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Obama radio address

If you want to hear the best progressive messaging on energy and climate — if you want to know the best phrases and framing — look no further than the master messenger in the Oval Office.  Be warned, though, President Obama uses … rhetoric (see “Why scientists aren’t more persuasive, Part 1“)! Obama devoted much […]

Sustainable America?

Carbon geography

If you want to understand what’s been going on behind closed doors as members of the House Energy & Commerce Committee hash out a compromise on the Waxman-Markey bill, I highly recommend reading this post by enviro-blogger Devilstower at Daily Kos. Devilstower references a new (as-yet-unpublished) paper I mentioned the other day: “Carbon Geography: The […]

Tips for flying to the Copenhagen climate conference

Cop a ride to COP-15…Photo illustration by Tom Twigg / GristSo you’re going to Copenhagen to help save the planet. Splendid! This December the city will host the United Nations Climate Change Conference, where international delegates will negotiate a post-Kyoto Protocol global climate plan. That’s the hope, anyway. Earlier we posted some tips and ideas […]

Ask Umbra on urban foraging

Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, In honor of spring finally coming to my frigid corner of the Midwest, I was thinking about trying my hand at making some dandelion wine. But I live in a major metropolitan area and the only dandelions available are in parks. There are hundreds of parks in […]

Gore on CNN

Embedded video from CNN Video  

Obama praises breakthrough on climate legislation in weekly address

In his weekly address on Saturday, President Barack Obama praised Democratic Congressional leaders for their breakthrough on climate and energy legislation as a “promising sign of progress” on a top issue for his administration.” “Chairman Henry Waxman and members of the Energy and Commerce Committee brought together stakeholders from all corners of the country – […]

Cap-and-trade permit giveaway hurt Waxman-Markey effectiveness

The new Waxman-Markey bill gives away 80% of permits for the first five years. Because I’m confident others will write about climate justice issues in this bill, I thought I’d discuss how giving away large numbers of permits weakens cap-and-trade effectiveness. Cap-and-trade, to the extent that it works, drives behavior through price.  Polluters decide on […]

Friday music blogging: Wilco again

The Wilco is coming! The Wilco is coming! Wilco’s new album, accurately titled Wilco (The Album), is now available for streaming from the band’s site. The album leaked onto download sites yesterday. Instead of freaking out and suing everyone, Wilco just put the album up on their site so all their fans could enjoy it. […]

Al Gore rallies his grassroots supporters to help pass House climate bill

The climate dream team? Rep. Henry Waxman, former VP Al Gore and Rep. Ed Markey are set on getting a cap-and-trade climate bill passed ASAP.AP photos / composite by Tom Twigg NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Al Gore on Thursday kicked off a new phase of his campaign against climate change, calling on his volunteers across the […]