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Obama blandly invokes ‘American Dream’ in tribute to miners who were denied it
This weekend there was a memorial service for the 29 miners killed in the explosion at Massey’s Upper Big Branch mine. President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D) all spoke. I found Obama’s address infuriating. Look, obviously, it’s a memorial service. The focus was on the miners and […]
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Why immigration reform is getting more traction than climate change in the Senate
Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) decision to withdraw from discussions with his Senate colleagues regarding climate legislation has been greeted by some well-meaning environmentalists as a reason to bash President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) for their alleged lack of commitment to climate legislation. I think this is a mistake. Instead, the […]
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Bolivia ‘people’s conference’ calls for system change, not climate change
Photo: The City Project via FlickrCOCHABAMBA, Bolivia — A fundamental critique of capitalism as the source of climate change pervaded the People’s World Conference on Climate Change, from the opening speech of Bolivian President Evo Morales on Tuesday to the final declaration agreed upon Thursday. On the first day, as 15,000 people from 125 countries […]
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Graham says he’s going to bail on the climate bill
Photo: Wonk RoomIt looks like an ass-covering decision by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is about to scuttle efforts to bring a climate/energy bill to the floor this year. As Juliet Eilperin reports in WaPo, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) says he’s about to bail on the bill he’s been working on for months: I […]
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What is the social cost of carbon?
The social cost of carbon may be the most important number you’ve never heard of. U.S. climate legislation is stalled in Congress, but in the meantime, the Obama administration is trying to fill the gap by considering climate impacts in the regulatory process: from the tailpipe emissions limits and gas mileage standards unveiled April 1, […]
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Federal climate policy should preempt state and regional initiatives
In just a few days, Sens. John Kerry, Lindsey Graham, and Joe Lieberman will release their much-anticipated proposal for comprehensive climate and energy legislation — the best remaining shot at forging a bipartisan consensus on this issue in 2010. Their proposal has many strengths, but there’s an issue brewing that could undermine its effectiveness and […]
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Astute climate bill analysis from DJ Biz Markie
Everything you need to know: Via Repower America.
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Watch out, Kerry–Big Ag’s not done with your climate bill
The agribiz lobby: plenty of horsepower. With the support of three big oil companies in hand, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) is now tailoring his climate bill to please the folks over at the Chamber of Commerce, Mother Jones‘ Kate Sheppard reports. What about agribiz? The good senator seems intent on bringing that greenhouse-gas-spewing industry into […]
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The good news about the very bad news (about climate change)
Cross-posted from TomDispatch. These days, I see how optimistic and positive disaster and apocalypse movies were. Remember how, when those giant asteroids or alien space ships headed directly for Earth, everyone rallied and acted as one while our leaders led? We’re in a movie like that now, except that there’s not a lot of rallying or […]
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More lessons from Wales for moving beyond coal
Guardian columnist George Monbiot reported recently on the unlikely groundswell of environmental progress in Wales, the Appalachia of the U.K. Its national Plaid Cymru party is more progressive and more ambitious than Britain’s three leading parties when it comes to building a low-carbon economy. Monbiot argues that it’s the unusually flexible and open political climate […]
