Climate Politics
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Why Whole Foods’ shoppers are thin and Albertsons’ aren’t
A recent University of Washington study showed Seattle-area shoppers at Whole Foods are much less likely to be obese, on average, than shoppers at the less expensive chain Albertsons. I shrugged when I read this. From what I can tell, the study didn’t control for income: it’s well established that Whole Foods shoppers have higher […]
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Prez pumps up the volume on climate-bill push
Pump, pump, pump it up. Photo: Mike Schmid via FlickrAt last, Obama brings the love: The president’s public display of affection yesterday for Senate climate and energy legislation made sponsor John Kerry (D-Mass.) happy. And Obama’s gambit to frame a vote for the bill as a vote against Evil Big Oil may be the only […]
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A ‘BP spill bill’ instead of a climate bill? [UPDATED]
Update below Will Democratic leaders try to merge climate legislation with politically popular get-tough-on-BP measures? This morning Politico hints as much: the strategy now will be to include climate provisions in a BP SPILL BILL tightening industry controls, on the theory the bill will be hard to oppose. No such bill exists yet; this is […]
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The Senate climate bill gives EPA authority over both old and new coal plants
Yesterday I explained how the American Power Act would both curb and expand EPA’s authority to clamp down on greenhouse gases (to net positive effect, or so I argued). I ended with this teaser: Now, there is one extremely good reason to want to preserve Clean Air Act stationary source tools for greenhouse gases: America […]
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Obama on the climate bill: “We will get it done”
Tell it, Obama.Photo: Pete Souze / White HouseA must-read article in The Hill details a classic rift among Senate Democrats: On one side are Democrats who want to use public anger at oil companies to pressure Republicans to support the American Power Act; on the other are “centrists” who want to be nice to Republicans […]
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Six ways BP’s oil spill is seeping into politics
Forget about Wall Street — there’s a new villain in town. Big Oil is, at the moment, the dark lord of corporate greed and evil, and, not surprisingly, it’s starting to take center stage both in political campaigns and Washington politicking. Here are six examples of oil creep: 1. Take his job and shove […]
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Obama’s free ride for oil industry appointees must stop
To shape the government’s long-term response to the Gulf oil calamity, President Obama recently formed an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate the origins of the leak and BP’s efforts to control it. Yet one of the commission’s two co-directors, former EPA chief William K. Reilly, sits on the board of directors of the oil giant […]
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Does the Senate climate bill “gut” the Clean Air Act?
Zombie senators will gut your laws and eat your brains!kzamani via Flickr Creative CommonsDoes the Senate climate bill tie the EPA’s hands? You increasingly hear from progressives that the American Power Act — the energy and climate bill introduced by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Ct.) — “guts” the Clean Air Act. Some […]
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Fed investigation fuels White House/BP breakup
Trudging through sludge along the Louisiana coast.Photo: Daniel Beltra/Greenpeace USAWith Attorney General Eric Holder now huddling with Gulf states attorneys general, the uneasy relationship between BP and the Obama administration is taking the ugly but inevitable “see you in court” turn. The White House is so anxious to separate itself from the BP stink that […]
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American Power Act: Allowance allocation
Following up on last week’s preliminary analysis of the Kerry-Lieberman climate bill, here’s a closer look at how allowances are distributed under the cap-and-trade program. High level: the allowances allocated over the life of the program, from 2013 to 2050, heavily favor consumer benefits. Smaller chunks are dedicated to deficit reduction, industry, and other objectives. […]
