Politics

Tea Party supporters far less informed about climate change than general public

The new CBS/NYT poll of tea party supporters [PDF, H/T Greg Sargent] includes a question on climate change: Do you think global warming is an environmental problem that is causing a serious impact now, or do you think the impact of global warming won’t happen until sometime in the future, or do you think global […]

Josh Nelson Politics

Tar Sands Pipeline Environmental Review is Flawed

Since our Beyond Coal Campaign is also committed to fighting dirty fuels such as liquid coal, we’re just as committed to stopping the latest dirty fuel threat: tar sands. Tar sands is a thick, black dirt derived from the soil under the great forests of Canada, which energy companies are turning it into oil – […]

Bruce Nilles Politics

What I learned at Michelle Obama’s historic obesity summit

FLOTUS with the mostest: Michelle Obama addessses the Obesity Summit.When President Obama established a “Presidential task force on childhood obesity” in February, Grist’s Tom Laskawy wondered whether our nation’s first federal food policy council had quietly sprung into being. In a food policy council, the key stakeholders of a region’s food system come together to […]

Debra Eschmeyer Politics

Who loses if California’s climate law is halted?

Co-authored by Manuel Pastor. Cross-posted from The Huffington Post. No doubt you’ve heard the warnings — the melting ice caps and rising sea levels, the extinct polar bears and extreme weather conditions. From pop culture movies like The Day After Tomorrow, to the tireless work of advocates like Al Gore, the discussion around climate change […]

Rachel Morello-Frosch Politics

What the green movement needs from the next Supreme Court justice

Courtesy Kyle Rush via FlickrFederal-court watcher Glenn Sugameli suggests two ways President Obama’s next Supreme Court nominee can help make the court more ecologically intelligent. Nine years ago Sugameli founded Judging the Environment, a clearinghouse for info on how federal judges (who get lifetime appointments) determine environmental policy. He’s also a staff attorney at Defenders […]

Jonathan Hiskes Politics

A prominent political reporter digs into the obesity epidemic

Some fries with that? Once you’ve been super-sized, it’s hard to go backPolitical reporter Marc Ambinder of the Atlantic has a new must-read piece on the obesity epidemic. Ambinder comes at the issue from the perspective of a former obese person, though he himself notes that his “cure” of bariatic surgery is risky, expensive, and […]

Tom Laskawy Politics

Justice Stevens’ pro-environmental legacy embodies a simple approach: follow the law

Following last Friday’s announcement that Justice John Paul Stevens will retire from the Supreme Court at the end of this term, President Obama hailed the Court’s most senior Justice as “an impartial guardian of the law.” This description is certainly accurate, and is perhaps best illustrated by Justice Stevens’ numerous rulings in environmental cases. First, […]

Doug Kendall Politics

Graham doesn’t want climate bill associated with Earth Day

“We don’t want to mix messages here. I’m all for protecting the Earth, but this is about energy independence.” — Sen. Lindsey Graham, on why he, Kerry, and Lieberman won’t be releasing their long-awaited climate bill on Earth Day

David Roberts Politics

Coal execs get slammed in House hearing

Several coal industry executives withstood some heat today during a hearing before the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. “The Role of Coal in a New Energy Age” hearing featured a slate of four speakers who attempted to defend their industries — with one denying anthropogenic global warming -as part of the […]