global climate change Archives - Where Is The Outrage?

Local Edge Radio Podcast – Troy Davis and more

I was on Local Edge Radio yesterday. I chatted with Blake and Leslie. We discussed the death of Troy Davis. We have to fix this. We need a system that is fair for everyone. Our government shouldn’t be in the business of vengeance. We need to get into a position where the death penalty is used rarely, if ever. We then drift into a couple of other topics. We note that the stock market took a huge hit yesterday. Then we delve into global climate change secondary to man’s burning of fossil fuels. I point to the difficulty of tackling threats that are in the future. I then talk about the science of global warming. Ice core samples reveal that CO2 levels are higher now then at any time during the last 500,000 years. The question that I ask is whether we can face a complex problem like global warming. We then discuss the problem that California is having with water. California has known for more than 40 years that their water supply is dwindling. The population of California’s increasing. The agricultural demands on water continue to increase. Yet, California continually puts the problem off by rationing water. Rationing water is a short-term solution to a long-term problem. There are only two ways to fix this problem. One, significantly decrease demand on water – move large segments of the population. Two, significantly increase water, make water. Leslie mentions the decrease in the water in aquifers. Finally, I mention a book that I’m currently reading called the Watchman’s Rattle. I highly recommend it.

Enjoy.

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By ecthompsonmd|2012-05-02T17:06:37-04:00September 23rd, 2011|Entertainment, Legal, Podcasts|Comments Off

The Errington Thompson Show 12-5-09

This snowy day in Asheville starts off with Obama’s huge speech and the 30,000 troop surge to Afghanistan. All the trust we have put into Obama… is this the right way to go? His speech about the troop increase was written and spoken well, as always, but should this be where we are headed? Errington’s guest, Brian Katulis, has some compelling insights and shares details about Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq that might slip through the cracks if we don’t perk up and listen. Katulis is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and an expert on Middle Eastern affairs. Errington and he discuss how Yemen and Somalia are not getting the attention they deserve while we pour money and American soldiers into Afghanistan. The importance of this issue can’t be overstated and Katulis makes it understandable. Are the estimated one to two hundred Al Queda members left in Afghanistan (according to Jim Jones, Obama’s National Security Advisor) worth this huge surge of American troops and money? What is to be done about the nuclear power of Pakistan? What is our legacy in Iraq?

This huge show bundles in healthcare, with Errington’s thoughts on Michael Moore’s movie Sicko. In the movie, and played here in this broadcast, a former influential member of Britain’s Parliament explains how democracy gave the poor the vote and changed Britain’s healthcare system. If money can be found for war, why shouldn’t it be available to help within a country’s own borders? Their system isn’t free. They pay for it with tax dollars.

In addition to the giveaways during the show, the biography about Louis Armstrong, Pops and a $100 amazon.com gift card, some exciting stuff for upcoming shows is announced… a visit from someone from PC Magazine and some time talking about music with two-time Grammy winner Larry Fulcher. Which twenty CDs would you take with you to a desert island?

From global climate change to gangs on Twitter, this show is investigative and fun. Thanks and congratulations to John and Terry for their calls and prizes! Now this is progressive radio!

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By ecthompsonmd|2012-05-07T13:36:30-04:00December 12th, 2009|Podcasts|Comments Off

Michelle Obama, Mom-in-Chief

No one could tell this story better than Melissa Harris-Lacewell, a mother and associate professor at Princeton. Michelle Obama’s greatness (yes, I said greatness) lies in her ability not to outshine her husband, Barack. She is easily as bright, if not brighter, than Barack is. Yet she has held back. Think of the uproar that would occur if Michelle Obama began to take the lead on any issue. The Right would go nuts.

From The Nation:

With Mother’s Day approaching I want think about Michelle Obama’s assertion that her primary role as First Lady is “Mom-in-Chief.”

Many progressive feminists were distressed with Michelle’s assertion of motherhood as her primary role. They hoped she would seek a more aggressive policy agenda. After all Michelle Obama is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School. She spent her career as an effective advocate for urban communities in their fraught relationship with powerful institutions. She is smart, capable, and independent. She maintained her own career and ambitions throughout Barack’s early political career and even during his election to the U.S. Senate.

Truth is, some of us who were in the orbit of the Obamas ten years ago believed Michelle, not Barack, was the real star of the couple. So while I don’t think anyone expected her to commute to a 9-to-5 job in D.C; many hoped that she would take on an independent political role in the Obama administration.

Instead, Michelle has crafted a more traditional role for herself. She is highly visible, but she has taken on relatively safe issues like childhood literacy, advocacy for women and girls, and support of military families. Even her White House garden is framed more as an initiative for healthy eating and quality family meals than as a statement of commitment to local foods as an effort against global climate change. (more… )

By ecthompsonmd|2009-05-06T02:39:33-04:00May 6th, 2009|Domestic Issues|Comments Off