Top Environment and Progressive News and Links for the Week

Global Warming Data: Two new studies on global warming in the past week. First, a report prepared for the UK government through Oxford University by 200 leading climate scientists suggests that we are less than a decade from the ‘point of no return’ on climate change, and that significant climate change was already occurring with some dramatic long-term changes already inevitable. Mountains of supporting evidence was presented. A second study presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science makes it clear that human activities, notably the burning of fossil fuels, are the prime culprit behind the dramatic swings in weather, melting of arctic and antarctic ice, and increasing atmospheric and ocean temperatures.

Buying Green & Progressive: Reader Elis Alexander points out two more socially and environmentally organizations from which you can now buy online. Union Jean and Apparel sells only American-made, union-made casual wear. Organic Clothes sells organic, fair-trade clothing, fabrics and coffee from employee-owned facilities. And a large site, BuyBlue, allows you to direct your consumer spending to companies that supported Democrats and progressives in the last election. This support correlates very strongly with social and environmental responsibility — the worst polluters, union-busters and offshorers are also the greatest donors to Republican coffers. The site plans to add comprehensive information on social and environmental responsibility of all companies profiled, comparable to the excellent Responsible Shopper site on which my Boycott List is based.

Measuring Well-Being: I just discovered this Canadian site explaining and contrasting a number of measures of national well-being that should replace GDP.

Promoting Inner Beauty: An interesting if self-serving ad from Dove being piloted in Canada, aimed at young girls and countering some of the enormous pressures and preoccupations with thinness and stereotypical standards of beauty, using the lovely Cindy Lauper song True Colours.

Gladwell on Instinctive Decision-Making: Via Seth Godin, ESPN presents a fascinating interview with Malcolm Gladwell, explaining how the concepts of his new book Blink apply to improving decision-making in sports. Sometimes, he says, we rely too much on intuition, and other times we underestimate its value. He provides answers to both types of decision-making error.

Funny Bush Spoof: There’s another hilarious song and animation spoofing the Bush second-term agenda from Dean Friedman called Four More Years.

Cartoon from the incomparable Hugh McLeod from Gaping Void.