but dealing with a more contemporary environmental threat than the need to save humpback whales from extinction. For example, The Enterprise could travel back in time to try to urge the Senate to ...

Tale of Two Cites

The Congressional Budget Office, the "nonpartisan" arbiter of the cost of various proposals and plans for the legislature, comes in handy sometimes. Other times, not so much. So House Democrats are discovering anew. Just five days ago Speaker Pelosi vented her frustration with the CBO for its sky high projection for health care reform: “The CBO will always give you the ...

Whither Empty Car Dealerships?

Richard Florida reports the results of a poll of what should be done with the 2000+ car dealerships being shuttered as a result of the bankruptcy reorganizations of Chrysler and GM: Ask the local residents about what the community needs (222 votes) Urban gardens (200 votes) Create walkable, vibrant places and improve current communities (138 votes) Farmers' markets and local events (126 votes) Solar and ...

“Look upon My Works, Ye Mighty!”

Shelly's poem Ozymandias is forced to mind when reading this piece from the Herald-Tribune of Sarasota, Florida. It makes perfect economic sense---cheap, useful cars with good gas mileage---but does it ever speak volumes about the inevitability of change... Indian car company readies Sarasota showroom Toni Whitt SARASOTA COUNTY - While working for General Motors in the 1980s and early 1990s, Pawan Goenka discovered ...

Elites Losing Climate and Gun Argument

Michael Barone (via Glenn Reynolds) argues that elites are "out of touch" on climate change and gun control: Many years ago, political scientists came up with a theory that elites lead public opinion. And on some issues, they clearly do. But on some issues, they don't. Two examples of the latter phenomenon are conspicuous at a time when Barack Obama enjoys ...

Green Products Possible – They Just Suck

Responding to Kevin Drum's observation that no-phosphate dishwashing detergent suddenly became possible when regulation demanded it, proving that theretofore "The industry just didn't feel like doing it," Megan McArdle retorts, "when I look back at almost every 'environmentally friendly' alternative product I've seen being widely touted as a cost-free way to lower our footprint, held back only by the indecent ...

Sea Levels Rising Faster Than Predicted

Via Randall Parker, it appears that global sea levels are rising faster than previously predicted.The global sea level looks set to rise far higher than forecast because of changes in the polar ice-sheets, a team of researchers has suggested. Scientists at a climate change summit in Copenhagen said earlier UN estimates were too low and that sea levels could rise by ...

Conservative Policy Solutions

Kevin Drum seconds my concerns about conservative public intellectuals and offers two example where the Right isn't offering useful policy alternatives. Conservatives on Global Warming Take global warming. Here's the rough conservative reaction to it starting in the early 90s: It doesn't exist. It exists but it isn't manmade. It's manmade, but it's too expensive to do anything about. Even this is a generous assessment. ...

Obama: Bankrupt the Coal Industry

According to statements by the candidate, anyone wanting to build a coal plant would be bankrupted if his plan to deal with greenhouse gasses (GHGs) is implemented. "I was the first to call for a 100 percent auction on the cap and trade system, which means that every unit of carbon or greenhouse gases emitted would be charged to the polluter," ...