Archive

Awards season is well underway, and the blogosphere is no exception. Voting for the 2008 Weblog Awards has been going on since December of last year; naturally, we're interested in who will receive the Best Science Blog award this year. Over at DeSmog blog, Kevin Grandia has some suggestions on how to cast your vote and why:

There once was a little known website fighting the so-called "global warming alarmism" being spread by that underground cabal of conspirators some of us call "scientists." But the site was no longer little after the Matt Drudge, Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity right wing echo machine got through with it.

Since it's anointment, the Watt's Up With That blog run by former TV weatherman Anthony Watts has become quite the sensation amongst the climate denial blog comment trolls. And now it seems that the site is about to win the award for "Best Science Blog" in this year's Weblog Awards.

Has it seriously come to this? Are there really no blogs out there more worthy than one that spends its days trumpeting the likes of Junk Science as a reason we should ignore the dire warnings of climate scientists at the top science academies in the world?

Kevin recommends voting "strategically" for the excellent Pharyngula, but there are other worthy candidates too, like the NASA scientist-run Real Climate. Make sure to cast your vote by the end of the day today, January 13. I don't think it's too much to ask that the Best Science Blog award go to a blog based on good science, do you?

With Congress just beginning it's 111th session this Tuesday, not much has happened just yet, but the new political landscape is still unfolding. This is a summary we prepared for our field organizers nationally, but some of you might find it useful as well. I will post these DC Hill updates weekly on Fridays moving forward.

On the heels of the Tennessee coal sludge disaster last month, dirty coal has struck again:

TVA is investigating a leak from a gypsum pond at its Widows Creek coal-burning power plant in northeastern Alabama, a spokesman said at about 10:45 a.m. Central Time.

The leak, discovered before 6 a.m. has been stopped, according to John Moulton, with the Tennessee Valley Authority.

“Some materials flowed into Widows Creek, although most of the leakage remained in the settling pond,” he said.

How many of these "leaks" will our communities have to endure before Congress finally supports a moratorium on new coal power plants? Over 8,600 people (and counting) have already sent nearly 30,000 letters to Congress asking for such a moratorium. Send your own message today!

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said this week that she has enough votes to pass cap-and-trade legislation aimed at curbing the effects of global warming, but would not commit to holding a vote in 2009. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Pelosi said she has backing in the Democratic-controlled House to move a cap-and-trade bill, but will not force the issue. When Congressman Ed Markey, since identified as the new Chairman of the new Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment in the Energy and Commerce Committee, was approached on timing, he said “to be determined.”

On December 22 (2 weeks ago), over 1 billion gallons of toxic coal sludge came cascading through Eastern Tennessee. The tidal wave of sludge toppled houses and dirtied rivers and streams. This toxic coal ash has been stored in an open 40-acre pond next to the 50-year-old power plant.

Great News for Vermont, and the Climate! Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) won a new seat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, one of more than three dozen committee assignments Democratic leaders handed out yesterday.

Check out at large VT Rep. Peter Welch's 1Sky endorsement from a Power Shift lobby visit:

Did you see the letter that prominent NASA climate scientist and 1Sky Science Advisory Council member James Hansen and his wife Anniek Hansen sent to President-elect Obama and his wife Michelle last week? See the letter here Dear Michelle and Barack, along with the attachment called "Tell Barack Obama the Truth — the Whole Truth." And let us know what you think.

The climate blogs were filled this week with reports on the widespread damage in Tennessee when a dike broke releasing a catastrophic surge of coal ash into the surrounding waterways. Although this news failed to steal most of the mainstream media headlines, it's actually turning out to be a bigger mess than the authorities initially predicted. Dave Roberts from Grist notes: