BAmer

Despite all of the comments in (it seems) every blog post out there (except for this lovely community), more data keep coming in showing that the earth is indeed heating up. According to Science Now, NASA will be releasing data tomorrow (Friday) that will show that 2009 was the hottest year ever in the southern hemisphere.

More info below…

Today’s issue of the journal Science includes a scathing report on the effects on the controversial practice of mountaintop removal mining. This is the practice where large sections of mountains are blown up to reveal the coal inside. The leftover material is then often dumped into valleys and streams.

Despite what you may have read, a bunch of illegally hacked emails does not actually change the fact that the climate is changing. As a prelude to the Copenhagen Conference next month, a group of scientists has updated the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s 2007 report. The jist? Things are worse than predicted.

As reported by Mother Jones earlier this week, some of our favorite midwestern Democrats sent a bill to the Democratic leadership asking for more carbon offsets for coal-burning utility companies in the Senate’s energy/climate change bill.

I know it will be an absolute SHOCK to everyone on this site who has been struggling through the Senate’s snail’s pace on Healthcare Reform, but the slowest legislative body in the world is doing the same thing on climate change.

The Kerry/Boxer or (CEJAPA) is the Senate’s version of Waxman/Markey (ACES – better acronym) that passed the House last summer. It is now meandering through the Senate (aren’t we all sick of the workings of the Senate after the slog we’ve been going through on Healthcare Reform?). This is President Obama’s OTHER legislative priority, and here’s why it’s important.

Don’t forget about Climate Change legislation, with all of the focus on healthcare reform. HCR is definitely critical, but affects only the USA. Climate change / global warming will affect the entire world, with devistating impacts occurring this century unless we act quickly!