Latest Articles

Obama strategy on climate bill: get it passed, then let markets make the argument

In a post earlier today I argued that “official” estimates of how much climate/energy legislation will cost are likely systematically overstating costs and understating benefits. It’s worth noting that this is not an idiosyncratic opinion of mine. It is shared by President Obama, his team, and key Democratic leaders, and helps explain some of the […]

Obama: Let’s “spark a clean energy transformation… Make no mistake: This is a jobs bill.”

… in a decade, the price to the average American will be just about a postage stamp a day…. There is no longer a debate about whether carbon pollution is placing our planet in jeopardy. It’s happening. Memo to Obama speechwriters: The price to the average American household will be about a postage stamp a […]

U.S. Open at Bethpage Black hit by “global warming type” of record rainfall

They called this year’s U.S. Open “Bathpage.” And yes, Tiger Woods lost, even though I called him an “all-climate player” after he won “the brown British Open” at drought-stricken Royal Liverpool in 2006 and the “Hottest Major of All Time.” In fact, I had predicted “No doubt he’ll some day win the ‘wettest major of […]

Sierra Club and 28 other NGOs weigh in on the house; LCV puts it foot down

The League of Conservation Voters has sent an “unprecedented letter” to House members stating (emphasis in original): In light of the tremendous importance of this legislation, LCV has made the unprecedented decision that we will not endorse any member of the House of Representatives in 2010 election cycle who votes against final passage of this […]

Health care reform is tougher than climate action

I realize that in the blogging world you get no credit for claiming things after-the-fact.  But what has been obvious to some of us for a while is now I think becoming painfully obvious to the White House and Congressional Democrats:  A serious climate bill is politically easier than a serious health care bill. The […]

Waxman, Peterson announce agreement on cap-and-trade bill paving way for final vote this week

From a scientific perspective, the deal Waxman made with the aggies is not optimal.  From the perspective of consequences in the real world, however, I just don’t see how this deal changes any of the major outcomes of the bill much, if at all. UPDATE:  I’ve added comments on the deal from Dr. Michael MacCracken, […]

NASA’s James Hansen arrested in protest on mountaintop removal

Two years ago, the nation’s top climate scientist wrote, “It seems to me that, as yet, it is difficult to use actions of our government as grounds for civil disobedience, however egregiously stupid those actions are” (see Hansen on “civil disobedience”).  But like all of us, his positions have evolved over time. Author Jeff Biggers […]

Obama on ACES: “I believe that this legislation is extraordinarily important for our country.”

This week, the House of Representatives is moving ahead on historic legislation that will transform the way we produce and use energy in America. This legislation will spark a clean energy transformation that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and confront the carbon pollution that threatens our planet. So said President Obama in the […]

Shame on the New York Times for running ExxonMobil’s greenwashing ad once again

If I may paraphrase Sir Thomas More in the masterful A Man for All Seasons: It profits a man nothing to give his soul for the world.  But for ExxonMobil? The NYT apparently thinks that the way to preserve its declining fortunes is by selling (what’s left of) its soul to ExxonMobil.  As you can […]

House Dems release 1,201-page climate bill with floor debate scheduled for Friday

In the whipsawing environment that is the House of Representatives, the vote for Waxman-Markey is back on for this week, scheduled for Friday.  My sources put the odds of an actual vote at 70-30. The updated American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) is here (a big PDF).   E&E News (subs. req’d) reports: House Democratic leaders […]