Have you seen the comic art for the 2010 Union of Concerned Scientists Scientific Integrity Cartoons? Shown above is a cartoon about science and the Endangered Species Act.

The entire calendar shows how “the absurdity of political interference in science is ripe for lampooning-and serves as a constant reminder of how vigilant we must be in defending science from politics.” The comics also highlight the need for the new administration and Congress to create a thriving federal scientific enterprise.

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We’ve all done the elementary school math story problem: Would you rather have $10,000 right now, or a penny doubled every day for a month? Well, in the end, those of us who were greedy enough to take the $10,000 right up front ended up poorer than those who took the penny.

This problem seems silly to us though. Now what about this one. Would you rather take $1,000 right now or $4,000 three years from now? Chances are, you chose the immediate cash. Psychologists use the term ”delay discounting” to describe our inability to resist the temptation of a smaller immediate reward in lieu of receiving a larger reward later. Most people choose the smaller, more immediate reward over the larger “patience is a virtue” reward.

And no matter what the context, discounting stems from three factors: a bias for the present; uncertainty; and projected resources. We are a people who thrive on instant gratification; that’s one reason we love TV so much. It is also a contributing factor to the current economic crisis (and debt in general).

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An “American” story of race and class, the arrest and aftermath narrative now seems to have settled comfortably into a hackneyed old gender stereotype; namely, that there is no better way for three “guys” to sort things out than over a beer. We know what the chatter will be about, and Cambridge’s local reports that it will be conducted over Blue Moon if Sergeant Crowley does the choosing, which leads me to ask:

What’s on the agenda for your beer with Obama?

I’ll post my top three items below, but I’m most interested in your comments. You can tell me what you would be drinking if you like, but I’m more interested in your talking points. What are the two or three key messages you would deliver to the White House on energy and environmental policy?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published findings of a study on Friday, suggesting that climate change endangers public health and welfare. The landmark findings could be the basis for federal regulation of CO2.

The proposed endangerment findings, which will now move to a public comment period, also state, “In both magnitude and probability, climate change is an enormous problem. The greenhouse gases that are responsible for it endanger public health and welfare within the meaning of the Clean Air Act.”

Chief among the findings is that global climate change has the potential to make U.S. air quality management more difficult, and therefore future air quality management decisions should begin to account for the impacts of climate change.

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Reports have surfaced that the Obama administration will likely terminate the National Environmental Performance Track program as early as this week.

The EPA’s Performance Track program was designed to encourage businesses and governmental offices to move beyond mere compliance of environmental regulation by registering participants to agree to voluntary improvements across 20 environmental category areas. By joining, signers-on hoped to improve their “environmental cred.”

The program was one of several public-private partnerships that became the hallmark of the Bush administration’s environmental policy. This approach to regulation was touted as a move beyond the traditional “command and control” nature of administrative rulemaking to more collaborative and voluntary programs. Such programs have had mixed results.

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The conservative blogosphere, led by up and coming right wing-nut Michelle Malkin have been frantically pushing to label the stimulus bill the “Generational Theft Bill,” and impressionable republicans on the hill are echoing this ill-conceived branding quip. Generational Theft? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!

Apparently in the eyes of these pundits and politicians all debt is not created equal…

When Bush nearly doubled the national debt from 5.7 trillion to almost 11 trillion dollars to fund the Iraq war and give tax cuts to the wealthy, that wasn’t “Generational Theft.” Even though we’ll be paying for his policies for years to come, he was investing in our future, and making the world a better, safer place.

>>See also: Who Wins with Passage of Stimulus? Google, of Course

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Kilmer was recently quoted as saying: “What I do for a living is listen. If I run, I’m going to be the next governor.” Kilmer is registered as a Democrat, and donated to Ralph Nader’s and Bill Richardson’s campaigns for president in 2008.

Kilmer voted for Barack Obama though, and eagerly attended the new president’s inauguration ceremonies, comparing it to attending the Gettysburg Address. He also told the Boston Globe that actors when elections.

Better Than Arnold as an Environmental Governor?

Back when rumors began circulating about Kilmer’s potential run, we previewed his environmental credentials/views on Red, Green, and Blue. You can read our write-up by clicking here. One of the great tidbits we found was a quote from Kilmer about California’s famous governor: “I did get some lobbyists once saying that I’d make a good governor. Reagan wasn’t much of an actor and look how that worked out for him. And then there’s Arnold… I think you should be able to pronounce the name of the state.”

Another interesting environmental tidbit about Kilmer: he will be starring in two upcoming movies that have global warming tie-ins. One will be called The Steam Experiment. According to information on the Internet Movie Database, “In the film, Val Kilmer plays a former university professor who overheats his hostages to prove that humans will devolve into chaos under the pressures of global warming. He tells a detective that their location will be revealed if his hypothesis is printed as the local paper’s front-page headline.”

Photo Credit: Original unmodified image from shiherlis on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

In his first full day in office, President Barack Obama was delivered a letter from 97 businesses, organizations and activists outlining recommended first steps for tackling climate change.

The letter was announced in a press release today from the Sustainable Energy Network, an informal network founded in 2006 comprised of more than 600 organizations, businesses, and individuals advocating aggressive development of sustainable energy technologies to curb energy imports, slash greenhouse gas emissions, and phase out nuclear power.

The recommendation comes on the heals of warnings from climatologist Dr. Jim Hansen, including a personal appeal to the Obamas written by Hansen and his wife in December.

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The British Government’s plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport have come under attack from a surprising source. Doubts have been expressed by Tim Jeans who is Managing Director of Monarch Airlines.
Mr Jeans says the expansion would have a ‘detrimental impact’ on the lives of millions of Londoners but, more seriously, ‘prevent the aviation industry from being taken seriously over environmental issues’. He also felt that the Government’s suggestion that new technology would lead to reduced emissions was overly optimistic.

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In an earlier post, I raised the fact that only two U.S. Presidents have ever even mentioned the environment in their inaugural addresses. And after today, that record will technically stay intact.

Though President Obama did not utter the word “environment” per se, he spoke both directly and indirectly about the major energy and environmental issues of today; more so than any of his predecessors. Below are the excerpts in which Mr. Obama referred to the environment:

“…each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.”

“For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.”

“With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet.”

“To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.”

Full text of inaugural address
Image: CC licensed by flickr user victoriapeckham

Long-distance passenger train travel has languished in the United States ever since the automobile and airplane took their places as the preferred modes of transportation. But several factors have come together in the last few years to make travel by rail more attractive.

First off, with the astronomical rise in the price of oil we saw over the course of 2009, many turned to train travel as a cheaper alternative than either flying or driving. Second, with the new restrictions and fees airlines have put on luggage, traveling with anything more than one bag has become a real headache on planes. Lastly, many people are turning to train travel as a low-carbon option of traveling long distances.

Although Amtrak may be the greener choice of the three, some questions still remain about the company’s overall environmental policies; and this is exactly what The Good Human argued today in an epilogue to a round-trip cross-country trip aboard Amtrak.

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Bowing to pressure from environmental groups, the German science ministry has suspended a planned ocean fertilization experiment in the Southern Ocean and asked the researchers to commission an independent analysis of the project’s environmental impact before dumping anything in the ocean.

Even though the nearly fifty scientists and crew aboard the icebreaker Polarstern will reach their destination in the Scotia Sea by the end of this week, Nature News reports they will not be dumping the ship’s payload  -  at least not yet.

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A group called EcoSector is proposing the creation of a U.S. Department of Ecosystems that, according to organizers, would represent a huge increase in our commitment to the environment and the green economy.

Lest you forget, the EPA is not a department, it is a lowly agency. Agencies are not afforded the same authority (nor respect) as cabinet-level departments. Creating a department with a clear mission helps create the kind of organizational cohesion necessary for effective governance on such a large scale.

There already exists a high level of bipartisan support for the creation a cabinet-level Department focused on the environment. Most of the political support for this restructuring consists in the form of bumping up the Environmental Protection Agency to cabinet-level status, as Republican and former EPA chief Christine Todd-Whitman has argued.

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Amid rising tensions with neighboring India and dealing with a resurgent Taliban along the Afghani border, Pakistan’s government is also launching a different kind of campaign - a green one.

Pakistan’s Environment Minister Hameedullah Jan Afridi has finalized a calendar of events for the upcoming year; officially deeming 2009 Pakistan’s “National Year of the Environment.”

In a press conference, Minister Afridi urged international bodies, non-governmental organizations, provincial governments and the private sector to actively participate in making 2009 an environmental success. However, the question still remains whether this is Potemkin-environmental policy or the real thing.

The government-sponsored activities of Pakistan’s National Year of the Environment include the screening of environmental documentaries, panel discussions and dialogues, planting of 10 million trees in a day to surpass a world record, seminars, exhibitions, essay-writing competitions, and walks. Throughout the year, the calendar is littered with awareness days, weeks, and months, in an effort to educate Pakistan’s citizens about the ecological consequences of their individual actions.

While Pakistan should be applauded for their efforts, their praises should not go unqualified.

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9. McCain’s Colorado River Gaffe Might Cost Him Key Western States by Timothy B. Hurst

“John McCain has again said something to cause his fellow western-state Republicans to wince at his political inexpedience and apparent naivete for the issue at hand. And even though the Senator has now recanted and begun damage control, Democrats are hoping that this one will cost him. Some even argue that the gaffe was so severe, he may have just lost Colorado.”

8. Imagine a $700 Billion Bailout for the Environment by Jennifer Lance

One of the biggest stories of 2008 (and likely again in 2009) was the economic collapse and the ensuing expanding role of the U.S. Government in backing large corporations. On October 1st, Jennifer Lance considered what that kind of money could do for the environment: “I can’t help but wonder what a $700 billion bailout would do for the environment.  What if the US government had responded to the twenty years of dire warnings by James Hansen in the same manner as the current economic crisis?  Such an aggressive response may have stopped climate change and saved our economy through green jobs and technology.”

7. Schwarzenegger Jumps on Obama’s Proper Tire Inflation Bandwagon by Timothy B. Hurst

Separating himself from his party’s leadership (again), California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger backed the launch of EcoDriving USA, a new web portal aimed at sharing gas-saving tips. About the Republican misstep that gave such rich context to this launch, I wrote: “GOP strategists saw an opportunity to pounce on this bold claim by Senator Obama. And they, along with their friend Rush Limbaugh, lampooned and ridiculed Obama’s tire pressure assertion as a joke. The McCain campaign even went so far as handing out tire gauges branded with the slogan “Obama’s Energy Plan” to reporters traveling with Senator Obama. Let me just say this, whomever was in charge of that “brilliant” move at McCain HQ should be canned.”

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On Thursday, Assistant Interior Secretary Lyle Laverty ordered the National Park Service to ease existing mountain biking restrictions, possibly opening nearly eight million acres of recommended or proposed wilderness lands in approximately 30 parks to mountain biking.

The Bush administration has released several controversial rule changes and “clarifications” over the last few months that have put even the most critical of Bush’s environmental record into a state of disbelief at the potential environmental consequences of those regulations. But this one is a little different.

The rule change issued Thursday pits the sometimes-allied (non-motorized) recreational environmentalists against the “preservationists,” who see the rule change as just another human incursion into pristine areas that would further degrade its ecological integrity. Opponents argue that mountain biking can lead to erosion thus threatening stream health and that mountain bikers are often at the root of on-trail conflicts with hikers and horseback riders.

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Tough auto emissions standards backed by Florida Gov. Charlie Crist cleared an important obstacle when a state commission approved rules fiercely opposed by the auto industry but praised by environmentalists.

The Florida Environmental Regulation Commission voted 6-1 to adopt an emissions rule as a way of lowering the greenhouse gases. The Florida rule to regulate carbon emissions from cars is modeled after the California rule which is still being held up in regulatory limbo.

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According to a new report, the cumulative impact of developing Canadian tar sands over the next 30–50 years could be as high as 166 million birds lost, including future generations. Written by scientists from the Natural Resources Defense Council, Boreal Songbird Initiative, and Pembina Institute, the peer-reviewed paper suggests that avian mortality from continued development of Canada’s tar sands would provide a serious blow to migratory bird populations in North America.

“This report is yet another wake up call to the government in Alberta, as it confirms that the cumulative impact of oil sands development is on an unsustainable trajectory,” said Pembina Institute’s Simon Dyer, a contributing author to the report.

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When those cannons fail, we see unfortunate accidents like the one this past summer in Alberta when some 500 ducks were killed after landing in a tailings pond. Toxic tailing ponds result in 8,000 to 100,000 oiled and drowned birds annually.

Authors of the report suggest that an immediate solution to the unsustainable pace of development and to environmental problems relating to tar sands oil development is a moratorium on all new projects, project expansions, and to clean up existing projects.

For Canada to take the kind of substantive action necessary to prevent the ecological damage suggested by this report, it may require international pressure; the kind of pressure that could be applied by a renegotiated NAFTA that strengthens environmental laws, something that president-elect Obama has suggested he would like to see.

Images courtesy of: 1. & 3. David Dodge/Pembina Institute; 2. & 4. D. Faucher/Ducks Unlimited; 5. Sun Media Corp.; 6. Jeff Nadler