Climate Politics

Anderson in the NYT today

With so much going on in D.C. today, we nearly missed this great story on our man Rocky Anderson in the New York Times today. Hey Rocky!

For today anyway!

If Gore had asked me what I’d like him to emphasize to Congress, I would have said: The No. 1 most important thing to do is put a price on carbon. Carbon tax: better than cap-and-trade. Cap-and-trade: better than nothing. Cap-and-trade with auctioned permits: better than cap-and-trade without. We should be pursuing widely distributed, small-scale […]

Odds and ends

Substantively, most of what Gore said to the Senate echoed what he said to the House. There were a few things to note about the Senate hearing, though: Gore’s introductory remarks to the Senate (videos here) were a huge step down from his performance in the House. To my eye, he seemed shaky, hesitant, stiff, […]

Even by his standards, this was pathetic

I know that Sen. James Inhofe is a far-right bomb-thrower. I know he’s built a career out of saying absurd things, particularly about global warming. I know nobody expects anything different from him. Despite all that, I was astonished at his performance in today’s hearing. It’s not that he disagrees with Gore. Plenty of legislators […]

We bad

In his question/rant for Gore, Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) cited a quote from Gore’s interview with Grist. It’s this: "I believe it’s appropriate to have an over-representation of factual presentations on how dangerous it is." The quote bounced around skeptic circles for a long time a while back. Suffice to say, it’s been yanked from […]

Liveblogging is the new black

Gore is just arriving at the Senate. The cameras are clicking! The crowd is buzzing! David is liveblogging! Join me below the fold. Sen. Boxer is looking quite stylish, no? Rules are being introduced. Hopefully it won’t take 15 minutes like in the House. Uh oh. Inhofe’s going already. Whining about getting the testimony late. […]

He was nice to Gore

One thing worth noting from this morning’s hearing: Dingell, whom I expected to challenge Gore aggressively, asked him not a single question. In fact, he was enormously respectful of Gore. And the way he attempted to pronounce Bjorn Lomborg’s name made it clear that it was not him who invited Lomborg. Maybe he really has […]

Gore errata

If you just can’t get enough livebloggin’, Brian Beutler also had a running commentary on Gore’s testimony over at his blog. Meanwhile, Inhofe and Co. are busy whining that they didn’t get Gore’s Senate testimony earlier. True statesmen. It looks like Lomborg’s testimony has been delayed so long that Gore will be in front of […]

Edwards, Canada, and now South Africa

Former Senator John Edwards (D-N.C.) -- now a presidential hopeful -- has just published his latest energy plan. One important plank of that plan foresees the nation producing (not just consuming, which would allow for imports) 65 billion gallons a year of ethanol by 2025. ("I'll meet your bid for 2030, Barack, and raise it by five billion!")

If the 51 cents a gallon volumetric ethanol excise tax credit (VEETC) is extended beyond the end of 2010 -- as most commentators and even the USDA expect will happen -- here's what the cumulative cost to the U.S. Treasury would be from 2007 through 2025, assuming straight-line growth:

Almost $350 billion (=$0.51 x 19 x [7+(65-7)/2]).

All ten of ’em

If you don’t want to read my whole blow-by-blow of Gore’s testimony to the House, here’s a summary of his ten legislative recommendations. An immediate "carbon freeze" that would cap U.S. CO2 emissions at current levels, followed by a program to generate 90% reductions by 2050. Start a long-term tax shift to reduce payroll taxes […]