Flying in the face of logic

News you can use
The GOP is at war -- with itself
While polls make clear that action on climate change can be a political winner, the Republican Party's embrace of climate deniers like Marco Rubio and the multi-billionaire Koch brothers makes their position unsustainable in the long term. From Think Progress

An indefensible defense?
You decide. A May 8 Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal called increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere a "benefit" which will increase agricultural productivity. The writers explain further why they believe carbon dioxide is not a dangerous pollutant. From Treehugger

Bad combination for the forests
Secretary of the Interior and mountaineer Sally Jewell says the wildfire risks from dry winter across the West are being worsened by the automatic federal budget cuts. In 2012, several states set new records for acreage burned -- a situation that will increase as the climate warms. From Huffington Post

Good news and fun stuff
This story might get your goat
Next time you fly out of the world's fifth-busiest airport, look for these four-legged creatures who are helping reduce one type of pollutant on the grounds. From Good

Chiefs wanted
The Rockefeller Foundation is going beyond sustainability to resiliency. They'll fund Chief Resilience Officers in 100 cities worldwide as part of a Centennial Challenge -- to help cities withstand and bounce back from challenges including natural disasters. From The Atlantic Cities

Feathers and flyways
Billions of birds are heading north on an annual trip to their summer breeding grounds.With all the environmental and human-made threats they face, you can help migrating birds right now. These winter wrens who made their home on a staff member's porch near Wilkes-Barre will be fledging soon -- learn what you can do for birds wherever you live. From Audubon

Say it ain't so: 400

Other news
The atmosphere's CO2 levels briefly topped 400 parts per million (ppm) --another ominous milestone in the climate crisis -- at an observatory in Hawaii this week. But, alas, that doesn't stop a vocal minority of deniers who've come up with a long list of talking points.

Copernicus also had skeptics -- who persisted for decades after his death --who didn't believe his argument that the sun, not the earth, was the center of the universe. (In 2013, Copernicus' birthday was celebrated with a Google doodle).

But the climate crisis is even more urgent than the 16th century debate over the sun. It's one of the reasons PennFuture has been working on climate change since we were founded -- and recently concluded 100 Days of Action for Climate in Pennsylvania. We're also continuing the fight to confirm Gina McCarthy as EPA administrator: Learn more at www.standwithgina.com.

"It's a natural cycle," "there's no scientific consensus," and "it's a conspiracy" are a few common arguments heavily used by organizations with a stake in dirty fossil fuels.  So we know you'll find good use for these 99 climate-denier rebuttals -- whether you submit a comment to your morning newspaper or drop a line at your next neighborhood cookout.  From Think Progress

Some good news
How many ways can you say it? Environment + economy are not mutually exclusive (it's right in our PennFuture mission). A new report by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) makes clear: over the last decade, EPA regulations imposed about $45 billion in costs, but created $640 billion in benefits. From Triple Pundit

Fun stuff
What would Jules Verne think? A plane has begun a historic around-the-world trip one section at a time. Why is this news? The plane -- Solar Impulse -- is a prototype that flies on solar cells and lithium batteries. From Treehugger

To do
Join PennFuture in Pittsburgh for NWF's Google hangout with renowned climate guru and scientist Dr. Michael Mann. We'll have pizza and snacks as we discuss climate science followed by a Q&A session with Dr. Mann. What's a Google hangout, you ask? It's a virtual meeting -- You can participate right in our Pittsburgh office on Monday, May 13, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Not in Pittsburgh? You can still participate online from your computer or smartphone.