The Washington Post has reported that the Environmental Protection Agency has made an announcement that should surprise no one who has lived through the last seven and a half years of the Bush Administration: a human life in the United States is now worth less than it used to be.

Last week, it was revealed that an Environmental Protection Agency office had lowered its official estimate of life's value, from about $8.04 million to about $7.22 million. That decision has put a spotlight on the concept of the "Value of a Statistical Life," in which the Washington bureaucracy takes on a question usually left to preachers and poets.

This value is routinely calculated by several agencies, each putting its own dollar figure on the worth of life --not any particular person's life, just that of a generic American. The figure is then used to judge whether potentially lifesaving policy measures are really worth the cost. [My emphasis]

...Gore seems clearly to be trying to deceive, and the consequence of the success of his deception is likely to give him immense power over other people's lives.  Syndicated Columnist Tibor Machan  

...two things about this proposal merit attention. It points a country that uses too much energy down the right path. And Gore is showing that being environmentally responsible is economically sensible. WaPo columnist E.J. Dionne

The polar-opposite quotes above are examples of what was actually a very meager editorial response in American newspapers to Al Gore's recent "Challenge to America" speech. As I listened to the speech, (full video and text here) I wondered  how much attention Gore's message would get in the press and what newspapers around the country would say about it, so I decided to do some research. This diary is about what I learned.

Saturday at Netroots Nation Al Gore challenged the netroots just as he challenged America to become carbon-free in ten years. That means 100 percent of our power, if we succeed, will come from renewable energy sources.

You can watch Al Gore issue this challenge:

In their book "free ride," David Brock and Paul Waldman spell out how the media, while downplaying critical stories, and applying differing standards, has given John McCain a relatively free ride on many issues that otherwise require far more illumination and examination.  

This trend of skewed coverage and factually off base, pro McCain commentary, is so prevalent in the media that oftentimes, even so called "media liberals" partake of it.  

I'm back in Paris, and trying belatedly to organise my thoughts after the last 5 days in Austin. Beyond the obvious pleasure for me to see friends I can meet only once a year, I've been trying to get an general impression of what happened at Netroots Nation. I was much impressed by Hunter's wistful and rather pessimistic musings on Thursday, but came reassured by what transpired throughout, and which, in my view, was eloquently summarised by Van Jones in his keynote speech on Sunday morning (it can be viewed here).

I remember 3 core points from what was a truly inspirational moment:

1. they had their chance, they messed up, "it's our turn (to clean up)"

2. consequently, the netroots need to move from a (successful) force of opposition to a force of proposition

3. energy and climate policy is at the heart of the clean up

Via Marc Ambinder:

Here it is, folks. Showtime. On 16 August, Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama "will end the primary season by making their first joint appearance of the 2008 campaign at Saddleback Church on Saturday, Aug. 16 at the Saddleback Civil Forum on Leadership and Compassion."

They'll be "back-to-back," not together. One after the other.

Says Pastor Rick Warren, in a press release:

"This is a critical time for our nation and the American people deserve to hear both candidates speak from the heart -- without interruption -- in a civil and thoughtful format absent the partisan 'gotcha' questions that typically produce heat instead of light.

It's a hydra.  It comes from our power plants, from our cars, and even from our cows.  And just as Al Gore has helped to speed the blade of the sword aimed at that power-generation head, another one pops up to replace it.

Anthropocentric climate change is a hell of a beast, and it looks like we need to be very concerned about what's going on in the swamps.

Wetlands contain 771 billion tons of greenhouse gases, one-fifth of all the carbon on Earth and about the same amount of carbon as is now in the atmosphere, the scientists said before an international conference linking wetlands and global warming.

And should those wetlands be destroyed?

"We could call it the carbon bomb."

From today's Beyond Chron.

It’s no surprise that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi got a tough reception at Netroots Nation – as bloggers asked about the Iraq War, impeachment and (of course) FISA.  Pelosi passed the buck on all of these issues – saying that she’s let House Judiciary Chair John Conyers handle executive contempt, blamed Senate Democrats for selling out on FISA and said that only electing Barack Obama will get us out of Iraq.  When Al Gore popped in to make a surprise appearance, the crowd gave a hero’s welcome to the ex-Vice President – posing a sharp contrast with Pelosi.  Bloggers cheered Gore’s ambitious environmental agenda to make the United States 100% free of fossil fuel energy by 2019.  But nobody bothered to ask Gore why he didn’t push for this 15 years ago when he could have done something about it.  Meanwhile, Pelosi’s excuses frustrated the audience – but they each have an element of truth to them.  On the other hand, if Pelosi says she “doesn’t have the votes” in Congress to get what we want, she should start being more supportive of primary challenges that bloggers wage against bad Democrats.

By WeBuyItGreen: promoting green living and fair trade

Warning:  Contains abstract, philosophical references that may cause boredom.

Several decades ago, as a young political science student, I was impressed by a little classic called The Logic of Collective Action, by Mancur Olson.  Olson explained why large groups of people who share a common interest in securing public goods often fail to act collectively to attain them.  For example, consumers may have a common interest in making sure that the automobiles they drive are safe, but for decades, Ralph Nader and a comparatively small group of people had to work very hard in order to mobilize enough public opinion to successfully impose stricter federal safety standards on the automobile industry.

Let's see, Tennessee. So, we're not the Saudi Arabia of wind. Even counting every square inch of our rocky hillside, we can't generate as much sun-soaked thermal solar energy as 92 miles squared in the desert South-West would. Our Tennesse Valley Authority produces most of it's electricity not with hydroelectric power as is commonly thought, but with some of the dirtiest coal plants in the nation.

So how can Tennessee help meet favorite son Al Gore's challenge of producing an inspiring 100% of our nation's electrity with clean & renewable sources? Maybe getting our republican politicians out of the way in Washington would be Step Zero.

Follow me below the fold for a plan I just discovered that looks like a road map that every Tennessean, red, blue, or purple, can use to turn green...

Al Gore has asked for our help.  I am responding to his request.  I hope you will do the same in kind.

It doesn't get much more visionary and ambitious than Al Gore's recent speech on energy and climate change, and this sentence in particular:

Today I challenge our nation to commit to producing 100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources within 10 years.

If you missed it, you can find the full text here or read a helpfully annotated version here.

My only quibble with this fantastic speech was that Gore said little about the transportation sector, which is the second largest contributor to U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

Changing our transportation policies and funding priorities could greatly help us address the climate change emergency. More on that after the jump.  

UPDATE: Once again I am asking for signatures on a petition to get the Traditional Media to tell the truth about the relationship between Global Warming, or as I prefer to call it, Climaticide, and extreme weather events. Given Al Gore's Challenge to Americans speech yesterday, it seems appropriate to once again call for signatures from the Daily Kos community. People can not make informed decisions if they aren't told the truth.

If you have already signed, thanks a ton. If you haven't please do.

You can sign here or read more below the fold.

In an auspicious presentation at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Friedman spells out in no uncertain terms the challenges mankind faces in the Energy Climate Era now underway in the 21st century.

1. Energy and resource supply and demand.

2. Petro-dictatorship.

3. Biodiversity loss.

4. Climate change.

5. Energy poverty.

These five trends, which have met or passed their 'tipping points', will define humanity going forward. It was a tour-de-force clarion call.

"We are the first generation of human beings that are going to have to think like Noah," he said. "We are the first generation of humans who are going to have to think about saving the last two pairs."

Watch the videos of Friedman's speech.

Friedman throws down the challenge.

Al Gore 's speech (video) points to a solution.

The world is changing fast around us, and will not give us a second chance. We had better get started now.

Albert Gore, the Nobel Prize winning climatologist---oh wait! he's got zero training in climatology.

Albert Gore, the Nobel Prize winning meteorologist---oh wait, he's got zero training in meteorology.

Albert Gore, the Nobel Prize winning astrophysicist---oh wait, he's got no training in astrophysics either.

Here is the NYT analysis of the speech:
http://www.nytimes.com/...

Former Vice President Al Gore said on Thursday that Americans must abandon fossil fuels within a decade and rely on the sun, the winds and other environmentally friendly sources of electric power, or risk losing their national security as well as their creature comforts.

Mr. Gore called for the kind of concerted national effort that enabled Americans to walk on the moon 39 years ago this month, just eight years after President John F. Kennedy famously embraced that goal.

Update:  

"The survival of the United States of America as we know it is at risk," Gore said.

(Update: I have the whole speech text in Update IV)

[Obama Comments in Update V)    

Al Gore is challenging the nation to produce every kilowatt of electricity through wind, sun and other Earth-friendly energy sources within 10 years, an audacious goal he hopes the next president will embrace.

Gore sets 'moon shot' goal on climate change

Gore will be giving a major speech today on energy security, climate change, and the economy, which he correctly sees as interrelated.

Update: But some Dems are running scared already.

We need to have Al's back on this.  Some Dems are grumbling:

The Hill: Some finding Gore’s timing inconvenient

More, after the fold.  

As President George Bush has steadily rolled back environmental protections – his shocking commitment to open up our beautiful coastlines to offshore drilling is only the latest outrage – the responsibility to protect our environment has fallen to cities, states and many dedicated individuals.

San Francisco is one of the greenest cities in the country today because we did not wait for Washington. We are taking action now to green our environment and our economy from the ground up. But we are making so much progress because we are working with so many talented people.