William M. Briggs » The Case of the Missing Global Warming and The Age of Stupid

Such drastic climate therapy could make things worse | James Lovelock | Comment is free | The Guardian

Perhaps we, too, had better use our energies to adapt and leave recovery to Gaia; after all, she has survived more than three billion years and has kept life going all that time.

Honk If You Support World Car-Free Day | CEI

For all of their rhetoric, however, the anti-car enthusiasts are generally vague on how their utopia will accommodate the handicapped, the elderly, parents with kids, or anyone who lives outside of a central city.

“Since so many anti-car activists are young and healthy [and stupid], it’s no surprise they forget what a car-free world would actually be like,” said Sam Kazman, General Counsel at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. “For many people, a car isn’t a luxury – it’s the only way to get to work, transport their kids, or pick up groceries.”

Car-Free Days in Europe, Mostly - Green Inc. Blog - NYTimes.com

Walkers, joggers, skaters and cyclists experienced unusual freedom – and quiet – in Brussels on Sunday, where, for the most part, the city’s residents left their cars at home.
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According to Greg Spencer, a blogger in Budapest writing in support of urban cycling events, only parts of the route that a group of organized bicyclists intend to take on Tuesday are slated to be cordoned off from other road users, [doesn't this restrict the freedom of other users who are paying for the roads?] meaning that participants still will be riding in weekday rush hour traffic.

Green groups open 'climate [scam] war room' - Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei - POLITICO.com

The cap-and-trade movement, spooked by the pounding health care reform took over the August break, is scrambling to persuade nervous Democrats they won’t suffer politically for taking another tough vote this year.

“When you get your butt kicked, like we did [after the House energy vote], it focuses the mind,” said Steve Cochran, director of the Environmental Defense Fund’s National Climate Campaign. “We found out that this is not something to hide from but something to lean on — even in places where coal is king and Blue Dogs were perceived to be running for cover.”
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A “climate war room” — funded by more than 60 labor, business, faith, agriculture and environmental groups — has been set up to coordinate ad dollars and communications.
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Despite the push, White House advisers say privately that they are very reluctant to have lawmakers take another tough vote after health care this fall.
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A senior congressional Democrat said a Senate vote is more likely in the first quarter of next year. “We can’t make people walk the plank again this fall,” the Democrat said. “I think it would be detrimental to climate change to jam it through.”
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Imagine a month of town halls with people shouting about high energy bills and massive tax increases. Would the polls be the same after the combination of relentless ads and right-wing protests? Doubtful.

That is why it remains unlikely Congress will get energy legislation done this year and also why it will be harder than some expect next year.