Following fast on the heels of NASA reporting the hottest January to August on record, NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center has released its State of the Climate: Global Analysis for August.
NOAA reports the details (and the graphic):
Cartoonist Tom Toles on the Republican roadblock:
I suspect the results of “The effects of gender on climate change knowledge and concern in the American public” will come as no surprise to at least half of my readers. Or perhaps it will, since the Population and Environment study finds that:
“They are beginning to resemble the bar scene from Star Wars,” said Democratic strategist Peter Fenn in POLITICO’s Arena, referring to the GOP candidates this year. “They are purging the conservative voices in their party who have any sort of pragmatic perspective and substituting true kooks.”
The Republican party is self-destructing, and they may well take a livable climate with them. While the rise of the Tea Party is probably good for progressive politicians, the extreme radicalization of one of the two major parties has major downsides for Homo “sapiens” sapiens.
The Tea Party have probably cost the GOP a serious shot at the Senate this year. It should cost the GOP the House, but that would require the country’s progressive political leaders to be much better at messaging than they are. In the future, if the GOP can’t dump or seriously diminish the Tea Party, it will probably make it all but untenable for them to maintain majorities, except in very bad economic times.
Even the Politico, in its banner story on the election, spelled out the obvious winning message:
States are climate battlegrounds
The nation’s premier state-led climate programs are under attack by a growing coalition of industry, tea party and conservative activists.
Opponents to limits on greenhouse gas emissions see the fights in California and New Jersey as the next step in the fight over global warming policy after the demise of federal cap-and-trade legislation on Capitol Hill.
While national and international action will ultimately be needed to avert catastrophic climate change, serious action on both fronts is not imminent. In the meantime, local action will be crucial for identifying and testing best practices. Michael Coren has a good update at the Yale Forum on Climate Change and the Media on those who take to heart the dictum, think globally, act locally
Edited by Joe Romm, we cover climate science, solutions and politics. Columnist Tom Friedman calls us "the indispensable blog" and Time magazine named us one of the 25 "Best Blogs of 2010." Newcomers, start here.
Language Intelligence: Lessons on persuasion from Jesus, Shakespeare, Lincoln, and Lady Gaga.
Joe Romm has pulled together the secrets of the greatest communicators in history to show how you can apply these tools to your writing, speaking, blogging — even your Tweeting.
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