Climate Politics

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  • Bolivia reads Mother Nature her rights

    Evo Morales, president of Bolivia, has already made great strides in medicine: He’s the one who discovered that chickens turn you gay. Now he’s applying that innovation to legislation, saving the environment by declaring nature to have rights equal to people. The law would act as a bill of rights for nature, including the right […]

    Jess Zimmerman Politics

  • What stayed in the budget bill?

    The EPA dodged Republican attempts to hobble it this week– the continuing resolution on the budget bill is going forward without the riders that would forbid the agency to regulate greenhouse gases. But environmental protections still took some hits. What environmental insults have hung on in the continuing resolution? Interior blocked from enacting a “wildlands […]

    Jess Zimmerman Politics

  • Me, heading to Germany to learn about distributed renewable energy

    This week, I’m going to be traveling to Berlin under the gracious auspices of the Heinrich Böll Stiftung, a German progressive nonprofit that does work on clean energy. Exciting! It’ll be my first time in Germany. Aside from saying the words “schnitzel” and “spätzle” as often as possible (schnitzel! spätzle!), I’m going to be attending […]

    David Roberts Energy

  • EPA is safe, for now

    Well, the government isn’t being shut down, and the castrate-the-EPA riders have been stripped from the budget bill. For now, at least, the world is safe for those brutes at the EPA to keep oppressing helpless rich, powerful industry giants who only want to kill the planet a little. Don’t get too comfortable, though; this […]

    Jess Zimmerman Politics

  • Good morning. Do we still have a government?

    Congressional Democrats and Republicans are still playing policy chicken this morning, waiting to see whether they’ll have to shut down the government over what amounts to petty cash. What are they fighting over, and are we likely to still have a working (for some value of “working”) government tomorrow?

    Jess Zimmerman Politics

  • It’s time to rethink Japan’s energy future

    Nearly four weeks after a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami devastated northeastern Japan, emergency personnel are still struggling to stabilize the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Beyond the immediate need to minimize further radioactive leakage and protect public health, the government is beginning to reconsider its long-term plans for nuclear power expansion. International media coverage […]

    J. Matthew Roney Energy

  • Cutting international investments would endanger U.S. leadership

    We need to step up, not cut, our funding for green energy in India.Photo: Amaresh S KThis post was coauthored by Rebecca Lefton. Lawmakers continue to debate the fiscal year 2011 budget. As we approach the next showdown this week over another temporary extension of the continuing resolution, a final resolution of the 2011 budget, […]

    Andrew Light Politics

  • Republicans lose Senate vote on EPA, call it a win

    The riders that would forbid the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases didn’t succeed in the Senate yesterday. (They’re likely to do very well in the House, thanks to the Republican majority and some very disappointing Democrats.) That hasn’t stopped Senate Republicans from declaring victory, though. There were four riders dealing with EPA powers; no single […]

    Jess Zimmerman Politics

  • In honor of Glenn Beck leaving Fox, the top 10 dumbass things he said about the environment

    What one man can accomplish in a few short years. Just let the crazy wash over you: Bill McKibben's climate change activism group 350.org is a communist plot March 2011 Winter disproves global warming March 2010 Beck peddles 'food insurance' kits: "More than peak oil or financial crash, I fear angry men armed to the […]

    Christopher Mims Politics

  • The Congressional Carbon Circus

    Photo: Thomas TotzCross-posted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. There’s lots going on in the center ring of the Congressional Carbon Circus today. Both the House and Senate are expected to vote this afternoon on bills to block the Environmental Protection Agency from doing its job under the Clean Air Act to safeguard Americans from […]

    David Doniger Energy