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Wolf delisting takes effect today

Photo: Thomas Roche via Flicker Wolf-people, give a howl for your lupine brethren, who lose federal protection under the Endangered Species Act in much of the northern Rocky Mountains and upper Midwest today. The Obama administration, in one of its least popular moves with environmentalists, upheld a Bush era decision that gray wolves have returned […]

Heritage Foundation pushes ‘completely untrue’ attack on clean-energy jobs with a panel

The Heritage Foundation held a panel [today] titled “Busting the Myth of Green Jobs” to show that the experience of Spain is “more a cautionary tale than a blueprint for success.” Instead of showcasing the views of unbiased academics and economists, the Heritage Foundation put forth a panel of individuals financially connected to ExxonMobil. Conservatives […]

Toles on global warming projections

There he goes again — making that link between global warming and extreme weather that the climate deniers hate (see “Why do the deniers try to shout down any talk of a link between climate change and extreme weather?“).  

Energy efficiency vs. neoliberal economics

I spent last week immersed in the views of professionals working to advance energy efficiency resource intelligence. I shall spare you more details — I realize there’s a limit to the wonkery even Grist’s audience can tolerate — but I do want highlight what strikes me as a key takeaway. A few facts to set […]

Obama to meet with swing Dems on climate and energy bill

President Barack Obama is inviting key House Democrats to the White House on Tuesday to discuss the Waxman-Markey climate and energy bill, as well as health care and other issues.  Obama is expected to encourage the Democrats — many of whom have expressed concerns about the climate bill — to come to consensus around it. […]

Ethanol waste: it’s what’s for … breakfast?

It’s food, no fuel, no food…For the ethanol industry, much depends on distillers grains, the stuff that’s left over after corn has been fermeneted and distilled to make alcohol. Corn ethanol’s energy balance (net energy produced minus energy consumed in production) is razor thin; it only goes positive when you factor in generous credits for […]

Climate bill is now a longer shot than ‘Mine That Bird’

It looks like President Obama, the horse whisperer of American politics, is finally going to weigh neigh in to get the mudders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee galloping to the finish line. For people who haven’t been paying close attention, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) keeps dropping bigger and bigger hints that […]

Ask Umbra on flag flying

Q. Dear Umbra, Like any proud American, I want to fly our flag 24 hours a day to show my reverence for this awesome country. I am torn, though, because section 6a of the Flag Code requires the flag to be lit up during hours of darkness and this conflicts with my desire to cut […]

Another win for the Coalition of Immokalee Workers

Photo: Scott RobertsonOver the past week, much attention has been focused on the “B” part of that classic U.S. sandwich, the BLT. The swine flu outbreak has quite rightly raised questions about the environemtal/public health implications of modern industrial hog production. Almost lost amid the furor was much happier news about the “T” part of […]

Undecided reps on House panel hold key to climate bill

The authors of the House climate and energy bill will be courting undecideds over the next couple of weeks as they try to get their legislation passed by the House Energy and Environment Subcommittee. Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) want to make these potential swing voters happy while preserving the integrity of […]