Mark Hertsgaard – Generation Hot

From The Nation:

For years, climate “skeptics” have denied the near-unanimous scientific consensus around global warming in an effort to delay action.

But, they’re not really “skeptics”—they’re cranks and hacks, and it’s time to unmask those who are holding our nation’s climate policy hostage.

The Nation is partnering in a new initiative, galvanized by the magazine’s environmental correspondent and my friend Mark Hertsgaard, to name and shame the climate cranks sabotaging our nation’s response to climate change. The coalition includes theSierra Club, 350.org, Kids vs. Global Warming, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and Grist.

On Tuesday, February 15, Mark (author of the new bookHOT: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth) and supporters will head to Capitol Hill, the Fox TV bureau, the Chamber of Commerce and other hotbeds of climate denial. The goal? Put the climate cranks on the spot and make them explain—on camera and in front of kids—why they have condemned the young people of “Generation Hot” (as Mark calls them), to spending the rest of their lives coping with the hottest climate in human history.

As Mark explained in a recent Nation excerpt of his book:

On the ground in Washington I will be joined by local young people—activist members of Generation Hot. Our plan is to confront the climate cranks face to face, on camera, and call them to account for the dangers they have set in motion. We will highlight the ludicrousness of their antiscientific views, which alone should discredit them from further influence over US climate policies. And we will show how our nation could still change course—for example, if the federal government were to use its vast purchasing power to kick-start a green energy revolution that would create jobs and prosperity across the land. We welcome your help and constructive suggestions for how to achieve these goals and invite you to join us.

Facebook page for Generation Hot

Join Mark Hertsgaard and others confronting climate cranks in Washington DC on Tuesday, Feb. 15

Accuweather: 100-Degree Warm-Up Ahead for Some States Next Week

From Accuweather:

A major, prolonged warm-up is finally on the way for the eastern two-thirds of the nation next week.

After a record-shattering, frigid morning with lows well below zero in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri and Kansas Thursday, temperatures could jump nearly 100 degrees in some areas by late next week.

A change in the overall weather pattern will allow milder air to spread through this region, as well as the rest of the Plains, Midwest and parts of the East, over the next few days. A more substantial warm-up will follow next week.

In the areas of Oklahoma, Kansas and Arkansas where temperatures dropped between 20° and 30° below zero F Thursday morning, highs in the 60s are in the forecast for late next week.

In some areas, temperatures could even make a run for 70°. This would be close to a 100-degree warm-up from Thursday morning’s frigid lows.

and they add:

In the process, much of the nation’s snowcover will be wiped out toward the end of next week.

At the Wunderground blog, Dr. Jeff Masters puts this winter’s snows in perspective:

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One Love | Playing For Change | Song Around the World


We heard a lot about Ronald Reagan’s birthday over the last week.  Future generations may very well point to his election as not only a national tragedy for America, but a key lost opportunity for humanity to begin transforming the fossil fuel economy, that Jimmy Carter had begun to chip away at, before serious global consequences became all but imminent.

I stumbled on a celebration of another birthday on youtube, a celebration that apparently 7 million other people found before I did – that of Bob Marley’s birthday, with a global, synchronous, multicultural version of “One Love”.

I’d be amazed if someone, somewhere in Tahrir Square in Cairo isn’t playing, singing, or humming this tonight.

Climate Denier Schmitt Withdraws from New Mexico nomination

Climate Denier Harrison “Jack” Schmitt, who was recently nominated to head New Mexico’s Department of Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, has turned down the position. Schmitt had recently come under scrutiny for his statements denying the reality of man-caused climate change, and his claim that environmentalists are a part of a global communist conspiracy.

Schmitt’s recent claims, in particular, his demonstrably innacurate claims about arctic sea ice,  became the focus of attention from a number of scientists, journalists, bloggers and citizens.

He has now turned down the position, ” just hours after a state senator called out Schmitt for refusing to comply with all the rules of a required background check” according to the Washington Post.

Could it be that Dr. Schmitt’s withdrawal is the first significant victory for a burgeoning effort to push back at the climate denying, anti-science movement?

Having watched this effort’s phenomenal growth over recent months, I’m betting the answer is yes.

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The Greatest Threat to the Planet: The Right Wing Noise Machine, Part 2

Our problems are more mental than environmental.

A few months ago I posted a piece that was not strictly about climate change, but in fact had everything to do with why we are where we are.  The greatest threat to the planet is not the gases spewing from smokestacks, but the lies and misinformation pouring out of the Right Wing Echo chamber from television, radio, and the right wing press,  which is re-amplified and repeated endlessly on innumerable internet sources.

This piece of video is astounding, maybe because of how routine it’s become.  A group of hard core republican voters, coached by GOP “pollster” Frank Luntz, affirm that they believe, seriously, that Barack Obama is a secret Muslim, who is using his position as President of the United States, to stealthily impose a foreign set of values on America.  Luntz barely misses a beat, other than a quick “Wow..”, and then plows right ahead, seemingly unable to break persona long enough to stop and say, “Are you people out of your freaking minds?”.

The screen splits revealing an impassive Sean Hannity, one of the master misinformers… who also acts as if this is somehow normal.

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Graph of the Day: Greenland Ice Sheet Mass Changes


The mass changes of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS) are computed from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) inter-satellite range-rate observations for the period April 5, 2003 – July 25, 2009. The mass of the GIS has been computed at 10-day intervals and 200km spatial resolution from a regional high-resolution mascon solution (Luthcke and others, 2008 and 2006). The animation shows the change in mass referenced from April 5, 2003. The spatial variation in surface mass is shown in centimeters equivalent height of water. The time variation of the GIS mass is shown in the x-y plot insert with units of Gigatons.

credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

OK, that’s the geekspeak description. But in plain english, how do we know? What are the Grace Satellites? Heidi Cullen explains below.

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Coming to your School?: New Mexico Bill Promotes Anti-Science Education

Bill Maher visits Creation Museum

This week’s Crock Video discussed climate denier Harrison Schmitt, who was recently appointed as  head of Natural Resources in New Mexico. Mr. Schmitt’s allies in the legislature have recently moved to extend the tea party anti-science agenda with a bill aimed at science teaching in public schools.

If there was ever any doubt that an organized anti-science movement exists, and that it includes the climate denial movement, a report from Wired should remove all doubt.

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