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  • Obama Interior Department surrenders to the coal interests

    After close of business on Friday, Oct. 30, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar surrendered to coal mine operators who are rapidly destroying the central Appalachian Mountains. Interior’s capitulation was filed by the Obama administration in federal court in papers that reveal the Department will further delay its promise to rescind the Bush administration’s gutting of crucial […]

    Scott Edwards Politics

  • Obama and Wen to meet soon one-on-one in Copenhagen

    COPENHAGEN — The Chinese premier Wen Jiabao will meet one-on-one with President Barack Obama soon in Copenhagen to try to reach agreement on a new international climate treaty, according to He Yafei, the vice chairman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry. “Yes, I believe so,” responded He in the hallways of Copenhagen’s Bella Center late this […]

    Mark Hertsgaard Politics

  • Obama science advisor John Holdren on U.S. strategy in Copenhagen

    COPENHAGEN — One of the puzzles about the U.S. strategy here in is how negotiators expected that pledging a 17 percent emissions reduction below 2005 levels by 2020 could be taken seriously. After all, that would bring the U.S. to approximately 1990 levels a decade from now, which is higher than the level the U.S. […]

    Noah Sachs Politics

  • Tim Wirth says imperfect deal at Copenhagen better than no deal

    Timothy Wirth, head of the United Nations Foundation, has a long-term perspective on climate negotiations — and he says people who contend that no deal is better than an imperfect deal are “flat wrong.” While serving as undersecretary of state for global affairs during the Clinton administration, Wirth led the U.S. delegation to Kyoto, Japan, […]

    Amanda Little Politics

  • John Kerry on whether a weak climate deal is better than no deal at all

    COPENHAGEN — As climate negotiators hash out the eleventh-hour details of an operational accord, one question looms over the discussions: Is a weak deal better than no deal at all? I put that question and others to Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) in a sit-down interview yesterday. The chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee admitted […]

    Amanda Little Politics

  • No ‘truth,’ but telling consequences for Inhofe’s strange Copenhagen visit

    COPENHAGEN — On the day that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton showed up in Copenhagen to say the U.S. would contribute to a global climate action fund, Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) also appeared in Copenhagen. Without, however, his much-hyped “truth squad.” Earlier this month, the Oklahoma Republican and one of Capitol Hill’s fiercest critics of […]

    Keith Schneider Politics

  • Pelosi and pals tell world: ‘Blame the Senate’

    COPENHAGEN—Seven Democratic leaders from the U.S. House of Representatives made an appearance in the Bella Center on Thursday, spreading the message that treaty negotiations have the support of the House along with President Obama. Photo evidence: Congress cares! Speaker Nancy Pelosi (center, in red … duh) brought along six fellow Democrats to make sure everyone […]

    Jonathan Hiskes Politics

  • Winter growers get some love from the USDA

    It’s tempting to hear the news (and watch the video!) telling us that the USDA will study winter gardening and wonder why the USDA needs to study something that Eliot Coleman, a farmer in Maine, has been doing successfully — and writing about — for decades and something that Will Allen’s urban farming company Growing […]

    Tom Laskawy Politics

  • USDA sustainable-ag czar Merrigan hits youtube

    Way back in August 2006, I wrote a column arguing that farmers in northern areas could grow a lot more vegetables in the winter, if the USDA would invest in research and infrastructure for it. I wrote: If we wanted to make that vision come true for the nation’s northern climes, all it would take […]

    Tom Philpott Politics

  • Is the ‘climate debt’ discussion helpful?

    I’m intrigued by this notion of “climate debt,” but before I get into it I want to make one thing clear: the transfer of substantial resources from rich to poor countries is necessary for a successful international treaty. It’s necessary for a successful attempt to address global climate change. Nothing below is meant to suggest […]

    David Roberts Politics