Latest Articles

Outcomes, not mechanisms: the effects of the American Power Act

The top-notch climate/energy team at the Peterson Institute for International Economics has just released a comprehensive assessment of “the economic, employment, energy security, and environmental impact of the American Power Act” (by Trevor Houser, Shashank Mohan, and Ian Hoffman). I’ll post their main conclusions below, but first a quick point. PIIE’s analysis focuses on the […]

Kerry-Lieberman has zero chance of passing

I recently posted that Kerry-Lieberman is not worth fighting for. It also won’t pass. This proposal is dead on arrival. I’ve heard supporters describe two paths to passage, though they sound more like wishes upon stars. One is that Obama suddenly prioritizes climate, and makes a large scale push to support the bill. I’ll let […]

Boost your support for urban agriculture with a rice-growing bra

AFPEager to show your full support for urban farming, ladies? Then try this over-the-shoulder rice-paddy holder: a bra that double-A’s a pot to grow rice, complete with irrigation system (the watering hose is a belt that holds seedlings). The concept was inspired by the recent boom of interest in boob food security. It’s not Victoria’s […]

American Power Act — Climate Solutions’ initial reactions

This piece was co-authored by Ross Macfarlane. Sens. Kerry (D-Mass) and Lieberman (I-Conn) finally released the American Power Act (APA) on Wednesday, May 11, after months of internal negotiations, and nearly a year after the House passed its comprehensive climate and energy bill, (the American Clean Energy and Security Act or ACES). Climate Solutions is […]

Rand Paul’s Copenhagen rant and other election notes

Climate and energy issues barely registered in this month’s primary coverage, but Rand Paul (son of Ron) saw fit to take on the Copenhagen climate talks after becoming the Republican Senate candidate in Kentucky last night. “We have a president who went to Copenhagen and appeared with Robert Mugabe, Hugo Chávez and others — Evo […]

Kerry-Lieberman is worse than nothing, no matter how loudly supporters clap.

The main argument for supporting Kerry-Lieberman seems to be “it’s a crappy bill, but once it passes it will get better”. KL proponents often point out that social security was loophole ridden in a way that excluded most African-Americans when it first passed. But a combination of demographic shifts, and changes to law extended social […]

From paradise to Superfund, afloat on New Jersey’s Passaic River

For the first 18 years of my life I lived along the final 17-mile stretch of the Passaic River. That’s the dirty, ugly part of the river that passes through the most crowded, industrialized part of the United States. The Passaic forms the western border of my home town: North Arlington, New Jersey, a tiny […]

Peak oil production coming much sooner than expected

A storm is quickly approaching, and the world is not ready for it. The permanent end of the era of cheap oil is coming as soon as next year, according to a raft of official reports that have made their way into energy media over the last few months. Governments are now beginning to acknowledge the looming crisis. Yet, […]

Robert Redford and green groups tell Obama to step up on Gulf oil leak

Whither Obama? There’s a growing chorus calling for the president to show leadership on the BP oil disaster by connecting it to America’s fossil-fuel dependence and the potential of clean-energy investment. “The silence from the White House is deafening,” a Clinton-era White House aide told ClimateWire. “Clearly without a White House push there does not […]

Friedman nails Obama for his timid response to the “environmental 9/11”

As I’ve written before, one of the most baffling things about the BP Gulf oil disaster has been the Obama administration’s flaccid response. They’re doing everything they can to contain the spill, but they also seem to be doing everything they can to contain the American people’s anger. There’s been no effort whatsoever to channel […]