I’d say the old man has lost it, but he never had it in the first place: Rush Limbaugh didn’t say the magic words, but on Tuesday he basically accused the media of creating fake news about Hurricane Irma, which is threatening Florida after hitting Barbuda and Antigua. The storm’s 185-mile-per-hour winds tied the record […]
human-caused climate change
Posted inPolitical Animal
Not Suitable for Children
Remember eight years ago this week, when right-wingers freaked out over President Obama’s back-to-school address to public school children? MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow noted at the time that the right-wing meltdown was completely irrational, since Obama said nothing offensive during the speech. Eight years later, if Donald Trump decided to deliver a back-to-school address to America’s […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Will Hurricane Irma Blow Away GOP Climate Denialism?
Just days prior to Hurricane Irma’s expected assault on Florida, the Washington Post reported: Concern centered particularly on the Florida Keys, a chain of islands at the southern tip of the state that is a tourist hot spot and home to more than 80,000 residents. It is in the direct path of the storm as […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Hurricane Harvey: The Climate 9/11
We will never forget. August 25, 2017–the day Hurricane Harvey hit Texas–will be remembered as a day of infamy and injustice. The horror America experienced that day–and in the days afterward–will be remembered for generations to come. The anger Americans justifiably feel towards those who ignored the advanced warnings of this crisis will never subside. […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
After Hurricane Harvey, Republicans Have No Excuses for Inaction on Climate
How high’s the water, mama? Five feet high and rising How high’s the water, papa? She said it’s five feet high and rising Well the rails are washed out north of town We gotta head for higher ground We can’t come back till the water goes down Five feet high and rising… –Johnny Cash, “Five […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
The Men Who Knew Too Much: Exxon’s Climate Cruelty
What they did was nothing short of sick, nothing short of twisted, nothing short of unforgivable. No wonder one of their executives couldn’t wait to serve the Trump agenda. As David Roberts observes, ExxonMobil’s behavior has been every bit as reckless, selfish and vile as the behavior of the 45th President: The world’s largest oil […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Hurricane Harvey and Trump’s Treachery
You can’t have limited government when there’s unlimited flooding. Surely, among the many residents of Texas and Louisiana impacted by Hurricane Harvey are Republicans who voted for Donald Trump because they wanted to “get the federal government out of their lives,” and because they didn’t want “liberal tree-hugging central-planning do-gooders” making decisions in Washington. Of […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Of Course Trump Will Suppress New Report on US Climate Impacts
Has he called it “fake news” on Twitter yet? There isn’t a chance in hell that the Trump administration will ever officially release the latest National Climate Assessment Report showing the severe risk carbon pollution poses to the United States. Trump will surely take a page from George W. Bush, who taught Trump all that […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
The Courts Will Not Save Us from Trump’s Climate Callousness
Last year, I argued that an effort by young climate activists in Oregon to compel the federal government to reduce carbon emissions was well-intentioned but doomed. I didn’t anticipate that this effort would be doomed so quickly: A landmark climate change lawsuit, brought against the federal government by 21 children, has encountered yet another hurdle […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Green Lantern: Gore’s Return to the Spotlight Has Implications for 2018 and Beyond
Accepting the Vice Presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention 25 years ago today, then-Tennessee Senator Al Gore declared: I’ve spent much of my career working to protect the environment, not only because it is vital to the future of my State of Tennessee, our country and our earth, but because I believe there is […]
