NATIONAL PRIORITIES PROJECT — National Priorities Project’s Cost of War counter http://www.costofwar.com/, designed to count the total money appropriated for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, will reach the $1 trillion mark on May 30 at approximately 10:06 a.m. (regardless of time zone).
Category: May 2010
Answering Rand Paul on Civil Rights
LAWRENCE S. WITTNER — Rand Paul’s criticism of the federal civil rights legislation of the 1960s can be better evaluated by looking at the workings of similar legislation that appeared on the state level two decades before.
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Holds 50th Reunion
DAVID HARTSOUGH — I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in the 50th reunion of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), April 15-18, 2010, in Raleigh, NC. Over 800 SNCC workers, their families and friends came together for four days to remember, reflect, share stories, inspire a younger generation, and strategize about how to continue the important work that SNCC students started 50 years ago.
Brilliant Transportation Idea: Carsharing for All
SARA STROUD — Carsharing is on the rise, but it must be more scalable to have a real impact on easing traffic congestion and cutting carbon emissions, according to cleantech investor Sunil Paul. That’s the idea behind Spride Share, a San Francisco-based carsharing startup that came out of stealth in late April and is backed by Paul’s early-stage venture fund Spring Ventures, which has funded cleantech startups such as Nanosolar and algal fuel company Solazyme.
Tell Your Reps: No More War Funding
NORMAN SOLOMON — Official Washington may be good at spinning rhetoric in murky fog, but there’s no way around this fact: war can only continue if Congress votes to pay for it.
Environment Oregon Kicks Off Ban the Bag Campaign
ENVIRONMENT OREGON — An island of trash twice the size of Texas in the Pacific Ocean is killing more than 1 million seabirds, 100,000 sea turtles and marine mammals, and countless fish each year. Plastic makes up 90 percent of this toxic soup, and four-fifths of that plastic, much of which is plastic bags, floats into the ocean from our rivers and harbors.
How Does the Global Warming Pollution from Cars Compare to Other Major Sources Such As a Coal Power Plant?
UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS — Ask a Scientist: S. Tompkins from Charlotte, NC, asks “How does the global warming pollution from cars compare to other major sources such as a coal power plant?” and is answered by Clean Vehicles Senior Engineer Jim Kliesch.
If I Had a Trillion Dollars: Youth Video Contest Announced
NATIONAL PRIORITIES PROJECT — The money that is being spent on the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will reach $1 trillion within the next five months. This money could be spent in our communities on many things that now face cuts, like after school programs, art and music programs, and summer jobs. You can spread the word. The American Friends Service Committee and National Priorities Project are sponsoring a youth video project to help young people (high school and college age) enter the cost-of-war discussion. Share your ideas about what you would do – for yourself, your family and your community – with $1 trillion.
Troubling Questions About Nominee Elena Kagan
GUY-URIEL CHARLES — Elena Kagan, currently the Solicitor General of the United States, is widely rumored to be President Obama’s top choice to succeed Justice Stevens on the Supreme Court. The most compelling and least compelling aspect of a Kagan nomination is that we do not know where she stands on many of the issues that would come before the Court. For those of us who would prefer a strong left-of-center nominee, the basic message is that we should trust that Kagan will not be the left’s version of David Souter. I understand why Kagan is politically attractive as a nominee, but I am nevertheless left with some questions.
Kagan Supreme Court Nomination Invites GOP Election Victories
NORMAN SOLOMON — If President Obama has his way, Elena Kagan will replace John Paul Stevens — and the Supreme Court will move rightward. The nomination is very disturbing, especially because it’s part of a pattern.
Pentagon Lifts Hold on Planned Oregon Wind Farm
DINA FINE MARON – The Pentagon announced April 30 it is dropping its opposition to the development in eastern Oregon of what’s being touted as the world’s largest land-based wind energy project.
Thinking About a Home Energy Efficiency Retrofit?
ROGER VALDEZ — It’s not often that I actually see an energy efficiency program at work on the ground. But last Friday I got the chance to visit a family in Portland whose home had been retrofitted through the Clean Energy Works Program.
Maryland Prohibits Automatic Release of Student Info to Military
JEAN ATHEY — Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley signed a measure into law on April 14 that prohibits the automatic release of student information to military recruiters gathered as a result of the administration of a military test in the state’s high schools.
2009 Was Record Year for Wind Power
J. MATTHEW RONEY: Even in the face of a worldwide economic downturn, the global wind industry posted another record year in 2009 as cumulative installed wind power capacity grew to 158,000 megawatts. With this 31 percent jump, the global wind fleet is now large enough to satisfy the residential electricity needs of 250 million people. Wind provides electricity in over 70 countries, 17 of which now have at least 1,000 megawatts installed.
Top Forecaster: Climate ‘Tipping Points’ May Arrive Without Warning
PHYSORG.COM: A new University of California, Davis, study by a top ecological forecaster says it is harder than experts thought to predict when sudden shifts in Earth’s natural systems will occur — a worrisome finding for scientists trying to identify the tipping points that could push climate change into an irreparable global disaster.