Climate Politics
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Oil Disaster Doesn't Mean We Should Switch to Other Dirty Fuels
This post was co-written by Kate Colarulli of the Sierra Club Dirty Fuels Campaign. As we’ve watched the Gulf Coast clean up from the massive BP oil disaster, besides BP picking up its own PR mission to improve its image, we’ve also noticed another disturbing PR campaign: the coal industry and the tar sands industry […]
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A first look at the details of the Kerry-Lieberman American Power Act
Cross-posted from the Wonk Room. Last night, the Wonk Room published a summary of the provisions of the American Power Act, the comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation being introduced today by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.). This post delves deeper into the legislation’s specific provisions. The following table compares key […]
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Introducing the American Power Act: On strategy and substance
Busy day here — started early with some curtain-raising morning television to kick off the discussion a bit about the American Power Act that Joe Lieberman [I-Conn.] and a unique coalition are talking about later today. But sometimes those morning-show interviews are a bit of a reminder of how much detailed discussion we lose when […]
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Bingaman rebukes Lieberman’s oil disaster excuse that ‘accidents happen’
Cross-posted from the Wonk Room. Last week, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) defended the inclusion of expanded offshore drilling in the climate bill he will unveil tomorrow, brushing off the deadly Gulf disaster by saying that “accidents happen:” There were good reasons for us to put in offshore drilling, and this terrible accident is very rare […]
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White flight and the urban-suburban switcheroo
Suburban ChicagoCourtesy Scorpians and Centaurs via FlickrThe idea of racially diverse American cities ringed by mostly white suburbs is essentially flip-flopping, according to the Brookings Institution’s big new demographic report, “The State of Metropolitan America.” The report draws on 2002-2008 census data to find that young, educated whites are moving into cities in record numbers. […]
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The Yes Men send an intern to the Bolivia Climate Summit
Yes Man Andy Bichlbaum was in no shape for a trip to Bolivia, so a new guy made the trip.ScreengrabPrankster duo the The Yes Men sent an intern to the “people’s” climate summit in Bolivia last month, and he made a pretty entertaining video. The alternative conference, led by Bolivian President Evo Morales, skewed toward […]
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Political fallout from the Gulf oil spill: Hill hearings, climate-bill questions, MMS reorg
Now it’s really starting to get ugly. Not in the Gulf of Mexico — that’s already borderline hideous — but in Washington. The top execs of the three partners in the toppled, leaking oil rig — BP, Transocean, and Halliburton — made their first public appearances before Congress today, and while they haven’t reached screaming-cats-in-a-bag […]
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Where things stand on the Kerry-Lieberman climate bill
The Kerry-Lieberman (nee Kerry-Graham-Lieberman) climate and clean-energy bill is set to be introduced on Wednesday. Given all the chaos that’s surrounded it for the last few weeks, it’s worth taking a step back and taking a broad look at the current political dynamic and the chances for a successful outcome. Here’s the one-sentence summary: Chances […]
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Elena Kagan, climate realist
Photo: White House / Lawrence Jackson Here’s the dirt on Earth-hating Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan: On more than one occasion she was so consumed by her work that she accidentally left her car running overnight, a longtime “friend” told the New York Times. But it’s worth looking beyond this personal eco-foul to examine Kagan’s […]
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Senate climate bill is coming Wednesday
The big day is almost upon us. And the two amigos are confident about the Wednesday launch of their long-awaited climate and clean energy jobs bill. In a joint statement, Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) write: We are more encouraged today that we can secure the necessary votes to pass this legislation […]
