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  • Why are libertarian right wingers defending a dysfunctional, state-engineered food system?

    Such scenes would not be possible without government policies that encourage cheap corn. Why do conservatives fetishize indsustrial food, again? Wikimedia commonsBack in 2002, in the right-wing National Review, Rod Dreher declared the rise of the “crunchy cons” — political conservatives who had come to value alternative food systems and reject the dreck served up […]

    Tom Philpott Politics

  • How Scott Brown’s victory can help get climate legislation over the finish line

    So was that it?  With the stunning Scott Brown victory in Massachusetts, have we already reached the end of the Obama era?  After all — play dramatic cord — the Democrats no longer have 60 votes! I say good riddance.  Sure, if you’re a climate-movement activist, it’s not hard to be bummed, big time, by […]

    Jon Isham Politics

  • Hanging EPA regulations around Democrats’ necks

    It has been taken for granted on the left that if Congress doesn’t pass clean energy legislation, the EPA will step in to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. The threat of that eventuality was supposed to bring intransigent industries and legislators to the table. Only it hasn’t really worked as intended — […]

    David Roberts Politics

  • Why America’s greenest mayor got no love

    Seattle Times environmental reporter Craig Welch profiles one of the more puzzling characters in recent urban politics, Seattle’s now-former mayor, Greg Nickels. The piece treads some of the same ground as my profile of Nickels last month: after demonstrating national leadership in rallying mayors on climate change, Nickels received no political credit back home. Seattle, […]

    Jonathan Hiskes Politics

  • To address obesity, the First Lady will need to cast a wide net

    Michelle Obama’s anti-childhood obesity agenda would have kids a little less round ’round the middle.White House Flickr streamWhile we await Michelle Obama’s speech this Wednesday to the United States Conference of Mayors that will likely launch her new campaign against childhood obesity, I thought I’d offer a little perspective as well as a few bits […]

    Tom Laskawy Politics

  • After another massive recall, will the beef industry grope for techno fixes?

    In Meat Wagon, we round up the latest outrages from the meat and livestock industries. ——— Massive burger recall: what would Meat Wagon be without one? The Obama administration still hasn’t chosen a director of the USDA’s FSIS — the office charged with overseeing the safety of the nation’s meat supply. Meanwhile, the new year […]

    Tom Philpott Politics

  • Stephen Colbert on mountaintop-removal mining [VIDEO]

    A couple weeks back, I covered a new paper in Science that constitutes the most comprehensive survey yet of existing scientific data on mountaintop removal mining. The conclusions were so stark and, frankly, horrifying that the scientists involved went the unusual extra step of calling for an immediate moratorium on the practice. Trust Stephen Colbert […]

    David Roberts Politics

  • Senate needs to get back to work on clean-energy bill, says Washington rep

    Copenhagen may not have been a giant leap for mankind, but it was a step forward. So as the Congress returns to work this year, its post-Copenhagen duty remains the same as its pre-Copenhagen responsibility:  to pass an energy bill that both jump-starts the United States’ economy and screws down the nation’s carbon pollution. There […]

    Rep. Jay Inslee Politics

  • Michelle Obama vows to ‘move the ball’ on kids’ diets

    White House flickr streamHer husband got dealt a difficult set of cards in taking over the post-Bush II presidency–and has arguably played them quite badly. He now finds himself in a tight political corner: caught between an emboldened Right, an angry Left, and a shrivelled middle. But Michelle Obama abides, as fabulous and beloved by […]

    Tom Philpott Politics

  • Stopping the Murkowski Amendment

    I suppose it might be sad to say that we were and were not surprised to hear this week that two dirty energy lobbyists helped craft the effort to neuter the Clean Air Act, which could next appear as an amendment to the Senate’s debt ceiling vote next week. If you missed it, the Washington […]

    Bruce Nilles Politics