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U.N. Climate Talks Bangkok day 3: Filipino activists call for justice as Manila floods

Climate activists in BangkokWWF Climate via FlickrFlooding in the Philippines yesterday displaced over 600,000 people. As if we didn’t need more of an urgent call to solve the climate crisis. Increased intensity of flooding is among one of the may well-documented impacts of global warming. The implications have hit our organizing here at the UN […]

Ask Umbra on anti-idling campaigns

Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, My daughter’s Girl Scout troop wants to start an anti-idling campaign at her school. We need help justifying why a car should be turned off for more than 30 seconds. Although they have found that it saves gas and wear and tear on the engine and other […]

US Chamber Calls for Global Powers for Congress

I couldn’t help wonder what kind of stories the Chamber hoped to generate with the statement it issued earlier today. So I leaned back, closed my eyes, and used my imagination: US Chamber Emerges as Unlikely Hero for Climate Protection; Calls for Global Powers for Congress In a surprising departure from its century long-fight for […]

Obama’s absurd Olympic boosterism

Arches, now deserted, built for the 2004 Athens Olympics. As healthcare reform shipwrecks and climate legislation lurches toward a similar fate, President Obama is … preparing to jet to Copenhagen to shill for Chicago as 2016 Olympic site? Really? What an absurd and ignoble use of time and prestige. When I think of the Olympics, […]

National Day of Action Against Coal

This post was co-written by Kathleen Ridihalgh, Senior Representative for the Sierra Club’s Northwest Region The first three days of this week are seeing a slew of activities taking on coal. We have events in 25 states to counter the coal industry and cheer on clean energy investments. It’s all part of our National Day […]

Therapy on the Titanic

A recent Facebook exchange was striking. Someone posted a Washington Post article on the latest climate science. It predicted a temperature rise of 8 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of this century if no systemic changes are made to reduce our carbon output. The better case scenario — in which world governments implement their current […]

Pa. Rep. Doyle on getting blue-collar support for a climate bill

Rep. Mike Doyle chats with Grist.Photo: G20VoiceDuring last week’s G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Penn.) was out and about networking with climate-action advocates and talking up the city’s green cred.  A southwestern Pennsylvania native, Doyle comes from a steelworking family and has been a friend to the industry during his nine years in […]

On gaming the political spectrum

He’s been called a lot of things, but …If Bill Gates visited a homeless shelter with nine people, the Washington Post would predictably report on a gathering of tycoons with an average net worth of $123 million. Why do I say that? Read this from today’s WaPo: Tony Kreindler, spokesman for the advocacy group Environmental […]

If REDD can’t save this….

Bukit Tigapuluh Forest is truly one of those special places. It’s got three endangered species, two minority groups of indigenous people and a superlative: it’s the last remaining stand of tropical lowland forest left on the island of Sumatra. Funnily enough, it’s also about to be cut down. Notorious rainforest destroyer Asia Pulp and Paper […]

Boxer-Kerry climate bill: what to watch for

Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) plan to introduce their climate bill tomorrow. Here are a few brief notes on what to watch for. Just as a reminder, for the non-wonks, here’s how the process works: 1) House passes bill, 2) Senate passes bill, 3) House and Senate bills reconciled via conference committee, […]