Climate Politics
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California rejects shady Proposition 16
California voters yesterday swatted down the state’s misguided Proposition 16, which is a glimmer of good news for clean-energy expansion. The proposal was basically a market-share protection plan for the large utility PG&E; it would have made it more difficult for more ambitious, green-minded municipalities to create or expand their own public power services. The […]
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Graham says he won’t vote for the climate bill he wrote
Lindsey Graham — an original cosponsor of the Senate climate bill — has been backing away from that bill for a while. Now, according to CongressDaily, he’s gone entirely: Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., today said he would vote against a climate change strategy he helped develop with Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., […]
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State of the planet: Cynical tweets edition
Lindsey Graham, one of the “more sensible” Senate Republicans, said he won’t support a climate change plan, because, well, the challenge is too hard. The National Journal reports (behind a paywall): Graham said his advice to lawmakers is to “start over and scale down your ambitions.” This includes allowing electric utilities more time to meet […]
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Does Obama need more oilmen, not fewer, in his administration?
Does good governance require a certain amount of this? Last week, I suggested that Obama “purge his administration of oil hacks.” I identified three: William Reilly, co-chair of the administration’s oil-spill investigation commission and a well-compensated director of ConocoPhillips since 1998; Steve Koonin, who took the a top Department of Energy post in 2009 after […]
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CBD responds: David Roberts is right and wrong on the Clean Air Act and the Senate climate bill
When your house is burning down, you don’t debate whether grabbing a fire extinguisher is better than calling 911 or vice versa. You do both, and if you can, you drag out the garden hose too. Our global house is on fire. Congress and the president have answered the alarm by proposing a package of […]
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BP oil spill highlights our broken immigration system
A Health Safety and Environment (HSE) worker collects pieces of an oiled snare boom on Port Fourchon beach in Louisiana.Photo: U.S. Coast GuardFeet in 2 Worlds reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is searching for illegal immigrants among people working to clean up the BP oil disaster. ICE conducted two investigations in May at […]
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King Corn subjects Washington to ad blitz
The debate around the farm bill, and its generous support for corn production, is already heating up. Long-enshrined subsidies for ethanol production stand on the verge of being phased out. The EPA is mulling whether the nation’s auto fleet can handle more ethanol to be blended into the gasoline supply. In other words, the exalted […]
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Five reasons why a comprehensive climate and energy plan beats the energy-only approach
As the Congress returns to D.C., President Obama and Majority Leader Reid will need to keep making the case to the Senate that a comprehensive clean energy and climate bill deserves their attention now, so the president can sign a bill this year. The president has been intensifying his rhetoric in support of climate legislation, […]
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The Murkowski Resolution: A step backward for American clean energy
This post originally appeared on The Huffington Post. In the last 18 months, the United States has taken major steps forward in the transition to a clean energy economy. With historic investments in solar, wind, and other innovative renewable energy sources, we are positioned to compete for the clean energy jobs of today and tomorrow, […]
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Will Obama stand up to Big Energy in deeds as well as words?
Will the real President Obama please stand up?Photo: Mr. Wright via FlickrThis essay was originally published on TomDispatch and is republished here with Tom’s kind permission. —– Here’s the president on March 31, announcing his plan to lift a longstanding moratorium on offshore drilling: “Given our energy needs, in order to sustain economic growth and produce jobs, and […]
