Yesterday it was reported that President Bush signed an Executive Order requiring the placement of a political appointee at the head of each US Agency. This is particularly disturbing where the environment is concerned. from The Union of Concerned Scientists:

An investigative report by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and the Government Accountability Project (GAP) has uncovered new evidence of widespread political interference in federal climate science. The report, which includes a survey of hundreds of federal scientists at seven federal agencies and dozens of in-depth interviews, documents a high regard for climate change research but broad interference in communicating scientific results. "The new evidence shows that political interference in climate science is no longer a series of isolated incidents but a system-wide epidemic," said Dr. Francesca Grifo, Director of the UCS Scientific Integrity Program. "Tailoring scientific fact for political purposes has become a problem across many federal science agencies."

from Reuters:

A California lawmaker wants to make his state the first to ban incandescent lightbulbs as part of California's groundbreaking initiatives to reduce energy use and greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. The "How Many Legislators Does it Take to Change a Lightbulb Act" would ban incandescent lightbulbs by 2012 in favor of energy-saving compact fluorescent lightbulbs.

Carrying on in his father's environmentalist footsteps, The Telegraph reports that Prince William is building an up-scale residence complete with solar power, reed-based septic, and superior insulation that all add up to a rating of "very good" from the BP Institute at Cambridge. Rumors are flying that the house is meant as a starter palace for William and Kate Middleton, but the Royal family says that the house is being built as a rental property.

A London conference: "Climate Change: the Global Security Impact," echoes the warnings in a 2005 US Defense Department report. Bin Laden has already listed the US environmental record as a significant grievance. More from Reuters:

from the LA Times:

Imagine a world in which the best sparkling wines come from Surrey in southern England, not Champagne. A world where Monterey Bay is home to California's best Cabernet Sauvignons and Sweden produces world-class Rieslings. It's not science fiction. A growing number of climatologists are warning that by the turn of the next century, such a radically altered wine map could be the new reality. They say man-made greenhouse gases warming the planet are expected to shift viticultural regions toward the poles, cooler coastal zones and higher elevations.

Al Gore's climate crisis documentary received two Oscar nominations today: for Best Documentary and for the Melissa Etheridge song "I Need to Wake Up." Technically, Gore is not a nominee because the award goes to the director/filmmaker, but he is "thrilled" by the nominations and will attend the Oscars with Tipper. An Inconvenient Truth is the third highest grossing documentary of all time, racking up 24 million in its theatrical release. More from ABC News.

From the AP:

WASHINGTON - The chief executives of 10 major corporations, on the eve of the State of the Union address, urged President Bush on Monday to support mandatory reductions in climate-changing pollution and establish reductions targets. [T]he 10 executives, representing major utilities, aluminum and chemical companies and financial institutions, said mandatory reductions are needed and that "the cornerstone of this approach" should be a cap-and-trade system. Members of the group, called the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, include chief executives of Alcoa Inc., BP America Inc., DuPont Co., Caterpillar Inc., General Electric Co., and Duke Energy Corp.