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Michigan to Granholm: We want clean energy

Yesterday, on a beautiful summer day in Lansing, Michigan, more than 500 activists from all corners of the state lent their voices to a call for a massive investment in clean energy and moving the state beyond coal. Clean Energy Now, a coalition made up of over 40 environmentalist groups including Sierra Club, organized this […]

The Climate Post: Big hopes for Al G.

First Things First: The trouble with electricity is that you can’t seal the unused portion when you’re done using it and put it on a shelf. The New York Timesa piece from industrial-belt poster-city Allentown, Penn.  International Battery is developing a cereal-box-size battery that could help remake the energy economy by making electricity able to […]

Do the Clean Air Act battles contain lessons for the fight over climate legislation?

The other day I recounted the fascinating story of how Rep. Henry Waxman and his allies in the House spent a decade working to defend and strengthen the Clean Air Act. Waxman has reportedly said that those curious about the current climate/energy struggle should study the CAA fight. So what lessons can be learned? And […]

365 days of junk mail

In December 2007, in “Junk Mail Box,” I lauded ad-mail slayer Catalog Choice and argued for US and Canadian Do Not Mail registries. Soon thereafter, I began using Catalog Choice assiduously at home. I also refreshed my subscription to the Direct Mail Association’s Mail Preference Service. I wrote to ValPak to plead for a reprieve […]

Nuclear plans hurting power companies’ credit ratings

Power companies pursuing construction of new nuclear plants may find it harder to get credit — meaning ratepayers could end up shouldering a greater financial burden for the costly and environmentally harmful projects. Moody’s Investors Service, a leading independent credit rating firm, recently released a report that says it’s considering taking a “more negative view” […]

With House food-safety bill a done deal, questions remain [UPDATED]

Healthy appetizer — or public-health menace.[The House Food Safety Bill passed overwhelmingly Thursday afternoon. See more at bottom of post.] ————- The House will vote today on a momentous, controversial plan to overhaul a large swath of the nation’s food-safety system. The vote comes amid yet another round of recalls. On Tuesday, the FDA announced […]

Judd Gregg (R-N.H.)

Judd Gregg Sen. Judd Gregg has a record of backing action on climate change, even though his overall environmental record gets low scores from enviros. He voted in support of the McCain-Lieberman Climate Stewardship Act in 2003 and 2005. He wasn’t present for the Senate vote on the Lieberman-Warner climate bill last year, but suggested […]

Gideon Rachman: Inability to prevent mass suffering and death a “dilemma for climate activists”

This column from Gideon Rachman in the Financial Times really pushes my buttons. There’s something beneath the surface that is downright pathological, and not at all unique to Rachman. It besets most political pundits on this issue. I’ll try to dig it out. The premise of Rachman’s column is that while everyone accuses climate change […]

Olympia Snowe (R-Maine)

Olympia Snowe Sen. Olympia Snowe is considered a likely “yes” vote on climate legislation this year. She is a co-chair of the International Climate Change Taskforce, and has been reliably supportive of climate action. Snowe voted in favor of the McCain-Lieberman Climate Stewardship Act in 2003 and 2005, and she cosponsored the 2007 version of […]

Citizens want their leaders to make climate a higher priority, new poll finds

Here’s one thing citizens of the United States, Iraq, and the Palestinian territories have in common: According to a new 19-country public opinion poll on climate change, they’re the least likely to want more action on the issue from their governments. American citizens showed the least interest of all the countries in response to this […]