Burlington, VT Claims 100% Renewable Electricity Production

I used to live in Burlington, and my wiseass friends and I, sitting out in coffee shop chairs on Church St., would occasionally catch Mr. Bernard Sanders, once mayor, then US Representative, briefcase or manilla folder bursting with documents in hand, hair a wind-blown mess, bustle by like Hermes on some Mt. Olympus errand (he took his job quite seriously even then), and crack jokes we thought were pretty absurd at the time about him running for POTUS (let's keep our fingers crossed), so this achievement warms the cockles of my otherwise frozen, indifferent heart...

Burlington, VT claims 100% electric power from #renewables. http://t.co/EF4IynvWhW Even if it's really less, say, 90%, still impressive.

— Planet Evans (@ExoplanetEvans) February 8, 2015

Renewables are not a pipe dream, people. They can reduce our emissions significantly. They just have to be as important to the rest of us as they are to the citizens of Burlington, VT.

To Paraphrase Bill Maher and Bernie Sanders: Way to Go, America

Before the elections, I gave you the breakdown of where each US Senate candidate in the close races stood on climate change. Well, here are Bill Maher and good ole Bernie to give you a post-elections idea of what thou hast wrought, America. It ain't pretty, so g'head and pat yourself on the back, my fellow countrymen and women, for pulling off a completely mindless job inside those voting booths, and for being too fucking lazy to show up at the polls, exercise your right to vote, and do your duty as citizens. All around, an incredibly pathetic red, white, and stupid performance that would make the Founders wanna puke. Enjoy, you infuriatingly senseless mopes.

Impressive Turnout at NYC/Worldwide People's Climate March

I could not make it, but did any of my five blog readers go? Well, you may still be there, if you did, so no worries if you can't respond just yet. :)







Upwards of 300,000 people may have participated in NYC alone!

OFFICIAL COUNT: 310,000 people marching for climate justice at #PeoplesClimate March! pic.twitter.com/YGLavoKQBV

— People's Climate (@Peoples_Climate) September 21, 2014

And someone brought a drone to take aerial video. o_0



Some notable orgs and people in attendance in NYC:

• The Sierra Club.
• New York City Environmental Justice Alliance.
• Bill McKibben and 350.org.
• Transport Workers Union Local 100.
• 1199 S.E.I.U.
• Mayor Bill de Blasio.
• Many scientists, including geologist James Powell of the University of Southern California, and paleoclimatologist Peter deMenocal of Columbia University, who appeared on Science Friday with McKibben to discuss the march.
• Senators Whitehouse and Sanders.
  

  .@SenSanders and I will continue to #ActOnClimate in the Senate. Proud to march together today. #PeoplesClimate #NYC pic.twitter.com/VzpvJd9cGd

  — Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) September 21, 2014

  
  And we've all learned how outspoken Bernie can be on the issue.
• Al "Deniers Can't Get Enough of Me" Gore.
  

  Proud to march with @ClimateReality at today's #PeoplesClimate march. Let your voice be heard: http://t.co/cTdCaa6JnM

  — Al Gore (@algore) September 21, 2014

• Leonardo DiCaprio.
  

  Seeing the impacts of #TarSands first hand with @SierraClub was a wake up call. #CleanEnergy now! pic.twitter.com/OvTYsBwXxU

  — Leonardo DiCaprio (@LeoDiCaprio) August 27, 2014

• Mark Ruffalo.
  

  .@UPS: Stop bankrolling climate change deniers in Congress http://t.co/Z8us3rY9th

  — Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) September 21, 2014

And there seems to have been decent turnout in cities across the globe.

Of course, we have predictable sour grapes and put yer head down, pretend it's not happening, and cherry-pick like mad type responses from the usual denier suspects. No surprise there, however, so moving right along...

The turnout is indeed impressive, and speaks volumes about the climate realist message reaching the ears of the general public. Unfortunately, march attendance does not guarantee meaningful policy, and may only provide more fuel for the nonsensical denier argument that climate change research is where all the funding and political influence lies. I'm sure that's how this remarkable event will ultimately be spun in the deniosphere. "Oh, the poor, underdog fossil fuel companies are so unfairly beleaguered and beset from all sides by the rich scientists and powerful activists! The march in NYC is proof!" If deniers can pat themselves on the back for one thing, it's how successful they've been at changing the subject whenever anyone points out where the real money and power resides. McKibben put it best in a New York Times article today (my emphasis).

“Our biggest problem is the financial power of the fossil fuel industry,” said Bill McKibben, co-founder of 350.org and author of “The End of Nature.”

“We can’t match that money,” he said. “So we have to work in the currency of movements — passion, spirit, creativity and bodies — and it will all be on display on Sunday.”

I'm hopeful, but I have my doubts about policy changing soon enough if everyone merely corrects/addresses in a calm manner the unending stream of lies these deceitful bullies spew. They need to be humiliated and crushed as vociferously as possible at every ignorant turn. Stupid needs to sting now. Because, as the old adage goes, nice guys finish last.

One of the Few in Washington Who Actually Gives a Damn about Us

Sometimes I think he's the only one left with the guts to cut the crap, stand up for us, and tell it like it is. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Bernard Sanders.



"Our job is to transform our energy system, work with countries around the world to reduce carbon, and to help save the planet, so that these young people will have a habitable nation and a habitable world in the years to come."

Transform our energy system...hmmmm, where have you heard that before?