Latest Articles

Judge tosses out Big Auto’s suit against California

Automakers must have been bad this year, because Santa has given them a big holiday disappointment. And by Santa we mean U.S. District Judge Anthony Ishii, who today declared that California has the authority to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions from vehicles, and tossed out automakers’ lawsuit against the state. Automakers had sued in 2004 when California […]

Notable quotable

“Within the last few months, most of the planned coal plants in the United States have been cancelled, denied permits, or been involved in protracted litigation. Accordingly, the company submits that IPP 3, Bridger 5, and the IGCC option at Jim Bridger, are no longer viable options for the 2012 and 2014 time frame, respectively.” […]

The sad state of Bush’s science advice

Most science advisers have taken as their job to inform the president and his administration, as well as Congress, the media, and the public, of the thinking of the scientific community on key science issues of the day. Bush's advisor, John H. Marburger III, takes the opposite view. He believes his job is to inform (misinform? disinform?) the scientific community, as well as Congress, the media, and the public, of the "thinking" of the Bush Administration on key science issues. In 2006, he summed up the "technology, technology, blah, blah" strategy of Luntz/Bush:

It's important not to get distracted by chasing short-term reductions in greenhouse emissions. The real payoff is in long-term technological breakthroughs.

Don't get distracted by actions to save the climate from destruction. The real payoff is in never doing anything.

Realclimate has a good report on Marburger's lecture at the huge American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, titled "Reflections on the Science and Policy of Energy and Climate Change":

California judge rules against automakers in lawsuit against Calif. tailpipe GHG standards

A federal judge in California has just ruled against automakers in their lawsuit against California’s tailpipe greenhouse-gas emissions standards (AB 1493, known as the Pavley law). This is a huge blow to the Bush administration, and in particular a huge blow to their 11th hour efforts to f*ck with the energy bill to make it […]

New Green Exchange to be launched

In a huge boost for carbon trading, Nymex Holdings Inc. and a group of Wall Street trading houses are planning to launch a Green Exchange for trading environmental products, including carbon credits. Trading is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2008.

The economic benefits of going green

Earlier this week, senior fellow and director of climate strategy at the Center for American Progress, Dan Weiss, went on CNBC to discuss "the economic benefits of going green" as it relates to the energy bill currently in Congress. Weiss, a strong advocate of the clean energy provisions, went head to head with Max Schultz of the Manhattan Institute, whose sole platform was costs.

Why the Happy Meals-for-good-grades scheme deserves an ‘F’

Why is it acceptable to reward our children for successful academic performance with something that will harm them? How can we, as a society, allow this kind of corporate conduct when the most recent study on Body Mass Index (BMI) states that over 19 percent of American children are currently overweight or obese, and that a higher BMI in children is associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease as an adult?

Dear news,

Please stop happening so fast. You’re overwhelming and paralyzing me. Sincerely,DR

How does Jane Fonda keep defeating the U.S.?

Full disclosure: I was born in 1981, and as far as I can recall I never masturbated to a picture of Jane Fonda.

Too much information, I know. But what else can I do? An eternity ago (September) the guys who brought you Freakonomics brought you this little gem, blaming Jane Fonda for America's CO2 emissions. Seriously:

Exxon plans liquefied-natural-gas terminal 20 miles off New Jersey coast

ExxonMobil has announced it intends to build a $1 billion floating liquefied-natural-gas terminal 20 miles off the coast of New Jersey. The offshore location is intended to make the venture less objectionable to opponents who worry about pollution, leaks, catastrophic explosions, and other environmental impacts from the facility that aims to produce 1.2 billion cubic […]