John Passacantando's posts

28 Apr 2010 3:33 AM

The upside of the Senate climate bill’s troubles

There is a silver lining to the turmoil over the Senate climate bill.Photo: Pranav Singh via FlickrOver the weekend we got the news that three grim-faced men weren't going to be able to help on global warming. The only Republican supporter of the not-yet-unveiled-but-widely-described Senate climate bill, Lindsey Graham, had a new demand. Not only did he insist that the bill subsidize the building of nuclear power plants and open up our coasts to oil drilling -- conditions since met by the White House -- he wanted the Democrats to hold off immigration reform so it wouldn’t hurt some Republicans …

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Earth Day gets no respect

By John Passacantando

Grist hates Earth Day because it thinks every day should be Earth Day. Don’t let us have the luxury to pick up some litter one day a year and forget the 300 unnecessary trips to Home Depot the rest of the year. Fine, but kind of cranky. As an aging Italian male, I am working on cranky. I’ve got a different grievance, however. There’s no @#$&ing enforcement with Earth Day. Anyone can claim anything on Earth Day. Sure, there are other, similarly co-opted holidays. Thanksgiving marks the day before the country’s biggest shopping day. But hell, the Pilgrims never had …

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John Passacantando

John Passacantando's career has taken him from Wall Street to philanthropy to a leading role in the global fight to stop climate change. He worked for Jude Wanniski -- the "high priest" of supply side economics -- and is a committed practitioner of non-violent civil disobedience as taught by Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. He has a master's degree in economics from New York University, as well as a record of a dozen arrests for engaging in peaceful protest. He has been quoted in every major newspaper, appeared on most major news programs and has been a regular commentator on environmental issues for Fox News programs.

Passacantando recently completed eight years as executive director of Greenpeace USA, the longest serving director in the history of the organization. In addition to select speaking engagements, Passacantando is now developing a series of business ventures under the theme From Crisis to Opportunity. He is also working on a book that explains the economic crisis to a lay audience while proposing the development of a modern economy that draws on the creative powers of citizens.