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On letting the perfect be the enemy of good climate legislation

David Roberts has argued for waiting until 2009 to pass a climate bill. Environmental Defense is pushing hard for a bill this year, and I appreciate his invitation to explain why.

We agree that the political landscape in 2009 will be much like today's as far as climate change legislation goes: we'll have the same interest groups, a similar Senate line-up, and a crowded national agenda that threatens to divert politicians' attention. David outlined these challenges nicely a couple weeks ago, and we see things pretty much the same way.

So where do we part ways? The bill in play right now, the Climate Security Act, isn't perfect. Many think that if we wait until after the election, we can do better.

Or maybe not. We've been here before.

Biz to gov: no, you first

Despite all the hype about the greening of the private sector, the big businesses of the world largely don’t rate climate change as a top priority: Nearly nine in 10 of them do not rate it as a priority, says the study, which canvassed more than 500 big businesses in Britain, the US, Germany, Japan, […]

GreenPrint now free

GreenPrint, a piece of software that helps individuals and businesses reduce printing waste, is now free. FYI.

U.S. green movement is decidedly white

Photo: iStockphoto When it comes to race, the actual color of the green movement is decidedly white. According to a survey conducted from 2004 to 2006, more than one-third of U.S. mainstream green groups and one-fifth of eco-related government agencies have no nonwhite staff members. Minorities tend to join up with grassroots environmental-justice groups, leaving […]

A closer look at the SOTU’s energy claims

Last night, as President Bush stepped to the well of the House floor to deliver his final State of the Union address, at least one thing was clear -- this president is a big fan of recycling. Unfortunately, I am not talking about the plastics and glass in my bottle bill, but the retooling of old rhetoric on global warming and our energy future.

Here is my attempt to inject a little reality into the old Bush rhetoric rolled out in the State of the Union:

Bush claim: "To build a future of energy security, we must trust in thecreative genius of American researchers and entrepreneurs andempower them to pioneer a new generation of clean energy technology. Our security, our prosperity, and our environment allrequire reducing our dependence on oil."

Reality: President Bush threatened a veto on the tax portion of the recently-passed energy bill, which included major incentives for a new generation of clean energy -- incentives that would have heralded a new era in green technology development. The Bush veto threat also killed the Renewable Electricity Standard which would have required that up to 15 percent of our electricity be generated from renewable sources such as wind and solar by 2020. He also opposes any mandatory cap-and-trade bill that would unleash the technology to meet the climate challenge by setting a price on carbon emissions.

Waxman wins a round in battle over EPA car scandal

Score one round this morning for Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Waxman's panel is among those investigating the Bush administration's decision -- contrary to EPA staff advice -- to reject California's greenhouse-gas standards for vehicles. He wants to interview seven key EPA staffers without the presence of government lawyers, who would be expected to interfere with the questioning.

The Bush administration has been balking at this request, so Waxman was preparing to ask his committee to vote today to issue subpoenas. But the Bush administration blinked -- at least a little. Waxman announced at a committee meeting this morning that he was postponing a subpoena vote for now, because the Bush administration had agreed to permit two of the seven EPA staffers to be interviewed without government lawyers present. The fate of the other five EPA staffers remains under negotiation.

This investigation is a little like peeling away layers of a foul-smelling onion: the stench at the center is enough to make one cry.

Grist’s Today show appearance falls through, fans mourn

To all our devoted fans who sat in front of the TV this morning waiting for a Grist-tacular appearance on NBC's Today show, we apologize. Due to Today's relatively tight schedule and an earlier interview that ran overtime, Grist's Katharine Wroth was pulled from the show before she made it on stage.

Alas, the world is a much less-informed place than it could have been.

As a consolation, you can read some of the tips Katharine would have offered, now conveniently expunged of all references to the show. Enjoy!

Will peak oil force the localization of agriculture?

Stuart Staniford says no. Sharon Astyk says yes. Jeff Vail also says yes.

Mine safety agency realizes it hasn’t been penalizing law-breakers

The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration recently discovered that it has failed to follow up thousands of safety citations with actual, you know, penalties. Seven years now, since 2000, some 4,000 citations for safety violations have been followed up with … bupkis. Oopsie! Said Matthew Faraci, MSHA spokesflack, "Given that this seems to have […]

California considers “feebate” bill to make polluting cars more expensive

California is pursuing new ideas to reduce vehicle emissions in the state after the U.S. EPA denied the state a waiver it needed to implement its vehicle greenhouse-gas emission standards. California lawmakers are expected to vote on a bill this week that would set up a “feebate” system for new car purchases. Excessively polluting vehicles […]