Climate Politics
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Virginia’s AG slammed for ‘witch hunt’ against climate scientist Michael Mann
Ken CuccinelliVirginia’s attorney general, the climate-change-denying right-wing darling Ken Cuccinelli (R), is waging what many are calling a “witch hunt” against climate scientist Michael Mann. Cuccinelli issued a subpoena that would force the University of Virginia to turn over thousands of emails and documents Mann wrote while he taught there from 1999 to 2005. Now […]
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Kerry-Lieberman climate bill: The details
Editor’s Note: Please bear in mind that this is a “first read” of a very large piece of legislation. It was researched and written within 24 hours of the bill’s publication. The Kerry-Lieberman climate bill emerged yesterday mid-morning, weighing in at 987 pages. (Hey, changing the entire energy economy ain’t easy.) Like the Waxman-Markey bill that […]
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Did Elena Kagan really flunk a food-policy litmus test?
Former Gourmet contributing editor Barry Estabrook, now writing for The Atlantic‘s online food section, has raised concerns that President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan may be too sympathetic to biotech giant Monsanto: It’s a good thing for Elena Kagan that there’s no non-GMO litmus test for Supreme Court nominees. She’d flunk. As solicitor general, […]
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How green is the U.K.’s new government?
Prime Minister David Cameron (right) and deputy Nick Clegg, BFFsPrime Minister’s OfficeBritain’s got a new prime minister, Conservative David Cameron; a new deputy prime minister, Liberal Democrat Nick Clegg; and an odd new governing coalition kludged together with both of their parties. The new government has released its platform, saying “The parties agree to implement […]
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Obama, vets, and military experts praise Kerry-Lieberman climate and energy bill
President Obama has released a statement on the Kerry-Lieberman American Power Act. So have a number of veterans and retired military experts. Let’s start with the Commander-in-Chief: I applaud Senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman for their tireless work in drafting this important legislation. This legislation will put America on the path to a clean […]
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New report from Childhood Obesity Task Force has something for everyone
Kids exercise in an online video from LetsMove.gov, Michelle Obama’s campaign to fight childhood obesity. Michelle Obama’s Presidential Task Force on Childhood Obesity released its findings yesterday. It’s encyclopedic in scope and has something for everyone — from school lunch, to sugar taxes, to veggie subsidies, to dietary guidelines, to obesogenic chemicals. Even farm-to-school programs […]
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A roundup of reax to the Kerry-Lieberman American Power Act
The American Power Act makes its grand debut today, sponsored by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) — and, quite conspicuously, not by Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). Kerry dropped by Grist to give his take on the bill and kick-start a discussion — join in. Here are other perspectives on the bill: The Washington […]
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An examination of benefits to Americans in the American Power Act
Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) are releasing a discussion draft today of their long-awaited American Power Act. The bill is designed to appeal to a broad range of senators, including moderate Midwestern Democrats and coastal Republicans. Recent events are a reminder of the urgency to act. The BP oil disaster is a […]
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Why I introduced the Big Oil Bailout Prevention Act
The tragic oil spill in the Gulf has led me to look at the Oil Pollution Act, which Congress passed in 1990 in the wake of the Exxon Valdez spill. It’s apparent that the liability limit set in that legislation, $75 million, is laughably small. With estimates that the oil spill off the Gulf Coast […]
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Thoughts on journalism in an age of ecological calamity
“…sitting on marble floors, waiting for somebody to come out and lie to me.” — Russell Baker, describing his early ’60s stint as a Washington political correspondent for The New York Times, in his memoir The Good Times. Journalists Mike Allen, Sy Hersh, and I.F. StoneThis post doesn’t touch directly on the environment, or even […]
