The Briefing - 5/29/07: Secret Service, Greenland, Coal, and The Vatican

So according CNN's Money section, Generation Y produces driven, ambitious, and pierced workers. We're a weird lot, focused on success but not afraid to challenge authority. Sounds good, although I hope we can live up to such platitudinal greatness.

MW


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The Briefing – 5/29/07
524 days until the NEXT election… and global warming is an integral part of our nation’s agenda!

Politics, Politicians, Elections, and Electoral Mayhem
- Think you can’t handle this ridiculously large Presidential crowd, what about the Secret Service?
The (supposedly) Presidential ’08 Crowd
- Obama: Hitting Romney and McCain hard; Will unveil health care plan in Iowa; Here’s a sneak peek
- Romney: Playing the lead in Iowa
- Giuliani: Surprisingly, he is backed by social conservatives; Maybe its because he’s smiling
- Edwards: Populism is a risky bet
- Clinton: Vilsack is a key player
- Huckabee: Room for more???
- Bloomberg: Why the fantasy won’t come true
- Biden: May pay political price for Iraq war funding vote
- Coburn: Wait… what... Coburn???
Senatorial Shenanigans
Our Very Own House of Commons
- Texas 22: Lampson will not run for Senate, intends to seek re-election
The Environment and Elections
Environmental Issues People Really Should Care about in the News
- Speaker Pelosi sees firsthand evidence of climate change in Greenland
- US rebuffs Germany on greenhouse gas cuts, consistently holding back the G8
o 2009 set as a deadline for negotiations
- Lawmakers push for big subsidies for coal to liquid
- A legacy issue for older Americans -- What type of planet is being left for future generations?
- Efficiency, not just alternatives, is promoted as an energy saver
- Will warming lead to a rise in hurricanes?
- Oxfam – Rich must pay bulk of climate change bill… who’s Rich?
- Anti-pollution lawsuits have fallen by 70% under the Bush Administration
- From state pride to rarely eyed?
- Biodiesel makers see opportunity
- Program aims to treat nature-deficit disorder
…oh that pesky Blogosphere
- Green Media: The Vatican goes solar
- The Fix: On the Obama-McCain kerfuffle
- MYDD: Frustration with coal-to-liquids
- MYDD: Peterson yields on Farm Bill amendment process
- Grist:
o An interview with Warren Stone, green religious leader
o Dispatches from New Orleans
Miscellaneous… or just plain weird
- Can science outwit storms like Katrina?
- An analysis of Gen Y workforce… not sure if I wholly agree…
- Who needs Mother Nature anyway?
- Man, leave the freakin’ Teletubbies alone
- The nerve.
Quotes O’ the Day
“You can't make up anything anymore. The world itself is a satire. All you're doing is recording it.” ~ Art Buchwald

The Briefing - 5/14/07: Dodd's Proposal, Support from the Spy Chief, and a New Format!!

Ahh, it's good to be back! After a long absence to due a number of circumstances, most notably a reworking of its format and focus, The Briefing is back! In short, it's now more focused on politics and any electoral bent on the environment. Also, it will no longer be a daily offering. The plan is to deliver it every Monday and Wednesday, but with more tradition postings on the blog interspersed. I hope you like it. Please feel free to leave comments or suggestions. Improvements can always be made.

Enjoy!
MW

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The Briefing – 5/14/07
539 days until the NEXT election… and global warming is an integral part of our nation’s agenda!

Politics, Politicians, Elections, and Electoral Mayhem
The (supposedly) Presidential ’08 Crowd
- Dodd: His ambitious global warming proposal,
- Obama: Uh-oh, he said “tax”; Come on Barack, it’s a pretty good show
- Bloomberg: New Yorkers say, “Giuliani who?”
- McCain: Dismisses Iraqi Parliament call for withdrawal
- Romney: Criticizing Bush, railing against polygamy, and talking religion
- Giuliani: Qualifying his abortion stance with regards to Court picks
- Hagel: He’s back again, and he likes Mike
- Clinton: Gets Spitzer’s endorsement
- Thompson, Tommy: I’ve never heard this excuse before for saying something stupid
- Gingrich: Yep, he’s still thinking about it
- Thompson, Fred: He’s ready to go… just not yet
- Brownback: Snubbing Brett Favre in Wisconsin… good one, Sam
Senatorial Shenanigans
- Colorado: Bob Shaffer jumps into the fray
Our Very Own House of Commons
- A couple special elections in California and Massachusetts
The Environment and Elections
Environmental Issues People Really Should Care about in the News
- Spy Chief (what do I have to do to get a title like that?) backs global warming study
- Outdoor industry, experts want to “leave no child inside”
- Bangor Daily News: Better flood control
- President Bush ready to announce new air pollution regs… annnnnd here it is!
- Fed loans for coal plants clash with carbon cuts
- Cutting packaging… bout darn time!
- Fish virus worrying anglers in Eastern Wisconsin
- Climate change hurts low emitting Africa
- Don’t have all the species memorized? Check out the Encyclopedia of Life
- Wetlands losing ground in Ohio
- Argentina confronts Latin American biofuels craze
- Most Floridians favor action on global warming
- Goodness gracious, enough wildfires for you? From Georgia/Florida to California to Minnesota
- Yahoo! Green
…oh that pesky Blogosphere
- Wildlife Action: Day 6 of Derek’s Jaunt through Iowa
- The Fix: Where Dems made gains in ‘06
- The Caucus: Putting the candidates through the Sunday ringer
- DailyKos: Countdown to $100 oil
- Nature’s Climate Change Blog: Biofuels warning
- MYDD: Edwards goes left
- Politico: When conservative bloggers revolt
- Check out this blog by certain new intern here at NWF
- CPI on problems with Superfund
- Grist:
o On class and climate change
o Praising Rupert Murdoch??
o More on peak coal
Miscellaneous… or just plain weird
- Smoking in a movie? That’ll get you an R
- It’s what my Mom always told me, its what’s inside that counts
- Wow, Hef even gets a pad in Second Life?
- Are Scotty’s ashes Lost in Space? (hehe, awesome double sci-fi reference)
- Serving our country? No MySpace or YouTube for you!
- And the winner for Morons of the Year… these guys
- An interview with the Round Mound of Rebound
Quotes O’ the Day
“All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind.” Aristotle

Daily Briefing - 5/3/07: The Top Culprit, Honeybees, Nature Deficit, and Global Warming

Woohoo, a great step forward with the passage of the Honda amendment to the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2007!

MW

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Daily Briefing – 5/3/07
550 days until the NEXT election… and global warming is an integral part of our nation’s agenda!

Key Issues in the News
Global Warming
- WWF: US the top culprit of global warming
- UN talks down to the wire on IPCC III
o Green lobby pushes for renewable energy
o UN names special envoys
- Arctic melting, well ahead of schedule
- Feeling warmth, subtropical plants move north
- Targeting rice?
- Fighting global warming is a win-win for health problems
Washington/Legislation/Politics/People/etc.
- Democrats back down on timetable
- George Will: The road to a GOP House
Potential ‘08ers…
- Obama (reaching out with tough love), Obama again (a MySpace skirmish), Giuliani (which one will show up tonight), Dodd (smacks Edwards), McCain (its good to be alive), Thompson, Fred (actor, politician…), Giuliani again (seeking cash in silicon valley), Hunter (confidence bolstered by straw polls), Bloomberg (is his improving Spanish skills a telling sign?)
- GOP contenders grapple with answering questions about President Bush
- Florida Dems having second thoughts on early primary
Other News from the Media
- Honeybee die off threatens US food supply
- Some are still pushing coal
- More and more American cities are opting for car-free
- NWF’s very own Dave Stallings is getting some press out in Montana
- Oil reliance strains military
…and the Blogosphere
- Treehugger: Battling Nature Deficit Disorder
- The Fix: Senate recruiting
- The Caucus: The GOP debates tonight
- Grist:
o Haste makes waste
o Taking the fund out of superfund
Miscellaneous… or just plain weird
- Want to live a long time? Eat less.
- You think you’ve had a bad day? This guy had a bad day.
- Oh man, a recycling game!!!
- I guess Rudy doesn’t like ferrets…
- _____ uses derogatory names once every seven seconds. Take a guess.
- Snubbed AGAIN. One of these days I will be noticed… one of these days, sigh.
- Mac vs. PC? No, this is Marvel vs. DC.
- This section is getting long, but how could I not include this?
Quotes O’ the Day
“To be great is to be misunderstood.” Ralph Waldo Emerson… Is this why everybody looks at with puzzlement?