May 2010

On Meet the Press this morning, Carol Browner discussed the scenario we reported here early this morning, that BP and U.S. officials are preparing for the Deepwater Horizon well to continue leaking oil into the Gulf of Mexico through the summer. The…

Columnist David Sirota recently “laid bare the myth of the Left” by dusting off the old insight that there is no Left. His column has been passed around the lefty press like a flask at an AA meeting–as alluring as it is destructive.
Sirota begins by…

Unlike the top-kill procedure that BP abandoned last night, the oil company’s next approach is not expected to halt the oil leak at the sea floor.
Instead, BP and U.S. officials are preparing to minimize damage from a reduced but persistent leak that…

NASA releases time-lapse video of Gulf oil spill

NASA released a time-lapse video yesterday that shows the widening oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico. The video is made from selected images taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites,…

SUMMARY: Some in the audience were not convinced–that American journalism will survive economic upheaval, that it will provide unprecedented opportunities for young people and minorities, that it can even help to save American politics by making sure…

Gulf spill now pretext for climate bill obstruction

In the worsening midst of the worst oil disaster in U.S. history, Sen. Lindsey Graham said last night that the climate bill he helped author does not allow enough new drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, and that’s why he won’t support it.
The South…

This morning, the poet Mark Doty declared on his Facebook page that he no longer supports Barack Obama. The final straw? BP’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico:
It’s clear that power in Louisiana rests not with any government, but with BP, while the…

Whales prefer peace. How human is that?

There’s mounting evidence that whales and dolphins, among the few mammals who can recognize themselves in the mirror, possess a sense of self similar to our own.
This has spurred scientists and philosophers to urge additional protections for these…

Migratory birds need city forests

Chicago’s city motto–urbs in horto–means “city in a garden,” but there’s much more city than garden these days, with urban detritus and suburban sprawl ranging mile upon mile out to the cornfields.
If migratory birds are to survive, a new study…

Property owners should pay for public transit

Public transit makes property owners and developers rich, according to urban planner Christopher B. Leinberger, so property owners and developers should finance it.
With the suburbs in retreat, and with the cost of car ownership now consuming a…