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Scientist: Carbon Dioxide Doesn't Cause Global Warming
Tweet Share on Facebook October 7, 2009 Comment (234)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
A noted geologist who coauthored the New York Times bestseller Sugar Busters has turned his attention to convincing Congress that carbon dioxide emissions are good for the Earth and don't cause global warming. Leighton Steward is on Capitol Hill this week armed with studies and his book Fire, Ice and Paradise in a bid to show senators working on the energy bill that the carbon dioxide cap-and-trade scheme could actually hurt the environment by reducing CO2 levels.
"I'm trying to kill the whole thing," he says. "We are tilting at windmills." He is meeting with several GOP lawmakers and has plans to meet with some Democrats later this week.
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Pelosi Wants Banana Peels for Capitol Compost
Tweet Share on Facebook October 7, 2009 Comment (6)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Capitol green campaign is gunning for banana peels. Congressional offices are being encouraged to use compost bins to collect veggie and fruit peels for later use in Capitol gardens. The Architect of the Capitol wants a bin in every office kitchen. Some staffers are holding their nose. "Imagine that smell in the kitchen as meeting attendees walk by," says a Senate Democratic aide. "Lovely."
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An Upside to Partisanship for Obama
Tweet Share on Facebook October 7, 2009 Comment (3)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
Does the partisanship and political anger in Washington have a sunny side for President Obama? Just maybe, says former Clinton spokesman Mike McCurry. "I think there is a new 'silent majority,' and it is the great middle of the political spectrum—the nearly 50 percent of all Americans who self-describe themselves as 'moderate' instead of 'liberal' or 'conservative.' They are mostly moderate and turned off by the polarization in Congress and the media," says McCurry. "They don't identify with the extremes they see in the debate as portrayed by the media." He adds, "I think that will scare people into new behavior, and I think Obama will be the beneficiary because many people have a lot invested in him for the long term; they want him to succeed." What's more, McCurry says, race is a positive element. "We are proud of having elected a black guy president, and we don't want it to be a failed presidency again like his immediate white predecessors."
