Climate Politics
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New Clean Air rule to tame the coal plant monster
Cross-posted from the Wonk Room. Today, the Obama administration proposed a sweeping plan to reduce power plant emissions that cross state lines and kill tens of thousands of Americans every year. The proposed Clean Air Transport Rule replaces the Bush administration’s so-called Clean Air Interstate Rule that was shot down by the courts because it […]
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EPA announces proposal to cut power-plant pollution
The EPA announced a proposal today that will cut power-plant pollution in 31 states, replacing a Bush administration cap-and-trade system overturned by the courts. The announcement comes as the chatter on Capitol Hill has turned to a utility-only approach to cap-and-trade. The targets of EPA’s proposed rule are not greenhouse gases, but two unhealthy toxins […]
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Fannie and Freddie won’t let this teacher green her home
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have shut down most of the nation’s programs using Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), an innovative tool that helps Americans finance green improvements to their homes. Here’s a homeowner’s perspective on the story: Thomason and her Boulder County home. Kayla Thomason spent last winter wondering if the furnace would hold […]
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Breaking the Gordian knot on climate legislation
The Senate is tied in knots on climate legislation. In President Obama’s view, putting an economy-wide price on carbon is the most effective way to stimulate clean energy investment and jobs. Most Democrats — though not enough — agree. Roughly half a dozen Republicans, given some political cover, might go along, but the party’s leadership […]
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If Bingaman is the climate bill’s best hope, where does that leave us?
This is Sen. Jeff Bingaman looking excited.Could Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) be the savior for Senate climate legislation? That’s the latest chatter inside the Beltway. Bingaman has been pushing an energy-only bill, passed by his Energy Committee last year, that wouldn’t put a cap or a price on carbon. But he’s also now drafting a […]
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How an energy bill could fuel more global warming
Cross-posted from NRDC Switchboard. As President Obama and senators consider their options on energy and climate legislation, it’s important to be clear about what will move the country forward and what will move it backward. Will our leaders put us on the road towards the carbon pollution cuts desperately needed to take back control of […]
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Winning on climate may require reforming the U.S. Senate
Tom Udall (D-N.M.)The chess game of climate politics — or, more specifically, of putting a binding limit on climate-changing pollution from dirty fuels — is at a moment of great uncertainty. President Obama continues to push for putting a price on carbon, and Senate action may come in July or August. But there’s every chance […]
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Exclusive: Obama admin unable to resolve shutdown of PACE clean-energy program
Obama administration officials have failed to resolve a dispute with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that has shut down Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), according to an email obtained by Grist. The impasse will likely kill the promising clean-energy financing tool until Congress passes legislation addressing it, according to Cisco DeVries, who first created the […]
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We need a declaration of independence from foreign oil
This weekend, our nation will recognize its 234th birthday — celebrating the freedom we have fought for since the first shots of the American Revolution were fired in the town of Lexington, Mass., in the heart of my congressional district. The great American experiment still has battles left to fight, freedoms we must achieve. The […]
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Tories’ attack on Jamie Oliver reflects conservative parenting styles
From the international edition of the “Why Elections Matter” handbook comes news that chef and school-food activist Jamie Oliver‘s well-regarded and successful set of school food reforms are being dissed by Britain’s new Tory health minister. Oliver has spent years on the program, which has improved school menus, kids’ eating habits and, according to studies, […]
