Yesterday I gave you a little rundown of the whale/Navy fight that was to be presented to the Supreme Court.  Well, arguments were presented to the justices yesterday, and wouldn’t you know it, it seems like they’re divided along ideological lines.  Weird.  Reuters reports that, not surprisingly, 

The four liberal justices expressed concern over the administration’s failure to do an environmental impact statement before sonar training exercises began off the southern California coast.
During the arguments, the conservative justices appeared supportive of the administration’s argument that judges should defer to the judgment of the Navy and Bush, and allow the submarine-hunting exercises.

However, in some excerpts of some of the dialogue posted on NPR’s site, it becomes pretty clear that the brunt of the Court’s aggression was reserved for the conservationists.

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I think we’re all pretty familiar with corporate greenwashing, in which toxic companies attempt to downplay their destructive habits by touting any little green effort they can muster.  But as we move towards a green economy, we must be wary of businesses that try to pass of their pollution-based operations as beneficial for the planet.  One such effort is underway from the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, a coal industry front group that has spent $1.3 million in ads leading up to this year’s presidential election, which suggest that using coal power is “environmentally responsible”.  Despite this ruse, and efforts to create “clean” coal technology, the reality is that this dirty, destructive, and limited resource is not the answer to our worlds energy needs, and definitely not the solution to climate change.

As John Grant writes in his book, The Green Marketing Manifesto:

You can’t put a lettuce in the window of a butcher’s shop and declare that you are now ‘turning vegetarian’.

And for a good laugh, check out NRDC’s parody of the coal industry.
takepart by joining the Stop Global Warming Virtual March.

You may not be intimately familiar with the Kingston Trio, a folk group that originated in then 1950’s, probably best known for their reinterpration of “Tom Dooley,” or their original, “The MTA.”  In case you are aware of the group, then you’ll also find it sad that Nick Reynolds, a founding member of the trio, passed away on Wednesday in San Diego.

In celebration of the man and the group, here’s a video of the group in its heyday performing the classic “The MTA,” with Mr. Reynolds on vocals.

A sad event, indeed.  In reading the obituary on the Trio’s website, I noticed that in lieu of flowers, “Nick’s family suggests memorial contributions be made to the Natural Resources Defense Council.”  I can’t think of a better time than now to do so, in the memory of a great musician.  So takepart and visit the website for the NRDC, and give if you can.  And here’s another classic Trio track.

Beekeepers in the United Kingdom are asking for £8 million ($16 million) to fund research into identifying and eliminating threats to the country’s honeybee population, which they say could be wiped out in the next 10 years. Still struggling to ward off the colony destroying effects of the Varroa Destructor, an aptly named mite, the British Beekeeping Association hopes to avoid large-scale Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), which is threatening hives around the world.

While the causes of CCD are not entirely understood, the disappearance of bees is considered a major threat to the world’s food supply. There are three major theories about the cause of CCD: Pesticides, Parasites, and Pressure (stress caused by poor nutrition, nectar scarcity, contaminated or limited water supplies, overcrowding and excessive migratory demands). Many small-scale beekeeping operations have reported no signs of CCD, most likely because the stresses on the bees are far fewer and the apiarist is able to keep a much closer watch on the health of the hive.

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David Orr went on to moderate the next panel titled, “Climate Problems and Solutions; Local to Global” with Bill Becker , Executive Director of the Presidential Climate Action Project; Robert Kennedy Jr, Chief Prosecuting Attorney for the Hudson Riverkeeper and President of Waterkeeper Alliance; and Michelle Wyman, Executive Director for the US Office of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability.

Darryl Hannah, who looked stunning in person, introduced the panel. She was extremely well versed on the subject and seemed to speak from the heart when introducing the panel.

But, it was Robert Kennedy Jr. who stole the show. Wow. I don’t know if it’s his lineage, good looks or political savvy but he was all that and more. He made a strong argument for using federal funds to build out infrastructure to transmit clean energy. There is enough energy in the barren northwest to power the whole country, we just lack the means to get it where it needs to go. He also talked about the importance of creating a free market driven by clean energy where innovators are incentivized and inefficiency is punished. So instead of trillion dollar subsidies to oil companies, the wind farmer in Texas would finally be styling!

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I always look forward to receiving my Harpers Magazine when it arrives snuggly stuffed in my narrow apartment mailbox, and when it does, I usually go straight to the Index. The Harper’s Index, for those not in the know, is a list of fun and fascinating figures and statistics that will make you seem really smart and interesting if you can rattle a few off at cocktail parties. Today’s featured fact: the estimated amount by which per-gallon gas prices would change if the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge were drilled is a whopping 4 cents (some figures are as low as 2 cents). In other words, if we let oil companies have free reign to scourge one of America’s most important onshore habitats for millions of species, I’ll spend $67.40 instead of $68.00 to fill my gas tank. Worth it? I don’t think so.

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Check out some of our most popular stories of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites!

Katie Halper:

Necklacing Returns to South Africa, Tutu Calls for Peace, and History Repeats Itself

Ted Kennedy’s Malignant Brain Tumor: Sad News, But the Work Goes On

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Nicole Hughes:

Bush’s Food Aid Package Promotes Use of GMOs

Gas Prices Exceed Those of 1973 Oil Crisis

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Andy Kondrat:

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Could Cost US 38 Trillion Annually

USDA Budget Squeeze Forces Agency to Stop Tracking Pesticide Use

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Jon Popham:

Brooklyn Bridge Birthday Celebration!

Smokey the Bear: Environmental Icon

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Giulia Rozzi:

Suicide Tourism in New York City

Kristin Davis and Her Solar Powered Home

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Gina Telaroli:

Media That Matters Film Festival Premieres on May 28th

Top 10 Ways Indiana Jones Saved the World: Part #1

A new study released by the Natural Resources Defense Council and Tufts University warns that if the United States fails to reduce greenhouse gas emissions drastically and quickly, the nation might have to spend $3.8 trillion annually due to the effects of climate change.

The Austin American-Statesmen reports the multi-trillion dollar price tag that comes with inaction would be due to “higher energy and water costs, real estate losses from hurricanes, rising sea levels and other problems.”

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It’s May 16th, I’m Gina Telaroli and this is TakePart.com’s look at the week in social action…

The Interior Department has decided today to protect the polar bear population under the Endangered Species Act. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne says that polar bears are threatened because the Arctic ice is melting. And faster than we imagined.

This is the first time that the Endangered Species Act has been used to protect a species threatened by the impacts of climate change. But the New York Times reports, this ruling may not have the impact many are hoping for:

But the long-delayed decision to list the bear as a threatened species may prove less of an impediment to industries along the Alaskan coast than many environmentalists had hoped. While further protecting the polar bear from direct or immediate threats — like hunting — the Interior Department added stipulations, seldom invoked under the act, that will make it relatively easy for oil and gas exploration and development activities to proceed.

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