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It’s official — the era of cheap oil is over

This was originally published on TomDispatch and is republished here with Tom’s kind permission. Every summer, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) of the U.S. Department of Energy issues its International Energy Outlook (IEO) — a jam-packed compendium of data and analysis on the evolving world energy equation. For those with the background to interpret its […]

Adaptation: Something old, something new, now some money is also due

At the climate negotiations here in Bonn, the main discussions on adaptation have come to a close after a “second reading” of the draft negotiating text. Ecosystem-based adaptation, which we blogged about last week, has gained strong support from country delegations and is included in the text that is coming out of these meetings. But […]

When it comes to food, we’re all in this together

Declarations of sovereignty and independence are not uncommon as rites of passage both for countries and teenagers. But what we typically see and what we experience is altogether different, both at home and in the world. Dependency and interdependency are the norm, whether we look at human relations, commerce, or biology. As the conservationist John […]

The GOP and the 218 votes needed to pass Waxman-Markey

The House of Representatives is on the verge of a historic achievement that seemed unlikely just a few months ago – passage of bipartisan comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation that put the nation on a path to slash greenhouse gas emissions more than 80% in four decades. One of the key coal-state Democrats on […]

14 things I love — and 6 things I hate — about Waxman-Markey

Henry WaxmanI’ve been poring over the 948 pages of Waxman-Markey, the cap-and-trade bill that now appears likely (fingers crossed) to pass the U.S. House of Representatives this month or next. My grade? Overall, I give Representatives Henry Waxman of California (pictured) and Edward Markey of Massachusetts a solid “B,” but I’m grading on a curve–the […]

Why unconventional natural gas makes the 2020 Waxman-Markey target so damn easy and cheap

In Part 1: Is there a lot more natural gas than previously thought? I asserted it now appears likely that, thanks to unconventional supplies, natural gas alone could meet a great deal of the Waxman-Markey CO2 target for 2020 – without requiring gobs of new power plants to be sited and built or thousands of […]

UPDATE: Reuters and Greenbiz.com attack all federal clean energy technology development

Apparently all federal efforts to develop clean technology should be banned – at least that’s what Reuters and the oddly named website “Greenbiz.com” seem to believe. If they gave out awards to columnists for advice that would cause the most harm to the nation if anybody actually followed it, then Greenbiz.com, Reuters, and Fortune contributor […]

Grist celebrates in D.C. with Thomas Friedman

David Roberts and Thomas Friedman talk green.Wednesday night, Grist hosted a party — nay, a soirée — at The Warehouse in Washington, D.C. Among those in attendance were EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, CEQ Chair Nancy Sutley, Green Jobs Czar (don’t call him that to his face!) Van Jones, and a number of other fabulous folk […]

Coalfield residents respond to Obama’s announcement on mountaintop removal

In the wake of last month’s approval of 42 of 48 mountaintop removal and mining permits as “environmentally responsible,” the EPA, Department of Interior and Council on Environmental Quality today announced “unprecedented steps to reduce environmental impacts of mountaintop coal mining.” Not mountaintop removal, mind you. In the accompanying press release, EPA Administrator Lisa P. […]

House GOP proposes 25% national energy tax, recycles Cheney energy plan

Badly outnumbered and months behind in the debate on energy and climate change, House Republicans plan to introduce an energy bill on Wednesday as an alternative to the Democratic plan barreling toward a House vote this month. The Republican proposal, drafted by a group led by Representative Mike Pence of Indiana, leans heavily on nuclear […]