Free Republic

Mankind has really been put in its place over the past 500 years. Why only the other day, back in 1400, the sun orbited the earth; man was God's consummate work of art; humans were masters of themselves and the domain God provided for them. Our secular fall from grace began with Copernicus, who dislodged the world from its celestial catbird seat. Later, Darwin established that man, far from being the animal kingdom's pièce de résistance, was a bit like a baboon in... --snip-- One activist author posits that the planet can support only one billion people -- a number...

It’s terrible. Biblically terrible. Possibly the worst new car money can buy. It’s the first car I’ve ever considered crashing into a tree, on purpose, so I didn’t have to drive it any more... The Honda’s petrol engine is a much-shaved, built-for-economy, low-friction 1.3 that, at full chat, makes a noise worse than someone else’s crying baby on an airliner. It’s worse than the sound of your parachute failing to open. Really, to get an idea of how awful it is, you’d have to sit a dog on a ham slicer... The nickel for the battery has to come from...

Surrounded by elementary students from the Green School in Baltimore and charming critters – including an armadillo, cheetah and an Asian Toddy Cat – Democrats declared that the introduction of the “No Child Left Inside Act of 2009” was “historic” legislation that would connect children with nature. Some critics, however, said it is a way to spread environmental propaganda in the public schools.

JOHN DAY -- Ranchers and environmentalists have locked horns over cattle grazing for years. Now a battered economy and a looming court decision are fueling a full-on battle in Grant County. On one side, ranchers and the county chairman say proposed grazing limits could deal a knockout punch to more than a dozen cattle operations and, because of job losses and lost tax revenue, county social services.On the other side, an environmental group says wild steelhead are in decline because of stream bank damage caused by grazing cattle. "The mood here is not good," says Mark Webb, chairman of...

The lunatic protests the expansion of Heathrow.

Did you know that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin promotes the brutal aerial killing of wolves? You didn't?Well, that's was actress Ashley Judd claims in a new ad for the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund. Even worse, according to Judd, Palin is "casting aside science and championing the slaughter of wildlife"(Video at link)What's astounding here is that nowhere in the ad is the viewer apprised of why the wolves are being hunted, or the history beyond this policy. Instead, as graphic video rolls of a wolf being shot, Judd says, "Using a low-flying plane, they kill in winter when there is no...

Top federal judges ruled this week that their own court has gone too far in holding up logging projects, saying western judges from now on must show more deference to the agencies planning the cutting. The ruling involving an Idaho timber sale is a blow to environmental groups that have increasingly relied on federal courts to block projects they see as unsound. The decision is especially striking because it comes from the federal appeals court that encompasses most national forest land in the West and is known for its liberal bent and for often siding with environmental interests. The...

ANCHORAGE — Conservation groups said Tuesday they are challenging Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne's attempt to limit collateral economic damage from listing polar bears as a threatened species. The Center for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace and the Natural Resources Defense Council will seek court intervention to address what they say in the No. 1 threat to polar bears: greenhouse-gas emissions that cause global warming and melt Arctic sea ice. Kempthorne, echoing President Bush, said last week the Endangered Species Act was the wrong tool to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Kempthorne that he would propose "common-sense modifications" to make sure the polar-bear listing would...

Stoked by surging natural-gas prices, San Diego's Sempra Energy has completed its new Baja California liquefied-natural-gas terminal – opening the first LNG import facility on the western coast of North America. JOHN GIBBINS / Union-Tribune Sempra Energy's new Baja California liquefied-natural-gas terminal, known as Energia Costa Azul, was completed at an estimated cost of $1 billion. JOHN GIBBINS / Union-Tribune The startup of Energia Costa Azul is part of Sempra Energy's corporate strategy that has placed a premium on being one of the top players in natural-gas infrastructure. The isolated docking facility known as Energia Costa Azul, 14 miles north...

Josh Gerstein, a reporter for The New York Sun, has taken scare journalism to a new low. He reports that food rationing is now occurring in the United States. It happens insidiously as we sleep. He even accuses us of hoarding food when we shop at Costco. Gerstein samples the panic and desperation that stampedes voraciously through the panic-stricken masses of Mountain View, California. At a Costco Warehouse in Mountain View, Calif., yesterday, shoppers grew frustrated and occasionally uttered expletives as they searched in vain for the large sacks of rice they usually buy."Where's the rice?" an engineer from Palo...

Is the non-principle of “sustainability” about to collapse under the weight of its own mushy contradictions? News this week from the seemingly unrelated areas of biofuels and health policy provide some hope. Sustainability has been smuggled into the policy lexicon as an Orwellian dumber-down of debate. Who would promote unsustainability? It has become the weasel word and policy tic of our time. Corporate chieftains, politicians, consultants and public intellectuals all bow the knee before this founding concept of environmental Newspeak. Its origins as a subversive political principle lay in the United Nations’ Brundtland report, which coined “sustainable development” as a...

Never mind the economic crisis. Focus for a moment on a more urgent threat: the great food recession that is sweeping the world faster than the credit crunch. You have probably seen the figures by now: the price of rice has risen by three-quarters over the past year, that of wheat by 130%. There are food crises in 37 countries. One hundred million people, according to the World Bank, could be pushed into deeper poverty by the high prices. But I bet that you have missed the most telling statistic. At 2.1bn tonnes, the global grain harvest broke all records...

(This is the second in a three-part series on the border fence.) BISBEE — Bill Odle and his wife, Ellen Logue, moved to their home on Border Road near Palominas seven years ago. They liked the remoteness of the site, the abundance of wildlife, the quiet atmosphere and the beautiful terrain. They decided to place a conservation easement on their 50 acres of land, which is located next to the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area. Now they are concerned a federal fence being constructed nearby along the border with Mexico will disrupt the view and prevent wildlife from migrating...

All current plasma TVs and many LCDs could be removed from sale by 2011. (File photo) (Reuters/Las Vegas Sun: Steve Marcus) A report commissioned by the Federal Government says there is a growing demand for plasma and LCD televisions, which use more power than traditional TV sets. It says energy rating labels are needed to tell consumers about the performance of the TVs. But under a proposed six-star rating system, most current plasma TVs do not meet the requirements and could be removed from sale. The report also suggests "minimum energy performance standards" be introduced which would eliminate the worst...

“It’s nature. I’m sorry it’s negatively affecting you,” STERLING, MA - A sump pump rumbled in the cellar of her Sterling home and a hose gurgled in the front yard as Mary B. Honan waited for a state Department of Conservation and Recreation official to arrive at her house earlier this week. The feisty Irish lilt in her voice falling flat, Ms. Honan declared herself the loser of a four-year war. “The beavers have won,” she said before the deputy director arrived. A native of Ireland, Ms. Honan fell in love with the energy of the United States in the...

Cheered on by fellow Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gov. Charlie Crist signed tough -- if general -- orders to combat global warming. The silver-haired governor of Florida stood arm-in-arm Friday with the silver-screen governor of California, joked about being recast in Twins, and then -- as the cameras rolled -- signed a groundbreaking set of environmental protection orders. Gov. Charlie Crist described the mandates as a framework for a new, more future-friendly way of living and conducting business in Florida. ''State government is leading by example,'' he said. ``It is the right thing to do.'' It also is a popular thing...

LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles County supervisors Tuesday agreed to study a ban on petroleum-based plastic shopping bags that cause pollution and can be harmful to marine creatures. Supervisors Yvonne Burke and Zev Yaroslavsky asked the Department of Public Works to determine the pros and cons of adopting a policy and to assess how paper and plastic bags are recycled within the county. "It is a very interesting and a very challenging problem that we have," said Donald Wolfe, director of Public Works. Biodegradable plastic bags, typically made from corn or potato starch, are considered to have less of an...

Folks, you can’t make this stuff up. However, I sincerely beg all readers to properly stow potables, combustibles, and sharp objects before proceeding further. An expedition to the North Pole to bring attention to global warming was cancelled due to the extraordinarily cold weather. I kid you not. As reported by the Associated Press Monday (emphasis mine throughout): The explorers, Ann Bancroft and Liv Arnesen, on Saturday called off what was intended to be a 530-mile trek across the Arctic Ocean after Arnesen suffered frostbite in three of her toes, and extreme cold temperatures drained the batteries in some of...

LOS ANGELES - "An Inconvenient Truth," the documentary that turned former vice president Al Gore's power-point presentation on global warming into an engaging and entertaining film, won the Oscar Sunday night. The best-documentary win was a triumph for Gore, who has kept a sense of humor about his loss in the 2000 election that was decided in George W. Bush's favor by a U.S. Supreme Court decision. "I am Al Gore. I used to be the next president of the United States of America," Gore says in the film, repeating a line he has used often. Sunday, Gore used the...

A new worldwide movement backed by celebrities, musicians, politicians and business leaders is aiming to reverse the effects of global warming over the next decade. Global Cool launched in London and LA today and is calling on one billion people to reduce their carbon emissions by just one tonne a year, for the next 10 years