Articles by David Roberts
David Roberts was a staff writer for Grist. You can follow him on Twitter, if you're into that sort of thing.
All Articles
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Does the public need to understand cap-and-trade?
A new Rasmussen poll shows that just 24 percent of people know what “cap-and-trade” is. Even that is an optimistic gloss: in fact, only 24 percent of people know that cap-and-trade is meant to address environmental issues. Some 29 percent think it’s a new Wall Street regulation; 30 percent have no idea. Professional enviros seem […]
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Friday music blogging: The Cinematic Orchestra
Of late, I have become obsessed with the soundtrack to a French Disney nature film that, as far as I can tell, hasn’t come out yet. I don’t know if it will ever come out in the states. It’s called Les Ailes pourpres: le mystère des flamants, which a little bit of online translation tells […]
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Cap-and-trade vs. carbon tax: a bird in hand is worth two on Alpha Centauri
Tax! Cap! Tax! Cap! Pant … I find it really hard to believe, but the perennial “carbon tax vs. cap-and-trade” debate is still going on. It goes on and on and on and it never changes. It’s like everyone’s following a script now. I’ve been over this territory so many times that I hardly know […]
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Why mandate renewables if we already have a cap on CO2?
A question I hear frequently (in wonk circles anyway): If the U.S. implements a declining cap on CO2, why does it also need a national Renewable Portfolio Standard? (For non-wonks, some basic background: a declining cap on CO2 emissions would, theoretically, force electric utilities to find low-carbon alternatives. An RPS would dictate that utilities generate […]
