Climate Politics
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The Climate Post: Mighty winds a-blowin’
First things first: A high-stakes political drama unfolded after the Senate Majority Leader announced the body would consider immigration reform ahead of anticipated climate legislation. The surprise political move caused a key Republican to bolt the tri-partisan effort to craft a federal climate program. The episode has greatly intensified doubts that the U.S. will pass […]
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Something’s wrong when our best option is burning an oil slick
Yesterday was a good day for an energy policy reality check. Because we are in a place where the environmentally responsible choice is lighting a giant oil slick on fire. And that really is the best option available to us right now. That’s how bad the situation in the Gulf of Mexico is. It is […]
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Tragic oil spill = smarter climate bill?
Several weeks before President Obama made the tragic decision to approve expanded offshore drilling, ten costal-state senators wrote a letter [PDF] to their colleagues John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) pressing the trio to keep expanded offshore drilling out of their now floundering climate and energy package. In the letter, the senators […]
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Lindsey Graham says, “yeah,” there’s a chance for climate to move forward this yea
WashPost’s Ezra Klein has posted an interview with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) about the immigration and climate bills. Since my Monday post, it’s been hard to tell whether the Senator has been principled or petulant — or perhaps a bit of both. I’ll excerpt the parts of his interview with Klein about the climate bill […]
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Gulf oil spill worse than expected, and getting worser
Like the oil, there’s more news spilling out of (or is it into?) the Gulf of Mexico. And none of it is good. Where to begin? The 5,000-foot-long pipe that links the oil well to Transocean’s now submerged rig has sprung a third leak, which could explain why scientists at NOAA just upped their estimate […]
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The politics of the Gulf oil spill
The ecological fallout of the Gulf oil spill continues as emergency teams plan to set fire to the surface slick in hopes of keeping it away from the coast. The political fallout continues as well: More bad news for the Senate climate and energy bill, as coastal-state senators with key votes voiced concerns about drilling […]
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On the Graham-Reid flustercluck
All right, all right, I suppose I have to say something about the Graham situation, as much as the entire subject just saps my life force. For those of you who haven’t been keeping track: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has threatened to pull his support from the climate bill he’s been working on — even […]
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With subsidies in the balance, Obama speaks up for ethanol
Lest we forget, he was once a corn-belt senator. While the BBC explores the dark underbelly of the biofuel craze, President Obama affirms his support for crop-based fuels. From The Hill: President Barack Obama on Wednesday touted ethanol–both the current variety and next-wave fuels–as a key part of his energy strategy and a way to […]
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Lisa Jackson and the “Headline People Don’t Want to Discuss”
Despite the gridlock on a climate bill, the EPA is already authorized to regulate carbon dioxide from cars. And the Obama administration has raised mileage standards so that by 2016, the new car fleet in the US will have to average 35 mpg. But without a climate bill, it will be a piecemeal approach. […]
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In Court Case, FDA Takes a Strong Stand Against Unabridged Food and Health Rights
The expanding battle over raw milk has come to be seen by many advocates as a battle over food rights. Do we have a right to consume the foods of our choice? Or can the government restrict our access, or require processing and/or sterilization of certain foods, and simultaneously prohibit our access to the raw […]
