Climate Climate & Energy
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Gore on the Daily Show: extended dance remix
You know how sometimes Jon Stewart gets all smarmy and sycophantic when he has on a guest he actually admires? And you know how Al Gore has a reputation for being a bit stiff on occasion? Let’s just say they seemed to bring out those qualities in each other last night — or, as Stephen […]
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Is the U.S. Chamber changing its tune on climate, or just its tone?
On Tuesday, the U.S. Chamber sent a letter to Sens. Boxer (D-Calif.) and Inhofe (R-Okla.) about the climate bill. It seemed to be singing a new tune on climate policy, leading Sen. Kerry to wonder whether the letter reflects a real change in the Chamber’s position. While we welcome the U.S. Chamber’s desire to sound […]
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Three models of social change
Can we change fast enough? When thinking about the enormous need for social change as we attempt to move the world economy onto a sustainable path, I find it useful to look at various models of change. Three stand out. One is the catastrophic event model, which I call the Pearl Harbor model, where a […]
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Climate change and God
There’s a great new book out called How the West Was Warmed (www.howthewestwaswarmed.com), about responding to climate change in the Rockies. It’s got intros and conclusions from two of the nation’s leading implementers/rock stars of the new green economy–Gov. Bill Ritter of Colorado and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper. It also offers readers a candy store […]
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Geoengineering: Plan B for when Copenhagen fails? eek!
Some scary prospects of where people are turning – geoengineering, the false solution that once seemed like science fiction, is actually being taken seriously. Seriously? Diana Bronson, ETC Group We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. – Albert Einstein As global climate negotiations in Barcelona enter into […]
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Copenhagen reality check: Gov’ts concede new climate treaty unlikely until 2010
Now it’s out in the open. Key government leaders and U.N. officials are finally, publicly admitting what they have long privately believed: there is no chance of concluding a new climate treaty in Copenhagen next month. For a full two years the world has been committed to finalizing a new agreement to succeed the present […]
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Africa returns to Barcelona talks, while U.S. resists giving up the numbers
The African nations that walked out of the climate negotiations on Monday, just hours after the Barcelona meeting started, returned late yesterday. The point of the day-long demonstration was made. Delegates of the 192 nations gathered here to make significant progress on a new climate treaty next month in Copenhagen are frustrated, terribly frustrated with […]
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Boxer Proceeds with Clean Energy and Climate Protection Bill Despite Republican Boycott
Minority members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) followed through on their threat to boycott the scheduled markup of the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (S.1733) today, demanding more analysis of the bill before they are willing to participate. Committee Chair Barbara Boxer (D-CA) proceeded anyway with opening statements from […]
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Why the ‘SuperFreakonomics’ global-warming chapter is worth your time
The two Steves knew exactly what they were doing when they sat down to pen the final chapter of their sequel to their 2005 bestseller Freakonomics. In the now infamous chapter in the newly released SuperFreakonomics, Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner manage to downplay the global warming threat, compare climate change believers to religious fanatics, […]
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New Agreement on Standards for Outdoor Lights Announced
The Natural Resources Defense Council, along with our fellow efficiency advocates, announced the results of successful negotiations with the lighting industry on standards for street lights and parking lot lights. Standards on outdoor lights are such a no-brainer because these lights stay on through the entire night. Daylight Saving Time brings an early end to […]
