Climate Politics

Know When to Hold Him

More drama around Stephen Johnson’s EPA confirmation The political jousting around the confirmation of Stephen Johnson to head the U.S. EPA continues, as yet another senator has threatened to gum up the process. Just last week, Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer (Calif.) and Bill Nelson (Fla.) held the confirmation hostage, forcing Johnson to cancel a controversial […]

Hey Joe, Where You Goin’ With That Bill in Your Hand?

Joe Barton leading GOP charge to push energy bill through House Undaunted by repeated defeats, House Republicans are having yet another go at crafting energy legislation that can make it through the Senate while still preserving massive energy-industry subsidies and tax breaks. This time around, they’ll have a powerful ally in the new chair of […]

A Prius With Mayo, Hold the Mayo

Fledgling California bill calls for new sales outlets for hybrids Ever wished you could get a five-pound jar of mayonnaise and a Toyota Prius at the same convenient location? Uh, let us explain. California drivers are crazy for hybrids; dealerships in the state have months-long waiting lists, presumably because demand is greater than supply. But […]

Battle over immigration policy returns in this month’s board election

They're back! Rabble-rousing advocates of immigration restrictions are once again ruffling feathers at the Sierra Club.

With the group's 750,000 members now voting in their annual election (polls close April 25; members go here to vote), the immigration critics are pushing a slate of four like-minded board candidates and a "yes" vote on a population ballot measure, which reads:

Shall the Sierra Club policy on immigration, adopted by the Board of Directors in 1999 and revised in 2003, be changed to recognize the need to adopt lower limits on migration to the United States?

World War CO2

Feds, states, and interest groups face off in court over carbon dioxide An epic environmental case got a day in court on Friday, as a coalition of 12 states, several cities, and 13 nonprofit organizations squared off against the federal government, 11 states, and 19 industry groups before a panel of three judges in a […]

The Full Altamonty

Pombo questioned on wind-power conflict of interest Ah, they grow up so fast! You can tell that wind energy has joined the ranks of mature industries — it’s now got its very own scandal over accusations of improper influence peddling. Aides to Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.), it seems, sent a letter to Interior Department officials […]

Johnson Blocking

Democratic Senators stall confirmation of new EPA head When President Bush chose 24-year U.S. EPA veteran, scientist, and all-around mild-mannered dude Stephen Johnson to head the agency, observers expected no controversy. But Johnson’s ongoing confirmation hearings are proving them wrong. It seems those pesky Democrats can always find something to complain about — like, um, […]

An interview with New York Times columnist and “geo-green” advocate Thomas Friedman

Thomas Friedman.Photo: Greg MartinAs the green movement fends off accusations of impotence, Thomas Friedman has hatched an idea that could make a man out of environmentalism. In January, the three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The New York Times debuted his “geo-green” strategy, a powerful proposal for reframing America’s quest for energy independence to appeal to […]

Civil-rights, suffrage activists didn’t give up, and neither should environmentalists 

This piece is adapted from a speech given before the Alliance for Global Sustainability last month at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass. The full speech — “Reflections on Sustainability and Universities and Whether Environmentalism Has Died” — can be found here. Are the reapers quitting too soon? The environmental community is in […]

Enviros recruit Lakoff for reframing project, but concerns mount that he might abandon them

George Lakoff may be the new darling of the Democratic Party, but how sweet is he on the environmental movement? George Lakoff. Photo: Bonnie Azab Powell, U.C. Berkeley. A onetime adviser to Howard Dean, who hails him as “one of the most influential political thinkers of the progressive movement,” Lakoff is author of the election-year […]