Climate Politics

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 ...

Oh Mighty Crisis, Crisis, Crisis

Candidates and country in denial about looming energy crisis The San Francisco Chronicle is running a three-part series on the looming energy crisis and the peculiar refusal of the presidential candidates — and the country — to deal with it realistically. Global oil demand is rising, prices are rising, and production is relatively static. Despite […]

Environment could prove decisive in Senate races

In the midst of one of the most pivotal presidential campaigns in decades, it’s easy to forget that we are on the brink of what could be a momentous election in the Senate as well: 34 senatorial seats are up for grabs this year, 19 of them currently held by Democrats, 15 by Republicans. Several […]

An interview with Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm

Jennifer Granholm. If John Kerry becomes president, he’ll owe an awful lot to Jennifer M. Granholm, Michigan’s environmentally minded first-term Democratic governor. For all but a few shaky days in early September when some polls indicated that Michigan may have been leaning President Bush’s way, the state and its 17 critical electoral votes have stayed […]

The Polluter Still Pays