Video: Failing and Flailing Wind Turbinel

I am obviously in a multimedia phase.
You wanna see a Danish wind turbine explode? Me too.

Van Jones Talks Green Collar Jobs with Stephen Colbert

I am a devoted consumer of fake news. But, while I was traveling this past week, I fell behind on my Colbert-Stewart NewsHour - perhaps the finest hour of fake news on cable TV. Because of my foray, I missed green collar activist Van Jones. Fortunately, that doesn't matter. Now you just tap some buttons and...presto, you're watching the clip. Anyways, the Van Jones on Colbert thing first caught my eye courtesy of Shannon Moore, at the excellent blog, Local Warming.

Van Jones founded Green For All, which was launched at the Clinton Global Initiative in 2007. The non-profit grew out of Van’s work on a green job program through the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights Oakland, CA. Van founded the Center in 1996, which promotes alternatives to violence and incarceration, including its successful “Books Not Bars” campaign that has helped reduce California’s overall youth prison population by more than 30 percent. Follow this link for more on what Van Jones has to say, via the live blogging David Anderson of Green Options did last spring

So, after I finished reading Shannon's post, I was concerned that the gregarious Colbert wouldn't let Van get a word in edgewise (which he has been known to do). Shannon wrote that she was disappointed in Colbert, "who has a way of shifting people off topic if he does not believe what they have to say." However, my read of the interview was much different. I thought Colbert was actually relatively mild, and gave Jones plenty of time to get his points across, which Jones did.

The thing about Colbert is, even when he appears to be dominating an interview or "shifting people off topic," he is rarely doing it because he "does not believe what they have to say." Quite the contrary actually. Stephen Colbert the character and conservative pundit may not buy into what his left-leaning guests have to say - but Stephen Colbert the actor, performer, and liberal pundit most certainly does. Colbert gets it and he knows exactly what he is doing. Which, in case you don't watch, or don't 'get it' yourself, is pointing out the flawed arguments made by conservatives and liberals without pointing directly at them.

Colbert on World Water Day

Stephen Colbert celebrates World Water Day - the way only he could.

...and introducing Aqua Colbert...


...field trip to the museum to give a scientist a hard time...


...and now for an incredible technology that could help billions of people get clean drinking water...

Video: State of Resolve

This short pbs video highlights California's relatively progressive environmental policy and juxtaposes it with our (lack of) federal policy. The well-produced piece also does a good job of linking our drive for material wealth as a contributor to environmental pollution in China. About 4 minutes.

Caucusing on Giga Tuesday? Watch This Video

I'm sorry, but I really don't want two days in one week officially referred to as 'super.' This Sunday, I am hoping that the New England Patriots will beat the N.Y. Giants in the NFL's 'Super Bowl.' Then, just two days later, 20+ states will hold their presidential caucuses & primaries on what is often referred to as 'Super Tuesday.' But, because so many states have moved up their primary dates to attract more attention and increase voter participation, this will be the largest Super Tuesday ever, leading some pundits to refer to it as 'Super Duper Tuesday' or, even worse, 'Tsunami Tuesday.'

Personally, I think 'Tsunami Tuesday' has its obvious drawbacks. And I think 'Super Tuesday' is kind of played. I do not have a problem with days being super. However, labeling them super before they have even happened, just sets us up for disappointment. What if they aren't super at all? Alas, I concede that a name would be useful. My favorite? Giga Tuesday.

So, on Giga Tuesday 2008, I will be joining my neighbors in an exurban enclave of Larimer County, CO. I do not expect there to be a tremendous number of people, which is all the more reason for me to sharpen my micropolitical skills. And as a politologist, I am really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, my first choice has recently dropped out of the race, leaving me as officially undecided (though unofficially, decided). While I did not expect him to win, his platform had very strong environmental policy.

Want to know more about what the heck you are supposed to do in a caucus? Watch this clever, short and simple video that lays out the order of operations, what is expected of you, and what you should expect of the caucus.[Note: this video is produced by the Obama folks for the Colorado Caucus, but is applicable for any of Giga Tuesday's caucuses.

Map Key: Blue denotes Democratic-only caucuses (3), Red denotes Republican-only state conventions (2), and Purple represents states holding elections for both parties

Map Source: Wikipedia