Climate Politics
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Romney may be the Koch mule of Campaign 2012
Meet the new boss, whose boss is the same as the old boss’s boss. Looks like David Koch has already hosted a fundraiser for Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign. Romney has in the past acknowledged the existence of global warming, which is pretty good considering, but now we’re waiting for him to cut and paste […]
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Regional cap-and-trade saves jobs and money
This post originally appeared at Sightline’s Daily Score blog. I’m not big on parroting press releases, but I’m going to make an exception for Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the Northeast’s carbon cap-and-trade program. RGGI is quietly demonstrating that carbon markets can work wonderfully. So it’s too bad no one seems to be paying attention any longer. […]
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Popular climate econ model needs major overhaul
Pay attention to the signs.Photo: WCN 24/7True or false: Risks of a climate catastrophe can be ignored, even as temperatures rise? The economic impact of climate change is no greater than the increased cost of air conditioning in a warmer future? The ideal temperature for agriculture could be 17 degrees C (30 degrees F) above […]
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The toilet I’m going to buy Rand Paul
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) had a bit of an outburst at a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee the other day, revealing that he hasn’t had a working toilet for 20 years and, damn it, he blames the gubmint. Bill Scher has already offered the the senator some judicious advice on how […]
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Con: Nuclear power is expensive, risky, and some of its proponents are kind of annoying
Today, many outlets report that it’s very likely that the #2 reactor at Daiichi is in full meltdown. There is a strong possibility that rising radiation levels from other sources (such as a pool of spent nuclear fuel rods that is heating up) will force the 50 remaining workers at the plant to evacuate. That […]
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Pro: Japan’s terrible disaster is no reason to stop building nuclear power
Japan is now facing a worst-case scenario for its Daiichi nuclear power plant. But that’s no reason to stop building new nuclear power plants, say a bevy of pundits. Their reasons are myriad. Some, like one Wall Street Journal editor, make the economic argument that all human endeavors are fraught with risk, so this one […]
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John Kerry takes infrastructure to the bank
John Kerry is willing to bank on infrastructure building. He and Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (Texas) are introducing a bipartisan bill to create a bank for funding infrastructure projects — which includes roads (good way to get Republicans and John Cassidy on board) but also rail. The bank would issue loans to help finance […]
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What will the Japan disaster mean for U.S. nuclear power?
The Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant is several miles from a seismic fault.Photo: MaryaCNN just published an opinion piece that I wrote with Richard Caperton, a policy analyst at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Here it is: The recent history of the U.S. nuclear industry suggests that nuclear power can be a safe […]
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Why doesn’t Congress give a damn about climate? Hint: it’s not the messaging
The Greenpeace airship spreads the word.Photo: Gus Ruelas/GreenpeaceAmong other truths made completely clear by the showdown in Wisconsin: the outsized role of the Koch brothers in American politics. Charles and David, the third and fourth richest men in America, first gained notoriety this past fall, when a remarkable exposé by Jane Mayer in The New […]
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Good news: New EPA boiler regs include output-based standards
Finally the day you’ve all been waiting for has arrived: EPA has released its new boiler emissions rules for hazardous pollutants! (The cool kids call it “the boiler MACT.”) Most review and discussion of these rules so far has been silent on the most significant aspect: they introduce output-based emissions standards. As Grist readers know, […]
