Free Republic

The pyramid of aluminum shown in the photograph figures greatly in our nation’s history. This once rare metal was so prized that it was placed into a national monument by a grateful nation. Can you guess where? Now, aluminum is so common, thanks to an electrical refining process and plentiful, cheap electricity, that we throw it away in soda cans. Two seemingly unrelated events on opposite sides of the globe occurred this past week. One was the closure of an aluminum plant in Montana, and the other is the president of a European metals association threatened to move production overseas...

Leadership: As Palin jousts with Biden on energy independence, the government reports that we lead the world in energy reserves. From oil to gas to coal, we are sitting on prosperity. So why are we importing anything? One of the interesting sidelights of the NY-23 race was an exchange on energy independence between Vice President Joe Biden and the former governor of energy-rich Alaska, Sarah Palin. Biden, who came in to campaign for Democrat Bill Owens, was reminded of the issue of energy. "The fact of the matter is that Sarah Palin thinks the answer to energy was 'Drill, baby,...

Al Gore wants us to eat our greens Thursday, November 05, 2009 » 09:32am Climate change campaigner Al Gore wants us to turn vegetarian to help combat global warming. We've always been told to eat our greens, but now there's another incentive, saving the planet. Climate change campaigner Al Gore believes turning vegetarian could aid the battle against global warming. But he's stopped short of asking everyone to turn their back on meat, acknowledging getting a global agreement on fighting climate change is already hard enough. The former US vice-president turned environmental campaigner said on Wednesday he agreed with the...

In a case that could have a major impact on water use in Massachusetts, the attorney general’s office argued before the state’s highest court yesterday that the Department of Environmental Protection can impose limits on the amount of water municipalities draw from aquifers, rivers, and lakes.... The case, which the Supreme Judicial Court did not immediately rule on, stems from a state policy adopted in 2007 that allows the department to limit residential water use to 65 gallons a day per person for basins at risk of drought and 80 gallons a day per person for those with less risk....

Junk Science: The oracle of climate disaster has a new book out on global warming that should be on the fiction list. He asks us to commit economic suicide while he rakes in millions from his green investments. 'Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis," Al Gore's sequel to his 2006 tome "An Inconvenient Truth," came out Tuesday. Printed on recycled paper using low-VOC (volatile organic compound) ink, it will undoubtedly be a best-seller and on the desk of every attendee at next month's climate change conference in Copenhagen. In a press release announcing the book, the Oscar-...

Diane Sawyer didn't pull any punches with ex-Veep Algore, even using a Glenn Beck clip to challenge his global warming rhetoric.

And a nightmare for those of us still resisting the junk science of imminent anthropogenic (but particularly American and conservative led) global meltdown chaos theory. Fresh out of the United Kingdom comes news today that, "Judge rules that green views are the “same as religious beliefs” as sacked environmentalist wins legal battle." Yeah, you read that right. Though we’ve long known it, the faith dimension of the environmentalists has been fully recognized by the UK judiciary. Does this mean that Al Gore can now officially be equated with the Son of God?

“To explore, enjoy, and protect the planet. To practice and promote the responsible use of the Earth’s ecosystems and resources; to educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all lawful means to carry out those objectives.” — Sierra Club mission statement. Strategic Ignorance: Why the Bush Administration Is Recklessly Destroying a Century of Environmental Progress — 2004 book by Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope. “The raging monster upon the land is population growth. In its presence, sustainability is but a fragile theoretical concept.” – Edward O. Wilson,...

Do you believe significant man-made global warming is proven scientifically? Yes, No or Who Cares?

The international movement to provide the United Nations (UN) with unprecedented power and influence over world affairs has found a seemingly innocuous, but deceptive train to ride. The North American perception of this world body founded in 1945 has become that of a vast, but vapid and corrupt organization. The UN “Climate Change” train will change that impression, but not for the better. With support from the Obama administration, the path ahead will place the UN on a track toward receiving an irreversible influence over our lives. The continuing corruption will render untold dividends for the corrupt and morally repugnant....

During the past month, I’ve published four posts about the Kerry-Boxer climate change bill and the detrimental impact it will have on the country if passed. Today, I offer two videos from the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearings on the Kerry-Boxer climate change bill. If you’re like me, they will make you wonder how people like EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Energy Secretary Steven Chu and others in the Obama Administration sleep at night.

PARENTS have accused early childhood centres of "greenwashing" their children by burdening them with the responsibility of saving the world.Tots as young as three have sent letters to Kevin Rudd about their passion for green living and asked companies to reduce their packaging.Others are growing their own food, repairing toys and walking to preschool in an effort to reduce their toll on the environment.But experts have called for caution in teaching children about climate change because of the potential for fear, anxiety, frustration, anger and despair at catastrophic events.Mother Paula Driscoll, from Sydney, said environmental disaster was the new...

Almost two years ago, Barack Obama told the editors of the San Francisco Chronicle that anyone who wanted to open a new coal-burning electrical plant would get “bankrupted” by his policies. They may not even get the coal to burn, thanks to the EPA. The Washington Times’ Amanda Carpenter reports that the agency has held up scores of surface mining permits in an action that will get the attention of coal-producing states — and their Senators: While campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination, Barack Obama said his cap-and-trade tax plans would “bankrupt” anyone building a coal-fired power plant. Although those...

BUENOS AIRES N.W.R., Arizona | Michael M. Hawkes, manager of the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, reaches across his desk and pulls out a homemade blue-and-red bumper sticker that reads, "Littering is always a crime." It turns out that here on the U.S.-Mexico border, even that is a controversial statement — because it's aimed at the humanitarian groups that drop gallon jugs of water on public lands to help illegal immigrants crossing the rugged borderlands.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Senate plan to tackle global warming would add about $100 a year to the energy costs for a typical household, according to an analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency. The analysis released late Friday by the office of Sen. Barbara Boxer, who heads the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, generally mirrors the cost projected by the EPA when it examined similar legislation that the House passed in the summer. The Democratic bill calls for cutting greenhouse gases from power plants and large industrial facilities by shifting energy use away from fossil fuels, especially coal. It...

BUENOS AIRES N.W.R., Arizona | Michael M. Hawkes, manager of the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, reaches across his desk and pulls out a homemade blue-and-red bumper sticker that reads, "Littering is always a crime." It turns out that here on the U.S.-Mexico border, even that is a controversial statement — because it's aimed at the humanitarian groups that drop gallon jugs of water on public lands to help illegal immigrants crossing the rugged borderlands. Mr. Hawkes says dealing with those groups now takes up most of his time, and it only builds on top of the pile of other...

Environmentalism: As polls show belief in global warming is dropping, a new study suggests that dogs and cats, like people, are a plague upon the earth. They say people should have edible pets. Here, kitty, kitty. A new Pew Research Center study conducted Sept. 30-Oct. 4 says the number of Americans who think there's solid evidence the average temperature on earth has been getting warmer over the past few decades has plummeted from 71% in April 2008 to 57% today. Over the same period, there's been a comparable decline in the proportion of Americans who say global temperatures are rising...

Hope is vanishing that a historic deal to address climate change can be concluded in Copenhagen, and Environment Minister Jim Prentice says the best chance is for a political agreement that would pave the way for a treaty to be signed later. But Canada will continue to insist that it should have a less aggressive target for emission reductions than Europe or Japan because of its faster-growing population and energy-intensive industrial structure, Mr. Prentice said in an interview Thursday. Canadians must also recognize that any national emissions cap has to reflect differing conditions across the country so as not to...

Bond Speaks Out Against Cap-and-Trade Senator Bond continues to fight against cap-and-trade legislation that threatens Missouri families and farmers with higher energy prices and job losses. The bill proposed by Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and John Kerry (D-MA) sets even stricter emissions targets than the House-passed Waxman-Markey bill. The Senate bill also removes provisions that require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to be fair to ethanol producers and to protect energy-intensive manufacturing jobs in the United States that are exposed to unfair competition in China, an unsettling fact as experts say that the Waxman-Markey bill alone will eliminate 2.4 million...

In my opinion, this over the top idea isn’t sustainable at any level. On a personal note, my cat eats with a footprint more like a Volkswagen microbus. I think I’ll give “Minners” a can of doplhin safe tuna tonight, just for spite. From Stuff.co.nz By TANYA KATTERNS – The Dominion Post Save the planet: time to eat dog? The eco-pawprint of a pet dog is twice that of a 4.6-litre Land Cruiser driven 10,000 kilometres a year, researchers have found. Victoria University professors Brenda and Robert Vale, architects who specialise in sustainable living, say pet owners should swap cats...

Linda Finlay will not be giving up her dogs any time soon – despite a call from researchers to swap dogs and cats for pets they can eat, like rabbits or chickens. A longtime dog lover and dog training club member, Mrs Findlay couldn't imagine a life without Thomas, Zarah and Zoe – even if the Bernese Mountain Dog crosses and Alsatian labrador cross do have a carbon pawprint bigger than a Land Cruiser. "They're like part of the family," Mrs Findlay said. Victoria University professors Brenda and Robert Vale, architects who specialise in sustainable living, have recommended pet owners...

The Obama administration is setting aside 200,000 square miles in Alaska and off its coast as "critical habitat" for polar bears, an action that could add restrictions to future offshore drilling for oil and gas. Federal law prohibits agencies from taking actions that may adversely modify critical habitat and interfere with polar bear recovery. Assistant Interior Secretary Tom Strickland called the habitat designation a step in the right direction to help polar bears stave off extinction, recognizing that the greatest threat to the bear is the melting of Arctic sea ice caused by climate change. The Bush administration last year...

Supervolcanoes and cosmic impacts get all the terrible glory for causing mass extinctions, but a new theory suggests lowly algae may be the killer behind the world's great species annihilations. Today, just about anywhere there is water, there can be toxic algae. The microscopic plants usually exist in small concentrations, but a sudden warming in the water or an injection of dust or sediment from land can trigger a bloom that kills thousands of fish, poisons shellfish, or even humans. James Castle and John Rodgers of Clemson University think the same thing happened during the five largest mass extinctions in...

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the presidential “Facing Tomorrow" conference Tuesday night that the world must end its dependence on oil "that strengthens terror and damages planet Earth.” He said that the dependence on “black gold” raises the price of oil and stunts economic growth in Africa and other poor areas of the world, as well as in developed countries.

Politics: Move over, John McCain and Olympia Snowe. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is fast becoming the Democrats' favorite Republican as he partners with John Kerry to push cap-and-trade through the Senate. Earlier this year, eight Republican congressmen made it possible for Waxman-Markey, the 1,400-page job- and economy-killing cap-and-trade legislation, to barely pass the House of Representatives. At the time it seemed dead on arrival in the Senate if it was brought up there this year. Once again, as with their medical plan, the Democrats seek to better the odds by putting a GOP hood ornament on a Democratic clunker....

Reporting from El Centro, Calif. - Across the desert flatlands of southeastern California, dozens of companies have flooded federal offices with applications to place solar mirrors on more than a million acres of public land. But just as some of those projects appear headed toward fruition, environmental hurdles threaten to jeopardize efforts to further tap the region's renewable energy potential. The development of solar-power facilities in the desert has been a top priority of the Obama administration as it seeks to ease the nation's dependence on fossil fuels and curb global warming. In addition, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has urged that...

Taxes fund environmental suits - Environmental law firms reap billions in fees to fund lawsuits October 15, 2009 The federal government has paid out billions of dollars to environmental groups for attorney fees and costs, according to data assembled by a Cheyenne, Wyoming, lawyer. Karen Budd-Falen of Budd-Falen Law Offices [main@buddfalen.com or 307-632-5105] said the government between 2003 and 2007 paid more than $4.7 billion in taxpayer money to environmental law firms -- and that's just in the lawsuits she tracked. The actual figure, she said, is far greater. "I think we only found that the iceberg exists," she said....

The Culver City Council on Monday unanimously approved a moratorium to halt drilling in the Inglewood Oil Field until next August, by when city officials hope to have drafted a new ordinance that ensures the public’s safety and welfare. The new moratorium will extend one that expires Oct. 8 by 10 months, until Aug. 23, 2010. Plains, Exploration & Production Company, the primary operator of the oil field, has already sent four notices of intent to drill new wells to the State Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources, even though the oil company agreed with the Los Angeles County...

A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN THE WEATHER PATTERN WILL TAKE PLACE ACROSS THE EASTERN U.S. DURING THE NEXT FEW DAYS AS A DEEP UPPER TROUGH DEVELOPS IN THE MID-ATLANTIC REGION. THIS WILL RESULT IN MUCH COLDER AIR SPREADING SOUTHWARD INTO THE SOUTHEAST U.S. TONIGHT AND SATURDAY. MUCH BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN IN PLACE THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK...A FEW SNOW SHOWERS OR FLURRIES MAY OCCUR IN THE NORTH GEORGIA MOUNTAINS LATE SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT AS THE COLD AIR DEEPENS ACROSS THE REGION....

California, the nation's largest producer of fruits, nuts, vegetables, livestock and dairy products, ranks fifth in the world as a supplier of food and agricultural commodities. Cash receipts totaled more than $36.6 billion in 2007. By comparison, Coca Cola's 2008 revenue was $32 billion. The state provides more than half of the nation's fruits, nuts and vegetables using more than 25% of California's landmass for agricultural production. The Central Valley accounts for more than half of that area. A paragon of conservation and modern irrigation technology, California agriculture - comprised of many small and family-owned and operated farms - is...

'Not Evil Just Wrong' Puts Human Face on 'Disastrous' Effects of Green Policies By David Weigel 10/14/09 6:00 AM noteviljustwrong.com On October 7, Phelim McAleer joined the Society of Environmental Journalists. Three days later, he took advantage of his new membership to attend former Vice President Al Gore’s speech to the group in Madison, Wis., and to rush up to the microphone afterward to ask a question. Reading from a small scrap of paper, an assistant filming the whole thing, McAleer asked Gore about a court case brought by British parents who challenged the veracity of nine facts in Gore’s...

Those who ignore the geologic perspective do so at great risk. In fall of 1985, geologists warned that a Columbian volcano, Nevado del Ruiz, was getting ready to erupt. But the volcano had been dormant for 150 years. So government officials and inhabitants of nearby towns did not take the warnings seriously. On the evening of November 13, Nevado del Ruiz erupted, triggering catastrophic mudslides. In the town of Armero, 23,000 people were buried alive in a matter of seconds... For ninety percent of the last million years, the normal state of the Earth's climate has been an ice age....

Public Discourse: Our energy secretary applauds and encourages companies to leave the U.S. Chamber of Commerce over its position on climate change. Should any Cabinet secretary, with the powers of government behind him, be threatening U.S. companies? Part of the climate-change mantra is that the debate is over and the science is settled. Just to make sure, environmental groups have sought to pressure businesses to go green or at least keep silent. Now it would appear the whole weight of the federal government is being thrown behind this campaign to coerce and silence real and potential opposition. On Thursday, Steven...

Cary Fiorina, former Hewlett-Packard CEO and probable candidate for U.S. Senate from California, is starting to look like a viable choice for conservative voters in the Golden State, giving the GOP two conservatives from whom to chose. Fiorina's bona fides have been a question to many California Republicans because she is a relative newcomer to politics and many are not familiar with her political philosophy or what her campaign will stand for. But her recent hard hitting editorial in the Fresno Bee helps bring her ideals better into focus for the voters. Firoina's editorial in the Bee focuses on the...

Long-standing records were shattered as temperatures plummeted around North Central Washington on Sunday and into today. The Wenatchee Valley set two record lows for Oct. 11.. 23 at Pangborn Memorial Airport, breaking the previous low of 33 set in 1990; and 25 in Wenatchee, dipping below the low of 28 set in 1931. “It’s pretty extraordinary to break records by 10 degrees or more,” said Greg Koch, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Spokane.

BRITAIN continues its descent into a socialist hell, devoid of any justice or morality. We now live in a sub-Marxist world where the ultra-politicised institutions of the State wield arbitrary power, bullying the decent members of the public while dangerous criminals walk free. The legal system is fast becoming an instrument of oppression rather than a bulwark of civilisation. Such is the grip of Left-wing thinking on our so-called law enforcers that they are no longer willing to protect society from violence and thuggery.

The New York Times reports that several high profile and long time staffers to Miss Boxer’s (sorry Senator Boxer, Barbie hate’s when you forget that) Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) have resigned since she took over. The most recent resignation is Joe Goffman. Goffman is one of the leading experts on environmental legislation and was key member of the EPW in 1989-90 when the Senate passed amendments to the Clean Air Act establishing a cap-and-trade system on sulfur dioxide pollution. Sources on and off Capitol Hill told the New York Times that responsibilities were being passed to junior staff...

Drivers should be forced to pay per mile to save the planet, finds climate watchdog By David Derbyshire Last updated at 12:45 AM on 12th October 2009 Motorists should be forced to pay to drive on the busiest roads to slash greenhouse gas emissions, the Government's climate change watchdog says today. The Climate Change Committee, led by former CBI chief Lord Turner, wants ministers to introduce compulsory road pricing to prevent global warming. Under the controversial scheme, cars would be fitted with electronic tags and tracked either by satellite or roadside beacon. Charges would rise at times of peak congestion...

It's truly extraordinary how every left-of-centre journalist in the country has managed to become an instant expert on the arcane subjects of global warming and the science of climate change. Imagine, for example, if some average Canadian hack who had never studied the Middle East suddenly announced that he was an authority on Israel-Palestine, knew which side was right and knew how to solve all of the associated problems. This, however, is what we are told every day when it comes to the fashion of sounding green. The more sympathy we can exhibit for Al Gore's polar bear or David...

SAN FRANCISCO – Marijuana advocates are gathering signatures to get as many as three pot-legalization measures on the ballot in 2010 in California, setting up what could be a groundbreaking clash with the federal government over U.S. drug policy. At least one poll shows voters would support lifting the pot prohibition, which would make the state of more than 38 million the first in the nation to legalize marijuana. Such action would also send the state into a headlong conflict with the U.S. government while raising questions about how federal law enforcement could enforce its drug laws in the face...

Snow could be coming to town as early as this weekend. That’s right, snow. Flurries and flakes...If the snow sticks, it would be the earliest recorded measurable snowfall in Chicago. The record was set just three years ago when it snowed on Oct. 12.

Note: The following text is a quote: THE BRIEFING ROOM THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary ___________________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release October 5, 2009 President Obama signs an Executive Order Focused on Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance WASHINGTON, DC – Demonstrating a commitment to lead by example, President Obama signed an Executive Order (attached) today that sets sustainability goals for Federal agencies and focuses on making improvements in their environmental, energy and economic performance. The Executive Order requires Federal agencies to set a 2020 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target within 90 days; increase energy efficiency; reduce...

A call to drill for oil and natural gas in the narrow strip of Florida-controlled waters in the Gulf of Mexico will be the subject of a forum late this month at Florida State University. Rep. Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, wants the Legislature to lift the ban on offshore rigs in state waters and give the Cabinet authority to consider drilling applications. Cannon’s proposal came as a surprise earlier this year -- it died in the waning days of the legislative session -- and he’s now waging a campaign to win support for a drilling bill he plans to file...

Estrogen – from artificial contraception pills, consumed daily by tens of millions of women – is making its way through sewage treatment plants and severely pollutes our waterways with chilling consequences. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar reacted to an August report that emissions from coal-fired power plants have led to widespread mercury pollution in our rivers and streams by saying: "this science sends a clear message that our country must continue to confront pollution, restore our nation's waterways, and protect the public from potential health dangers." Who, after all, wants toxic levels of mercury in our rivers? But mercury is not...

Our government still has not figured out what to do about the dependence on foreign oil that everybody agrees is an unacceptable situation. The sensible thing to do, of course, is to produce more oil and natural gas from sources within and off the coasts near the United States, and the sooner, the better. “Drill here, drill now” is not just a slogan; it’s a prescription for energy independence. The 30-year old ban on offshore drilling along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts expired a year ago, and yet the federal government has sat on its hands, allowing time to pass...

With its economy in the worst shape in decades, Florida has few places to turn. This probably means that the state will have to consider...

Moose declining in Minnesota's northwoods, among their few strongholds in lower 48 states Researchers say such sightings of moose, an icon in Minnesota's northwoods, are likely to become more rare. A special advisory committee warned last month that climate change threatens moose. ... Minnesota has an estimated 7,600 moose, nearly all in the forests of northeastern Minnesota, where plentiful swamps, lakes and streams provide good habitat. Yet they're beleaguered by increasingly warm weather and parasites such as brainworms, ticks and liver flukes. "Almost without exception all of the indicators are that the population is declining," said Mark Lenarz, a moose...

Utah's elected leaders will present a united front this week against a bill backed by environmentalists that would turn vast swaths of the state's redrock country into federal wilderness. They say the legislation, which a House committee will discuss Thursday, covers too many acres, impedes private property rights and is little more than "propaganda" pushed by outsiders, like the bill's sponsor Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y.

There is a growing body of evidence now to support the theory that Western enviro-pillaging is leading to the flip-flop of the Earth's magnetic field. The acclaimed Indian science journal Jonwar Chodu recently published a controversial piece denouncing the Western World's mining of metal in 3rd world countries. But not for the normal reasons of hegemonic multinational imperialism - itself a good reason to stop all this horrible mining... No, this time it was for a reason far worse. You see, when you take metals from one part of the world, depleting them from whole regions almost entirely, and then...

Bethea said federal officials tested the river and found the E. coli bacteria level was 42 times greater than the highest safe level. “There is no way you want to get in or even touch water [this dirty],” Bethea said. “I’ve never seen the water so filthy. It was just filthy, and it didn’t smell very good in some places.” The river tour also found massive shoreline damage, including collapsed banks and fallen trees. --snip-- The U.S. Park Service on Wednesday shut down use of portions of the Chattahoochee, citing the dumping of raw sewage from broken sewage lines in...