Climate Politics

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  • Plotting the food revolution at TEDx in New York City

    Laurie David delivers inconvenient truths on the food system at TEDx Manhattan.Photo: Jason Houston, via FlickerAttending the TEDx Manhattan event on the future of food and farming was a day-long drink from a fire hose of cutting-edge ideas, sobering realities, and sincere enthusiasm about how America can eat better and farm more sustainably. Since Time’s […]

    Donald Carr Agriculture

  • Jeff Bingaman retiring; Senate to get even dumber on clean energy

    New Mexico Sen. Jeff BingamanBig news today: Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is retiring. He won’t run for reelection in 2012. All political pundits are required by law to write something about What This Means, so here goes. First, it means Senate Dems are not very optimistic about […]

    David Roberts Politics

  • GOP would rather shut down the government than protect your air and water

    Photo: Nathan ColquhounHouse Republicans, who have been spending much of the term so far creating jobs via strict regulation of women’s uteruses, are now doing their damnedest to create jobs via destroying the EPA. The plan is basically “1) thwart progressive ideals; 2) step 2; 3) jobs for everyone!” What if you don’t want a […]

    Jess Zimmerman Politics

  • For once, developments in Washington could make things better on the farm

    The outlook for small farms could be getting a bit sunnier.Photo: andyrobeI write on Grist about my small farm, but my day job is different. I’m an organizer for the Nebraska-based Center for Rural Affairs (CFRA). One of the things we do at CFRA is try to tweak federal farm policies in ways that help […]

    Steph Larsen Politics

  • Republican governors just love saying no to rail

    Photo: Tim GilliamTurning down federal money for rail projects looks like it’s turning into a badge of honor for Republican governors. Chris Christie has done it in New Jersey. Scott Walker has done it in Wisconsin. John Kasich has done it in Ohio. Now Florida’s Rick Scott, a Tea Party favorite, has jumped on the […]

    Sarah Goodyear Politics

  • Hidden costs, despite being hidden, are costs

    Harold Pollack has a post on gold mining making the familiar point that there are all sorts of market failures that support destructive environmental practices. If the mine in question actually had to pay for the costs it imposes — or even pay fair price for the land it occupies — it could never compete […]

    David Roberts Energy

  • Life under the leadership of budget axe-man Hal Rogers

    In case you haven’t heard, dozens of proposed amendments to the House Budget Bill would strip EPA of funding to update and enforce safeguards for mountaintop-removal mines, coal ash storage ponds, and emissions of hazardous air pollutants from coal-fired power plants. If these amendments are approved, House Republicans would successfully turn back the clock on […]

    Matt Wasson Politics

  • Let’s keep the ‘clean’ in the Clean Air Act

    You don’t want to disappoint these kids.Photo: Sean Suddes/Sierra ClubChildren’s health won’t be improved by the Republicans’ Dirty Air Act. From Seattle to Pittsburgh, children can be found outside, playing football and baseball, or just playing a good game of tag. However, hundreds of thousands of children are unable to take part because the air […]

    Rep. Jay Inslee Politics

  • Budget posturing is a game, and the left is losing

    Chop chop.Today is Budget Day — Obama unveils his FY 2012 budget proposal — and political reporters the land over are aflutter. I’m being bombarded with press releases, think tank analyses, denunciations, and counter-denunciations. Politico is having multiple Os. Meh. Ryan Avent gets it right: it’s political theater, and poor theater at that. Congress controls […]

    David Roberts Politics

  • On Valentine’s Day, activists show love for mountains with sit-in and march

    Activists in the Kentucky governor’s office.Photo: Chad Berry This post originally appeared at Facing South. This Valentine’s Day marks the fourth day of a historic sit-in at the Kentucky governor’s office calling for an end to mountaintop removal. Meanwhile, thousands of Kentuckians are gathering outside in the state capital of Frankfort for the “I Love […]

    Sue Sturgis Politics