This Week's Blogosphere Soup
A quick review of this past week's happenings in the blog world
Happy Earth Day! Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune blogged about some news that we can be thankful for -- namely that the EPA and the TVA are working on ways to cut down on the amount of coal being burned. On the flip side, this week also marked one year since BP's oil disaster. Talkingpointsmemo commemorated the occasion with this damning report:
BP plans to cut its overall tax bill by nearly $13 billion by writing off costs related to last year's mammoth oil spill as the Gulf Coast continues to grapple with the devastating environmental and economic costs of the disaster one-year later.
The international oil giant suffered a $40.9 billion loss as a result of the oil spill, making its net losses for 2010 a total of $4.8 billion (BP had $36.1 billion in profits before factoring in the spill), according to its annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and analysis by several tax experts consulted by TPM.
-- An American University professor tries, and fails miserably, to convince everyone that environmentalists outspent climate deniers on political lobbying.
-- None of the West Viginia gubinatorial candidates believes in the science behind climate change.
-- Scotland thinks it can go 100 percent renewable by 2020.
How much heavy lifting remains? In 2009, renewables delivered 27.4 percent of total electricity needs, which amounted to 51,325 gigawatt hours (GWh). However, estimates that Scotland's offshore wind alone could reach 68 GW by 2050, or 68,000 GWh, means that Scotland is poised to be a zero-energy nation at or before mid-century.
-- If you like infographics, you'll love this lesson on iPhone trade-ins.
-- Bananas wrapped in plastic? For reals?
-- And lastly, this is what Earth Day is all about:
What did you do when you first heard the news last year about the BP oil spill? Did you say, partner with a leading conservation society to raise six figures to protect the Gulf Coast? That’s what New York’s Olivia Bouler did. Oh -- did I mention that Olivia is just eleven years old?
-- Brian Foley