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  • Conservatives say stupid things about snow; media dutifully reports that they say them

    As anyone with a Twitter account is sick of hearing by now, Washington, D.C., is being battered by a “snowpocalypse.” Conservatives are using the occasion to mock Al Gore because, you see, snow disproves climate change. This is obviously something that only extremely ill-informed (or stupid) people would say. No matter what you think about […]

    David Roberts Politics

  • It’s time for a solar revolution

    This country spends, in a typical year, $350 billion importing oil from Saudi Arabia and other foreign countries. While this is no doubt good news for the Saudi royal family, one of the richest in the world, it is bad news for the average American. The vast majority of the American people understand that now […]

    Sen. Bernie Sanders Politics

  • Policy fixes to unleash clean energy, part 3

    In Part 1, I outlined the five questions that we ought to answer before we can have any informed debate on energy policy reform. In Part 2, I provided my answer to the first of those questions: namely, what are the key existing regulatory barriers to clean energy deployment (Answer: utility regulation, environmental regulation and […]

    Sean Casten Politics

  • Good climate policy is responsible fiscal policy

    Here’s a fact you won’t hear much about in Politico or the Washington Post: good climate policy is responsible fiscal policy. Earlier this month, Susan Kraemer turned up what should have been a bigger story: while the comprehensive climate/energy bill introduced by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) last year would reduce the […]

    David Roberts Politics

  • What do public support for clean energy and global temperatures have in common?

    A: They both keep going up despite the anti-science, pro-polluter echo chamber. Joseph Romm recently noted the Earth is stuck in a “Groundhog Decade … where it’s always the hottest decade on record.” Temperature data from NOAA demonstrates that the ’00’s were warmer than the ’90’s, which were warmer than the ’80’s, and so on. […]

    Daniel J. Weiss Politics

  • CBS Evening News report on antibiotics in livestock, part 2

    Catch the preview and part 1. In “Chewing the Scenery,” we round up interesting food-related video from around the Web. —————- And now for the big finale. CBS News’ Katie Couric concludes her look at the use of antibiotics in livestock with an examination of the “Danish experiment” — with which Grist readers are no […]

    Tom Laskawy Politics

  • New ‘Repower America’ ads target conservative Dem Senators on clean energy jobs

    Repower America, a project of Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection, unveiled a new ad campaign targeting senators in key states to win support for clean energy legislation to create green jobs.  The ads feature testimonials from elected leaders, small business owners, union workers and farmers who advocate for clean energy job creation in their […]

    Brendan DeMelle Politics

  • Economics cage match: Stavins’ minimalism vs. Houser’s full-court press

    Whenever I criticize economists I get yelled at by economists because I’m no economist and what do I know. So I’m trying a different approach: I’m going to compare and contrast two economic perspectives on climate/energy policy. See if you can guess which one I prefer! Textbook economics Representing what he calls the “textbook economics […]

    David Roberts Politics

  • Job losses push need for energy bill

    America’s urgent need for new job creation may be the driver that pushes the Senate to pass a jobs and energy bill this year. After the loss of 8.4 million jobs in the current Great Recession, Congress is searching desperately for any means to create new jobs. Unemployment vs. deficit “conundrum” As former Treasury Secretary […]

    Craig Severance Politics

  • CBS Evening News report on antibiotics in livestock, part 1

    Update: Catch the preview and part 2 here. Here is part 1 of the Katie Couric’s CBS Evening News report on antibiotic use in livestock. She pulled no punches. This first segment focused on poultry processing facilities in Batesville, Ark. and drug-resistant MRSA. As in the preview, Couric explicitly discussed the possibility of transmitting disease […]

    Tom Laskawy Politics