James Hansen is frequently referred to as "the grandfather of climate change science." Hansen first brought global warming to the world's attention in the 1980's, when he testified before Congress. His work inspired the film An Inconvenient Truth and established the target of 350PPM as the "safe" level of CO2...

Twelve years have passed since the Kyoto Protocols were signed and agreed upon by 187 countries, except of course the US. In the intervening years there have been countless summits, meetings, discussions, and peer-reviewed scientific reports leading up to the next global climate agreements scheduled to be concluded at...

The forecast in Coal River, W.V. now calls for heavy boulders and flying debris. Blasting has begun at what preeminent climate scientist James Hansen has declared "ground zero in the fight against climate change". Despite posing an imminent threat to the health and welfare of area residents and in spite...

This Saturday at 4000+ events in over 172 countries around the world people will gather to send a message demanding that our leaders address climate change. Led by Bill McKibben and the team at 350.org, the call to action comes as the world's leaders prepare to meet in...

Climate Week 2009, as celebrated in New York at the UN, failed to produce a much needed breakthrough in negotiations leading up to COP15 in Copenhagen this December where the successor to the Kyoto Protocols will be finalized. The meeting of world leaders in New York did not result in...

For the past week a drama has played out in Pettry Bottom, West Virginia as tensions in the area continue to threaten violence in what is now ground zero in the battle to preserve a stable climate and protect the environment. The long struggle against Mountain Top Removal Mining has...

On any given day 3.5 million pounds of explosives blast apart the oldest mountain range on the planet. But for the past week the sounds of silence have replaced mining blasts while Laura Steepleton and Nick Stocks have been living 80 feet up in a pair of trees in Pettry...

After years of climate change denial, a consortium of energy industry giants led by ExxonMobil and Massey Energy are launching a global campaign to provide island nations with equipment to combat rising sea levels. As early as today, military cargo planes will begin distribution of free scuba gear to the...

If, like most Americans, you find yourself unfamiliar with politics in West Virginia, you might be surprised to learn the extent to which the democratic process has been corrupted in coal country. Politicians, activists, environmental organizations, and pundits from both sides of the aisle point to the most impoverished state...

John Denver's lyrics "Almost Heaven West Virginia" described the beauty of the Appalachian mountains, one of America's and the world's greatest natural treasures. Vast areas of those same mountains now are a landscape from Hell, as far from Heaven as one can imagine. For the past few days I have...

The spectacular setting of Telluride, Colorado provided a breathtaking venue for the launch of two important environmental campaigns this week. On Thursday over three hundred of the town's residents lay down on the ground to send the first message in the global 350.org & Tck Tck Tck campaign.

Katherine Richardson is chair of the Scientific Steering Committee for the IARU Congress
"Climate Change: Global Risks, Challenges and Decisions", Copenhagen.

I was surprised to see so little press here in the US on your Congress, but I guess that is to be expected.

It is interesting there has...

Right in the heart of our nation's capitol is a coal fired power plant which kills. This is not unusual, all coal power plants kill. They are the largest anthropogenic source of the CO2 emissions (over 40%) which have now reached high enough levels of concentration in our atmosphere that...

A remarkable study to be published in Geophysical Research Letters reports that fully half of China's recent increase in CO2 emissions can be attributed to demand for manufactured goods from western developed countries. Of China's total emissions, one-third are attributed to the insatiable demand for cheap exports from the...

Delivering a powerful inauguration speech to a vast crowd Tuesday, President Obama specifically addressed global warming and the need for sacrifice in halting and reversing the deterioration of the the most critical life support systems on our planet. Not only sacrifice but vision, courage, innovation, and determined commitment will be...

The recent BLM auction of Oil and Gas Leases in Utah which has received a great deal of attention after Tim DeChristopher's act of administrative civil disobedience at the auction by bidding and purchasing leases on parcels without the ability to pay (which created no small amount of chaos),...

In a brazen affront to the Bush administration's continuing assaults on the environment which seem to escalate in intensity as the administration goes into the final throes of death, a few weeks ago Tim DeChristopher in an act of administrative civil disobedience courageously disrupted the auction of some of the...