PoliticsOnline is starting a social-activism Web site called Hope Plus, a virtual global community for those who want to take action and make change.

BBC News reports:

Founder Phil Noble was interviewed by UK e-democracy newsletter E-Government Bulletin about the plans for the site. ‘The idea is to create a world online Peace Corps or a global eBay for caring,’ Mr Noble told the newsletter. The concept was in part inspired by Mr Noble’s previous work with the BBC. He was a key advisor to the now defunct BBC Action Network, a nationwide portal for community activism. ‘I’d been throwing out the idea for a global network… and the consensus was - now was the time,’ he told E-Government Bulletin.

Noble has invited Barack Obama and Bill Gates to support the venture, which is scheduled to launch in December at the International Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. So far it seems like a promising project, especially if Noble can get those two big-names on board. Stay tuned for more on Hope Plus.

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If the UN Climate Change Conference this December fails to produce a legally binding global climate deal, Norway and Sweden are pushing for a follow-up conference in early 2010 to finalize a new treaty.  While having a back-up plan seems like a good idea, especially considering the United States may unfortunately need more time, I’m reticent to shift focus from the significance of this December’s talks and I think we should continue to push for an agreement as soon as possible. Read the rest of this entry >>

Last week, we told you that Senate Republicans on the Environment and Public Works Committee had planned on boycotting work sessions on the Senate’s climate change bill, in order to stall the bill from leaving the committee, and thus halting a vote on the Senate floor. Well, the first work sessions were scheduled for today, and Senator Barbara Boxer, Democratic leader of the committee, announced yesterday that the climate change bill would still be taken up today, with or without the Republicans on the committee.

Through some weird Senate rules, even though the boycott of work sessions should forestall the bill being considered, Senator Boxer can do an end-run around the boycott. Says the Washington Post:

Under committee rules and precedent, two members of the minority are customarily required in order to provide a quorum for a markup. But Boxer and her aides will rely on a provision in the rules that will allow the Democrats to proceed as long as a majority of committee members are present, and can report out the bill if a majority is present and votes in favor of the bill. Democrats outnumber Republicans on the panel by a ratio of 12 to 7.

Committee Republicans are claiming that the Environmental Protection Agency has yet to do a full enough economic impact statement on the climate change bill, and even sent Senator Boxer a letter yesterday (PDF) asking her to delay proceedings until the analysis can be made. But Senator Boxer rejected this. Read the rest of this entry >>

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Eating a diet high in processed food has been shown to increase the risk of depression according to a new study from the UK. Personally I’ve found that I feel more sluggish and down when I eat additive-laden sweets and fried foods, compared with the brightness and mental acuity that eating whole foods brings, so I’m not particularly surprised by the finding.  Hopefully it will encourage more people to increase their intake of whole grains, fish and fresh fruits and vegetables.  Read the rest of this entry >>

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The Elders, a independent group of eminent global leaders, gathered with their grandchildren last Thursday for a picnic to show the importance of uniting generations to address the threat of climate change.

More than just a charming photo-op, the get together reminds us that as we look to international leaders to take decisive action at the UN climate summit, we should also keep in mind those who will inherit the planet and will have to deal with the consequences of how we choose to address global emissions.  Read the rest of this entry >>

One of the large hurdles of a comprehensive climate change bill passed in Congress is, as you may guess, the bill’s financial effects on industry and utility companies and the like. Because, in case you were unaware, you may elect your Senators and Representative, but you sure as hell ain’t paying them the big bucks. So, the Senate is trying to appease the big money people with its incarnation of the climate change bill, and as such have decided to grant companies billions of dollars worth of carbon emission credits, with the notion that most of the money will eventually get back to consumers and taxpayers. But as the New York Times reports, that’s not all.

The bill will also provide a cushion to energy-intensive manufacturing companies to ease the transition to a lower-carbon economy and to help them compete internationally, although the subsidies will disappear over time. The measure also sets a floor and ceiling on the price of permits to emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

At the outset, this “cushion” will be on the shoulders of, that’s right, taxpayers. Read the rest of this entry >>

Even though I usually go for classic, foreign and art films I do enjoy a good romantic comedy now and then.  One of my favorites is Love Actually, the ultimate romantic comedy in terms of characters, plots and interconnecting storylines. Love Actually though is very much the ultimate British romantic comedy. And I suspect that the trailer below is for a film that is aiming to be the ultimate American romantic comedy.

Valentine’s Day has the cream of the crop of American romcom stars–Julia Roberts, Jennifer Garner, Bradley Cooper, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Biel, Jessica Alba, Patrick Dempsey and Ashton Kutcher and seems to have more storylines than I can count!

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Police, Adjective–a film poignant in its simplistic depiction of human emotion–is the story of a man’s internal struggle with conscience.  Assigned to trail a teenager suspected of dealing drugs, young police officer Cristi (Dragos Bucur) is plagued by an unsettling instinct that he will regret ruining the teen’s life in the name of honoring a law that he believes will change in the near future.

The film is slow-paced, subtle, and uniquely dry in its humor. Void of any musical soundtrack–save a moment when Cristi and his wife debate the merit of a love song she’s listening to–the film leaves itself open to the viewer’s interpretation of Cristi’s dilemma. That said, his emotional turmoil–from the drug case, in particular, but also from his relationship (or lack thereof) with his wife and his own existential tug of war–is visceral and the acting effective.

Warning! Spoiler after the jump!

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We all know someone who’s tried to push a copy of The Secret on us, insisting that one reading will change our life and that positive thinking is the solution when times are tough. But Barbara Ehrenreich, best-selling author of Nickel and Dimed and Bait and Switch, dispels much of the pseudo-science  behind the powers of positive thinking in her latest book, Bright-Sided.

Although she would genuinely like to see more smiles and hugs in the world, Ehrenreich refers to the ongoing movement of positive thinking as a mass delusion, as applied to her own encounter with “Pink Ribbon Culture” during her bout with breast cancer. Her frustrations lie with those who insist that the only way to achieve success and money is through positive thinking. It’s not fair, she notes, that the sick, poor, or unemployed are thought to be in those circumstances because they emit negative thoughts.

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