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Tax incentives for clean energy not yet renewed — but probably will be

A renewal of tax incentives for building and installing clean energy sources was stripped from the recently signed energy bill, putting wind and solar boosters just a wee bit on edge. Current federal tax credits for renewable energy will expire at the end of 2008; Rhone Resch of the Solar Energy Industries Association predicts that […]

When is a Tundra a better buy than a Prius?

This never fails to fascinate me:

The chart shows how much fuel is consumed over 15,000 miles by cars of different fuel efficiencies.

The curve matters a lot. It means that from the perspective of fuel conservation, it's not terribly important to trade in your Honda Civic to buy a Prius. But it's hugely important to trade in your Dodge Durango for a Toyota Tacoma.

I'll use some rough numbers to illustrate. You trade in your Civic, which averages about 32 miles per gallon, and buy a Prius, which gets a whopping 47 mpg. You've bumped up by 15 mpg -- a big deal, right?

Sort of. Over the next 15,000 miles of driving, you'll have reduced your fuel consumption by 150 gallons. That's fine. But consider what happens when you upgrade your SUV. That's where the real action is.

Dems can’t overcome filibuster threats to get decent legislation — so what should they do?

I’ve talked to many, many people over the past few days who are struggling to figure out how to respond to the passage of the energy bill. There’s a lot of genuine anguish out there. One camp laments this as yet another defeat in a long string. Reid capitulated to Republicans and accepted a wan, […]

U.S. House passes toy safety bill with tightened lead standards

The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill yesterday aimed at improving the safety of toys sold in the country. The bill lowers the allowable lead level in children’s toys, mandates independent testing, increases the budget of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and raises the cap on potential civil penalties for manufacturers from $1.25 […]

Tom Tancredo dropping out of presidential race; dozens of Republicans mourn

Republican presidential candidate Tom Tancredo is expected to drop out of the race today, after months of trailing at the back of the pack in polls of GOP voters. Wondering what might have been? Check out Grist’s exclusive interview with Tancredo about his environmental views.

Bushies laud state policies when excusing inaction, shut them down when they threaten contributors

Back in 2003, the Bush administration sent a negotiating team to Milan for international climate talks. The lead negotiator, then as now, was Harlan Watson. As he always does, Watson attempted to claim that the U.S. was, despite all appearances, taking a leadership role in the fight against global warming. What did he offer as […]

More on EPA’s waiver decision

Juliet Eilperin’s got a really crackerjack story on the California waiver in the WaPo. It’s devastating to Johnson. It also confirms a lot of stuff that I, a mere blogger, could only speculate about irresponsibly. First of all, the EPA staff was foursquare against this decision: EPA’s lawyers and policy staff had reached the same […]

U.S. EPA won’t let California enact vehicle greenhouse-gas limits

The U.S. EPA has denied California the waiver it needed to enact a state law requiring a 30 percent reduction in vehicle greenhouse-gas emissions by 2016. Said EPA chief Stephen Johnson, “The Bush administration is moving forward with a clear national solution — not a confusing patchwork of state rules — to reduce America’s climate […]

Analysis of the EPA’s decision to deny California’s waiver

As I mentioned below, today the U.S. EPA denied California’s request for a waiver exempting it from federal fuel economy standards, allowing it to implement its own standards. EPA administrator Stephen Johnson announced the decision in a rushed press conference following President Bush’s signing of the energy bill. The announcement came with a veritable torrent […]

Breaking: EPA announcing ruling on California waiver at 6:30 Eastern

The EPA just sent out an email advisory saying that Administrator Stephen Johnson will announce the agency’s decision on the California air standards waiver … in about 30 minutes. (Background on the waiver issue here, here, and here.) The lack of lead time might lead one to believe that they want to bury this news. […]