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The senator from Montana and the middle class

This morning, the Senate took its final step on climate change before its summer vacation—a hearing pulled together by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus from Montana on how carbon allowances are allocated under the Waxman-Markey bill. The main takeaway: Under the House bill, the middle class does the heavy lifting to pay for the […]

What if climate groups copied dirty industry tactics…?

If Big Coal or Big Oil can pay to generate fake grassroots opposition to climate and energy legislation, couldn’t green groups flip the tables and do the same? Grist got to thinking about what a pro-climate astroturfing campaign would look like… Got other ideas for pro-climate bill astroturfing? Drop ’em in the comments section below.

The good news about energy efficiency

Conventional wisdom has it that the effort to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions is going to be long, expensive, and painful for consumers; efficiency can at best defray the costs. It may not be visible to the casual news consumer, but that climate/energy CW is substantially shaped by economic modeling. I’ve argued in the past that such […]

Thoughts inspired by Pollan’s provocative piece on cooking

Where is everybody?Photo: Shindz, via FlickrWhen I think hard about what it would take to create a just and sustainable food system, two big obstacles spring immediately to mind: 1) we need more people growing food; and 2) we need more people cooking it, too. In his latest blockbuster in the New York Times Magazine, […]

Environmental regulation affects technological change

Whether the policy domain is global climate change or local hazardous waste, it’s exceptionally important to understand the interaction between public policies and technological change in order to assess the effects of laws and regulations on environmental performance.  Several years ago, my colleagues ­- Professor Lori Bennear of Duke University and Professor Nolan Miller of […]

Alabama city destroying ancient Indian mound for Sam’s Club

City leaders in Oxford, Ala. have approved the destruction of a 1,500-year-old Native American ceremonial mound and are using the dirt as fill for a new Sam’s Club, a retail warehouse store operated by Wal-Mart. A University of Alabama archaeology report commissioned by the city found that the site was historically significant as the largest […]

ACCCE Hired Firm That Forged Opposition Letters

The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricty (ACCCE) has led efforts to perpetuate the myth that coal can be clean. Now it turns out they are responsible for forging opposition to a strong climate bill. According to E&E News, the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) is the culprit responsible for hiring Bonner & Associates, […]

Forged climate bill letters spark uproar over ‘astroturfing’

The controversial business of selling grassroots political campaigns is getting the spotlight treatment as details continue to emerge about the source of fake letters sent to a first-term member of Congress urging him to vote against the Waxman-Markey climate and energy bill. Congressman Tom Perriello represents Virginia’s 5th district. His office received forged letters urging […]

Global warming is no friend to Russia, ambassador says

Red Square in Moscow: It gets cold there, but that doesn’t mean they like global warming.Russia may be one of the coldest nations on Earth, but it has no interest in seeing global warming continue unchecked, the Russian ambassador to the United States said in an interview. Ambassador Sergei Kislyak said Russia is willing to […]

Water problems from drilling are more frequent than PA officials said

When methane began bubbling out of kitchen taps near a gas drilling site in Pennsylvania last winter, a state regulator described the problem as “an anomaly.” But at the time he made that statement to ProPublica, that same official was investigating a similar case affecting more than a dozen homes near gas wells halfway across […]