June 30, 2010

Enviro Links: Climate Flop at White House, Cities Getting Hotter, and More


Today in climate news:

In yesterday’s White House energy and climate summit, President Obama apparently called for a carbon cap in comprehensive legislation. Democrats offered to scale back plans, with John Kerry remarking, “We believe we have compromised significantly, and we’re prepared to compromise further.”

But Republicans rejected the entreaty, bashing it as an “energy tax.” Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) says that the climate bill looks even less likely to pass now. So, yesterday was basically just another day in Washington.

Meanwhile, the planet is still getting warmer, and those cities that are already hot cities are just going to get hotter. That includes Washington, D.C. in fact, in case you’re paying attention, senators.

In oil disaster news:

Turns out, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s ranting about the government response to the Gulf disaster is mostly off base.

Red tape and a slow approval process are preventing foreign skimmers from joining the clean-up effort in the Gulf, reports the Times-Picayune.

BP agreed to put up $500 million for academic research over the next 10 years, but since the White House directed BP to consult with Gulf Coast governors on allotting the funds, the money is all going to state universities.

The Project on Government Oversight wants to know why the entity formerly known as the Minerals Management Service (now the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement) has not yet consulted with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on new oil rig safety guidelines.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) wants to end the royalty relief program for deepwater drilling.

Nevada Republican Senate candidate Sharon Angle argues that the real problem in the US is that we’re “over regulating” the oil and coal industries.

The Atlantic looks at five lessons we should take away from the oil disaster.

ProPublica finds a BP presentation form March on the company’s “key sources of growth” beyond 2015. Number one was to expand deepwater drilling, which has worked out so well for them now.

In other environmental news:

Let us not forget that the late Sen. Robert Byrd was also a leading advocate for the humane treatment of animals.

The Natural Resources Defense Council has filed suit to force the Food and Drug Administration to ban bisphenol A in food packaging.

More Mother Jones reporting on Climate Desk

WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

payment methods

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