New Campaign Spoofs Suncor's "What Yes Can Do" Green PR Blitz
A new website launched today by the corporate accountability group SumofUs.org asks ordinary Canadians to take a closer look at oilsands major Suncor‘s latest ad campaign, “What Yes Can Do.” By launching their own version of the ad campaign at www.whatyescando.org, SumofUs.org is questioning the disparity between “what yes can do” as Suncor puts it, […]
Tackling Global Warming Would Increase GDP (And Save 94,000 Lives a Year): World Bank Report
Aggressively tackling global warming through better public transportation and increased energy efficiencies could increase global GDP by between $1.8 trillion and $2.6 trillion annually, a new report has found. Released on Monday, the report by the World Bank and the ClimateWorks Foundation said tackling global warming now would also save as many as 94,000 lives a […]
Frackquakes in Colorado? Scientists Probe Fracking Wastewater Link to CO Earthquakes
At 9:35 p.m. on Saturday, May 30, Greeley, Colorado was struck by a 3.4 magnitude earthquake. Earthquakes are highly unusual in eastern Colorado, raising speculation that it was a “frackquake” — a man-made earthquake stimulated by the disposal of contaminated drilling water in deep injection wells. This disposal technique forces wastewater generated from hydraulic fracturing […]
House Spending Bill Contains Huge Giveaways To Dirty Energy
The House Appropriations Committee is currently debating a spending bill that would set America back decades when it comes to energy policy and environmental protection. The 2015 Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill will designate money to everything from nuclear waste cleanup to renewable energy investments, and the Appropriations Committee has made […]
A Forgotten Community in New Orleans: Life on a Superfund Site
Shannon Rainey lives in a house that was built on top of a Superfund site in the Upper Ninth Ward of New Orleans. “I bought my house when I was 25, and thirty years later, I still can’t get out,” she told DeSmogBlog. Rainey’s home in Gordon Plaza is part of a subdivision developed by the city in 1981 on top of the Agriculture […]
Oakland Opposes Fossil Fuel Transport By Rail As Sacramento Imposes New Fees To Help Fund Spill Response
The City Council of Oakland, California has passed a resolution opposing the transport of coal, oil, petcoke (a byproduct of the oil refining process) and other hazardous materials by railways and waterways within the city. The resolution is a response to “a new push by the fossil fuel industry to transport, export, and/or refine coal, […]
David Suzuki: Northern Gateway Approval Flies in Face of Democracy and Global Warming
This is a guest post by David Suzuki. There was little doubt the federal government would approve the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline project, regardless of public opposition or evidence presented against it. The prime minister indicated he wanted the pipeline built before the Joint Review Panel hearings even began. Ad campaigns, opponents demonized as foreign-funded radicals, […]
Heather Zichal, Former Obama Energy Aide, Named to Board of Fracked Gas Exports Giant Cheniere
Heather Zichal, former Obama White House Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, may soon walk out of the government-industry revolving door to become a member of the board of directors for fracked gas exports giant Cheniere, who nominated her to serve on the board. The announcement, made through Cheniere’s U.S. Securities and Exchange […]
Lord Stern: We’ve Underestimated Economic Costs of Global Warming
Nicholas Stern, one of the world’s most influential economists, has come out with a new report showing that the future costs of climate change have been incredibly underestimated. The report, Endogenous growth, convexity of damages and climate risk, indicates it is even more important than previously thought that politicians quickly and aggressively stop unchecked climate change […]
Suzuki: Harper Didn’t Have the “Courage” to Present and Defend Northern Gateway Approval
David Suzuki isn’t surprised the federal government approved the contentious Northern Gateway pipeline Tuesday, but he is surprised Prime Minister Stephen Harper didn’t have the “courage” to announce the decision to Canadians. Suzuki described the approval as “totally expected,” yet expressed dismay at the Prime Minister’s absence. “Harper indicated before the joint review panel even started its […]