World’s largest nuclear plant operator exits U.S. market, turns to renewable energy – ‘It is simply not easy to invest in nuclear and recover your money there’

By Geert De Clercq30 July 2013 PARIS (Reuters) – French utility EDF, the world’s biggest operator of nuclear plants, is pulling out of nuclear energy in the United States, bowing to the realities of a market that has been transformed by cheap shale gas. Several nuclear reactors in the U.S. have been closed or are […]

Florida declares two butterfly species extinct as pollinator crisis worsens

By Alexander Holmgren 1 August 2013 (mongabay.com) – Conservationist’s faced a crushing blow last month as two butterfly species native to Florida were declared extinct. “Occasionally, these types of butterflies disappear for long periods of time but are rediscovered in another location,” said Larry Williams, U.S. Fish and Wildlife state supervisor for ecological services. We […]

How global warming is spreading toxic dust – ‘If arsenic’s in the air, if all that stuff is in the air, there’s really nothing you can do’

By Henry Gass and ClimateWire  30 July 2013 (Scientific American) – When Rose Eitmiller found a new house on Sweet Pea Lane in Dewey-Humboldt, Ariz., population 3,613, she felt at home. She was still mourning the death of a daughter whom she always called “Sweetpea,” and the place seemed right to her. But that move […]

Why it finally makes political sense to talk about climate change: New polls show that voters increasingly view climate global-warming deniers as cranks

By Coral Davenport25 July 2013 (National Journal) – In the summer of 2009, a dozen Democratic members of Congress took a deep breath and put their political futures on the line, voting for historic global-warming legislation President Obama had told them was a top priority. After the bill squeaked through the House, Democrats pleaded with […]

4 in 5 U.S. adults face joblessness, near-poverty, or reliance on welfare – ‘Many of the nation’s biggest disparities, from education and life expectancy to poverty, are increasingly due to economic class position’

By HOPE YEN, with contributions by AP Director of Polling Jennifer Agiesta, News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius and AP writer Debra McCown in Buchanan County, Va.28 July 2013 WASHINGTON (AP) – Four out of 5 U.S. adults struggle with joblessness, near-poverty or reliance on welfare for at least parts of their lives, a sign of […]

‘Ridiculous pseudo-science garbage’: Meet the GOP’s environment leaders – What do the 8 Republicans who sit on the U.S. Senate Environment Committee think about climate science?

By Jillian Rayfield July 27, 2013 (AlterNet) – As scientists agree that the problem of man-made climate change is getting more and more urgent, a review of their records reveals that all eight Republican senators on the Environment and Public Works Committee do not believe the phenomenon even exists. This sentiment was on full display […]

Global warming, ticks hitting New Hampshire moose population – ‘It’s not just polar bears that are going to be affected’

By ANNMARIE TIMMINS 28 July 2013 (Concord Monitor) — In 1950, New Hampshire was home to just 50 moose. Today, the count is near 5,000, but state biologists fear that climate change – by way of winter ticks and other parasites – is threatening the herd. “Shorter winters are a problem for moose because they […]

U.S. voters think Republican climate dissenters ‘crazy’, bipartisan poll finds – Majority of younger constituents back President Obama’s carbon plans

By Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent 24 July 2013 (The Guardian) – Republicans in Congress who reject the science behind climate change could soon be reduced to political fossils, with new polling on Wednesday suggesting three-quarters of young voters find such views “ignorant, out of touch, or crazy”. The bipartisan poll conducted for the League […]

Halliburton pleads guilty to destroying evidence after Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill

By CLIFFORD KRAUSS25 July 2013 HOUSTON (The New York Times) – Halliburton has agreed to plead guilty to destruction of critical evidence after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010, the Justice Department announced on Thursday. The oil services company said it would pay the maximum allowable fine of $200,000 and will be subject […]

The Deep South: Where the American Dream goes to die

By David Atkins 23 July 2013  (AlterNet) – David Leonhardt  has a fantastic piece about social mobility in the United States. It turns out that the American Dream, while getting more and more distant across the board, is still much more possible in some places than in others. What places? Well, surprise surprise: Climbing the […]

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