Infographic - Solar's Potential in US Public Schools

Gore on the Government Shutdown and Climate Change: Congress is Pathetic

Former Vice-President Al Gore appeared on Pivot's late night talk show TakePart Live on October 22nd, to discuss the 24 Hours of Reality: The Cost of Carbon event and his on-going fight for worldwide climate issues and environmental awareness. The former Vice President also responded to questions about the government shutdown.

When asked about his thoughts on the recent government shutdown Mr. Gore replied:

"Congress is pathetic right now. There are some awful good people in Congress trapped in a bad system. The truth is our democracy has been hacked, big money now calls the shots. That my sound like a radical statement but less and less to people who have been paying attention to what's been going on there."

Government Shutdown: Environmental Impacts and Republican Extortion

Republicans held America hostage for 16 days and undermined efforts to protect America's air, water, food and natural resources.  They unsuccessfully sought to extort a ransom in the form a number of anti-environment riders.

This circus would be comical if the impacts were not so serious. Only at the eleventh hour was legislation passed that enabled the government to reopen and avert a debt default. However, these are temporary fixes and the same issues will have to be dealt with again early in 2014. 

The Koch Brothers and the Government Shutdown

After 16 days at a cost of 24 billion dollars Congress finally came to their senses. Now that Congress has passed legislation that reopens government until January 15, 2014 and extends the credit ceiling until February 7, 2014, many are asking questions about the forces behind this insane game of political chicken. Others are wondering if it will happen again in the new year. This article, written one week ago (October 9, 2013), explores the role played by the Koch brothers.
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Charles and David Koch are oil barons who have been accused of being behind efforts to shutdown government.  In a bid to keep America from transitioning away from fossil fuels the Koch brothers are leading a powerful cadre of conservatives in a coordinated strategy designed to subvert democracy. They have cultivated very close relationships with Republicans including GOP presidential candidates and they employ sophisticated methods of legislative control like ALEC. They have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to misinform the public and influence politicians. They have demonstrated considerable skill in the art of control and subterfuge.  One of their greatest accomplishments is their role in the creation of the “grassroots” movement known as the Tea Party.

Government Shutdown Adversely Impacts the Environment, Energy and Climate Research

In addition to being harmful to the economy, the government shutdown has a wide range of impacts on the environment, energy and climate research.

A number of departments are being prevented from doing their jobs including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Energy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), the Department of the Interior and the Department of Health and Human Services.

Almost all of the EPA's 16,000 employees have been furloughed. The small number of staff who will stay on the job are funded outside the appropriations process. A few others will remain to ensure “the safety of human life and the protection of property,” as stipulated in the EPA contingency plan.

Government Shutdown Threatens America's Natural Resources

According to Michelle, a writer who works for the US Fish and Wildlife Services, the government shutdown is having deleterious impacts on America’s natural resources. The Department of Interior is no longer overseeing the complex web of ecosystems and habitats. America's National parks are not being cared for, habitats are being harmed and threatened species are at risk.

As Michelle explains, the biologists, civil engineers, educators, and regulators that are employed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service are being prevented from doing their work protecting a vast number of species and habitats. This group is already being forced to work overtime to manage staff reductions as a consequence of the sequester earlier this year. Now they are being furloughed while they wait for Republicans to come to their senses. Sadly, it might be a very long wait.

Republicans Shut Down Government Again Impacting the Economy and the Environment

As of midnight last night the fiscal year expired and the US government began shutting down. House Republicans are being intransigent and their attempt to tie the budget to Obamacare amounts to extortion. Led by the Tea Party extremists, the GOP has been steadfast in their refusal to pass the 2014 federal budget by the end of the fiscal year. Republicans are trying to derail the implementation of health care reform, even though US lawmakers voted for it in 2010 and the American people expressed their support when given the choice in 2012.

America's Top 10 Most Wasteful States

America's Most WASTEFUL States from American State Litter Scorecard

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Sierra Magazine's Top Ten Cool Schools 2013

Here is the countdown of Sierra Magazine's top ten list of the greenest colleges and universities in the United States. This is their seventh annual ranking. Participation in the Cool Schools ranking is open to all four-year undergraduate colleges and universities in the US. To generate the Cool Schools list researchers scored the responses to an extensive sustainability questionnaire and ranked all 162 participating institutions.

10: University of California, Santa Barbara

SCORE: 756.69 | STUDENTS: 22,218

UCSB puts up formidable numbers: 44 of its buildings are LEED certified, 47% of academic departments offer a class about sustainability (for a total of 321 classes and 217 faculty members who do eco-research), 50% of food served is local, and 75% of waste gets saved from the landfill via recycling and composting; the goal is to get that latter percentage to 100 by 2020. The Gauchos have also, since the late 1990s, lowered their electricity use by a third (10 on-campus photovoltaic systems help), their water use by a quarter, and their food waste by almost 35%. A whopping 94% of students take alternative means of transit to class—there are more than 10,000 bicycle parking spaces on campus to accommodate 10 miles of bike paths.

Inforgraphic - Ranking of the Greenest States in America

Video - Graphic Illustrations of Warming in North America

This very short visualization from NASA shows two global warming scenarios. In the first carbon dioxide (CO2) reaches 550 parts per million (ppm) by 2100 in the second CO2 reaches 800 ppm by 2100. Both scenarios are grim reminders of why we must reduce C02.

Obama Refutes the Keystone XL's Economic and Jobs Benefits

On Saturday July 27, US President Barack Obama said the number of permanent jobs created by the Keystone XL pipeline would be between 50 and 100. That is far less than the tens of thousands touted by supporters of the pipeline. If it goes forward the Keystone XL which would ferry tar sands oil from Alberta Canada to the US Gulf Coast. A decision on the fate of the pipeline is expected late this year or early in 2014.

"Republicans have said that this would be a big jobs generator," Obama said in a New York Times interview, "There is no evidence that that's true. The most realistic estimates are this might create maybe 2,000 jobs during the construction of the pipeline, which might take a year or two, and then after that we're talking about somewhere between 50 and 100 jobs in an economy of 150 million working people."

Republicans and many business groups are pushing the administration to approve the pipeline while climate scientists and environmental groups are urging the administration to kill the project. Advocates for the pipeline have consistently justified the climate destroying pipeline as an economic boon and a great way to invest public money. Opponents to the pipeline point to the huge amount of emissions generated by fossil fuels and the tar sands in particular. James Hansen the recently retired NASA climate scientist and adjunct professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University, has referred to the building of the Keystone XL as "game over" for efforts to combat climate change.

What Americans Need to Understand about Environmental Activism on World Environment Day

The world looks to America for leadership. Sadly World Environment Day (WED) tends to be a low profile day in the US compared to some other environmental events. This is unfortunate because the day is meant to be global in scope. It is important for Americans to understand the truly global scale of environmental threats and climate change in particular.

It is fitting that as we acknowledge WED on Wednesday June 5th, we celebrate the global power of environmental activism. This year marks the United Nations 41st WED, an annual event that aspires to be the world's most widely celebrated global day for positive environmental action.

Video - Advanced Energy Legislation (AEL) Tracker

Created by Colorado State University's energy policy center, Center for the New Energy Economy, the Advanced Energy Legislation TRACKER database contains information for clean energy legislation across all 50 states for free to any user. The TRACKER database provides current legislative language, recent actions, bill sponsor information, and policy trend analyses.

For more information about the Advanced Energy Legislation Tracker click here.

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CPAC 2013: Leading Conservatives Don't Want Change

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) came together for their annual gathering and they have once again snubbed climate change, green jobs and a sustainable US economy. CPAC is hosted by the American Conservative Union Foundation (ACUF), a 501(c)3 charity.

The conference was founded in 1973 by the American Conservative Union and Young Americans for Freedom. The majority of attendees are young people under the age of 30, appropriately the theme in 2013 is “America’s Future: The Next Generation of Conservatives.”

Aside from a few derisive comments, there was no mention of climate change, clean energy or the environment.

Those who did mention climate change did so with the intent of undermining the green agenda. Speaking at CPAC on Friday March 15, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) tried to disprove climate change by noting that President Obama wore a jacket during his chilly inauguration in January!

House Republicans' Historic Anti-Environment Efforts in 2011 and 2012

In 2011 and 2012, House Republicans have amassed the most anti-environment record in the history of Congress. Contrary to the will of the American people, Republicans continue to resist clean air and clean water. Just before the November 2012 elections, Republicans called the House into session to push for extreme anti-environment and anti-public health bills that have already passed the House.

GE Ecomagination VP Mark Vachon on Climate Change and Energy Solutions (Video)

Here are some comments by GE's Ecomagination VP, Mark Vachon made at the Investor Summit on Climate Risk and Energy Solutions. He emphasizes the importance of sustainability, not only as a competitive advantage but as a matter of corporate relevance.

The Stark Partisan Divide on Global Warming

A huge gulf exists between Americans who accept the reality of climate science and those who do not. According to an October 15, 2012, Pew Research Center poll, Democratic voters are more than twice as likely to embrace the facts on global warming than their Republican counterparts.

A growing number Americans, including voters who identify as independents and those from both major parties, believe global warming is occurring. Predictably many Republicans continue to ignore the powerful body of evidence supporting the existence of global warming. This should come as no surprise as the GOP presidential nominee is now leading the climate denial train.

Political "Heroes" and "Villains" on US Air Pollution

A new analysis from the NRDC Action Fund, released in conjunction with advocacy group Environment America reveals "Who Votes Dirty?" The report, released on September 12, lists members of the US House and Senate as either "clean air heroes" or "dirty air villains" based on their votes on legislation related to air pollution. According to the NRDC's analysis, 99 members of the House and 43 senators were dubbed heroes, while 139 House members and 39 Senators were labeled villains.

A large number of the Dirty Air Villains, 48 Congressmen and 25 Senators, represent districts in towns and cities the American Lung Association (ALA) have ranked as the 25 most polluted cities in the US.

Independence Day: Environmental Action Now!

Our nation has always been defined by innovation and a fiery will to overcome adversity. Our lives today are defined by the sacrifices, ideas, and most importantly the actions of our predecessors. They overcame colonial oppression and two World Wars, and heeded one President's call to reach for the stars. Millions now fight and die to secure what they achieved. But a new challenge is on the horizon. Climate change threatens to undo some of the progress that they made possible. And yet, we are at a crossroads, one that could lead us to a new and innovative future of clean energy and stewardship of the planet, or one that could lead back into ignorance and pollution. What will define your generation? What will future historians say about your time? The actions of our predecessors overcame tyranny from afar and built a nation of honor, innovation, and leadership. Will yours?

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Independence Day: Declaration of Freedom from Fossil Fuels