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Lieberman and Warner prepare an amendment calling for more support for nukes

Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and John Warner (R-Va.) are already circulating a proposed amendment [PDF] to their own Climate Security Act that would alter the bill to include more explicit support for nuclear power. The amendment calls for “a portion of funds, as determined necessary by the appropriate committees of jurisdiction,” to be deposited into […]

The Onion on GM tomatoes

From The Onion: PASADENA, CA–Geneticists at the California Institute of Technology announced Monday that they have developed a tomato with a 31 percent larger price tag than a typical specimen of the vine-ripened fruit. “By utilizing an exciting new breakthrough in gene-splicing technology, we’ve been able to manipulate this new tomato with recombinant DNA in […]

House passes clean-energy tax credits, bill out of Senate committee would give Calif. waiver

Exciting things going on at the Capitol: The House has passed a bill with tax credits for renewable energy; the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed legislation asking President Bush to grant California the waiver it needs to regulate vehicle greenhouse-gas emissions. Get all the details in Gristmill. new in Gristmill: <a href="new in […]

Bay Area initiates first-of-its-kind fee on biz greenhouse-gas emissions

Businesses in nine San Francisco Bay Area counties will pay 4.4 cents for every ton of greenhouse gases they spew, after the district air-quality board voted 15-1 Wednesday to approve the fee. Set to take effect July 1, the fee will affect more than 2,500 businesses; the district estimates that perhaps seven power plants and […]

Harrison Ford’s chest wax as PSA

Remember that whole "Harrison Ford got a chest wax to illustrate the pain of deforestation" thing? Yeah, here’s the resulting PSA for Conservation International: Check out the behind-the-scenes footage.

House passes massive tax extensions for renewable energy

The House approved legislation today that renews billions of dollars in tax breaks for wind, solar, biomass, and other renewable energy sources, and extends a proposed new tax credit for biofuels derived from sources other than corn. “The Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008” (which is a much better name than it had last […]

Full text of the substitute amendment to Lieberman-Warner now available

The full-text of the amendment [PDF] to the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act is now available, which answers some of the outstanding questions stemming from the outline Sen. Boxer has been circulating. A few important areas to look at in the new version: Cost containment: This is the mechanism, also called an “emergency off-ramp,” that will […]

Time to focus on tax credits, not Lieberman-Warner

I love House. Not the House of Representatives, but the TV show.

Everybody loves to see people with seemingly inexplicable symptoms saved from sure death. No doubt that explains the fascination with the Lieberman-Warner bill. But people ... I've been trying to be gentle about this ... it's dead. Sure, like Amber on the season finale [spoiler alert!] L-W can be briefly revived so we can say goodbye to it forever, but that is really just a soap opera gimmick.

We don't need to say goodbye to L-W; we need to focus all our effort on those important bills that are still clinging to life, bills that haven't already signed a contract to appear on another TV show next season -- like the investment tax credit that is crucial to keeping the momentum going on core technologies that can avert catastrophic climate change (see Barlett op-ed and PG&E op-ed). To L-W supporters, I can only offer this eulogy:

Does the bank have a legitimate role in solving the climate crisis?

The World Bank, which once upon a time wanted to rid the world of poverty, is now trying to position itself as climate crisis savior -- but at the same time is continuing its fossilized ways. So says EarthBeat Radio -- check out their illuminating podcast on it. Janet Redman, the author of a report entitled "The World Bank: Climate Profiteer," is interviewed about a $2 billion portfolio of carbon offsets for industries in the global north to be developed in the global south. Sadly, the Bank program suffers from a lack of transparency, benefits dirty industries most, and puts the alleviation of poverty at the bottom of its list of priorities. Doesn't sound like a world of change.

David Miliband talks about democracy and the climate crisis

I caught an interesting event this morning with U.K. Foreign Minister David Miliband, who is in town to give a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on the “democratization agenda.” The New American Foundation hosted the morning event with assorted policy wonks, journalists, and political types, and emcee Steve Clemons summarized it […]