Latest Articles
-
Why the Copenhagen Accord boosts the odds for Senate passage of bipartisan climate legislation
The 15th United Nations climate summit has just ended in Copenhagen after a tense two weeks of negotiations between the developed and developing world. An “environmental Woodstock” to some, a high stakes diplomatic showdown to others, the meeting led to some critical but incomplete agreements. Now that it’s over, the world’s attention will focus on […]
-
BBC World Service: Who is to Blame at Copenhagen?
I just joined the BBC World Service for a live, hour-long program called “Copenhagen: Who is to Blame?” reflecting on the outcomes of the negotiations, including BBC’s environmental analyst, a Chinese policy specialist, WWF’s Campaign Director, India’s Vandana Shiva, and other experts (the podcast is available here, and for a cliffnotes version, start at 39 […]
-
Copenhagenfreude: Inhofe’s “truth squad” steps on a rake [VIDEO]
Before Copenhagen fades into memory I want to celebrate one of its lesser noted but more delightful chapters. If you recall, Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) was planning on rounding up some fellow senators and heading to Copenhagen as a “truth squad.” The “truth” he intended to impart to world leaders is that the U.S. Senate […]
-
![]()
![]()
Terminator 2009
Cross-posted from TomDispatch. It’s clear now that, from her immoveable titanium bangs to her chaotic approximation of human speech, Sarah Palin is a Terminator cyborg sent from the future to destroy something — but what? It could be the Republican Party she’ll ravage by herding the fundamentalists and extremists into a place where sane fiscal […]
-
![]()
![]()
The moral equivalent of slavery
Abolitionists were considered outrageous in their day … and yet.Library of CongressThe problem with relying on World War II as the historical parallel for an energetic, last-minute drive by the U.S. to save the world from climate cataclysm, is that it depends on domestic climate impacts equivalent to Pearl Harbor to kick the whole thing […]
-
![]()
![]()
Three good things that might come from Copenhagen
Copenhagen was a disaster for anyone who anticipated actual progress toward a functional global solution. What was true on Thursday (‘Empty’ climate deal worse then no deal, says White House) went out the window Friday, and an event that was to crown ten years of international effort produced utterly useless language, unenthusiastically scrabbled together in […]
-
Stabilizing Climate: Beyond International Agreements
Note: the following was written in July 2009, before the Copenhagen climate change conference. From my pre-Copenhagen vantage point, internationally negotiated climate agreements are fast becoming obsolete for two reasons. First, since no government wants to concede too much compared with other governments, the negotiated goals for cutting carbon emissions will almost certainly be minimalist, […]
-
'Chunking' Trash Out the Window, Texas Style
People are unfathomable, what drives and motivates them to do things is beyond our imagining.
-
![]()
![]()
Copenhagen: a look back at the most striking narratives
Let the untangling of Copenhagen begin!Photo: Adam Selwood via Flickr Creative CommonsLast week was absolutely extraordinary, full of more drama and consequence than anything I’ve witnessed in the green world in the six years I’ve been covering it. It was the coming together of so many forces and narratives that the tangle will likely be […]
-
![]()
![]()
Dark winter days at the JP Green House
Family and crew show their climate commitment at the JP Green House.As I write this, the Northeast is methodically being blanketed with a thick blessing of snow, shutting everything down, as if the earth knows we need comfort and beauty after this horrible week. The crisis of our planet manifested at Copenhagen. We held a […]
