Rachel’s Action Network News 2.24.09

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In Political News
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Clinton Paints China Policy With a Green Hue
February 21, 2009
MARK LANDLER
The New York Times

BEIJING — Declaring that “we hope you won’t make the same mistakes we made,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton invited China to join the United States in an ambitious effort to curb greenhouse gases, as she toured an energy-efficient power plant in Beijing on Saturday. “When we were industrializing and growing, we didn’t know any better; neither did Europe,” Mrs. Clinton said. “Now we’re smart enough to figure out how to have the right kind of growth.”

To read more, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/world/asia/22diplo.html?_r=1&scp=10&sq=hillary%20clinton&st=cse
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Female candidates line up for 2010
February 21, 2009
JOSH KRAUSHAAR
Politico

A slew of formidable female candidates, mostly Democrats, are lining up to run for the Senate in 2010, enough to raise the prospect of a surge of women into a chamber that currently has just 17 women senators. Even at this early point in the election cycle, two prominent statewide female officeholders have announced their campaigns in key battleground states and at least 10 other experienced female candidates — ranging from state officials to former CEOs to members of Congress— are considering bids for the Senate.

To read more, go to: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0209/19157.html
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Former eBay Chief Tries a New Bid. It’s Political.
February 21, 2009
BRAD STONE
The New York Times

SAN FRANCISCO — Meg Whitman, a former chief executive of eBay, once said that running the Internet auction site was like being the mayor of a large city, with the mix of politics, competing constituencies and widespread resistance to change. Now Ms. Whitman, 52, says she is ready to be the governor of California, a state nearly paralyzed by its political and fiscal problems. But with her legacy at eBay not clear cut, she is trying to define her experience in the most favorable terms as she explores a run for the Republican nomination in 2010.

To read more, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/us/22whitman.html
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Schakowsky: Pushing for More After Ledbetter
February 23, 2009
Allison Stevens
Women’s eNews

Rep. Jan Schakowsky is hoping for a “big change moment” to tackle women’s concerns. Even so, a bundle of bills propose incremental reforms that could add up. Sixth in a series on members of Congress who are advancing issues raised by the WeNews Memo.

To read more, go to: http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/3928
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Finally, a Glimmer of Light: More Women in Leadership Is Better for Business
February 23, 2009
Linda Tarr-Whelan
The Women’s International Perspective

Here’s a news flash: in one week, two major economic articles in national newspapers raise the same point – we need more women in top leadership. Why? Because we need more balanced risk-taking, more looking at the long-term and less testosterone-driven hyper-competitiveness. We need fresh blood and new ideas – much of which lies with the talented and experienced people who have largely been cooling their heels outside of the fancy corner offices. That’s women.

To read more, go to: http://thewip.net/contributors/2009/02/finally_a_glimmer_of_light_mor.html
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Senate to take test vote on Solis
February 23, 2009
Staff Reports
Pasadena Star-News

The Senate today is scheduled to take a test vote on La Puente native Hilda Solis’ nomination as labor secretary. The El Monte Democrat won committee approval earlier this month after weeks of delays over questions about tax liens that her husband recently paid and her role as a board member and treasurer of American Rights at Work. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said she will vote for Solis because she has a strong understanding of the everyday struggles of working families and the need for change.

To read more, go to: http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/ci_11771041
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New documents come to light about Margaret Thatcher
February 23, 2009
Andrew Pierce
Telegraph (UK)

Never before seen memos about an unknown Tory politician called Margaret Thatcher, which singled her out for prominence because she was “very pretty” and dressed attractively, have been unearthed in the BBC archive. The collection of documents also include a series of long forgotten television and radio interviews with Baroness Thatcher which charts her gradual transformation from suburban housewife to a major player on the world stage as the Iron Lady by the end of the 1970s.

In Environmental News
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Climate Fears Are Driving ‘Ecomigration’ Across Globe
February 23, 2009
Shankar Vedantam
The Washington Post

Adam Fier recently sold his home, got rid of his car and pulled his twin 6-year-old girls out of elementary school in Montgomery County. He and his wife packed the family’s belongings and moved to New Zealand — a place they had never visited or seen before, and where they have no family or professional connections. Among the top reasons: global warming.

To read more, go to: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/22/AR2009022202378.html
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US Climate Czar: CO2 Regulation Ruling To Come Soon
February 22, 2009
Ian Talley
CNNMoney.com

President Barack Obama’s climate czar said Sunday the Environmental Protection Agency will soon issue a rule on the regulation of carbon dioxide, finding that it represents a danger to the public. The White House is pressing Congress to draft and pass legislation that would cut greenhouse gases by 80% of 1990 levels by 2050, threatening to use authority under the Clean Air Act if legislators don’t move fast enough or create strong enough provisions.

To read more, go to: http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200902221138DOWJONESDJONLINE000312_FORTUNE5.htm
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Merrigan tapped for No. 2 USDA post
February 24, 2009
Charles Abbott
Reuters

WASHINGTON – Kathleen Merrigan, a professor who helped develop U.S. organic food labeling rules, has been chosen for the Agriculture Department’s No. 2 job by President Barack Obama, the White House said on Monday. Merrigan, tapped for deputy secretary of agriculture, was head of the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service from 1999-2001 during the Clinton presidency and helped to develop the USDA’s rules on what can be sold as organic food. As a Senate aide, she worked on the 1990 law that recognized organic farming.

To read more, go to: http://uk.reuters.com/article/usPoliticsNews/idUKTRE51M7QM20090224?sp=true
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Experts cite lower threshold for warming crisis
February 24, 2009
Randolph E. Schmid
Associated Press via San Francisco Chronicle

The Earth won’t have to warm up as much as had been thought to cause serious consequences of global warming, including more extreme weather and increasing threats to plants and animals, says an international team of climate experts. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimated that the risk of increased severe weather would rise with a global average temperature increase of between 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit and 3.6 degrees above 1990 levels. The National Climatic Data Center currently reports that global temperatures have risen 0.22 degree since 1990.

To read more, go to: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/24/MNGR1632GS.DTL
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‘Secret’ was deadly for Montana town saturated in asbestos, prosecutors say
February 24, 2009
Kim Murphy
Los Angeles Times

Missoula, Mont. — For 27 years, W.R. Grace & Co. operated a vermiculite mine in Libby, Mont., producing bags of puffy white granules that were marketed all over the U.S., perfect for insulating attics and aerating gardens and potting soil. The trouble was, the vermiculite contained small quantities of asbestos, a cancer-causing fiber that could, even in tiny quantities, fatally lodge itself in the lungs.

To read more, go to: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-montana-asbestos-trial24-2009feb24,0,5879847.story
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Many Plans to Curtail Use of Plastic Bags, but Not Much Action
February 23, 2009
WILLIAM YARDLEY
The New York Times

SEATTLE — Last summer, city officials here became the first in the nation to approve a fee on paper and plastic shopping bags in many retail stores. The 20-cent charge was intended to reduce pollution by encouraging reusable bags. But a petition drive financed by the plastic-bag industry delayed the plan. Now a far broader segment of Seattle’s bag carriers — its voters — will decide the matter in an election in August.

To read more, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/us/24bags.html?_r=1
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Obama Agrees To Work With Canada On Clean Energy
February 23, 2009
Jeff Mason and Ross Colvin
Reuters

OTTAWA – US President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper were to agree plans on Thursday to work together on environmentally friendly energy technology, as both move forward to tackle climate change. Obama arrived in Canada on his first international trip as president seeking to quell Canadian concerns about US trade protectionism and discuss the global economic crisis and the war in Afghanistan.

To read more, go to: http://planetark.org/wen/51741