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  • Pollution limits are essential for clean energy investments

    This piece was co-written by Kate Gordon, vice president for energy policy at American Progress. A critical element of President Obama’s domestic agenda is transforming the United States to a low-carbon-pollution economy, which would spur recovery, create jobs, and generate long-term prosperity. The president also made clear in his State of the Union address this […]

  • Lindsey ‘Green Economy’ Graham bashes the Clean Air Act

    Cross-posted from the Wonk Room. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is leading the bipartisan effort with Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) to craft comprehensive climate legislation that can overcome a Senate filibuster. “The green economy is coming,” Graham said when he announced the partnership with Kerry and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) last November, explaining that he was […]

  • The EPA weighs the hidden costs of carbon

    This week, the Environmental Protection Agency will do more than set new fuel efficiency standards for cars. It will put a price on carbon. Within this historic climate change regulation is a powerful new way of thinking about greenhouse gas emissions: as costs that will borne by society. Burning oil in cars imposes a steep […]

  • Has CBS found dumbest idea yet for an online poll?

    Yeah, please vote here. Pointedly ignoring my plea for an end to online polls, CBS has come up with perhaps the dumbest idea yet. Let’s use the least scientific, most easily manipulated choosing scheme invented since eeny-meeny-miny-moe to pick what major piece of legislation president Obama should pursue next. Seriously.  I can almost hear Walter Cronkite reading the […]

  • Honey, I shrunk the GOP, Part 5: So much for the American Enterprise Institute being a "think" tank

      Sure the American Enterprise Institute is stillcrazy with climate denial and delay after all these years.  And sure it recently compared EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to Clint Eastwood and carbon polluters to criminals.  But it always retained the semblance of a serious think tank. Heck, back in October, Steven F. Hayward, “the F.K. Weyerhaeuser fellow […]

  • Quiz — Who said this?

    Who said: “Continuous research by our best scientists is the key to American scientific leadership and true national security. This indispensable work may be made impossible by the creation of an atmosphere in which no man feels safe against the public airing of unfounded rumors, gossip, and vilification”? If you want a hint, the very […]

  • Dems more trusted on energy than any other issue, continue pursuing polluter-friendly GOP ideas

    In new polling focused primarily on healthcare, Washington Post-ABC asked the following question: Which political party, the (Democrats) or the (Republicans), do you trust to do a better job handling (ITEM)? Here are the results:   Democrats Republicans The Economy 44 36 Health Care 47 34 Immigration Issues 38 35 The Situation in Afghanistan 43 […]

  • Palin sticks with ‘drill here, drill now’ in Nevada Tea Party speech

    Sarah Palin is sticking with the “Drill here, drill now” slogan/policy position she championed during the 2008 presidential campaign. She dusted off the familiar phrase at a Saturday speech in Nevada for Tea Party activists, calling for more nuclear energy, offshore drilling, and “clean coal” spending. “Congress and those in the White House choose to […]

  • Cars won’t get all the love, Ray LaHood says in big bike speech

    LaHood steps up at the National Bike Summit on March 11.Courtesy BikePortland via FlickrTwo weeks ago, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood climbed on a table and told a group of bike advocates that federal transportation planners were finished raising the almighty auto above cyclists and walkers. “I’ve been all over America, and where I’ve been in […]

  • Who killed cap-and-trade?

    In a recent article in the New York Times, John Broder asks “Why did cap-and-trade die?” and responds that “it was done in by the weak economy, the Wall Street meltdown, determined industry opposition and its own complexity.” Mr. Broder’s analysis is concise and insightful, and I recommend it to readers. But I think there’s […]