Climate Politics
All Stories
-
![]()
![]()
BBC on the impact of biofuels on Paraguay’s ecology and farmers
A soy plantation in the Amazon rainforest, Brazil. Nilton Ricardo, BrazilPhotosEveryone should listen to this BBC report (unfortunately not embedabble) on the “price of biofuels.” It digs into a key question: what does Europe’s appetite for biodiesel mean for people and ecosystems in the countries that produce the feedstocks? Focusing on Paraguay, the BBC comes […]
-
![]()
![]()
Cape Wind offshore project approved by Obama admin after nine-year battle
Turbines like these will likely be coming to Cape Cod.Photo: Andjohan via Flickr It’s been the mother of all NIMBY battles, but now it’s closer to resolution: The Obama administration OK’d the nation’s first offshore wind farm in the Nantucket Sound today, with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar making the announcement in Boston. “I am approving […]
-
Obama: Our security, economy, and future depend on comprehensive climate legislation
Cross-posted from Wonk Room. The process-based and partisan bickering that is derailing the Senate effort to craft climate legislation provides a good opportunity to question why this ugly process is even worthwhile. Politicians seem worried that re-election is more important than policy action, failing to recognize that clean energy reform is actually the key to […]
-
![]()
![]()
The upside of the Senate climate bill’s troubles
There is a silver lining to the turmoil over the Senate climate bill.Photo: Pranav Singh via FlickrOver the weekend we got the news that three grim-faced men weren’t going to be able to help on global warming. The only Republican supporter of the not-yet-unveiled-but-widely-described Senate climate bill, Lindsey Graham, had a new demand. Not only […]
-
![]()
![]()
Can good climate legislation pass via reconciliation? [WITH TEACUP PIGS]
As the Kerry-Graham-Lieberman climate bill teeters on the precipice, some greens are once again pushing for climate legislation to move through the budget reconciliation process, which requires only a 51-vote majority, instead of the standard bill process, which (thanks to absurd filibuster rules) requires a 60-vote supermajority. Kate Sheppard has a post making the most […]
-
![]()
![]()
The new U.N. climate chief should have a strong understanding of women’s issues
Photos: angela7dreams via FlickrWe have a critical opportunity right now to make sure the next U.N. climate chief will serve the needs of the global community of women, and we need to seize it. With Yvo de Boer stepping down as executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon […]
-
Smart cap-and-trade will boost growth, create 2.8 million jobs, and cut carbon pollution
Cross-posted from Wonk Room. A new macroeconomic analysis of green economic policies finds that cutting global warming pollution will make the economy grow faster. The Center for Climate Strategies (CCS), building upon analysis they did of state-level climate plans for the National Governors Association, analyzed the economic and environmental impact of legislation in line with […]
-
![]()
![]()
A near thumbs-up for Joe Romm’s ‘Straight Up’
Joe Romm is pissed off — and I’m delighted. His latest book, Straight Up, takes on the oil and coal companies, the skeptics, and the press. His unfailing sense of priorities shines through his startlingly thoughtful and brutally blunt writing. I have one problem with his book — but more about that later. As […]
-
![]()
![]()
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 […]
-
![]()
![]()
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 […]
