Tag Archives: the-environment

The 7 Funniest Jokes From Barack Obama at The White House Correspondents’ Dinner

Add Barack Obama to the list of people funnier than Jay Leno. While the president brought his B-minus game to the open mic night that is the White House Correspondents’ Dinner — never mind the massive oil spill in the Gulf that threatens the environment or the car bomb in Times Square that threatens national security, what’s the deal with airplane food? — Leno could barely muster a chuckle from the assembled political luminaries, wonky nerds and Hollywood stars. It got so bad, he was even forced to pull out the “this is a tough room” card, the mating call of every bombing hack comic. And oh, the multimedia jokes: All that was missing was ” Monkey Picks the YouTube Clip .” Thank goodness then for President Obama, who made the night more than tolerable. After the jump, the president’s seven best moments. Try the veal!

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The 7 Funniest Jokes From Barack Obama at The White House Correspondents’ Dinner

Specter Spelunker Shrinks [Game Battle]

A 3D game that makes you grow and shrink to interact with the environment around you in new ways to make it though a level. [ You may need to install the Unity plug-in to play this game in your browser ] View

Audi’s anti environment SuperBowl ad: Thanks for nothing.

And so the green movement is being marketed to men. Or so Audi pretends in their Superbowl ad for their TDI Diesel (which can be converted to a biodiesel if you have a station in your home town). Ya know, I like that Audi makes TDI’s. I do. I hate this ad. While on the surface it almost looks like a PSA that educates about the basic environmental practices in re: to plastics, battery recycling, composting, styrofoam and water usage; after viewing it I walked away with the odd association of feeling constricted and constrained by doing all of those small daily practices for the environment. What’s up with police state over monitoring my every move? (At least I would have gotten a laugh if they had broken in on a sex seen for some un-green sex practices…that’s SuperBowl Sunday appropriate, no?) Frankly, I walked away with an anti-green feeling and irritation towards anyone between me and my ability to do the basic little things I enjoy in life (like eating, and grocery shopping, and hot-tubbing). Look Audi, go ahead and make your cars, but don’t go and F up all the work that so many environmental organizations have been developing to promote and educate that small changes in every day life can be easy to do and can make a difference. The need for liberation and freedom imprinted in men’s DNA (this we have been taught via car commercials) was finally accomplished by breaking out of the line and driving the open road in Audi’s “green” car. Awesome. So this wasn’t about being green, this was just about a need for speed, and escape from the entrapment of family (perhaps I’m being harsh, perhaps this is really a pro-marriage ad….maybe the real underlying message is If you only had a woman to deal with all of those domestic chores you wouldn’t get stuck in silly entrapments, hence you would ultimately have more opportunity to roam the open road…) Bah. Enough over analyzing. It’s kind of sad that I feel the need to dig deep into this ad to find some underlying messaging. But I offer this act of mindsturbation as a favor to Audi; otherwise all that would be left to say is, 'hey look, there goes Audi greenwashing' (c’mon guys, driving a car is just plain wasteful and harmful to the environment). So do us a favor, stick to selling your cars via the messaging about freedom and liberation that comes with having a car. Leave the environmental messaging to people who..well…care. Believe me, we’ll respect you for it in the morning. added by: leahl

Ethical eating – plants want to live, too

“Before we cede the entire moral penthouse to “committed vegetarians” and “strong ethical vegans,” we might consider that plants no more aspire to being stir-fried in a wok than a hog aspires to being peppercorn-studded in my Christmas clay pot.

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Ethical eating – plants want to live, too

U.S. Chamber of Commerce faces revolt over its opposition to global warming legislation

As California Sen. Barbara Boxer prepares to unveil the Senate's climate change legislation on Capitol Hill today, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — a strong opponent of the global warming bill passed by the House and a likely foe of the Senate bill — faces a high-profile revolt by some of its members

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U.S. Chamber of Commerce faces revolt over its opposition to global warming legislation

Nanomaterials under study by the E.P.A.

The Environmental Protection Agencydetailed its plans on Tuesday for research into the possible health and environmental risks of nanomaterials, tiny substances that are finding growing use in products like sunscreens and industrial adhesives. The document, issued in draft form in June, calls for work to identify sources of nanomaterials, which can measure as little as perhaps one-10,000th the width of a human hair

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Nanomaterials under study by the E.P.A.

‘Cash for Clunkers’ Program in Full Swing (Fox News)

On Monday the much awaited—and debated—“Cash for Clunkers” program was officially kicked off, allowing consumers to get up to $4,500 off the price of a more fuel-efficient vehicle.

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‘Cash for Clunkers’ Program in Full Swing (Fox News)

‘Cash for clunkers’ program under way (CNN)

Federal authorities unveiled their $1 billion “cash for clunkers” plan Monday as a win for the environment, a win for automakers and a win for drivers who would like to trade up, but they acknowledged the program’s impact is uncertain.

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‘Cash for clunkers’ program under way (CNN)