Climate Politics

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  • The Climate Post: Melting ice makes slippery slope

    First things first: Several high-profile exits from the climate conversation — Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) from the Senate; BP, Caterpillar, and ConocoPhillips, from USCAP; and chief climate negotiator Yvo de Boer from the U.N. — were widely reported this week. None of these stories carry as much long-term significance as the under-reported-on difficulty of many major […]

    Eric Roston Politics

  • Iraq veterans: Support troops by passing clean-energy bill

    The Operation Free tour brought U.S. veterans Matt Victoriano (left), Robin Eckstein, and Patrick Bellon to Seattle last week to call for clean-energy legislation.Grist photo/Jonathan HiskesAs a tanker driver in Iraq, U.S. Army veteran Robin Eckstein saw firsthand the risk that fossil-fuel dependence posed to American troops. She drove a water truck in convoys with […]

    Jonathan Hiskes Politics

  • On the one year anniversary of the Recovery Act, clean energy leaders celebrate jobs and savings

    The Recovery Act, a key component of America’s tectonic shift away from foreign oil, should be celebrated for what it has saved — jobs, money and energy. By making smart investments in clean energy technology and cutting taxes for 95 percent of Americans, the Recovery Act kept America on track to double our renewable energy […]

    Ed Markey Politics

  • Why Bill Gates is wrong

    Bill Gates is sad that David Roberts thinks he’s wrong.Photo: redmaxwell via FlickrBill Gates, the Microsoft founder and philanthropist, made waves last week when, at the much-celebrated tech conference TED, he proclaimed that climate change is the most important problem facing the planet. Wo0t! Obviously having someone of Gates’ stature supporting the clean energy race […]

    David Roberts Politics

  • Why Congress must revise the Clean Air Act

    Most Americans breath dirty air — in many places, levels of pollutants like nitrogen dioxide and ozone are in violation of federal air quality standards. And now, those standards are getting even stronger, which will put even more of the country out of compliance: EPA recently upped standards for nitrogen dioxide and is working on […]

    David Schoenbrod, Richard B. Stewart, & Katrina M. Wyman Politics

  • Citing Heritage, Dana Milbank attacks valid climate science as ‘bordering on the outlandish’

    Cross-posted from the Wonk Room. In “Global warming’s snowball fight,” Dana Milbank, the Washington Post‘s premier Capitol Hill reporter-turned-columnist, applied his trademark snark to the political debate over climate change. His George Will-style column is based on the premise that “the greens” have been “hoist by their own petard” because they have “argued by anecdote […]

    Brad Johnson Politics

  • What might Sen. Evan Bayh’s retirement mean for the clean-energy bill?

    Sen. Evan Bayh Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh will not seek re-election this year, a decision that hands Republicans a prime pickup opportunity in the middle of the country. “After all these years, my passion for service to my fellow citizens is undiminished, but my desire to do so by serving in Congress has waned,” Bayh […]

    Joseph Romm Politics

  • Policy fixes to unleash clean energy, part 5

    Now we come to the fun part. If you could build a dream spouse, what would he or she look like? Describe their personality, sense of humor, and relative similarity to Kelly LeBrock. It’s fun to think about, and utterly unrealistic. So too with the question we now build to. If you were king, had […]

    Sean Casten Politics

  • Cantwell’s climate bill gathers steam

    There’s an interesting insurgency that may give lie to recent predictions of federal failure on cap and trade. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) has a modified “cap and dividend” bill, called the CLEAR Act, that’s slowly but surely picking up momentum. On Wednesday, the Washington Post gave it a nod: Is there no alternative between simple do-nothingism […]

    Eric de Place Politics

  • We’re kicking butt on coal

    Bummed out about Copenhagen, the U.S. Senate, that expensive-sounding kggrstch emanating from somewhere in your transmission? Well, here’s some good news to sip and enjoy: the amazing success of the fight to stop new coal plants. Consider the situation in early 2007. At that time the Energy Department released a survey showing 151 new coal […]

    Ted Nace Politics