Climate Politics

Lovin’ Lovins

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on Energy Independence today. Amory Lovins was one of the four witnesses, and his testimony (pdf alert) is worth a read -- even the footnotes.

What Mexican activists can teach the U.S. about poverty and the planet

As the border organizer for Sierra Club’s Environmental Justice program, I bounce back and forth across the U.S.-Mexico border supporting grassroots environmental activists. More than the food, language, or currency, the biggest difference from one side to the other is what issues are considered “environmental.” Perhaps nowhere else on earth is there such a long […]

Resmothering the Satellites

Bush admin shows no love for environmental satellites In these troubled fiscal times, America has to make difficult budgetary choices. Of course the Bush tax cuts are off-limits. But what else could we do without? Here’s a thought: how about the network of environmental satellites that gather data on weather and climate? Those seem like […]

Tomasita González, environmental-justice organizer, answers questions

Tomasita González. What work do you do? I work as a community organizer at SouthWest Organizing Project, based in Albuquerque, N.M. What does your organization do? For over a quarter century, SWOP has worked to build an environmental-justice movement in disenfranchised, working, and people-of-color communities. In the ’90s, we sought to challenge the mainstream “Group […]

Congress and Bush admin push hard to open offshore areas to drilling

Offshore drilling is the new ANWR. With the fight to pry open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge having stalled out (at least for the time being), the oil and gas industry and its cronies in Congress are now focused on parts of the outer continental shelf (OCS) that have been off-limits to drilling for nearly […]

Nobody Undoes It Like Sara Lee

Industry-backed bill would overthrow state food-labeling laws Two hundred or more state laws requiring warning labels on foods — labels indicating the presence of, say, cancer- or birth-defect-causing ingredients — would get nixed under a bill debated yesterday in the U.S. House of Representatives. The legislation would preempt state food-labeling rules in favor of a […]

Bring in Da Illinois, Bring in Da Hunk

Obama speechifies for energy independence, chemical-plant security Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is calling for a bipartisan effort to create a cabinet-level national director of energy security, who would coordinate federal policies to cut U.S. dependence on foreign oil. In a Tuesday speech to U.S. governors, Obama touted several policies to promote oil-free energy, among them […]

That man’s got a pair, you gotta give him that

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) delivered a major speech on energy independence today. The setting was a meeting of the National Governors Association -- specifically, the Governors' Ethanol Coalition.

I'll probably have more to say about it in coming days, but for now, I've just reprinted the entire speech below the fold, for your viewing pleasure.

I think it's pretty ballsy. But let me know what you think.

I Know You Are, Senator, But What Am I?

Pro-drilling Alaska rep aims to punish anti-drilling Washington senators In the august halls of government, an unwritten rule has been passed down over the years: If the other kids play mean, don’t invite them over. Alaska state Rep. Kurt Olson (R) has sponsored a resolution in the Alaska legislature to end a ferry service that […]

There Once Was a Man From … Alaska?

Nantucket Sound wind farm could be doomed by Don Young amendment There’s plenty of local opposition to the controversial Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound, but the final blow (ha!) may come from an Alaskan. After the House and Senate passed versions of a Coast Guard budget bill, Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) introduced an amendment […]