Climate Politics

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  • Open letter to Sens. Kerry, Graham, and Lieberman: a bipartisan path forward on energy and climate

    Sens. Kerry, Graham, and Lieberman, Thank you for the work you’re doing to to address America’s climate and energy challenges. As you meet with a broader group of stakeholders and begin to structure a bill, you face an enormous challenge of your own: crafting legislation that can get 60 votes in a fractured and somewhat […]

    David Roberts Politics

  • Coalfield protesters want to know when EPA chief will visit Appalachia

    Protesters locked themselves to 20-foot purple mountains outside the EPA.Photo: Rainforest Action NetworkRisking arrest, activists from the besieged Appalachian coalfield regions and their supporters from across the country have set up and locked themselves to two 20-foot purple mountains majesties in front of Lisa Jackson’s office at the EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C., to call […]

    Jeff Biggers Politics

  • Outline of Kerry-Graham-Lieberman appears to hew to Obama’s clean energy principles

    Cross-posted from the Wonk Room. Photo: Wonk RoomDetails of the comprehensive green economy legislation being negotiated by a bipartisan trio of senators are leaking out, as draft language nears completion. In a meeting yesterday with a coalition of industry lobbyists, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) unveiled an […]

    Brad Johnson Politics

  • Blanche Lincoln’s dismal school-lunch bill

    Blanche Lincoln, chair of the Senate Ag Committee. Tight purse strings for kids and conservation; loose ones for large-scale farmers. Remember when Obama rolled out his proposal for increasing the school-lunch budget, and lots of folks, including me, groaned that it wasn’t nearly enough? In his budget proposal earlier this year, Obama called for an […]

    Tom Philpott Politics

  • Sorry, we can’t cook: D.C. schools say ‘no’ to more veggies

    Cheer up, kid — the chicken nuggets and tater tots are sticking around. In a move that could signal a serious fault line in the argument for more vegetables as a tonic for childhood obesity, drafters of “Healthy Schools” legislation pending before the D.C. Council have scuttled a push for additional produce in school meals […]

    Ed Bruske Politics

  • Stop Government Funding of Coal

    This post was co-written by Mark Kresowik, Corporate Accountability and Finance Representative for the Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign. “How good will the business judgment of companies that make high-carbon choices now look in five, 10, 20 years, when it becomes clear that heavily polluting infrastructure has become deadly and must be phased out before […]

    Bruce Nilles Politics

  • Nations now free to fish bluefin tuna to extinction

    Well, bluefin tuna, it was nice knowing you: A proposal to ban the export of Atlantic bluefin tuna prized in sushi has been rejected by a U.N. wildlife meeting. Thursday’s decision occurred after Japan, Canada and scores of poor nations opposed the measure on the grounds that it would devastate fishing economies. Monaco introduced the […]

    Tom Laskawy Politics

  • Christian Coalition backs Sen. Graham on climate legislation

    Since coming out in support of climate legislation in October, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has faced a lot of vitriol from groups on the right, including Tea Party activists in Charleston. This criticism culminated in a formal censure from Charleston County that lambasted Graham for subverting “Republican leadership and party solidarity for […]

    Samantha McCann Politics

  • If it does matter where CO2 is released, cities are in trouble

    There’s some fascinating new research about “CO2 domes,” invisible clouds of carbon pollution that hover above urban areas. Bradford Plumer at The New Republic does a great job setting the context: Does it matter where carbon dioxide is emitted? From a climate perspective, at least, the standard answer has always been, “Not really.” Carbon dioxide […]

    Jonathan Hiskes Politics

  • Is Senator Graham looking for an excuse to bail on climate legislation?

    Kate Sheppard asks if the passage of health care legislation will hurt or hinder progress on climate legislation. But the underlying question is whether or not Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is looking for an excuse to bail on climate negotiations. The answer to that question might just be yes. His rhetoric hints at the possibility, […]

    Josh Nelson Politics