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Didn’t you know, all along, that the goal of U.S. policy in Iraq was about accessing oil?
via Alec Baldwin: The Republican Way: Keeping Everything The Way It Is.

The resistance to reforming our nation’s healthcare system has been fueled by entrenched corporate interests. Their deep pockets are funneling money into generating attack ads, funding lawmakers’ campaigns, and hiring lobbyists. These corporate interests are also funding various front groups to make up their own facts and scare the public.
via Think Progress » Exclusive: Attacks [...]

From Senator Jeff Merkley:
The CBO score obliterates the arguments opponents of health care reform have been using for months. They've been claiming the Senate health plan will be a 'costly' government takeover and it will lead to 'delays' and 'denial' of care. For months, the Minority Leader has claimed that Americans will be “forced into [...]

Hobbled by opposition from the carbon incumbents and their short-sighted allies on Capitol Hill the Obama administration acknowledged this week that it would not return from Copenhagen with any groundbreaking commitment to control green house gases. Meanwhile, Congress is backsliding on the administration's wise commitment to impose a rational price on carbon. Behind the logjam, [...]

Don’t Miss THE COVE at the Hipp Nov. 25 and watch Ric O’Barry on Larry King on Thanksgiving… Find out why dolphins need your help.

Since the 1997 international accord to fight global warming, climate change has worsened and accelerated – beyond some of the grimmest of warnings made back then.
…the effects of greenhouse gases are more powerful and happening sooner than predicted…
“The message on the science is that we know a lot more than we did in 1997 and [...]

I appreciate President O’Bama’s push to upgrade the national power transmission system with a “Smart Grid,” which he’s talked about since campaigning and for which he has just announced financial support. But I have questioned the need for this since I first heard about it, suspecting that power companies were behind the push for the [...]

From our Correspondent John Wasik:
Green is gold. Why didn’t homebuilders get this idea? They could be building new homes again, employing millions, making inner cities and suburbs habitable and bring down the cost of housing for everyone.
…the box you live in is antiquated beyond belief and costs you more every year to heat, cool and [...]

From Correspondent Roger Witherspoon:
The Obama Administration is struggling to decide whether to keep or scrap the key Bush era policy used to stifle new environmental regulations and limit enforcement of existing laws. And despite the professed openness of this administration and its break with a business-oriented, anti-environment past, the new Environmental Protection Agency has so [...]

Progressives are watching the Obama administration appointments with a bit of apprehension. Thomas Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture, has a long history of supporting Big Ag, which operates at a massive scale, producing copious amounts of waste and CO2, warehousing animals and using pharmaceuticals to increase production. Big Ag also pushes Genetically Modified seeds, penalizing farmers for saving seeds from harvests. Correspondent Christine Heinrichs is helping us keep an eye on these developments.

On Friday, The Cove (Click here for trailer) will open at the Hippodrome (click here to buy your ticket), and we’ll have another pre-show Green Drinks Happy Hour from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. before the first show begins.

Come see this incredibly cool flick about the tireless efforts of Ric O’Barry to protect dolphins from [...]

I can hardly believe that our December meeting will mark one year of Green Drinks Gainesville meetings, can you? We’ve gone from three guests at our first meeting to as many as 60 (thank you, Brave Space Design!). We’ve had intimate discussions about our efforts to help make our community more sustainable, and we’ve had great green networking sessions. I’ve been thinking about all of the cool things that have evolved from Green Drinks, and about what’s next for us. I hope you’ll think about this and bring your thoughts to our next meeting, our first anniversary celebration (feel free to bring pink – or green – champagne, too!).

An interesting report shared with us by Ed Brown: Food Futures Strategies for Resilient Food and Farming Soil Association – The world’s agriculture and food systems face unprecedented challenges. We are approaching a ‘perfect storm’ of climate change, resource depletion, diet-related ill health and population growth which is forcing us to look again at how we produce and consume food…

War Weapons are Environmental Hazards: Iraqi former battle zone sees abnormal clusters of infant tumours and deformities – Doctors in Iraq’s war-ravaged enclave of Falluja are dealing with up to 15 times as many chronic deformities in infants and a spike in early life cancers that may be linked to toxic materials left over from the fighting.

By Wendee Holtcamp, National Wildlife
Scientists and entrepreneurs are increasingly borrowing concepts from the natural world to help them create better, more sustainable products
“People are looking for ways to reduce material use, get away from toxic substances and reduce energy use. When they hear about biomimicry, they realize it’s an R&D program that’s been going on [...]

This Gallup poll indicates that small busines owners are eschewing environmental innovations because of the tight economy. What isn’t mentioned – and is of utmost importance – is the fact that businesses can save money by implementing sustainable practices, such as cutting energy and water consumption and reducing waste. Start now, business and homeowners: it [...]

Gainesville resident Karen Orr, co-chair of the Energy Justice Network, has compiled the following articles and letters regarding the proposed biomass plant in Gainesville. Thank you, Karen!
Ronald Saff: Reject Gainesville biomass plant:
As a former U.F. undergrad, I am proud of the high caliber education I received in Gainesville which has enabled me to achieve my [...]

Transit Oriented Development Land Development Regulations Workshop
Please join us for a workshop to discuss the land development regulations being created to implement traditional neighborhood and transit-oriented developments as provided for in CPA-01-09, the soon to be adopted Alachua County Comprehensive Plan amendment that addresses long-term concurrency management solutions.
Date: Monday, December 7, 2009
Place: 111 SW 1st [...]

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was getting lots of appreciative applause and head nods from the packed hall at the Community Food Security Coalition conference today, held in Des Moines, Iowa. He described the USDA’s plans to improve school nutrition, support local food systems, and work with the Justice Department to review the impact of corporate [...]