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An Ice-Free Arctic

URL: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/GlobalWarming/story?id=2399066&page=1 Website: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/GlobalWarming/story?id=2399066&page=1     

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US Senators Hold Pentagon Nominee Until Rumsfeld Releases Wind Farm Report

U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Barack Obama (D-IL) told Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld last Thursday that they would hold up a key administration nomination until Rumsfeld released a long-overdue report that is delaying the construction of wind farms across the Midwest. In a letter to Rumsfeld, Senators Obama and Durbin promised to continue their block a Senate vote on the nomination of Mr. Robert L. Wilkie to be Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs until the DoD issues the report which was supposed to be completed by May 7, 2006. The report would determine whether wind farms interfere with military radar systems. “The delay of the Defense Department report on wind farms is costing Illinois businesses and potential investors every day. It could also jeopardize the development of one of our nation’s best sources of clean alternative energy,” said Durbin. “If there are real problems caused by wind farms, we should find ways to mitigate, reduce or eliminate them, but our wind farm owners deserve an answer today.” “Because this report is months overdue, investors and landowners in the Midwest who see the promise of wind farms are taking their money elsewhere,” said Senator Obama. “I take very seriously concerns […]

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Where Energy Efficiency Is the Law

By Valerie Cotsalas, September 10, 2006 REFRIGERATORS, washing machines and other appliances bearing yellow “Energy Star” tags won’t be the only energy-efficient big-ticket items for sale on Long Island in coming months. Beginning next spring, new homes in at least two towns in Suffolk County must be built to the home-construction standard that is equivalent to that yellow tag, which certifies that an appliance performs within energy conservation levels defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Brookhaven and Babylon passed laws in August and July, respectively, requiring that all new homes be built to the Energy Star homebuilding standard. The federal housing standard aims to limit the amount of energy a house will use once it is occupied. This standard has been further tailored for Nassau and Suffolk climate variations by the Long Island Power Authority. The new laws put both Brookhaven and Babylon in the vanguard of towns in New York State that have passed measures requiring a level of “green” home building. They are the first on Long Island to do so, but several other towns are considering identical or similar measures. “We’re encouraging every town to adopt this measure,” said Neal Lewis, executive director of the […]

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Global Warming Film Unites Preachers and Politics

OVERLAND PARK, Kansas – Coming soon to a movie screen near you: prayers, politics and a feature-length film, united in an effort to mobilize religious groups around global warming concerns in time for the U.S. midterm election. With a new documentary titled “The Great Warming’ as their chief campaign tool, a coalition of religious leaders, environmentalists and businesses are spreading copies of the film into churches around the country. Voter guides and themed sermons are also part of the plan. The aim of the screenings, like one held in Kansas last week, is to turn the large and powerful conservative Christian constituency into a voting block united behind making the reduction of greenhouse gases a top priority among politicians. Evangelical Christian leaders have embraced the cause and are now helping spur momentum before both midterm elections in November and the 2008 presidential election. “In the past, white evangelicals have been largely Republican and the environment has traditionally been a Democratic issue … so there are political implications in terms of alliances,’ said Joel Hunter, who serves on the National Association of Evangelicals board and as senior pastor of the 12,000-member Northland Church in Longwood, Florida. “But there is no doubt […]

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