Climate Politics

Congress gives parting nod to offshore drillers, but also to renewable-energy industries

Dark clouds on the horizon — and drilling rigs too. Photo: iStockphoto The GOP-controlled 109th Congress went out with a bang — that of drills hitting sea bottom. In the waning hours of the final legislative session earlier this month, Republican leaders pushed through a provision to open up 8.3 million acres on the outer […]

Inuit All Along

Inuit climate petition against U.S. is rejected Is climate change a human-rights issue? The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights decided to dodge the question. Arctic Inuit submitted a petition to the commission a year ago, accusing the U.S. government of violating Native peoples’ rights to their traditional ways of life by declining to regulate greenhouse-gas […]

What we’ve learned from the biofuels series

Future or folly? Photo: iStockphoto After spending much of the last several months thinking about the biofuels boom and its implications in preparation for this special series, we’ve come to a few conclusions. Like other energy sources, biofuels have significant environmental liabilities. Boosters’ rhetoric about “renewable energy” aside, topsoil — from which biofuel feedstocks spring […]

I Am Livid, Hear Me Roar

Tired of incessant political intimidation, U.S. scientists speak out Just our luck: the one time we went to the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union, the most exciting thing that happened was that geologist photocopying his rocks. But this year, headlines abound. Earlier this week at the event, the Union of Concerned Scientists issued […]

They say they care, but they never call in the morning

There's lots of buzz in the progressosphere about a new poll in Iowa -- site of a pivotal Dem primary -- showing John Edwards in the lead.

Another poll of Iowa Dems commissioned by Environmental Defense also found some interesting stuff:

• A 72% of majority of Democratic caucus-goers say they consider global warming to be extremely (32%) or very (39%) serious -- while another 15% say it is fairly serious. Only 11% dismiss it as just somewhat (9%) or not at all serious (2%).
• Among a separate poll of Democratic county chairs and vice chairs, 77% think global warming is extremely (37%) or very (40%) serious -- plus 14% who say it is fairly serious.

Perhaps even more interesting, voters don't know which candidates are best on the issue:

Congress prepares to soak the 2007 Farm Bill in ethanol, to the delight of agribiz.

"You can have Republicans and Democrats absolutely in lockstep agreement on certain issues in the farm bill, and it has nothing to do with parties. These issues tend to be commodity-driven," gushed USDA chief Mike Johanns.

Uh-oh. Looks like a good old-fashioned "bipartisan consensus" has formed: time to use the 2007 Farm Bill as a tool for maximizing ethanol production -- which evidently doesn't already draw enough government support.

The Incredible Bulk

Al Gore plans to launch grassroots carbon-freeze movement When is a grassroots movement not a grassroots movement? When it’s started by a kajillionaire movie-star politician, we’d say. But you can’t blame Al Gore for trying. At a venture-capital conference last week, Gore returned to the “carbon freeze” idea he’s been bandying about for a while, […]

Not quite, but cellulosic ethanol may be coming sooner than you think

Even as organizations ranging from Consumers Union to the Cato Institute cast doubt on the environmental value of corn-based ethanol, facilities designed to make it are popping up by the dozen throughout the Midwest. Meanwhile, cellulosic ethanol — which can be derived from just about any plant matter — draws near-unanimous environmental raves. Trouble is, […]

An environmental-justice advocate responds to the biofuels boom

I am very excited to see this Grist series, because I am a biodiesel user. I am also very worried about the growth of the biofuels industry, because I am an environmental-justice advocate, and I see this industry rapidly leaving my community behind. What happens after the photo shoot? Photo: house.gov The growth of the […]

By Hook and By Crook

Congress passes drilling, fisheries bills in final days of session Gasping and flopping like a landed fish, the Republican-led Congress passed an offshore-drilling measure during its final days. The legislation, passed by the House and Senate as part of a larger tax bill, will open 8.3 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico to oil […]