This page features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about the environment from members of The Media Consortium. For the best progressive reporting on critical economic, health care and immigration-related issues, check out The Audit, The Pulse and The Diaspora.
featured post
Weekly Mulch: Fighting the Joe Millers of the World
by Sarah Laskow, Media Consortium blogger
Joe Miller, Sarah Palin’s choice candidate for one of Alaska’s Senate seats, does not believe in climate change. That didn’t bother Alaska voters: this week, Miller bested Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the state’s Republican primary.
If that weren’t worrisome enough, it also emerged that the fossil fuel industry spent eight times more than environmental groups on lobbying in 2009, the year the House passed the climate change bill. It’s been a bad year already for environmental causes, and as the November election edges closer, progressives might want to start working overtime to regain momentum on climate and energy issues.
Murkowski was solidly against the idea of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulating carbon. But she was willing to talk about cap-and-trade programs, and at the very least, she was willing to admit climate change was happening. Depending on how November’s election shakes out, the shift towards climate-denial in Congress may only worsen. A slew of Republican candidates are convinced that, as one put it, “only God knows where our climate is going,” as Care2 reports. READ MORE…
from our members
- Economist makes case for increased regulation in wake of egg recall
IOWA INDEPENDENT: There is only one way for agriculture to move forward safely, argues Iowa State University economist Dave Swenson, and that’s through increased government regulation of its industries. - BREAKING: Another Oil Rig Explodes In The Gulf Of Mexico
CARE2: Another oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico has injured at least one worker and thrown over a dozen more overboard. - 10 Ways to Solve the Jobs Problem
YES! MAGAZINE: As the midterm political season heats up, one word on every politician’s lips is “jobs.” And for good reason. People are hurting—they can’t pay their mortgages, send their kids to college, pay their dental bills. Young people are wondering if they have a place in the work world. - The Majority of Americans Are Finally Concerned About Global Warming
CARE2: The majority of registered voters polled mid-August want the government to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Conducted by the Beneson Strategy Group for the National Resources Defense Counsel (NRDC), 60 percent of those polled support the government regulating GHG emissions from sources like power plants and refineries. Only 30 percent oppose it. - How Many Cows Does it Take to Make a New Mercedes CLS?
CHANGE.ORG: Officially, there are about four dead cows inside every new Mercedes CLS. When Mercedes-Benz proudly unveiled their 2012 CLS-class at the Paris Motor Show last month, among the luxury features celebrated in their press release was the fact that "around four animal skins are processed for each CLS." - Dirty Work: Hispanic Immigrants Clean the Gulf
FEET IN 2 WORLDS: FI2W reporter Annie Correal spent two weeks this summer in Louisiana covering the impact of the oil spill on Hispanic workers. The culmination of her work for El Diario/La Prensa, ‘Trabajo Sucio,’ or ‘Dirty Work,‘ incorporates video, podcasts, slide-shows, maps and other interactive graphics about the BP spill, all from the perspective of oil spill clean-up workers. - Obama administration proposes new environmental labels for vehicles
MINNESOTA INDEPENDENT: The Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation unveiled a proposal today to put labels on all new vehicles that compare vehicles’ greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy. The goal is to compare the emissions and fuel economy of gasoline-powered vehicles and more efficient electric vehicles.
earlier from the consortium report
Weekly Mulch: Green Daydreams? A Clean Gulf, Energy Efficiency, and More
by Sarah Laskow, Media Consortium Blogger
Yesterday, Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) took Obama administration officials to task for encouraging Americans to believe that the majority of the oil in the Gulf of Mexico had dispersed.
“People want to believe that everything is OK and I think this report and the way it is being discussed is... Read More
Weekly Mulch: Dispersants Harm Gulf Spill Workers
by Sarah Laskow, Media Consortium blogger
BP’s relief wells are just short of sealing off the Macondo well, the epicenter of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. For the Gulf community, this milestone might herald a sigh of mental relief. But clean-up workers are feeling the after-effects of working with ... Read More
Weekly Mulch: BP Spill Plugged, But What About Michigan?
by Sarah Laskow, Media Consortium Blogger
BP is on the verge of escaping headlines, and if you’re ready to forget about the oil spill, fine. But disasters just like the Gulf spill are playing out across the country.
Yesterday, BP cemented the well that has been spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico shut. The... Read More
Weekly Mulch: Despite Senate Inaction, Clean Energy Economy Thriving
by Sarah Laskow, Media Consortium blogger
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) released an energy and oil spill bill this week that has no carbon cap, no renewable energy standard, and no chance of changing the course of America’s energy future. And yet, despite Senate setbacks, the clean energy economy is growing.
A new report, funded in... Read More