What is the Obama Administration thankful for, or at least hopeful for, this Thanksgiving? That controversial Thanksgiving Eve announcements won’t receive any media attention. While most Americans were in transit Wednesday afternoon, the Department of Interior was finalizing its polar bear habitat protection, which sets aside 187,000 square miles of sea ice off the coast of Alaska as critical habitat. The announcement does not prohibit economic activity in these areas, but it could make it much more difficult for oil and gas development, since the designation requires federal officials to …
On July 15th, Greenpeace said in a press release calling for urgent action: “As permanent ice decreases, we are looking at ice-free summers in the Arctic as early as 2030,” but in an interview with BBC, Greenpeace leader Gerd Leipold said that might not exactly be the case. See the video below: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC7bE9jopXE&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fbighollywood%2Ebreitbart%2Ecom%2Famcelhinney%2F2009%2F08%2F19%2Fexclusive%2Dlies%2Drevealed%2Dgreenpeace%2Dleader%2Dadmits%2Darctic%2Dice%2Dexaggeratio&feature=player_embedded[/youtube] Emotionalizing or scare tactics? The problem with fear-mongering is that it’s a double-edged sword. Chicken Little scenarios allow you to convince someone to do something they may not have otherwise done or they can make you look …
Today the Obama administration’s Department of Interior announced that it would keep a Bush administration rule forbidding government scientists from considering global warming when protecting polar bears pursuant to the Endangered Species Act. When the Bush Interior Department announced their rule, they were roundly criticized by the enviro-left. It will be interesting to see how they react to the Obama administration taking the same position. More interesting is how the Obama EPA justified their decision. McClatchy reports: On Friday, the Interior Department reluctantly agreed, saying that it’s scientifically impossible to …
Good news, Mr. Gore. You no longer have to worry about polar bears arduously attempt to settle on a piece of breaking ice as portrayed in your documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. (The animated version Gore used in his movie can be seen at the 4-minute mark, to the tune of some strange Latin music, here.) In any event, according to data compiled by Illinois’s Arctic Climate Research Center, Thanks to a rapid rebound in recent months, global sea ice levels now equal those seen 29 years ago. Ice levels had …
As the House of Commons in England was debating global warming legislation, something happened that hasn’t occurred since 1922. Snow started to fall in October. Since the late 1980s, the left has been warning us of impending doom. Liberals say that the Earth’s temperature is rising and that carbon emissions are to blame. Is this really the case? Or are things happening outside of human control? The left would have you believe that it is the fault of human intervention. Liberals have even resorted to politicking fear. The warned the …
Global warming activists blame just about everything you can imagine on global warming. Increased and more violent hurricanes? Blame Global Warming. Early bird migration? Blame Global Warming. Polar bear extinction? Blame Global Warming. The Chicago Cubs losing in the first round of the divisional playoffs? Blame Global Warming! Well, not yet but I wouldn’t be surprised. (At least it would get Steve Bartman off the hook.) Glacial melting is the bread and butter for environmental activists. It was one of the many scare tactics used by Al Gore in his …
Environmentalists are being fundamentally dishonest when they sell there carbon reduction plans as “market friendly” cap and trade solutions, and not the massive energy taxes that they really are. But at least the eviros are participating in the democratic process when they try and legislate. The same can not be side of environmentalist efforts to control the economy through the federal courts. Hugh Hewitt has been doing a fantastic job documenting the scope of what environmentalists are planning to do with the Interior Department’s listing of the polar bear as …
The Sacramento Bee reports today that when it comes to environmental cases in cases in federal court, the Bush Administration appears to have the worst losing percentage of any administration over the past three decades. As NRO’s Jonathan Adler explains today, that percentage is not going to get any better when the Interior Department is forced to defend its novel decision to not designate a “critical habitat” when listing the polar bear as “threatened” pursuant to the Endangered Species Act. Adler writes: The ESA bars the government from authorizing, funding, …
For decades the environmental movement has drafted the world’s cutest and cuddliest mega fauna as symbols for their cause. From the grizzly to the panda, bears have always been the top choice for environmental iconography. In recent years environmental activists have enlisted the polar bear in their effort to take control of the U.S. economy on the grounds that global warming is destroying the bear’s arctic habitat. Now that the Interior Department has listed the polar bear as “endangered” pursuant to the Environmental Species Act (ESA), however, libertarians who are …
Environmentalists had a busy month trying to force federal government action on global warming. In the Senate, Environment and Public Works Committee chair Barbara Boxer (D-CA) grilled the Interior Department over delays in deciding whether or not to list the polar bear as an endangered species. In the courts, some liberal state AGs and activist groups sued the EPA in federal court for their decision to seek public comment on whether or not carbon emissions qualified for an endangerment finding under the Clean Air Act. One wishes they would try …
