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Obama on energy independence and Bush

Today, Sen. Barack Obama gave a speech before the Associated Press, ripping Bush administration energy policy a new you-know-what.

Think Progress has the full transcript. There's press coverage here.

(Our Obama mini-interview on the same subject is here.)

Update [2006-4-3 14:38:9 by David Roberts]: Hm ... reading through it, I see the speech is at least as much about global warming as it is about energy independence. Which is actually more interesting -- it's one of the most forthright and comprehensive descriptions of the danger of climate change that I've seen from a prominent politician.

Triumph of the Will-bashing

George Will is peddling a new column about global warming that's just a lame, tired rear-guard set of conservative talking points. Shocking, I know! Still, if you'd like to see it eviscerated, I give you Progress Report:

Could you go without shopping for a year?

MSNBC interviews author Judith Levine, who spent a year avoiding all unnecessary consumerism and just released her new book Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping.

Think you could do it?

The Daily Grist Headline Battle Royale: Match 6

Is it Monday again? It seems just like yesterday we were celebrating "Flame! I Wanna Log Forever's" victory over "Silly Rabbit, Toxics Aren't for Kids!"

So, let's find out which witty headline won last week's rumble ... [drum roll] ... and it's "Freeport Your Mine, and Unrest Will Follow," with 39% of the vote. Damn! I was hoping for "They Got Seoul But They're Not Eco-Soldiers" -- proof that these bouts are not rigged.

Moving on ...

After I revealed that I normally choose one headline from each Daily Grist of a given week, I was informed that this just ain't right. It was explained to me that the Grist headline-generating machine has its good and bad days. Apparently Monday of last week was a good day. Thus, each of the seven Daily Grist headlines from Monday, March 27, is up for contention.

So, here are the nominees:

1. Tiiiiiime Is on Our Side, Yes It Is: Time cover story propels global warming into the mainstream
2. Ebb and Fla.: An interview with Michael Grunwald about his new Everglades book
3. Oh Say, Can You, Seattle?: Seattle commission unveils recommendations for meeting Kyoto goals
4. Oceans Delve: Umbra on measuring ocean temperatures
5. E-Waste Not, E-Want Not: Washington Gov. Gregoire signs far-reaching e-recycling law
6. Garden of Edens: Jason Edens, rural solar advocate, InterActivates
7. Bait and Switchgrass: New coal-powered ethanol plant a sign of things to come

Okay, voting time!

Carsten Henningsen, green mutual-fund founder, answers questions

Carsten Henningsen. What work do you do? I am the cofounder of Portfolio 21, a global mutual fund investing for a sustainable future. I am also chair of Progressive Investment Management, the investment adviser to Portfolio 21. How does it relate to the environment? Portfolio 21 (the 21 is for 21st century) invests in companies […]

The cult of Chip adds a member

Today brings much news with regard to our Founder and Dear Leader, Chip Giller, seen here passed out on the floor.

First is a long, glowing, and only partially fictional profile from The Seattle Times' Nicole Brodeur. "It's not the Cult of Chip that we're trying to create," he says. Nonsense! Join ... us ...

In even happier news, Chip and his wife Jenny welcomed a healthy baby girl to the world on -- get this -- April 1. But unlike Saturday's Daily Grist, this was no April Fools joke.

No word yet on a name (just decide, you two!). And, much to staff chagrin, no pictures yet.

Regardless, a huge congratulations and much love to Chip, Jenny, and Baby X. All baby gifts can be directed through this page [wink, wink].

You Want a Lease of Me?

Wyoming governor opposes federal drilling leases in national forest Wyoming is plenty bullish on a local natural-gas boom — but Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D) has put his foot down at the Wyoming Range, asking the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service to halt sales of drilling leases on 19,000 acres of western […]

Coal Decliner

Idaho legislature passes two-year moratorium on coal-fired power plants In a two-for-one snub of President Bush and Idaho Gov. (and likely future Interior Secretary) Dirk Kempthorne (R), Idaho’s Republican-controlled legislature overwhelmingly passed a bill last week that would put a two-year moratorium on new coal-fired power plants in the state. The bill — which says […]

Cap in Hand

California bill would mandate serious greenhouse-gas emissions caps California will jump (farther) into the lead on state-level action to combat global warming if a soon-to-be-introduced bill requiring stiff emissions caps becomes law. The measure would mandate greenhouse-gas pollution cuts to 1990 levels by 2020; that’s 25 percent lower than they would otherwise be by that […]

Umbra on plants and global warming

Dear Umbra, My simple understanding of global warming is that we are introducing long-buried carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This is shifting the balance, leading to a host of undesirable issues. CO2 is consumed by plants, so here’s my thought: Could we grow crops that consume a lot of CO2 (I’m thinking bamboo here, which […]