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Obama announces $3.4 billion in smart grid investments

The President said today that we’re having a debate “between those who are ready to seize the future and those who are afraid of the future.” ARCADIA, FLORIDA – Speaking at Florida Power and Light’s (FPL) DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center, President Barack Obama today announced the largest single energy grid modernization investment in […]

Sen. Kerry downplays prospect of floor debate this year

  E&E News (subs. req’d) reports this morning: International attention on the Senate’s progress on the issue is heightened given the major U.N. climate summit to be held this December in Copenhagen, Denmark. Underscoring that point, Reid yesterday took a call from U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. “The secretary general emphasized the urgency of trying […]

CNN Poll: 6 in 10 independents support cap-and-trade

“Six in 10 Americans support a cap and trade” proposal to cut pollution, according to a new national poll,” CNN reports (details at the end).  The recent Pew Research poll also found strong support for climate action: Of course, the Pew poll got a lot of attention for what it said about media miscoverage of […]

Rural Electric Cooperatives: Efficiency measures more important

Here’s a  stunner from Climate Wire (subs. req’d) today: Rural electric cooperatives, which represent many small, coal-dependent utilities in the Midwest and raised a ruckus in the House debate, are eligible for a portion of allowances under the new draft. But at a conference last week, the head of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, […]

Statisticians reject global cooling

A terrific story by the AP’s Seth Borenstein, “Statisticians reject global cooling,” not only debunks that myth — it will make your head spin once again on error-riddled Superfreakonomics (coauthored by Levitt). Have you heard that the world is now cooling instead of warming? You may have seen some news reports on the Internet or […]

Nature: “Dynamic thinning of Greenland and Antarctic ice-sheet"

The most detailed satellite information available shows that ice sheets in Greenland and western Antarctica are shrinking faster than scientists thought and in some places are already in runaway melt mode, a new study found…. Using 50 million laser readings from a NASA satellite, scientists for the first time calculated changes in the height of […]

WWLD: What Would Lincoln Do?

Dear President Obama, cc: Sen. Kerry, Rep. Markey Our nation faces the gravest threat to our security and well being and the most profound moral challenge since the great struggle to end slavery. We were blessed, then, to be led by another tall, slim politician from Illinois. However, the terrible prospect of climate cataclysm, though […]

Ask Umbra on Halloween treats and costumes

Send your question to Umbra! Q. Hi Umbra, Do you have any suggestions for an environmentally friendly Halloween treat, and something that parents won’t worry about? Thanks,Kim W.Ann Arbor, Mich. A. Dearest Kim, Or there’s the ever-popular “hot mama Earth” costume.Grist TVWe’ve said lots about Halloween over the years, but there’s always more to say. […]

The big stories out of Tuesday’s Senate hearing on Kerry-Boxer

Today’s hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee — the first of three days of hearings on the Kerry-Boxer clean energy bill — didn’t contain any big surprises. As Keith Johnson notes, Senators generally played their appointed roles. There are four stories out of today that seem notable. 1. Republicans are completely out […]

Who’s who on the EPW: Senate committee begins landmark climate hearings

Cross-posted from the Wonk Room. John Kerry testifying.This week, hearings begin in the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (S. 1733). This comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation, co-sponsored by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and committee chair Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), will establish a mandatory global […]