Climate Politics

Facts and figures on poverty in the United States

$35,000 — basic-needs budget for a U.S. family of four (two adults, two children), as calculated in An Atlas of Poverty in America 1 $19,157 — poverty line for a family of four (two adults, two children) in the U.S. in 2004, as established by the U.S. Census Bureau 2 $19,000 — amount spent by […]

Introducing a seven-week series on the intersection of economic and ecological survival

Consider this central paradox of U.S. environmentalism: In much of popular and political culture, the movement is dismissed as the pet cause of white, well-off Americans — people who can afford to buy organic arugula, vacation in Lake Tahoe, and worry about the fate of the Pacific pocket mouse. And yet, the population most affected […]

Less Money, Mo’ Problems

Bush’s 2007 budget slashes funding for energy conservation When President Bush said “America is addicted to oil,” we thought he meant that was a bad thing. Apparently not: Bush’s proposed 2007 budget increases funding for oil and gas drilling on public lands and slashes $100 million from some of the Energy Department’s most effective conservation […]

Obama and Inslee propose to save the American auto industry by paying it to do the smart thing

Don't miss "Salvaging the Auto Industry," a Boston Globe op-ed from Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), two of the Dems' brightest lights on energy issues. (Inslee wrote a piece in Grist on his New Apollo Energy Act.)

Obama and Inslee propose a piece of legislation called the "Health Care for Hybrids" Act. The idea is that the feds would help American auto companies pay some of their enormous healthcare costs; in return, the companies would commit to using the money to develop fuel-efficient vehicles.

I'm a little dubious about the bill on the merits.

Bodies, Asbestos, and Motion

Controversial bill to create asbestos trust fund moves ahead in Senate An epic drama is playing out in the U.S. Capitol over … asbestos. Seriously. A bill — which, after a 98 to 1 vote in the Senate yesterday, will now move to the floor for debate — would create a $140 billion industry-financed trust […]

Money for Nothin’

Bush’s 2007 budget includes Arctic Refuge drilling, cuts EPA funding Unsurprisingly, greens will find little to love in President Bush’s proposed $2.77 trillion budget for fiscal year 2007. It calls for oil development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, estimating $7 billion in revenue by 2008 from leasing drilling rights — nearly triple the $2.4 […]

Should bicycling drunk be illegal?

Some important bicycle-related debate has been going on in South Dakota for the last few weeks. That's right, South Dakota.

Should cyclists and horseback riders be able to ride while intoxicated -- since it's usually a much safer alternative than drunken driving? The state Supreme Court just ruled that the current law says No: Bicycling can be considered "driving" because it qualifies as operating a vehicle. So cyclists still can be, and sometimes are, cited for DUIs in South Dakota.

While this comes as bad news for imbibing anti-car velorutionaries (who needs a DD when you have your trusty cruiser? I mean, really?), from a legal standpoint it could provide a solid basis for enforcing cyclists' rights on the road. After all, as any Critical Mass rider will tell you, cyclists don't block traffic, we are traffic.

Meanwhile, South Dakota's legislature, concerned about drunk driving but much less so about drunken cycling and horseback riding (and rightfully so, as I see it) have introduced a bill that would effectively make the court ruling moot and allow drunken cycling once again. The bill has already passed the state House, with a Senate vote expected soon.

Wait, We Thought He Was a C Student

Bush, Congress get D+ on ocean protection efforts Ocean advocates are urging the Bush administration to wake up and smell the marine decay. The Joint Ocean Commission — a collaboration of two expert panels — has given the U.S. a D+ for efforts to reverse the deterioration of the world’s oceans, and warned that this […]

The Revolution Will Be Prefaced With a White Paper

New Mexico senators lay groundwork for federal global-warming bill Could the somnolent federal Leviathan finally be waking to the danger heralded so long by state and local Lilliputians? Could that metaphor be more baroque? New Mexico’s senators say they will introduce a bill this spring in the Senate that would mandate action on global warming. […]

SOTU: Coal execs confused, but pleased

The lede for this Wall Street Journal story is hilarious:

Power-industry executives reacted with mild puzzlement to President Bush's proclamation that the nation needs to "invest more in zero-emission coal-fired plants" to wean itself off foreign oil. That's because oil isn't used much to make power and no one has yet developed a way to burn coal that produces no emissions.

They go on to say, of course, that they're delighted to be the recipient of a whole new bundle of subsidies. And who wouldn't be?