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Obama puts political capital on passage of climate bill

President Obama laid a significant chunk of his political capital on the table on Thursday, calling on House members to support the climate and energy bill that will go to a vote on Friday. “Now it the time for us to lead. The energy bill before the House will finally create a set of incentives […]

The Non-Concession concession?

Henry Waxman and Ed Markey seem to have mastered the art of the non-concession concession: striking deals with potential opponents in ways that meet their needs while minimizing (though not entirely eliminating) the negative impacts. Similar to their distribution of allowances, which seemed at first glance to be a massive giveaway but turned out to […]

On the road to Copenhagen, hope springs eternal

Half a year before the U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen, negotiators are far from agreeing on key components of a global climate deal. As envisioned in the 2007 Bali Climate Action Plan (or “Bali Roadmap”), the summit in December is supposed to deliver a follow-up agreement to the Kyoto Protocol under the United Nations Framework […]

The bad and maybe not-so-bad of the Waxman-Peterson deal

Take this, Collin! Language of the Waxman-Peterson compromise has been released (full text here; and here’s a summary)–and in some ways it’s worse than I originally thought, and in some ways potentially better. The bad part involves the provision around indirect land-use change and ethanol. It would, for the next five years, prevent that the […]

Jailed for protesting coal

My friend Michael Brune of the Rainforest Action Network gets jailed for protesting coal–his first-person account is worth a read.

The oil intensity of food

Today we are an oil-based civilization, one that is totally dependent on a resource whose production will soon be falling. Since 1981, the quantity of oil extracted has exceeded new discoveries by an ever-widening margin. In 2008, the world pumped 31 billion barrels of oil but discovered fewer than 9 billion barrels of new oil. […]

From the Senate to the WV coalfields, a pivotal week for mountaintop removal

This post was co-written by Bruce Nilles and Mary Anne Hitt, director and deputy director, respectively, of the Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign. This has been a historic and game-changing week in the fight to end mountaintop removal. We will undoubtedly look back on the events of the past few days as a major turning point […]

Sears Tower to get eco-overhaul — again? Plus: new name!

Greenovations at “The Big Willie,” nee Sears Tower.First the Empire State Building, now Sears Tower: America’s iconic buildings are going green! The press is all abuzz about yesterday’s announcement by the owners of Chicago’s 110-story landmark — North America’s tallest, and the third-tallest in the world — that they will cut energy use 80 percent […]

Historic Senate hearings on Clean Water Protection Act today

In memory of Jeremy Davidson “It hurled like a cannonball into Dennis and Cindy Davidson’s house, right through the wall of the bedroom and onto the bed where 3-year-old Jeremy was sleeping. The huge boulder continued its path, crashing through a closet before finally stopping at the foot of 8-year-old Zachary’s bed. Zachary would be […]

We are what we think: Why the press fails us and how to fix it

We are what we think. With our thoughts we create the world. — Buddha OK, first, let me hasten to say that I find myself, as most any physical scientist would, irritated by the ancient quote above. I expect a modern person to know, though the Buddha may or may not have known, that the […]