Climate Politics

Her Majesty’s a Pretty Nice Girl — and She Does Have a Lot to Say

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth speaks out on global warming In a rare public intervention into politics, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II met with Prime Minister Tony Blair and either — depending which news reports you believe — strongly expressed her concern about global warming, or smacked him upside the head for not pushing the U.S. to join […]

Declaration of dependence

Factcheck.org, the website the vice president tried to make famous, has this to say about the two presidential candidates' energy plans:  "Kerry and Bush Mislead Voters With Promises of Energy Independence."

The website, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, writes:

Kerry focuses on conservation efforts, but most agree his plan is little more than an outline. Bush supports expanded drilling in Alaska to increase domestic oil supply, but the US has only about 3 percent of the world's oil reserves. At current rates of consumption that would only last 4.5 years.

Factcheck.org seems to hang its hat on a Rocky Mountain Institute study that found that the U.S. could end its reliance on foreign oil by 2040 -- "but that would require a ten-year investment of $180 billion, and such steps as taxing gas-guzzling vehicles and providing government subsidies for low-income buyers of fuel-efficient autos. Neither candidate is proposing anything close to that."

In many ways, the conclusions of Factcheck.org match those reached by New Yorker author John Cassidy in his recent piece "Pump Dreams; Is Energy Independence An Impossible Goal?"

Bhopal Lowball

Bhopal disaster victims seek to quadruple compensation Victims of the devastating 1984 industrial gas leak in Bhopal, India, have appealed to the country’s Supreme Court to quadruple the amount of compensation they will receive. They have long charged that the Indian government has been slow to distribute funds from a $470 million settlement paid by […]

Flipper Flop

Court rules that whales and dolphins can’t sue “…” Did you hear that? That was us breaking the bad news to the whale community: They can’t sue the U.S. government. Such was the unanimous ruling of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week, responding to a lawsuit against President Bush brought on behalf […]

Wonder If Michigan Left Cookies Out for Him

Energy secretary ladles pork into swing states as election approaches $36 million for a power plant in Minnesota. $100 million for a clean-coal project in Pennsylvania. $235 million for a power plant in Florida. $19.7 million for a clean-coal facility in New Mexico. Being a swing state is a profitable vocation during an election season. […]

Speculation and hearsay on potential environmental picks for a Kerry cabinet

There are plenty of ways to blunt pre-election anxiety, but one exercise favored by Beltway insiders is batting around post-election scenarios. When optimistic enviros envision regime change, the big questions are: Who will be on Kerry’s environmental A-Team? And what will be the top priorities on Kerry’s energy and environment agenda? Of course, people close […]

Maple Leaf Drag

Canada slacking off on environmental protection Canada is not doing enough to protect the environment, concluded a harsh report released yesterday by the nation’s commissioner of the environment, Johanne Gelinas. “Why is progress so slow?” she asked. Mandates are in place and commitments have been made, so the culprit must be “lack of leadership, lack […]

What’s Bad for the Goose Is Good for the Pander

Presidential candidates woo outdoor enthusiasts Ah, to be a member of a voting bloc in a swing state. It must make you feel so special. One such group being assiduously wooed by campaigning presidential hopefuls is the hook-and-bullet crowd, a.k.a. the hunters and anglers. Traditionally conservative sportsfolks are concentrated in states crucial to the candidates’ […]

Christian-right views are swaying politicians and threatening the environment

A kind of secular apocalyptic sensibility pervades much contemporary writing about our current world. Many books about environmental dangers, whether it be the ozone layer, or global warming or pollution of the air or water, or population explosion, are cast in an apocalyptic mold. – Historian Paul Boyer When he opened the sixth seal, I […]

Once upon a time you dressed so fine

In a Rolling Stone interview with magazine founder and media bigwig Jann Wenner, John Kerry says that global warming would be his No. 1 environmental priority.  Asked whether he agrees with Al Gore that the time of the internal-combustion engine is ending, Kerry, ever the audacious fella, says, "I wouldn't make that kind of a bold pronouncement."

Much as Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) does in Grist's interview with her, Kerry endeavors to sell his environmental plan as a jobs plan.

I want American workers working; I want American cars made in America; I want American cars to be able to be sold anywhere in the world. I want to lead the world in these technologies. So I want these companies part of the solution -- not the problem. I think we can get there -- I really believe that.

Kerry disputes that environmental issues have disappeared from the presidential campaign and says he talks about the environment and energy independence in every stump speech.

In all, Wenner asks the candidate eight or nine questions on the environment. Kerry hasn't been quoted as much on the environment since, well, Grist's exclusive environment-only interview with him ...