Denial makes strange bedfellows.

Two of the leading sources of anti-scientific disinformation on global warming — George Will and Anthony Watts’ blog WattsUpWithThat — have embraced a man, Robert Bradley, who proudly shilled for Enron CEO Ken Lay, who was convicted on fraud and conspiracy charges in 2006.

Watts and I, you may recall, got into a tiny dustup a couple weeks ago (see Exclusive: New NSIDC director Serreze explains the “death spiral” of Arctic ice, brushes off the “breathtaking ignorance” of blogs like WattsUpWithThat and here).   Since then, Watts has been throwing everything at me including the kitchen stink, with four full posts attacking me this month.  I was planning to ignore him, until two things happened.

First, Watts ran a truly nonsensical piece (here) by Bradley, who is now President of the Institute for Energy Research, which “has received $307,000 from ExxonMobil since 1998.”  Bradley is one of the Denier-Industrial-Complex Kooks (DICKs) — see, for instance, “Mysterious industry front-group affiliated with Ken Lay’s former speechwriter launches anti-Waxman-Markey ads with phony MIT cost figures.”

Second, George Will published a piece, “Tilting at Green Windmills” in which he uses a discredited Spanish “study” to claim clean energy investments don’t create jobs (for debunking by CP and the Regional Minister of Innovation, Enterprise and Employment for the Government of Navarre, see here and here and here).  Will’s piece is noteworthy for this remarkable admission:

[This] study was supported by a like-minded U.S. think tank (the Institute for Energy Research, for which this columnist has given a paid speech.

That’s right, George Will published an entire piece based on disinformation bought and paid for by a think tank that is bought and paid for by ExxonMobil and run by Ken Lay’s former top shill — and Will also took money from that think tank. At least editorial page editor Fred Hiatt required that much in return for letting Will publish his umpteenth article full of misleading and inaccurate statements.

Now you may say, wait a minute, Joe, sure Bradley served as Director of Public Policy Analysis at Enron, where he was a speechwriter for CEO Kenneth Lay,” who was “convicted on fraud and conspiracy charges on May 25, 2006″ — but how can you say he proudly shilled for Lay when he has wiped any trace of his connection to Enron from his IER bio here?

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Cultivating your own herbs — like parsely (above) — allows you to produce only what you need, as discussed in this post from the Center for American Progress.

You can add value and beauty to your home by maintaining a garden, but you may end up wasting time and money if you aren’t careful. Try these seven tips for keeping a garden that’s manageable and uses resources wisely.

Plant only what you can maintain. Overplanting will give you a headache and squander water, money, and other resources. To avoid this problem plant only what you can realistically maintain and look for plants that thrive on neglect if you aren’t around much to take care of them. If you are new to gardening, start small and work your way up. You can always add more, but getting rid of existing plants is both wasteful and frustrating.

Also, be sure to check the appropriate time to add new plantings to your garden. Adding plants out of season can require you to use harmful fertilizers and unnecessary amounts of water to keep them alive that you wouldn’t need if they were planted in season.

Compost your waste. Composting prevents yard trimmings, food scraps, and other household waste from entering landfills and reduces the need for watering by improving your soil’s water retention. It also enriches soil fertility and improves texture. You can use compost in garden beds, under shrubs, or as a potting soil for outdoor plants. Starting your own heap is easy and maintenance is minimal. For more information on what you should add to your compost, take our quiz.

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