IN TODAY'S AUDIO REPORT: Scientists' Himalayan glaciers mistake is more fodder for climate change deniers; FDA aims at BPA --- but powerless to do anything about it ... PLUS: Climate legislation, Scott Brown, the GOP's 49-51 majority, the Supreme Court and LOTS and LOTS of corporate money... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail, billions in corporate campaign cash? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA': President Obama's environmental report card; Asian Carp DNA found in Lake Michigan; Arctic tundra drying out; DOE hearts algae; The case for distributed renewable energy; Murkowski (R-AK) attacks EPA; "Just don't call it a 'carbon tax'" .... PLUS: Watch this video: Colbert hearts Mountaintop Removal ....

Info/links on those stories and all the ones we talked about on today's episode follow below...

IN TODAY'S AUDIO REPORT: Political earthquake in Massachusetts? Climate & clean energy legislation also hangs in the balance; James Inhofe is #1! PLUS: The long aftermath of the real earthquake in Haiti, as the 'second wave' of disaster unfolds ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA': 2009 hottest year on record in southern hemisphere, but not in Antarctica --- yet; Trading commission moves to curb oil speculators; China snaps up California solar market; Texas town now fears pollution from drilling; Antarctica gets its first wind farm; Oregon to shut down only coal fired power plant .... PLUS: Green building is really green with vertical garden walls....

Info/links on those stories and all the ones we talked about on today's episode follow below...

IN TODAY'S AUDIO REPORT: Epic humanitarian crisis in Haiti; More toxic Chinese toys, toxic plastic bottles, and toxic housedust; Rolling Stone calls out the 'IDIOTS' ... PLUS: The pervasive destruction of Mountaintop Removal mining ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA': Lobbyists wrote amendment to strip EPA power; Hightower: Selling a City's Soul; The 'godfather of energy efficiency'; China's Supertrains break speed records, ours don't; Russia-Belarus oil dispute threatens Europe; Monsanto's GMO corn linked to organ failure .... PLUS: Ford Fusion Hybrid 2010 Car of the Year ....

Info/links on those stories and all the ones we talked about on today's episode follow below...

IN TODAY'S AUDIO REPORT: New initiative for green jobs in the U.S.; New initiative to boost fuel efficiency; New study says No to Mountaintop Removal; New film Avatar raises wingnut ire... PLUS: Newsflash: It's cold in winter! Somebody alert Fox "News"! ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA': Are pesticides to blame for mass die-offs?; Girding up for climate legislation battle in Senate; China leads global investment in clean technology; MN v. ND on CO2; Corporations boost jobs in sustainability; Coal company violated Clean Water Act 12,000 times .... PLUS: Fast-food ick: Ammonia in your burger, E. coli in your fast-food soda! ....

Info/links on those stories and all the ones we talked about on today's episode follow below...

While criticism of Obama and Democrats is as easy as it is appropriate (as well as frequently engaged in here), their failures on the marquee items --- Afghanistan, health care, torture accountability, etc., ya know, the items Fox "News" and the other wingnuts like to talk about --- tend to obscure the very real differences between the current administration and the former one across a broader, and much less sexy (by cable news standards), level. That's just one of the reasons I reject the far too lazy "Democrats are just the same as Republicans" knee-jerkisms.

While on the big ticket items, as noted above, there is far less difference in real world results than all of us would like, but below the radar, in executive departments and policies, the difference has been, at times, and in some areas, like night and day.

Desi Doyen and I have made this point on a number of occasions in our Green News Reports --- most recently in last Thursday's edition, highlighting new, important and aggressive policy changes and initiatives at the EPA, federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Dept. of Interior.

Now, some important changes at the DoJ's Civil Rights Division, and of particular note to long time readers of The BRAD BLOG, its Voting Rights Division, are beginning to show real change and significantly for the better, whether you hear about it on Fox and CNN and MSNBC or not.

Adam Serwer of The American Prospect highlighted some of that positive change late last week on the heels of an upheaval at the DoJ's Voting Rights Division over which The BRAD BLOG played a very direct and significant role in 2007....

IN TODAY'S AUDIO REPORT: Whale Wars turn violent; Obama Administration gets serious --- big moves at EPA, BLM, Interior; Senate retirements threaten climate legislation ... PLUS: Is America's love affair with the car over? ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA': Climate activists jailed over anti-coal statements; Experts: Cold snap doesn't disprove global warming; Science confirms that blowing up mountains harms mountains; 'Silk' organic soy milk not organic anymore; Japanese project to turn CO2 into natural gas; Whole Foods CEO steps in it again, says 'no scientific consensus exists' on global climate change .... PLUS: 7 Energy Efficient Gadgets that Could Be 2010 Game-Changers ....

Info/links on those stories and all the ones we talked about on today's episode follow below...

IN TODAY'S AUDIO REPORT: Baby it's cold outside! Record cold and storms in U.S. and Europe --- but the hottest decade on record Down Under; Water shortages in Mexico City and water contamination in China ... PLUS: A new tax for an old bag ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA': New rules curb wind power development in Wyoming; Prison for man convicted of killing China's last endangered Indo-Chinese tiger; Manatees vs. the Military in Florida; Controversial solution to Red River flooding in North Dakota; California state Republicans work to halt climate law; French Constitutional Council nixes carbon tax for being insufficiently tax-y .... PLUS: Tools for doing your own home energy audit! ....

Info/links on those stories and all the ones we talked about on today's episode follow below...

IN TODAY'S AUDIO REPORT: Rounding up the biggest green news stories of the Year ... and the Decade! ... PLUS: Who won the poll for the World's Biggest Eco-Villain of the "Aughts"? (or the "Naughts"...or the "Naughties"... or the '00's....or the "Zeroes"...whatever) ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA': Jesse Ventura Body-Slams the Climate Change "Conspiracy"; Uh-oh: China's near-monopoly on rare earth elements crucial to renewable energy technologies; Demanding accountability for the CERN Supercollider!!!!!; Quebec Adopts California's Auto Emissions Standards; Campbell's Soup? Really?: New Faces Among the Climate Lobby; Majority Of [Climate Change Denier] Tea Party Group's Spending Went To GOP Firm That Created It; How American oil money is pumping up climate change skeptics abroad; GOP Protest Builds Against EPA Regulating Greenhouse Gases.... PLUS: Reality bites: The coming climate panic?....

Info/links on those stories and all the ones we talked about on today's episode follow below...

IN TODAY'S AUDIO REPORT: Here we go again: another oil spill in Alaska's Prince William Sound; Mercury rising --- in Americans; Senate Democrats get squishy on climate and clean energy legislation ... PLUS: What really happened in Copenhagen? ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA': Famous California alpine lakes warmer faster than surrounding region; First case of highly drug-resistant TB found in US; The Rise of Super Bacteria: Disinfectants Cause Some Bacteria to Adapt, Thrive; Oklahoma Company Recalls 248,000 Pounds of Beef; More than 125 whales die in New Zealand strandings... PLUS: Really? Carbon Dioxide Gift Certificates?....

Info/links on those stories and all the ones we talked about on today's episode follow below...

IN TODAY'S AUDIO REPORT: Not a happy anniversary for a Tennessee town; Carping on invasive species in the Great Lakes; Oopsies for PA Childhood Lead Prevention Center ... PLUS: Have a Greener Christmas! ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA': UN Climate Chief urges avoiding blame over summit; China says "development right" key in climate talks; Agriculture Secretary Vilsack announced $1 billion to stop deforestation around the world; New EPA shipping rule may exempt older vessels; Delay in tax extenders could hinder investment in biofuels, energy sector; IBM forecasts the next 5 big ideas for the next 5 years; New WaPo/ABC poll shows political polarization on environmental science; NOAA Warns El Nino changes in Pacific getting stronger....

PLUS: 5 Radical Green Actions That Could Get You Arrested and 5 Alternatives That Won't: Drastic times call for drastic measures ....

Info/links on those stories and all the ones we talked about on today's episode follow below...

IN TODAY'S AUDIO REPORT: Copenhagen Wrap-up: After high stakes diplomacy and high comedy, the U.N. conference ends with something resembling an agreement --- but is the glass half-full, or half-empty? ... PLUS: Was she lying then, or is she lying now? Sarah Palin was for action on climate change before she was against it ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA': In Industrial Thailand, Health and Business Concerns Collide; NASA satellites show California's water problems worse than previously thought; Toxic legacy: public schools built on contaminated land; NASA, Google offer more precise emissions tracking; Acid oceans: the 'evil twin' of climate change; Climate activist youth groups: ‘There will be no decisions about us, without us’ .... PLUS: CBO Stunner: Kerry-Boxer Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act cuts the deficit ...

Info/links on those stories and all the ones we talked about on today's episode follow below...

[ADDITIONAL BREAKING UPDATES NOW ADDED BELOW...]

Guest blogged by Desi Doyen

As we noted in yesterday's Green News Report, President Obama is in Copenhagen today at the U.N. climate summit, in an attempt to broker a deal at the historic conference which has been stalled in efforts to reach an international agreement on reducing global greenhouse gas emissions.

It appears his efforts have paid off: MSNBC is reporting that a U.S. official says Obama has brokered a "meaningful agreement" agreement with China, India, and South Africa to move the talks forward.

The talks have been deadlocked over emissions targets, and how reductions will be verified, with China balking at allowing international audits of progress. Obama was originally scheduled to return to the U.S. today after his speech, but canceled his trip in order to enter into intensive high-level negotiations with other world leaders.

LIVE UPDATES ON THIS DEVELOPING STORY FOLLOW BELOW...

IN TODAY'S AUDIO REPORT: COP15 Cop-out? Copenhagen climate talks stalled in the last days --- or are they? Our special coverage continues... PLUS: Are they fake or real? Christmas trees, that is, and which are greener? ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA': NASA: California’s water woes worsen; Quake threat leads Swiss to close geothermal project; U.K.'s celebrity climate change denier Lord Monckton "Makes Mischief"; Contaminated drinking water, the dark side of the natural gas boom; Paper battery shows promise for grid, vehicle energy storage; Is 'malicious bullshitting' the key to global warming denialism?; Solar energy for no money down!; Alaskan lawmakers seek PR firm to fight endangered species listings ... PLUS: Decades later, PA town still burns from coal fire underground....

Info/links on those stories and all the ones we talked about on today's episode follow below...

Must read from Eugene Robinson at WaPo. "Palin's own 'Climate-gate'". Starts this way:

There's more, so please read the rest. So was Palin lying then about global warming? Or is she lying now?

And does it even matter to those who have become so professional at justifying and rationalizing such obvious and overt lies and statements of blatant absurdity that all relationship with Reality has become little more than a quaint memory of days long gone by? Before the madness and derangement had permanently set in...

IN TODAY'S AUDIO REPORT: Our special coverage of the historic U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen continues; AP finds 'no fraud' in stolen climate science emails; New poll finds majority of Americans want a climate treaty ... PLUS: Teabaggers in Copenhagen get a taste of their own tea! ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA': Solar-powered plane has successful test flight; Washington Post Op-Ed editor defends Palin denier column; Climate scientists debunk WSJ “Stalinist” screed; China races ahead of U.S. in green energy; Home weatherization industry one of few primed for expansion; World Bank to fund solar projects in Middle East and North Africa; Plans for new U.S. nuclear plant withdrawn after losing bid for taxpayer loans; Mining company pays record $1.79 billion to clean up hazardous waste across U.S.... PLUS: Top Ten clean technology predictions for 2010....

Info/links on those stories and all the ones we talked about on today's episode follow below...