The task force will have to come up with a strategy within six months to reverse this decline. In the announcement, President Obama said he will also set aside $8 million for new honeybee habitats. The initiative doesn't only focus on bees, but also addresses other pollinators, like butterflies. "The Federal Government will also work to restore the Monarch butterfly migration using research and habitat improvements that will benefit Monarchs as well as other native pollinators and honey bees," the statement said.
"We don't have time for a meeting of the Flat Earth Society," President Obama declared in a speech at Georgetown University today, firing a shot at climate change deniers during his unveiling of a new climate action plan, a broad outline that includes efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions and invest in clean energy at home and abroad.
"Every member of Congress has been briefed on this program," said President Obama last week in his response to the revelation of PRISM, the massive government surveillance program. This was scary! All of Congress - 435 voting House members, 6 non-voting House members, and 100 senators - knew about this? How can we trust anyone?
Dear Mr. President, I was hoping to get a jump on this Earth Day letter during the weekend, but I fell behind because of water in my basement. Torrential rains the past few days soaked the ground so much, the water had nowhere else to go. Of course, April showers are not unusual where I live in the Midwest; the problem is that right now, I don't have enough trees and bushes to absorb them. And that's the unusual thing. Those plants died, weak and thirsty, during an epic drought last summer - the hottest year on record. Now their absence is taking a toll.
Yesterday, an envelope addressed to Senator Roger Wicker, Republican of Mississippi, was found to contain a white granular substance that was identified as ricin. Today, a similar letter addressed to President Obama was found. These envelopes were intercepted off-site - they never got anywhere near their targets - but as a precaution, Capitol Police have shut down mail service until they can figure out what's going on.
CNNMoney has published an awesome visualization by artist Bård Edlund showing how much various people make in one minute. On the chart (and quickly moving past it) are Kobe Bryant and Exxon Mobil Corporation CEO Rex Tillerson. Also included are median and minimum wage workers, President Obama, the average teacher, and the average doctor.