commonground

Creationists Inconvieneced with Gore Film

When did tolerance of a person's religous beliefs become a means to silence debate. Are Creationsts so fragile they can't be exposed opposing viewpoints.The Al Gore documentary An Inconveniant Truth was pulled from a Seattle school district after a  parent who supports the teaching of creationism and opposes sex education complained. ( Seattle  PI)

Creationism                                                Evolution in Public Schools

The Governator's Carbon Reduction Plan

Arnold Schwarzenegger, the governor of California, said that he would ask regulators to require the state's petroleum refiners and gasoline sellers to cut by 10 percent the emissions of heat-trapping gases associated with the production and use of their products. ( IHT)

CARB                                                                                                                      Biodiesel

Greens Gripe About Obama

Why is Barack Obama  backing a law supporting the expanded use of coal, whose emissions are cooking the globe? It seems the answer is twofold: his interest in energy independence -- and his interest in downstate Illinois, where the senator's green tinge makes the coal industry queasy.(Washington Post)

Coal to Liquids Act                                                                                        

The Darkside to Gates' Philanthropy

The Gates Foundation has poured $218 million into polio and measles immunization and research worldwide, including in the Niger Delta. At the same time that the foundation is funding inoculations to protect health, the Times found, it has invested $423 million in Eni, Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and Total of France--the companies responsible for most of the flares blanketing the delta with pollution, beyond anything permitted in the United States or Europe.  ( Chicago Tribune)

Gates Foundation                                                                                                   Corpwatch

Ethical Investing Is It Worth It?

The popularity of "values driven" investing has surged in recent years, from a lone fund called Pax World in 1971 to at least 60 funds today -- including some that have consistently posted healthy returns, helping the field to shed its weak reputation. ( On Earth )

Social Investment Forum                                                                              Pax World Funds

Ethanol's Downside: Food vs. Fuel

US factories producing ethanol fuel for cars may consume as much as half of the country's corn crop next year -- more than double earlier government predictions. Feedlot owners, who intensely feed corn to cattle and pigs for four to six months before slaughter, have seen their costs rise dramatically because of ethanol production.  ( Boston Globe)

Food vs. Fuel                                                                                                       The  Debate                       

Saving Money with Smart Meters

Baltimore Gas and Electric will join the movement this year as it begins testing meters that, among other things, could save customers money by rewarding them for using less power during times of peak demand, as on hot summer afternoons. ( Baltimore Sun)

Smart Meter                                                                                                                      PG&E

Google's Great Science Gambit

Just in case there's a pizza  joint on planet Neptune that needs  a Web presence.  Google today will announce its partnership with the University of Washington, the University of Arizona and others to create the world's largest database -- a moving picture of the universe. ( Seattle P-I)

LSST                                                                                                               

Exxon's Disinfo Campaign

ExxonMobil Corp gave $16 million to 43 ideological groups between 1998 and 2005 in an effort to mislead the public by discrediting the science behind global warming, the Union of Concerned Scientists asserted Wednesday. (San Jose Mercury)

Union of Concerned Scientists                                                                           

Los Angeles Follows the Sun

Once the domain of hippies, whose off-the-grid escape doubled as an anti-establishment rebuke, renewable energy is now a pillar of California politics. In recent months alone, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed the California Solar Initiative, which aims to help bring solar power to a million rooftops, as well as a landmark greenhouse-gas reduction law. ( LA Times)

Sun Light & Power                                                                        CA Solar Initiative