In 2009, Rolling Stone named Joe Romm to its list of "100 People Who Are Changing America." Romm is a climate expert, physicist, energy consultant, and former official in the Department of Energy. But it’s his influential blog, one of the "Top Fifteen Green Websites" according to Time magazine, that’s caught national attention. Climate change is far more urgent than people understand, Romm says, and traditional media, scientists, and politicians are missing the story.
Straight Up draws on Romm’s most important posts to explain the dangers of and solutions to climate change that you won’t find in newspapers, in journals, or on T.V. Compared to coverage of Jay-Z or the latest philandering politician, climate change makes up a pathetically small share of news reports. And when journalists do try to tackle this complex issue, they often lack the background to tell the full story. Despite the dearth of reporting, polls show that two in five Americans think the press is actually exaggerating the threat of climate change. That gives Big Oil, and others with a vested interest in the status quo, a huge opportunity to mislead the public.
Introduction
Download the full introduction (pdf)
Reviews and press coverage
"A must read for those who believe that America must live up to it's obligations for those who served. Larry Korb and his authors have hit all the key issues that effect care for veterans today."
-Gen. (Ret.) Wesley K. Clark, Former NATO Allied Supreme Commander Europe
"Much more than a reference handbook, Serving America's Veterans spotlights the need for major modifications in programs to treat veterans of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This well-organized and hard-hitting book is a must read for concerned citizens."
-Lt. General (USA, Ret.) Robert G. Gard, Ph.D., Chair, Board of Trustees, Center for Arms Control & Non-Proliferation
"This book is a wake up call to the Nation but more importantly the new Obama administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs. From retrospective analysis to present day issues, this book spells out what was inherited and what needs to be done to fix it. This should be required reading for Congress and policy makers."
-Mr. Steve Robinson, Government Relations, Swords to Plowshares
Author of The Hidden Toll of Iraq: Mental Heath and the Military
"Serving America's Veterans is a comprehensive diagnosis of the scope and scale of the issues we as a nation must tackle in order to properly care for all of our veterans. From soldiers just returning from Iraq and Afghanistan to veterans from earlier wars, this crucial work outlines the challenges we must confront to keep the faith with our US servicemen and women who have served so bravely and given so much and rightly expect the US government to fulfill its promises to them."
-Bob Edgar, president and CEO of Common Cause, and former six-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1975 - 1987).
About the authors
Lawrence J. Korb
Lawrence J. Korb is a Senior Fellow at American Progress and a Senior Advisor to the Center for Defense Information. Prior to joining American Progress, he was a senior fellow and director of National Security Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. From July 1998 to October 2002, he was council vice president, director of studies, and holder of the Maurice Greenberg Chair.
Prior to joining the council, Mr. Korb served as director of the Center for Public Policy Education and senior fellow in the Foreign Policy Studies Program at the Brookings Institution; dean of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh; vice president of Corporate Operations at the Raytheon Company; and director of Defense Studies at the American Enterprise Institute.
Dr. Korb served as assistant secretary of defense (manpower, reserve affairs, installations, and logistics) from 1981 through 1985. In that position, he administered about 70 percent of the defense budget. For his service in that position, he was awarded the Department of Defense's medal for Distinguished Public Service. Mr. Korb served on active duty for four years as Naval Flight Officer, and retired from the Naval Reserve with the rank of captain.
Dr. Korb's 20 books and more than 100 articles on national security issues include The Joint Chiefs of Staff: The First Twenty-five Years; The Fall and Rise of the Pentagon; American National Security: Policy and Process, Future Visions for U.S. Defense Policy; Reshaping America's Military; and A New National Security Strategy in an Age of Terrorists, Tyrants, and Weapons of Mass Destruction. His articles have appeared in such journals as Foreign Affairs, Public Administration Review, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, Naval Institute Proceedings, and International Security. Over the past decade, Mr. Korb has made over 1,000 appearances as a commentator on such shows as "The Today Show," "The Early Show," "Good Morning America," "Face the Nation," "This Week," "The News Hour with Jim Lehrer," "Nightline," "60 Minutes," "Larry King Live," "The O'Reilly Factor," and "Hannity and Colmes." His more than 100 op-ed pieces have appeared in such major newspapers as The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, The Baltimore Sun, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Christian Science Monitor.
