Polar bears are the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie of climate-change-endangered Arctic species.  They get all the press (see Will polar bears go extinct by 2030? and Bush launches Unendangered Species List, phones “Rename the Polar Bear” winner“).  But not-so-photogenic animals will suffer at the hands of human-caused global warming, too.  World Wildlife Fund’s Nick Sundt looks at impacts on walruses in a post first published on WWF’s climate blog.  And yes, I’m much more concerned about impacts on humans (see “An introduction to global warming impacts: Hell and High Water” and Let’s Dump “Earth Day”). Click to enlarge the above AP photo of a congregation of walruses.

Just days after Arctic sea ice receded to the third lowest extent on record, forcing thousands of walruses ashore, researchers flying along the Alaska coast stumbled upon a grisly scene: 100 to 200 walrus carcasses along the shoreline of Icy Cape, southwest of Barrow.  The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner carried an editorial (likely written before the dead walruses were reported) saying:

Reports of thousands of walrus forming unusual congregations on Alaska’s North Slope appear to confirm again the environmental challenges posed by relatively low fall ice coverage within arctic water….  Alaskans should be watching these barometers of climate change carefully as the debate rages about what can or should be done.

Michelle Obama and White House chef Sam Kass at the farmers’ market.

Dana Milbank’s snarky column about the White House farmers market and First Lady Michelle Obama’s “patrician tastes” makes me wonder — why, if everyone in Congress loves to praise the family farmer and small businesses, and the U.S. government spends billions of dollars on farm subsidies, are fruits and vegetables grown by actual small-business family farmers so expensive compared to supermarket produce?

The first lady said the market would particularly appeal to federal employees in nearby buildings to “pick up some good stuff for dinner.” Yet even they might think twice about spending $3 for a pint of potatoes when potatoes are on sale for 40 cents a pound at Giant. They could get nearly five dozen eggs at Giant for the $5 Obama spent for her dozen.

It’s almost as if the people in Congress are disingenuously praising family farmers while writing policies to instead subsidize multi-billion-dollar corporate agribusiness, who in turn give them huge campaign contributions.

Now that’s worthy of some snark.

Yet another company caught greenwashing, courtesy of Wonk Room.

In October, corporate front group Americans for Prosperity is hosting its annual “Defending the American Dream” conference. The get-together will feature right-wing notables such as Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), CNBC’s Larry Kudlow, and Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC). The keynote address will be given by Newt Gingrich, who was propelled back into the media spotlight last year with his “Drill Here, Drill Now” pro-oil campaign.

One of the “Gold Sponsors” of AFP’s global warming denying conference is the “green” print and paper company TrayPML. TrayPML markets itself as a company that makes “active strides to protect the planet.” On its website, TrayPML also boasts about its ability to help companies “go green.” The company touts its environmental credentials by publicizing the World Wildlife Fund as an esteemed client. AFP, of course, mocks the protection of endangered wildlife, and argues for increased drilling in Alaska’s preserved lands.

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