Karl Rove denies climate change, likes fracking - GASLAND's Josh Fox responds

Karl Rove is in denial about climate change, and the GOP thinks it's a scientific fraud. Rove is also promoting gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale by hydraulic fracturing, i.e., fracking.

Josh Fox, GASLAND filmmaker, exposes the water and air pollution caused by fracking, and advocates the switch to renewable energy for America's future.

Watch the report by Keith Olbermann and interview with Josh Fox:

Dirty Coal: Pollution, Health, Jail & Change

Burning coal is the single largest contributor to global warming pollution and also to toxic mercury pollution. Smog-generating pollution, acid pollution and particulates from burning coal have been cleaned from some but not all coal-fired power plants. In 2007, Congress planned to 'Green' the Capitol, in part by switching from dirty coal to cleaner-burning natural gas at the Capitol Power Plant. But when it came down to the decision on coal, Congress was just blowing smoke. Pressured by legislators from coal States, Congress allowed the Capitol Power Plant to continue polluting the DC air by burning coal.

The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has reported that global warming threatens human populations and the world’s ecosystems with intensifying heat waves, floods, drought, extreme weather, and by spreading infectious diseases. The Panel stated that the U.S. and other industrialized countries need to reduce global warming pollution by 25% to 40% by 2025 to avoid the most severe impacts of climate change. Burning coal is the single largest contributor to the problem. A transition to Clean, Renewable Energy sources is the solution, and it will also create new jobs, revitalizing our economy. Coal has become a liability, and it's now TIME FOR A CHANGE!

It's not just the air that's being polluted by using coal as an energy source. Waterways are polluted and the environment is being destroyed at the expense of getting at coal in a very eco-unfriendly way that provides ten times fewer jobs than traditional mining. In Kentucky and West Virginia, the mountaintops are literally being blown off to extract coal, raping the environment and raining toxic waste down on the valleys, polluting streams, wells and drinking water. In New York's Adirondack region and elsewhere, the lakes and rivers have been acidified and contaminated by mercury from air polluted by burning coal in upwind states, resulting in the killing of waterfowl, fish and plants. Mercury can damage developing brains of fetuses and young children, and high levels of mercury in fish have elicited advisories that children as well as women of childbearing age should not eat any fish from contaminated waters. Mercury pollution and mountaintop removal, that's GOT TO CHANGE!

And then there is the ash waste from burning coal. While most of the mercury goes up in smoke and unfortunately gets deposited elsewhere and incorporated into the food chain, less volatile toxic chemicals present in coal, like arsenic and lead, are concentrated by ten fold in the ash waste. In Tennessee, peoples' homes, properties and dreams were destroyed when 1 Billion gallons of coal ash surged out of an earthen storage dam, fouling the environment and polluting waterways with toxic chemical waste. Many people have switched to bottled drinking water. Some report respiratory problems associated with breathing airborne ash. Others are living in fear of future illnesses, such as cancer, that take time to develop. Environmental pollution with toxic coal ash waste, that's GOT TO CHANGE!

And then there is Jail. It might seem that it's the coal mining and power company owners who profit by polluting the planet, threatening public health, and destroying the environment are the one's who should be sent to jail. Ironically, good citizens have been arrested for non-violent protests against mountaintop removal and coal-burning plants in Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia and elsewhere. Folks from these and many other States involved in the DC Capitol Climate Action, who care about the planet, not profit, are now willing to go to jail to stop coal companies from performing their dirty deeds. In the past, companies have gotten a "get out of jail free" card from Congressmen, who have received significant financial contributions from company lobbyists. That's GOT TO CHANGE!

News from the front lines of the anti-coal movement:
Movement for Clean Energy, Stable Climate, Environmental Justice and Public Health
Bill McKibben, Wendell Berry, Gus Speth, Jim Hansen, Kathy Mattea, Mike Tidwell and many other notable people have made it known that they are willing to get arrested on Monday, March 2nd at the Capitol Power Plant to put an end to burning coal. See current articles and video below, and updates at Capitol Climate Action.

The Carbon Addicts on Capitol Hill
by Bill McKibben
"The power plant is only a symbol, of course -- a lunch counter or a bus station in the fight for environmental justice. We'll sit down at its gates for a single afternoon, but the message is much larger: It's time to start figuring out how to shut down every coal-fired plant on the planet. Success won't come right away because we're up against some of the world's richest corporations, but we have to start turning this tanker around someday, and tomorrow is that day." Full article at The Washington Post.

See you in jail:
It's not symbolism when you live in D.C.
Why I'm joining 2,000 people for a global warming mass arrest on Monday,
by Mike Tidwell, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Click Here.

Coal Action Heats Up Capitol Hill
PowerShift, the youth climate movement, and Capitol Climate Action
At 6:30pm I'll be watching online the "Artists for the Climate: A Night with Wendell Berry, Bill McKibben and Gus Speth"
This will be a night of discussion, poetry and inspiration. Also appearing will be noted authors and activists Terry Tempest Williams and Janisse Ray, Rev. Lennox Yearwood of the Hip Hop Caucus, and singer Kathy Mattea. The live link is here, and following the event, it will be replaced by a link to a video recording.

UPDATES: Monday, March 2nd, from Capitol Climate Action

• Coal is Dirty
• Why Civil Disobedience?
• Twitter @ Capitol Climate Action

Whose Planet Is It, Anyway?

Take OUR Planet Back!

Will.i.am with Al Gore

Put a Price on Global Warming Pollution

People take action when prices increase. With rising gasoline prices, people react by driving less, using more mass transit, carpooling, biking and moving from over-sized SUV's to smaller, fuel-efficient cars and gas-electric hybrids. In response to public demand to use less gasoline and save money, U.S. automakers are finally taking action to increase the fuel efficiency of their fleet. Suddenly, GM plans to close four SUV and truck plants, increase production of compact and mid-size sedans, and offer an electric hybrid in 2010. Now that's rapid change that will reduce global warming pollution and help stabilize the climate. [click image to enlarge]

Utility, coal and oil companies will also take action on global warming pollution when they have to pay for it. As long as polluting the air is free, they will continue to spew out global warming pollution and other pollutants that negatively affect the health of people and the planet. Putting a price on polluting the air is the only way to stop it. When the government enacts a sufficiently high price for polluting the air, pollution will go down. Investments will then move toward alternative energy sources that don't pollute the air.

It's time to put a price on carbon emissions that cause global warming and climate change. Scientists recommend emission cuts of 80% by 2050. To achieve this target, companies that profit by polluting our air must pay. New legislation is being proposed that will help compensate consumers for increases in energy costs and facilitate the transition to clean energy sources.

CLEAN ENERGY: a HEALTHY ALTERNATIVE to COAL

Coal is by far the dirtiest and most damaging of our existing energy sources. Burning coal not only causes global warming, it also is the single largest source of mercury pollution in the U.S.. Mercury compounds are toxic, carcinogenic, and are linked to birth defects and damage to lungs and the nervous system. Many waterways are now so polluted with mercury that fish caught there are unsafe for human consumption. Burning coal also generates smog and soot, and causes acid rain which pollutes water and kills fish and plant life. Air pollution from coal-fired power plants is linked to premature deaths, asthma attacks and heart attacks. The serious impact on public health and the environment should be more than enough reason to stop burning coal. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was slow to respond to the problem (see this 1999 document addressed to State Governors), and the coal industry has been even slower to comply with laws. Additionally, coal-fired power plants are generally located in poor or rural areas where the local citizens lack representation, and where the plants are out of the sight and mind of the general public.

With new laws to fight global warming pollution anticipated soon, the coal industry is rushing to build as many new plants as possible before those laws are in place. Over 150 plants have been proposed since the year 2000. The estimated lifetime of a coal power plant is about 50 years, and most of the new plants would use the same old dirty technology. If new plants are built now, we will lock ourselves into a lifetime of dirty coal. With the help of pressure from environmentalists and climate activists in 2007, 59 of the proposed plants were either canceled by regulators, put on hold, or abandoned by utilities. Fortunately, clean energy alternatives can provide electricity, and cutting back on coal power will reduce global warming pollution and improve public health. Let's promote the switch to clean energy sources, if only for our health!