Climate Politics
All Stories
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Bush Sticks Dirk in Interior
Enviros decry Bush’s nomination of Kempthorne to lead Interior He’s a mountain-bike enthusiast, two-term governor, and object of fear and loathing among conservationists. And he just picked another one. Mere days after the resignation of Gale Norton as secretary of the interior, President Bush nominated as her replacement Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne (R), saying he […]
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Flame! I Wanna Log Forever
Congress debates measure that would speed up salvage logging We interrupt our ongoing coverage of global-warming doom and gloom to update you on logging doom and gloom. A bill in the U.S. House would force the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and other agencies to issue decisions on timber sales on public lands […]
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Kempthorne leads list of possible replacements for Norton at Interior
The rumor mill is churning fast as Interior Secretary Gale Norton prepares to bid adieu to the Bush administration, and two names on the short list of possible replacements are leading the pack: for an outside-the-Beltway pick, Dirk Kempthorne, Republican governor of Idaho; for an inside-the-agency pick, Lynn Scarlett, currently Norton’s No. 2, who will […]
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Umbra on politicians and the environment
Dear Umbra, I got into a long debate with a conservative friend recently about how President Bush has shown that he does not have environmental interests at heart. But I did not have any facts on hand about detrimental policies or budget cuts. On the other hand, my friend was able to go to the […]
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They’re Just Not That Into You
U.S. oil execs defend record profits — again — in Senate testimony ExxonMobil, Chevron, and the gang took another turn at the Senate’s cotillion yesterday, flirting with the Judiciary Committee and making coquettish demurrals about record profits and price gouging. Unlike November’s fete with the Senate Commerce Committee, this time oil executives were sworn in […]
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A plan to spruce up D.C.’s Anacostia River has some residents anxious
In the southeast corner of Washington, D.C., the capital of the most powerful nation in history, lies a polluted, neglected neighborhood known as Anacostia. Slated for a grand renewal project centered on the local river that gives it its name, the area stands at the juncture of poverty and opportunity. If plans move forward, it […]
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Meet Robert Bullard, the father of environmental justice
Robert Bullard says he was “drafted” into environmental justice while working as an environmental sociologist in Houston in the late 1970s. His work there on the siting of garbage dumps in black neighborhoods identified systematic patterns of injustice. The book that Bullard eventually wrote about that work, 1990’s Dumping in Dixie, is widely regarded as […]
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Lease and Desist
House reps blow taxpayer dough on pricey gas-guzzlers It’s almost April; do you know where your taxes are? Last year, at least $1.05 million in public money went to leasing SUVs, luxury cars, and other vehicles for members of Congress — just as the Founding Fathers intended. Members of the House are legally allowed to […]
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This Protest Brought to You by the Letter … Yeah, by the Letter
Thousands of biologists ask Senate not to gut Endangered Species Act As a Senate committee prepares to craft a bill revising the Endangered Species Act, 5,738 biologists from around the country have signed a letter begging senators not to neuter the act. The missive, organized by the Union of Concerned Scientists, states, “For species conservation […]
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Stick It Where the Sun Does Shine
Senate panel clears drilling expansion off Florida coast The specter of new drilling in the Gulf of Mexico loomed a little larger yesterday, as the Senate Energy Committee approved a bill to open millions of acres about 100 miles off the Florida coast to oil and gas exploration. Now, please get out your scorecards and […]
