Global Warming

Scientists, politicians, environmentalists and journalists have long been stymied by the difficult task of engaging people so that they will agree to begin curbing toxic greenhouse gas emissions. A new Yale study, however, shows there is a huge difference in how Americans regard the terms “global warming” and “climate change.”

There’s an old proverb that suggests it’s always the lie that gets half way around the world while the truth is still pulling its boots on. This is especially true in the realm of climate science, where deniers are quick to jump on anything that supports their theory (in itself a huge no-no according to scientific principles). The latest: a story in UK's The Times about an article rejected by a science journal for factual errors, but twisted to appear like a deliberate suppression of climate change denial.

Until recently, the Koch family empire ruled from the shadows afforded by unimaginable wealth. As more and more Americans open their eyes to the powers behind the modern conservative movement — and a whole lot of climate change denial — the information about this secretive family is beginning to spill out into the open. With a biography on the Koch family hitting bookstores on Tuesday, that story may finally be available for all to read.

Proud climate change denialist Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) dismissed a report by 11 three and four-star Admirals and Generals warning of the very real instability caused by climate change. The reason? Those esteemed service members were just looking for "publicity."

While it's patently ridiculous to argue the reality of climate change, there is an argument to be said about the way scientists are selling the idea to the American people (and the world at large). Can they do a better job of explaining the facts — before it's too late?

After generations of state control, Mexico’s vast oil and gas reserves will soon open for business to the international market. In December 2013, Mexico’s Congress voted to break up the longstanding monopoly held by the state-owned oil giant Petroleos Mexicanos — commonly called Pemex — and to open the nation’s oil and gas reserves to foreign companies.

In a speech Friday at the UMass Amherst Commencement Address, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick called for a "future free of fossil fuels." The history books and future generations will rightfully judge today's "leaders" harshly if they fail to act. Leaders like Gov. Deval Patrick, on the contrary, should and likely will be hailed as heroes and visionaries.

For years, if you didn't believe in climate change, the Detroit News was probably your paper of choice. Through countless editorials and political cartoons, the newspaper routinely ripped climate science and the economic impact at moving towards energy less reliant on fossil fuels. However, with yesterday's editorial, that stance may be changing. Finally.

The EPA scored a huge court victory recently, with the U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that the agency’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standard (MATS) is within the its realm of enforcement. Estimates show that almost 60 percent of the coal-fired power plants in the country are either using mercury capture and cleaning technology, or their emissions are so low that they do not qualify. And contrary to industry claims, the cost of the new equipment has almost no effect on consumer electricity prices and the companies’ bottom line.

Secretary of State John Kerry needs to talk with U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. Better yet, he should come see the South Carolina coast firsthand. Even a two- to three-foot rise in sea level will inundate many commercial areas and residential communities and destroy vital infrastructure. And this means we won’t be waiting until the end of the century to see our small-business coastal tourism economy start disappearing. It might be, as some scientists predict, only 30 to 40 years.