Climate Politics

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  • The ‘energy-only’ bill and Byron Dorgan’s deficit hypocrisy

    Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) is fiscally responsible, a “deficit hawk” as they say in the biz, and like most people who self-identify with that label in Washington, he’s very keen for everyone to know it. Back in September 2009, he urged President Obama to focus on reducing the deficit — indeed, said it should be […]

    David Roberts Politics

  • Myths and realities of cap-and-trade

    Worries about “gaming” or market manipulation often crop up as objections to climate and energy legislation. While these concerns are understandable, they are not warranted — and they can be addressed in a well-designed system. So let’s look at some of the most common myths. Myth #1: Cap-and-trade markets have no track record. Reality: Cap-and-trade […]

    Eric de Place Politics

  • The bluefin tuna gets a bigtime backer: the U.S. government

    The Atlantic bluefin may be down, but it’s not out. After delaying a decision, the Obama administration came out today in support of a proposal to declare the bluefin an endangered species and to ban international trade in the threatened fish (via The Washington Post): The U.S. government announced Wednesday that it supports prohibiting international […]

    Tom Laskawy Politics

  • USDA research chief concerned about ‘safety of organic food’

    GUADALAJARA, MEXICO — In another post, I’ll explain why I’m in Mexico for the next two weeks, and how I came to attend a conference sponsored by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, titled “Agricultural biotechnologies in developing countries: Options and opportunities in crops, forestry, livestock, fisheries, and agro-industry to face the challenge of food […]

    Tom Philpott Politics

  • Fifteen states have polluter-driven resolutions to deny climate threat

    Cross-posted from the Wonk Room. Yesterday, the South Dakota legislature passed a resolution telling public schools to teach “balance” about the “prejudiced” science of climate change by a vote of 37-33. Earlier language that ascribed “astrological” influences to global warming was stripped from the final version. This act of conspiracy-driven ideology is hardly alone — […]

    Brad Johnson Politics

  • Water and the War on Terror

    While leaders in Washington have been war-gaming the national security risks of climate change, they’ve only started to connect the dots to the closely related threats emanating from the growing crisis of global freshwater scarcity. At first blush, water and national security may not seem to be interlinked. But the reality, as narrated in my […]

    Steven Solomon Politics

  • Democratic candidate in Colo. guv race questions climate science

    “I get in trouble every time I say this, but I’m not 100 percent absolutely sure that climate change is occurring at the rate that some people fear it is and is going to be as catastrophic.” — Denver mayor and gubernatorial candidate John Hickenlooper, speaking at the Colorado Rural Electric Association’s annual meeting.  Hickenlooper […]

    Lisa Hymas Politics

  • Lindsey Graham’s dilemma, part two: Trying to deal a winning hand without ACES

    As we saw yesterday, Sen. Lindsey Graham is in a pickle. He wants a climate bill. He wants to put a price on carbon. He wants to bring diverse constituencies to the table. He wants to craft something the public can support. But he can’t use the bill that already did all that stuff! The […]

    David Roberts Politics

  • Obama’s cholesterol beef isn’t with the burgers, but the buns

    (Photo by Vanessa Pike-Russell,  Creative Commons)It must have surprised many that a president as young and vigorous as Barack Obama could be experiencing rising cholesterol, as reported last week. But even more surprising is the misinformation being doled out by the people around him about the likely causes. “Too many burgers,” came the ready explanation. […]

    Ed Bruske Politics

  • Gore’s climate remedy must match diagnosis

    Al Gore’s eminence in the global climate movement is on impressive display in his full-throated defense of climate science in Sunday’s New York Times. His essay, “We Can’t Wish Away Climate Change,” is triple the paper’s standard length for op-eds. Only Gore could command such a bully pulpit, and probably no one else could so […]

    Charles Komanoff Politics