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Massachusetts rejoins the NE climate pact

Whether Mass. is the most liberal state in the union is open for discussion. But I can tell you that ex-Governor Mitt Romney really pissed a lot of us folks off two years ago when he pulled the state out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the first multi-state program to reduce carbon emissions. But as of today our new guv has us back on track -- it feels good to be moving in the right direction again!

Ace grassroots group Mass. Climate Action Network has been pushing for Governor Patrick to also signal his support for selling 100% of the program's pollution permits to electricity generators (probably through an auction), with the proceeds invested in energy efficiency and other consumer benefits. This wish seems to have come true, too.

Good show for an ex-Texaco man! Today's signing was one of Gov Patrick's campaign promises; another is improving the state's flagging economy with growth of the renewable energy sector. Keen to see where this goes ...

Sincerely,
Thrilled

Lomborg whines

Al Gore cancels interview with hostile newspaper editor and tired shtickster Bjorn Lomborg. Editor and Lomborg throw tantrum on Wall Street Journal op-ed page. Addendum: I don’t know how much it will end up costing to substantially reduce our global greenhouse gas emissions. My strong suspicion is that in the long-term it will have a […]

Somerby

Any writer who tells you they don’t care about their work being recognized is full of sh-t. That said, I try not to get too concerned about who is and isn’t reading or linking to my stuff. I figure I just plug away and if I express a perspective that resonates with people, it will […]

Debating the ‘new middle’

On Monday, NYT reporter Andy Revkin and I appeared on EcoTalk, an Air America radio show. The subject was Andy’s now-notorious piece on the "new middle" in the climate debate and the huge uproar it sparked. You can listen to the show by going here, or directly link to segments one, two, and three. I […]

A single-issue movement won’t cut it

David Roberts has been writing about environmental talking points. But I think that skips a step. We need to examine what kind of politics the talking points are intended to contribute to.

I don't think I have to persuade anyone reading this blog to forget about informed, competent insiders trying persuasion from the inside. Romm tried that with both government and business since the early '90s. Al Gore spent decades as a Senator and Vice President of the U.S. playing insider baseball on the issue. Amory Lovins has been pursuing the "appeal to rational business self-interest" strategy since 1976!

The only thing will make change is a bunch of ordinary people getting together and exercising their democratic rights as citizens. And it is not just us dirty hippies saying that. Non-hippie former VP Al Gore says:

It’s all happening

A nice little Reuters story emphasizes the implicit point of my two political posts this morning, as well as my Tom Paine two–parter: this is going to be a huge year for climate change. Consider: Tons of action in Congress. Scientists have moved the Doomsday Clock forward on the basis of climate change. The upcoming […]

Got the Urge for Knowing

Scientists and evangelical leaders form new climate alliance So a minister, a scientist, and a horse walk into a bar. The bartender says, “Why the long face?” The horse just chuckles, but the other two begin a thoughtful discussion about how humans are destroying the planet. Sound far-fetched? Not after yesterday, when a group of […]

It’s Africa

Imagine a place where women must average seven children in their lifetime while risking infection from a fatal sexually transmitted disease (passed to the human population by eating other primates) that has left almost seven percent of those children orphaned.

This place experiences extreme climate shifts, cyclically throwing vast numbers of people into chronic starvation.

This place has been ravaged by constant civil war, wherein rival religious factions like the Lord's Resistance Army enslave and rape the populace while others cajole them to stop using contraception.

This place is home to some of the last of the 380 wild mountain Gorillas, two of which were just eaten.

This place has a ruler who is about to turn over to developers nine more tropical forests to grow biofuel stock (sugarcane and palm oil) instead of food.

Welcome to Children of Men in real time.

Pelosi snubs Dingell

I discussed the climate-change climate in the Senate — things are hopping. The House, of course, is a different and less friendly animal, where Dems are stepping more gingerly. One notable development is that Speaker Nancy Pelosi rather publicly stuck her thumb in the eye of Michigan Rep. John Dingell, announcing today the formation of […]

Senators put for broad array of climate legislation choices

This is a stellar piece of reporting from Felicity Barringer and Andy Revkin at the NYT. There’s a lot of background, context, and detail packed into a small space. What’s made clear by the piece, and by the graphic comparison of emissions scenarios, is that the nation has an astonishing array of climate legislation options […]