Thanksgiving survives global climate change

Brazil deals with ongoing oil spill off coast
Chevron has finally taken responsibility for a massive oil spill off the Brazilian coast. The company’s chief operating officer told reporters that Chevron underestimated the pressure in an underwater reservoir, leading to a leak that began on November 7. Brazil’s National Petroleum Agency estimates that more than 110,000 gallons of oil have already spilled into the Atlantic Ocean and that the leaking hasn’t yet stopped. Brazilian authorities, who rely on  world-famous beaches for tourism, have lashed out at Chevron for not owning up to the incident sooner and being prepared to deal with the spill.

Congress kills plan for National Climate Service
Those who thought it was insane for Congress to block rules proposed by the Agriculture Department that would no longer treat pizza as a vegetable in school lunches, here’s a topper: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wanted to establish a National Climate Service that would have provided data such as the best times of the year that farmers could plant crops. The new service would have required no new funding. And yet, because of the political climate on climate talk, Congress killed the plan. Speaking of lawmakers, check out this video during a Congressional hearing on Friday about whether to keep the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge off-limits to oil development. Rep. Don Young and historian Douglas Brinkley have a hilariously heated exchange,

How Thanksgiving dinner battled the elements
As Thanksgiving rolls around, consider the small miracles made this year to bring food on the plate. Courtesy of the website, Extreme Thanksgiving from Resource Media, comes this spectacular graphic that demonstrates how weather events such as heavy rains, heat waves, draughts, and a hurricane have interfered with food production throughout the country.

Atmosphere Recovery gets the green for being green
The winners of this year’s Cleantech Open were announced recently as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week. Hundreds of start-up companies competed for the grand prize of $250,000 in a contest meant to celebrate innovation in environmentally-friendly enterprise. The winner was Atmosphere Recovery, who impressed the judges “with its laser-based gas analyzer system that improves the efficiency of manufacturing processes.” Here’s more information on some of the other finalists working towards a more Green Economy.

Celebrities have their own ideas about how to solve global warming
In this Funny or Die video, Ben Stiller, Matt Damon, Sean Penn and other celebrities hold a meeting to discuss ways to combat climate change. No, the ideas such as a mass hold-your-breath movement aren’t serious, but it’s still good fun. The ideas are presented to the Clinton Foundation Celebrity Division.