politics
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NYC’s attack on salt misses the forest for the trees
Diet dilemmas Photo: George D Thompson In his most recent column the NYT’s John Tierney — a conservative political columnist turned “skeptical” science columnist — objects to NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s attempt to reduce New Yorkers’ salt intake. He compares the proposed new policy to a mandatory experiment in which residents are unwitting (and possibly […]
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Did Obama screw up ag subsidy reform?
Over the weekend, the NYT detailed the trials and tribulations of the Obama administration’s attempts to trim farm subsidy payments of a certain size: Among the audacious proposals in President Obama’s budget was a plan to save more than $9.7 billion over a decade by putting strict limits on farm subsidies that are disbursed regardless […]
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Survey says: Americans concerned about global warming, want policy change, like money
An interesting report out today from Public Agenda, entitled “The Energy Learning Curve.” They report on a survey that is both heartening with respect to the public perceptions of global warming (and needs for policy response thereto) and frustrating for what they suggest about the policy conversation in Washington. The Good The good news is […]
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DuPont CEO predicts rapid business response to carbon cap
“Once we really know the rules, I think we’ll be amazed by how fast business will move.” — Chad Holliday, DuPont CEO, addressing the National Academies’ Climate Choices summit on Monday
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House Dems say they’re coming together around climate and energy legislation
A group of key House Democratic leaders sent a letter to President Obama on Friday signaling that they intend to work together on climate and energy legislation despite the different views and constituencies they represent. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, and John Dingell (D-Mich.), the former chair whom Waxman unseated […]
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Obama gives best clean energy and global warming solutions job to Cathy Zoi
Cathy Zoi, CEO of Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection, has been nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE) under Energy Secretary Steven Chu. Zoi has a unique combination of expertise in clean energy and high level federal government experience — she was Chief of […]
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Obama calls for climate summit of the world’s biggest polluters
President Obama on Saturday announced that the United States is initiating a Major Economies Forum that will focus on energy and climate change, an attempt to bring the world’s biggest polluters together to discuss a path forward. “The Major Economies Forum will facilitate a candid dialogue among key developed and developing countries, help generate the […]
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New business coalition plans to flex its muscle on climate policy
Nike, Starbucks, eBay, and a handful of other big-name U.S. companies are putting forward a climate agenda that’s just as ambitious as that of many environmentalists, if not more so. The new coalition — Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy, or BICEP for short — grew out of a partnership between Nike and Ceres, […]
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Reid says Dems might use carbon-credit revenues to fund health care
Could the revenue from auctioning off carbon credits be used to pay for a new health-care system? Bloomberg reports: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid [D-Nev.] said he is open to financing an overhaul of the U.S. health-care system with revenue generated from efforts to rein in greenhouse gas emissions. Reid, a Nevada Democrat, told reporters […]