Climate Politics
All Stories
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Gas-p
Fuel economy standards could change for the first time in six years if a Bush administration proposal to modestly increase gas mileage in sport utility vehicles, vans, minivans, and pickup trucks is approved. The proposal would increase the fuel economy of those vehicles by 1.5 miles per gallon over three years, beginning in 2005, from […]
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Texan’s Chainsaw Massacre
Disregarding opposition in both houses of Congress, President Bush announced a plan yesterday to expedite the cutting of trees and brush in national forests by streamlining environmental reviews and judicial oversight. Bush says the plan will help reduce fire danger, but critics say last summer’s wildfires merely provided the pretext for permitting more logging on […]
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Oh, Yeah, Canada
Canada’s House of Commons voted overwhelmingly in favor of ratifying the Kyoto Protocol yesterday, concluding months of rancorous debate and paving the way for a concerted international effort to curb emissions of climate-altering greenhouse gases. A triumphant Prime Minister Jean Chretien, who staked a fair bit of political capital on Kyoto, will sign Canada’s official […]
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G.A.Oh, No!
In a victory for the Bush administration and a significant setback for congressional oversight of White House goings-on, a federal judge ruled yesterday that the investigative arm of Congress does not have legal standing to sue Vice President Dick Cheney for refusing to turn over documents related to the development of the national energy policy. […]
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Imperious
Ignoring threats of dire consequences by state and federal officials, California’s Imperial Irrigation District refused yesterday to approve a huge water sale to San Diego County. Members of the Imperial Valley irrigation district’s governing board said they resented the threats, which ranged from intimations that the board would be disbanded to suggestions that the valley’s […]
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Rebel Without a Forest
The state of Chiapas, in southeastern Mexico, is home to the last remaining stands of rainforest in the nation — and also to almost half a million impoverished people, many of them living on the brink of starvation. In the past, the forest has been ravaged by monied interests, such as foreign companies looking to […]
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The Dow of Poo
Outgoing Michigan Gov. John Engler (R) is trying to relax the state standard for dioxin pollution, a move that unhappy environmentalists say is designed to minimize Dow Chemical’s financial liability for future cleanup efforts. The proposed change, which has also angered Gov.-elect Jennifer Granholm (D) and regional U.S. EPA officials, would increase by more than […]
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Credit Where Credit Is Due
The Kyoto Protocol on climate change has not yet gone into effect, but the first sale of greenhouse gas credits negotiated within the treaty’s proposed framework is officially a done deal. Slovakia (of all places) has sold emissions credits equivalent to 200,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide to a Japanese trading house, which declined to […]
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You’re Out of the Club?
A Utah chapter of the Sierra Club has been threatened with disbandment because of its decision to speak out against the possibility of a U.S. war against Iraq. The development may bring to a head a discussion that has been going on within the club throughout the fall. In October, 13 former national board members […]
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Oily to Bed Makes a State Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise
In a triumph for environmentalists, a federal appeals court has blocked an attempt by the Bush administration to revive dormant oil leases off the coast of California. Last year, a federal court granted California the power to prevent new oil exploration in federal waters near the state’s coastline, a ruling that was appealed by the […]
