Appointing Unqualified Cabinet Members To Destroy the Federal Government Is Appalling, But in This Case It’s Illegal As Well
A diverse array of more than 50 advocacy groups, including Friends of the Earth, ActionAid USA, the National Family Farm Coalition, Patagonia, and Sierra Club, delivered a letter to all 100 U.S. senators earlier today, demanding that they disapprove the nomination of Sam Clovis to serve as chief scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, referring this choice as “a direct attack on science and our food and farm system.” (more…)
Here’s a note from clean energy entrepreneur Tom Woodbridge, President of 
Today is the 1607th anniversary of the first successful invasion of Rome, as the Visigoths’ siege finally burst through the city’s gates and began what was to become the fall of the Roman Empire.
There are a great number of things in our world today that seem to be dragging along, though we sure do wish they would happen right now. One, of course, is Robert Mueller’s findings on the Trump administration’s alleged collusion with Russia and financial improprieties. Even the White House says it would like to get this over with, though there isn’t a grain of sincerity in that remark. Bob: I’ll ride my bicycle to Washington and help you out on this free of charge if that will expedite your work. 
Why hasn’t the market opened up for small, fun-to-drive, low-cost EVs for use in urban settings, campuses, and last-mile commuting to and from mass transit? I’m not sure anyone has an answer to that question. 
We’re rightfully skeptical of anyone who claims to understand the inner workings and true motivations of the Chinese government. Sure, they’re investing big in renewable energy, but why? Positive PR on the world stage? Appeasing the people who are dropping like flies of respiratory illness stemming from breathing gray-brown air that looks like it could be cut with a knife and fork? Strategic leadership in the defining market of the 21st Century? Increased national security from a diverse supply of energy resources? 
There is some truth to this meme, but in fairness, euphoria about tax breaks for corporations and the super-wealthy, as well as the sheer joy associated with destroying the environment with financial impunity are weighing in here. The S&P 500 is completely indifferent to human health and happiness.
It’s the birthday of Ray Bradbury, who told us, “I don’t try to describe the future. I try to prevent it.” This specter of Soviet totalitarianism in the middle of the 20th Century had given rise to a great number of high-impact dystopian novels, and Bradbury’s 
Are you doing enough to reduce your carbon footprint? You may be doing some good things, like recycling, turning off lights around the home and cutting off the water when you brush your teeth, but what about some of the other things you do?
How does progressive government policy apply the right kind of pressure on a market economy to drive its fuel consumption in the direction of low carbon emissions? I sure wish there were an easy answer to that question, but there isn’t–and even if one existed, it could be completely different 24 months from now. 
