30 years ago today, in a New Hampshire campaign appearance, Democratic Presidential candidate Michael Dukakis declared, “We need someone in the White House who understands that America should be the leader on international environmental questions.” Had Dukakis—who denounced Republican opponent George H. W. Bush as “a charter member of the environmental wrecking crew that went […]
climate change
Posted inPolitical Animal
Doing Things You Might Regret
As they used to say, the whole world is watching—and unfortunately, that includes the most reactionary elements of the world. This is why recent events in North Dakota bear close watching: An environmental activist from Seattle was sentenced Tuesday to serve one year in prison for targeting an oil pipeline in North Dakota. Michael Foster, […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Scott Pruitt: Don’t Worry Humans, Climate Change Could Be A Good Thing
The head of the EPA is disregarding facts in favor of spin from his friends in the fossil fuel industry.
Posted inFeatured, Political Animal
Will Either National Party Ever Take Climate Change Seriously?
Neither Trump’s SOTU nor Kennedy’s response mentioned climate change. That’s a travesty.
Posted inPolitical Animal
A Sad Way to Go
No one ever wants to speak ill of the dead, but what happens when the dead have spoken ill of themselves? John Coleman, the “Good Morning America” forecasting icon who co-founded The Weather Channel, died [last] Saturday. The 83-year-old Coleman, in his later years, may have become best known for championing skepticism about the human […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
What Would Martin Say to Mia?
That loud sound you heard yesterday was not another false ballistic missile alert, but the noise of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. rolling over in his grave as Rep. Mia Love (R-UT) very tepidly criticized Donald Trump on CNN’s State of the Union. Rep. Love had a look of absolute fear on her face, as […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Exxon’s Long Con
At long last, have they no decency? Of course not. ExxonMobil—still reeling from reports that the company knew that its fossil fuels were fueling a climate crisis—is crying victim in court, claiming that mean environmentalists are targeting the company for destruction. Pardon me as I reach for the handkerchief: ExxonMobil is trying to turn the […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
The Downward Spiral
Now we know who was listening. Next Saturday, January 20, marks the first anniversary of You Know What, and there’s no need to trigger people with that dark memory. Next Saturday also marks the fifth anniversary of the beginning of Barack Obama’s second term as president. Obama was sworn in for a second term in […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Future Fire and Fury: Trump’s Climate Instability
Fifteen years ago today, Senators John McCain and Joseph Lieberman introduced the Climate Stewardship Act, which would have implemented a federal cap-and-trade program to reduce carbon pollution. McCain and Lieberman were horrified by President George W. Bush’s refusal to take action on the climate crisis due to the influence of the fossil-fuel industry; that industry, […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
The Joan Walsh Fiasco Proves It: MSNBC Must Seriously Now Be Crazy
Serves ‘em right. The MSNBC executives who made the logic-free decision to get rid of progressive contributor Joan Walsh right before Christmas deserve the embarrassment they presumably feel after CNN immediately offered Walsh a position. Those now residing in the house Ted Turner built recognized that Walsh’s vision had value—something MSNBC officials apparently lost sight […]
