Latest Articles
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Greenpeace’s indefensible attack on the House clean energy bill
I can certainly understand why people are unhappy with the weakening of Waxman-Markey. Heck, I lowered the grade for it to B or B-. But I wasn’t grading on a curve. The bill remains a stunning legislative achievement that (if enacted) would require the United States to eliminate virtually all greenhouse gas emissions in four […]
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Contempt of Congress
Memo to House GOP: We get it. You don’t believe in clean, safe sources of energy that never run out or in protecting our children and grandchildren from catastrophic global warming or in competing with China, Japan, and Europe for the jobs and industries of the future or in making polluters pay (see House GOP […]
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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 […]
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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 Devilstower references a new (as-yet-unpublished) paper I mentioned the other day: “Carbon Geography: The […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 – […]
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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 […]
