It's the Environment, Stupid

Humorist Dave Barry once said that lab rats had to spell out with their food pellets: “Cigarettes Cause Cancer” before Big Tobacco “scientists” would accept the overwhelming evidence. What will it take for Big Oil to accept the evidence on global warming?

As reported in Newsweek’s August 13th cover story “Global Warming is a Hoax*, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), composed of 600 scientists from governments, academia, green groups and businesses in 40 countries, concluded that “Warming of the climate system is unequivocal” It further concluded that that greenhouse gases released from burning of fossil fuels causes longer droughts, more flood-causing downpours and worse heat waves. Unfortunately, the panel also concluded that even if we act today to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, there will still be some degree of warming due to the fact that past emissions stay in the atmosphere for decades or more. On the other hand if we do not act at all, the IPCC concludes that there will be twice as much warming over the next two decades than if we had acted to stabilize these and other climate pollutants in the atmosphere at their 2000 levels.

So what does Big Oil say about all of this?
Incredibly, according to the Newsweek article, “a conservative think tank long funded by Exxon Mobil, offered scientists $10,000 to write articles undercutting the new report and the computer based climate models it is based on”.

We know the current administration’s track record on environmental stewardship, and its ties to Big Oil. While not ideal, I applaud the efforts of the western states to take matters into their own hands. Six western states and two Canadian provinces have joined to form a climate initiative partnership to reduce greenhouse gases regionally.

Clearly, the facts on climate change require a change in our environmental policy. The League of Conservation Voters can provide us with some direction and they have stated “compared to other candidates with public name recognition, in terms of specific proposals, Edwards stands alone, especially in the area of energy policy and climate change.” They have further indicated his potential for strong leadership in this area "Senator Edwards' plan demonstrates that he understands the magnitude of the challenge before us and the need for bold leadership to meet it."

Perhaps, like the rats spelling it out with their food pellets, it will take the cows to convince us. A recent study concluded “Rising carbon dioxide levels are almost certainly fueling the encroachment of shrubs on global grasslands, a trend that could eventually jeopardize the use of these lands for cattle grazing”

Exxon Mobil Global Warming Denial
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20122975/site/newsweek/

Union of concerned Scientists Findings of the IPCC http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/science/ipcc-highlights1.html

Six Western States and Canada Join to Cut Greenhouse Gases:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/22/BAGMQRNACP21.DTL&tsp=1

League of Conservation Voters
http://www.lcv.org/newsroom/press-releases/page.jsp?itemID=32451178

Rising CO2 levels:
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/08/28/grazing_pla.html?category=earth&guid=20070828103000&dcitc=w01-101-ae-0002

Last Best Hope

This year is the 400th anniverary of the Jamestown settlement. While many Americans are only familiar with the myths of these early days of our history, The River Where America Began by Bob Deans makes the story of who we are as a people real and relevant to us--now. He compares the ignorance Captain John Smith and Chief Powhatan had of each other's worlds, --and the fear, prejudice and suspicion that ignorance bred-- to the "clash of civilzations" brewing between the Islamic world and the West today. Deans reminds us that America's strength is its diversity and the "radical" belief that it might be possible to build a nation where all men and women actually are treated with equality. As an election year approaches, we should be mindful that there is still much work to be done and that there are many serious threats to the hard won progress we have made. Please visit the links below to learn more about these important issues and take action to help keep our nation, in Lincoln's words " The last best hope"

Geneva Conventions/ Habeas Corpus
https://secure.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&id=557&page=UserAction

Women's Rights:
http://www.bpwusa.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3313ghts

Domestic Spying
http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/31381prs20070820.html

Hate Crimes
https://secure.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?JServSessionIdr005=rpv7kgu563.app26a&pagename=homepage&id=643&page=UserAction

Racial Profiling
https://secure.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?id=113

Progress in Iraq

Today was one of the most violent days in Iraq. Having just finished Khaled Hosseini's best-selling novel "A Thousand Splendid Suns," about the women of Afghanistan under Taliban rule, I recoil at the fact that the once free and modern women of Iraq are facing a similar plight.

I hope when the progress report to Congress comes in on September 15 that the American people ask a lot of questions.

One of the benchmarks assumed already met is the drafting and aproval of a constitution. Yet for women in Iraq, that constitution provides no protection of rights. Although Article 14 states that Iraqis are equal without discrimination based on gender, Article 2 states "Islam is the official religion of the state and is a basic source of legislation." It further states "No law can be passed that contradicts the undisputed laws of Islam."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Iraq

Women are increasingly being denied employment in Iraq simply because they are women - leading some who are widows, to be unable to feed their children. "Honor" killings of women are returning to Iraq prompting the creation of shelters and even an underground railroad for those women who cannot leave the shelter for fear of being killed. When walking out in public, women may be told to go home and dress decently - or worse they can be beaten.

This is not progress for women by any definition of the word.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10543975
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RS21968.pdf