Obama bans oil drilling along Atlantic seaboard

The Obama administration abandoned its plan for oil and gas drilling in Atlantic waters on Tuesday, after strong opposition from the Pentagon and coastal communities.

The announcement from Sally Jewell, the interior secretary, to bar drilling across the length of the mid-Atlantic seaboard reverses Obama's decision just a year ago to open up the east coast to oil and gas exploration, and consolidates his record for environmental protection.

My "Extractions" exhibit in New York City

The paintings that make up the body titled "Extractions" will be on exhibit at the Phoenix Gallery in Chelsea along with the work of three other Associate Members.  The opening reception will be Thursday, February 4, 6:00 - 8:00 pm and the show will be up from Feb 3 - 27, 2016.

Phoenix Gallery is located at 548 W. 28th St., Suite 528, New York, NY 10001.  Gallery Hours are 11:30 am - 6:00 pm, Tues - Sat.

PHOENIX GALLERY ASSOCIATE ARTISTS 2016

JONI GRUBER, DONGZE HUO, DAVID WEINBERG, YOUNG JA YOO

 

Earth's Warmest Year on Record

From Dr. Jeff Masters blog:

The final numbers are not in yet, but 2015 is virtually certain to beat 2014's record as the planet's warmest year since record keeping began in 1880. Nine of the first eleven months of 2015 set new all-time monthly records for global heat in the NOAA database, and the two most recent months that have been catalogued--October and November 2015--had by far the warmest departures from average of any months on record.

The new record was caused by the long-term warming of the planet due to human-caused emissions of heat-trapping gases like carbon dioxide, combined with a extra bump in temperature due to the strongest El Niño event ever recorded in the Eastern Pacific. Record warm ocean temperatures in the tropics in 2015 led to a global coral bleaching event, which is expected to cause a loss of 10 - 20% of all coral worldwide. The lingering warmth from El Niño makes 2016 a good bet to exceed even 2015's warmth.



Daffodils bloom across UK during unseasonal December weather

Unseasonably warm weather across the UK has seen daffodils begin to bloom as far north as Chester and Northern Ireland, as forecasters reported one of the mildest starts to the month of December in over 50 years.

The flowers, more usually associated with Easter than Christmas, have been seen around the country in a week when daytime temperatures were as much as 10C above the seasonal average.

Obama Rejects Keystone XL Pipeline in Victory for Environmental Activists

Barack Obama has rejected a proposal from TransCanada to build the Keystone XL pipeline through the American heartland, the Guardian has learned, ending years of uncertainty about the project.

Jane Fleming Kleeb, founder of the Bold Nebraska coalition of citizens, farmers and ranchers opposed to the pipeline, told the Guardian: “It’s a long time coming. I feel like, honestly, the boots have beaten the big oil suits for the first time in the country’s history on a big major infrastructure project.