Climate Climate & Energy

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  • Global climate pact may hinge on EU summit

    Now the world really is coming to the crunch point. As governments across the globe travelled the long, winding and rocky road to Copenhagen over the last few years, there have been many times when the next stage, usually steep uphill, seemed absolutely crucial. But none has come close to the importance of the stretch […]

    Geoffrey Lean Climate & Energy

  • Jon Stewart praises ‘SuperFreak’ author

    Cross-posted from Think Progress. On last night’s Daily Show, host Jon Stewart heaped praise on the contrarian approach to global warming taken by SuperFreakonomics author Steve Levitt, a University of Chicago economist. Stewart was dismissive of the widespread criticism of Levitt and co-author Stephen Dubner, asking, “Have you stepped on a secular religion?” Stewart, often […]

    Brad Johnson Climate & Energy

  • Is Freeman Dyson really “brave”?

    Freeman Dyson is a noted physicist who’s argued — utterly implausibly — that carbon eating trees will save us and we shouldn’t worry about the whole climate change thing. For this, he’s been profiled in The New York Times and now dubbed a Brave Thinker by the Atlantic. But is he really that brave? Said […]

    David Roberts Climate & Energy

  • New reports show successes and failures of Energy Star

    The media has been taking the Department of Energy (DOE) to task over a recently released audit by the Inspector General (IG) which highlighted some well known shortcomings in the Energy Star program. The conclusions were not surprising — there needs to be more testing of products to ensure compliance with Energy Star requirements and […]

    Lane Burt Climate & Energy

  • Google Earth salutes Appalachian heroes

    Google Earth just released this wonderful series of videos on citizens groups and environmental heroes who are using Google Earth tools in their campaigns. Check out this clip on Appalachian Voices, Coal River Mountain Watch, and other Appalachian coalfield activists in their I Love Mountains anti-mountaintop removal campaign:

    Jeff Biggers Climate & Energy

  • How green is Chicago?

    On the same streets in the Windy City, where a young liberal Democratic activist named Francis Peabody peddled “smoke-free clean coal” in the 1890s, an estimated 400 Chicago residents marched to the infamous Fisk Generating Station coal-fired plant for the Chicago 350 Climate Action last week. Eight activists were arrested for blockading Cermak Road, in […]

    Jeff Biggers Climate & Energy

  • The hidden cost of coal

    This post originally appeared at Sightline’s Daily Score blog. Last week, Dave Roberts blogged about a recent — and very important — study by the National Research Council on the enormous hidden costs of energy consumption. I’m surprised that the study hasn’t gotten more press coverage.  It’s fact-rich, sober, and completely non-ideological — and, at […]

    Clark Williams-Derry Climate & Energy

  • Global civil society starts to take up the climate challenge

    Environmentalists have been looking forward to the Copenhagen climate talks this December with a mixture of dread and expectation, as it may be the last opportunity to craft a global climate treaty as we barrel towards dangerous tipping points pointed out by leading scientists. Yet, as environmental organizations started to prepare to mobilize their members, send out their lobbyists, and make their arguments for climate action, there is new momentum from both ordinary citizens and unusual partners.

    Richard Graves Climate & Energy

  • Climate Citizens

    The Climate Citizens Story At Grist we have a clear bias: The science of climate change is sound and the world must act. The global community must reduce the amount of carbon dioxide and other global-warming gases being pumped into the atmosphere, and the U.S. government must enact a comprehensive program to help achieve this […]

    Grist staff Climate & Energy

  • “Global cooling” scam debunked yet again

    You’ve probably heard the conservative argument that the globe is actually cooling, not warming. In fact, if you’re anything like me, you’ve probably heard it 58 gazillion times. You may have even read it in the craptacular new book Superfreakonomics. Associated Press’s Seth Borenstein decided to test it out, and he came up with a […]

    David Roberts Climate & Energy