Climate Politics
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How green are Obama’s potential Supreme Court picks?
Update: Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan hasn’t said much about her environmental views, but she has a solid record of supporting climate law. Here’s the full story on her green cred. President Barack Obama is reportedly considering about 10 people to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, although popular consensus has quickly […]
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Chicago considers getting serious about coal pollution
The Fisk coal-fired power plant, ChicagoCourtesy swanksalot via FlickrChicago Alderman Joe Moore is taking aim at urban air pollution, introducing a Clean Power Ordinance today that would force overhauls of the city’s two coal-fired power plants, both located in Hispanic neighborhoods. The plan would introduce new limits for particulates (soot) and carbon dioxide, restricting how […]
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The trouble with Brazil’s much-celebrated ethanol ‘miracle’
Not as sweet as advertised: industrial-scale sugarcane production in Brazil.This is a post about Brazil’s sugarcane-ethanol “miracle,” but I can’t resist starting off with a look askance at our own corn-derived ethanol phenomenon. Has there ever been a “green” technology more ecologically discredited than corn-based ethanol? It may yield slightly more energy than it consumes […]
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Mining industry invests in politicans; stopped mine safety laws
A bill to help rescue miners in emergencies and protect miners’ safety was defeated in Congress three years ago. After passing the House, the bill, called the S-MINER Act, died in a Senate committee. Mining interests, who were opposed to this bill, gave twice as much money in campaign contributions to House members who voted […]
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Hey Paul Krugman: How about less econ theory and more econ mechanics?
Illustration by Michael Freimuth and Kyle PoffMany people, including me and, um, Al Gore, have recommended Paul Krugman’s primer on climate economics. It’s a top-notch introduction and a welcome antidote to the ignorance and hysteria that characterize most media coverage of climate policy. Read it! In describing environmental economics, however, Krugman simply passes along many […]
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Bonn to Cancun … negotiators agree to continue efforts on international global warming
The first global warming negotiations post Copenhagen have just wrapped up here in Bonn (as I discussed here). It was a 3 day session and was mostly focused on establishing the process and expectations for negotiations this year. While there was some complaining about the Copenhagen Accord from some quarters, the complaining was timid compared […]
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With so much potential for energy efficiency, why is the South so inefficient?
When it comes to energy reform, the American South has often been a deadweight, anchoring the country to the status quo. There are any number reasons why: It’s oil, coal, and nuke country. It’s heavily Republican. Many of the affluent white men who dominate its politics view energy as part of the culture war, another […]
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Note to Environmentalists: Economists are on your side
There is a tendency among some environmental writers to dismiss “classical”, “traditional”, “neoliberal”, or “mainstream” economics as somehow inimical to environmental interests. The problem is that more often than not these writers get the facts wrong. It’s almost as if the knee-jerk aversion to economics that exists among many environmentalists prevents them from […]
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What the John Paul Stevens retirement means for energy progress
Stevens (center) with President Obama and Justice Anthony Kennedy last September.Collection of the Supreme Court of the United StatesSupreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens announced his long-expected retirement Friday, meaning we can expect another testy/goofy/”contentious” confirmation process in the Senate this summer. Stevens’ retirement means a few other things too: 1. The court loses an […]
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Offshore drilling most popular among Republicans, elderly, white, and wealthy
When President Obama announced recently that he’d open new coastal areas to offshore drilling, there was considerable speculation as to what the political fallout might be. Most progressive pundits were baffled by the decision, and the general consensus seemed to be that it was a political move designed to influence key decision makers. The immediate […]
