by Lindsay E. Brown
We couldn’t think of a better way to help you celebrate Hump Day – and get you through the rest of the week – than by sharing our list of top environmental stories from the past week. Each Wednesday, we’ll de-brief you on the environmental news stories at home and abroad that we feel you should know about.
Obama Rejects the Keystone XL Pipeline
Chances are, you’ve heard that President Obama rejected the proposal for Keystone Pipeline XL. Here’s your chance to personally thank the President. Just in case you’re still on the fence, here are key facts about the Keystone XL.
Blowing the Whistle on Dirty Energy Money
What’s black and white and all over Washington this week? Answer: 500 citizens in referee outfits. In a movement spearheaded by 350.org, more than 500 citizens outfitted in referee garb converged on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, January 24th to blow the whistle on Congress. Tired of the foul play in Washington, these individuals have declared many of our politicians’ conduct – such as taking bribes from the oil industry to vote for fossil fuel subsidies - unsportsmanlike and out of bounds from this point forward.
White House Pressured Scientists to Underestimate BP Spill Size
Could it be true that political leaders lowballed Gulf oil spill estimates? We know BP misled the public about how big the spill was, and according to correspondence obtained by the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), so too did United States political leaders.
Report finds ‘motivated avoidance’ plays a role in climate change politics
Sadly, ignorance is bliss for many people when it comes to climate change.The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that when people know very little about an issue, whether it be declining fossil fuel reserves, climate change or other related topics, they avoid learning about it like the plague. Sadly, we’ve all met a person or two who fits this bill.
60 Minutes Video on Clean Coal Technology
According to Laura Turner Seydel, a 60 Minutes segment on Clean Coal Technology is the most important piece she has seen recently on coal and climate change. Laura breaks-down her top 10 takeaways in this short but impactful must-read.
Sundance Diary: “Chasing Ice” Is 2012’s Hottest Climate Change Film
Sundance kicked off with Founder and Environmentalist Robert Redford setting the festival’s tone. “It’s no secret, times are dark and grim,” he said. “In addition, we’re suffering from a government in paralysis … But the happy thing is that here, for this week, we’re going to see work from artists, even though their work might be reflective of these hard times, there is not paralysis here.” To that end, Chasing Ice, a documentary about ice loss in the arctic due to climate change, was one of the most coveted tickets at the Sundance Film Festival. We’re dying to see it!
World Governments Spend $1.4 Billion a Day to Destruct Climate
According to Lester Brown, founder and president of the Earth Policy Institute, governments who subsidize fossil fuel use around the world shell out approximately 1.4 billion per day to destabalize the earth’s climate.
This post was written by eco-contributor Lindsay E. Brown. She’s the managing editor at Eco-Chick.com, publisher of BrownLovesGreen.org, an author, and regularly contributes to EarthHour.org and a host of other sites across the web. Follow her on Twitter: @LindsEBrown
Images: Adam LeWinter/Extreme Ice Survey
One Trackback
[...] We’ve covered Keystone, and published Ted Turner’s terrific Op-Ed on the pipeline, so we’ll stay on top of this one as things progress. [...]