TOP STORY

Climate and Energy Week in the House

Beginning today at 3pm, "house Democrats will begin the sprint toward global warming legislation this week with a series of hearings featuring high-ranking Obama administration officials and dozens of other witnesses to discuss the expansive climate and energy measure unveiled last month." The Energy and Commerce Committee will explore the 648-page draft climate and energy bill in what Ed Markey promises to be "an exhaustive set of hearings."  [ClimateWire-New York Times]

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Coal Plant Protesters Arrested

Charlotte, North Carolina police reported that 44 anti-coal protesters were arrested Monday near the headquarters of Duke Energy, "the largest utility in the state and serves about 4 million electric customers in the Carolinas, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky."  Activists were calling for construction to halt on the Cliffside Power Plant, a "$2.4 billion coal-fired generator [that] will pump tons of carbon dioxide and other pollutants into the sky " [Winston-Salem Journal]

Indiginous Leaders Gather in Alaska on Climate

Native delegates from over 70 countries are gathering in Anchorage this week for the "Indigenous People's Global Summit on Climate Change."  The representatives come from " Africa, Asia, the Arctic, the Caribbean, Latin America, North America and the Pacific islands," and they hope to release a joint statement on Friday. [Anchorage Daily News]

LONG FORM

Why Isn't the Brain Green?

Back in January, pollsters tested the priorities of Americans.  Climate change "was priority No. 20. That was last place."  A new body of research is investigating an undercovered aspect of environmentalism--the human brain.  "Scientists are trying to figure out why it’s so hard for us to get into a green mind-set. Their answers may be more crucial than any technological advance in combating environmental challenges." Why is it so hard to get our brains to choose the green options?   [New York Times Magazine]

GRAPHIC

Paul Bloom makes the self-centered case for environmentalism--that humans need nature.  "We thrive in the presence of nature and suffer in its absence...All of this provides a different sort of argument for the preservation of nature. Look at it from the coldblooded standpoint of the enhancement of the happiness of our everyday lives. Real natural habitats provide significant sources of pleasure for modern humans."  [New York Times Magazine]

FROM THE BLOGS

• La Niña conditions end; 10th warmest March on record for the globe [Wunder Blog]
• Young thinkers say “Shift the paradigm” on Waxman Bill [It's Getting Hot In Here]