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Everything you wanted to know about Waxman-Markey allocations

UPDATE:  At the end, I’m going to respond to what has now become a widespread myth that because Waxman-Markey supposedly mutes the electric price signal to consumers, it hurts the cause of energy efficiency. The Subcommittee on Energy and Environment will hold a hearing titled, “Allowance Allocation Policies in Climate Legislation:  Assisting Consumers, Investing in […]

‘The End of the Line’ is a compelling indictment of industrial fishing

If scientists are correct, 2048 will be a terrible year for sushi restaurants. And diners selling tuna melts, too. The End of the Line isn’t going to make you feel so good about hitting the neighborhood sushi bar.In fact, if I had any money to invest in a seafood venture, Carl Safina’s suggestion to “consider […]

Quiz S.F. Mayor Gavin Newsom about his green agenda

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is running for governor in California, and boy oh boy is he thumping on the green platform. Here’s your chance to determine and shape the environmental issues that our political leaders discuss with the media. Here’s how it works 1. Submit your questions to Gavin Newsom about his green platform […]

KBR, Halliburton sued over war-zone’s toxic burn pits

Confronted with the need to dispose of enormous quantities of war-related trash including batteries, pesticide containers, medical waste and even human body parts, but lacking proper incinerators, private contractors working for the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan came up with a simple solution. They burned the trash in big, open pits. But now soldiers, […]

Why does the much-touted climate bill look like it was stolen from the Republican playbook?

“Command and control” is a military term the Republicans long ago appropriated to caricature and condemn Democratic programs. Republicans like to contrast the Democrats’ embrace of a command and control, regulation-based you-will-do-as-I-say-or-else strategy with their own, presumably, more effective market-based we-will-make-it-worthwhile-for-you-to-do-what-we-want approach. Nowhere is the phrase “command and control” used more often and with more […]

‘Sweet Crude’ documents oil exploitation in the Niger River Delta

Picture in your mind the Niger River Delta. What do you think of? Water, mangrove trees, fishing boats? Wrong. Try brown sludge-filled waterways flanked by constantly flaring gas stacks. Welcome to Oporoza, Nigeria — the place where 10 percent of U.S. oil imports originates. When filmmaker Sandy Cioffi traveled to Oporoza in 2006 to make […]

Big Meat says, “Keep the FDA away from our CAFOs!”

National Cattlemen: butt out of our business, you … regulators!Roll Call is reporting that Big Meat is less than pleased with the food safety bill currently moving through Congress. While on its face, this might be surprising, what’s been notable to this point, as Jill Richardson recently pointed out, is the overwhelming support the bill […]

Anti-science conservatives are stuck in denial; for climate science activists, the reverse is true

The five stages of grief describes “a process by which people allegedly deal with grief and tragedy, especially when diagnosed with a terminal illness or catastrophic loss,” as Wikipedia puts it: 1. Denial 2. Anger 3. Bargaining 4. Depression 5. Acceptance l have been meaning to blog on this since I heard a very brilliant […]

Climate envoy Todd Stern on U.S. climate action and the possibility of deal with China

Todd Stern.U.S. Climate Envoy and former Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Todd Stern spoke at CAP Tuesday.  If you want to know where US-China negotiations are headed on climate, I highly recommend watching the video of his talk here (a PDF of his prepared remarks are here). He is a blunt guy for someone […]

Taking coal back to the garden

“…we can train ourselves to attend to the beautiful things waiting to be noticed. We can become curious and push the perceptions outward towards the surrounding world and society. We can see the miracle of life around us. We can be altered and saved by the situation in which we find ourselves.”  Anne Bogart, Siti […]