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Final vote on climate bill in Energy and Commerce Committee to come soon

The deal was set this morning.  As The Washington Post (among others) just reported: At the start of Day Four of the committee’s debate, ranking Republican Joe Barton (Texas) said he and Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) had agreed to limit debate on each new amendment to 10 minutes. That came after a second marathon […]

House ag chief Peterson: Waxman-Markey is mine, all mine

Corn: more important than climate? I’ve been reporting on it for a while, but now it’s reaching fever pitch: Big Ag is getting downright jittery about climate change legislation. There’s no mystery about why: industrial agriculture spews out massive amounts of greenhouse gas. Any serious scheme for reckoning with climate change will deal harshly with […]

Planting green moles in corporate America

On the 28th floor of a San Francisco skyscraper, a cadre of 26 young men and women called the Climate Corps is being briefed. They won’t be planting trees or serving as Al Gore’s cap-and-trade shock troops. Rather, these are MBAs on a mission to infiltrate the Fortune 500 and help them save … money […]

Gore vs. Hansen: Enviros take sides in debate over House climate bill

Photo illustration by Tom Twigg / Grist[Updated: June 1, 2009] The Waxman-Markey climate and energy bill, now moving through the House, is polarizing the environmental community. Longtime climate crusader Al Gore says we should do all we can to get the legislation passed; top climate scientist James Hansen says we should demand a different, better […]

We watch dozens of hours of climate bill debate so you don’t have to

I’m keeping close watch over debate on the Waxman-Markey climate bill in the House Energy and Commerce Committee. (Grist … sitting through hours upon hours of markup so you don’t have to!) We’ll spare you the blow-by-blow and just give you the scoop when there’s big news. But the true political junkies waiting at the […]

Climate change lobbying dominated by ten firms

This post by Marianne Lavelle and Matthew Lewis is reprinted with the permission of The Center for Public Integrity.—– Hundreds of lobbyists are cramming into Room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building this week for the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s mark-up of landmark legislation to curb global warming through a complex cap-and-trade system. […]

House panel to approve energy and climate bill: Reuters poll

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) has the votes to get his landmark energy and climate legislation approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Reuters reports today: Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee have enough votes to approve historic legislation to cap and reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, according to a Reuters survey of […]

Lessons in fast-food greenwashing from The Simpsons

Sunday’s episode of the Simpsons begins with a wickedly good greenwashing story: Krusty learns from one of his lawyers that “studies show your Krustyburger is the unhealthiest fast-food item in the world.” “Worse than a double Krustyburger?” “Somehow, yes.” Krusty introduces a green campaign centered on the vegetarian Mother Nature Burger, made of “100-percent wheat-fed […]

Agrichemical industry steps up pressure on White House organic garden

Use our pesticide, or the spinach gets it.I’m no expert on the mafia, but I have seen the first two Godfather movies and Goodfellas, oh, a few times. One thing I’ve learned: “protection” is a major mob racket. It works like this: a thug drops by your shop monthly and makes small talk. You hand […]

Republicans [sic] for Environmental Protection

Climate change is real, it’s caused by humans, and it will create serious risks for our nation’s security, economy and quality of life — and sooner than we think. That’s the unmistakable message from scientists who have devoted their professional lives to understanding how human activities affect climate. One of them is Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, […]