Climate Politics
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The Time for Coal Ash Regulation is Now
How many people have to be sickened or killed before we get strong coal ash regulations in the U.S.? I ask this during a week very full of news on coal ash – the by-product of burning coal for power. Our latest and biggest news is our notice today putting New Mexico’s San Juan Coal […]
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Bill McKibben on skunks at Copenhagen’s garden party
Cross-posted from MotherJones.com. A demonstration in support of the islands of Tuvalu, the 4th smallest country in the world, which is holding out for a legally-binding treaty in Copenhagen.Photo and caption: Oxfam InternationalCOPENHAGEN — From the distance, you could hear a little noise and rhythmic chanting cutting through the train-station drone that is the normal […]
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Time for Americans to 'raise their game' on climate change
Everyone should read this Matt Ygelsias post on the need for all of us to “step up our game” morally speaking as regards the climate. The climate change “debate” is a true gut check moment. And right now, we’re failing: CNN was running a climate change story yesterday with the chyron “Global Warming: Fact or […]
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Inside the youth movement at Copenhagen
Today is “Young and Future Generations Day” at the Copenhagen climate talks, where at least 1,000 youth from dozens of countries are in attendance. So far this week, youth activists have put on dozens of media stunts, such as dressing as green-faced “aliens” and asking passers-by to take them to their climate leaders. Young people […]
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No climate action, no peace, says Obama in Nobel speech
President Obama delivers his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech. Photo: Nobelprize.org In accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo today, President Obama touched briefly on the issue of climate change, lumping it in with a laundry list of “soft” issues like economic security, food security, and education. Here’s the excerpt, which came very late in […]
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Accept it in Oslo, earn it in Copenhagen
Today is “Young and Future Generations Day” here at the International Climate Negotiations in Copenhagen, and I’m here with my wife Wahleah and our two-year-old daughter Tohaana. Along with over a thousand other young people, mostly wearing orange t-shirts today, we’re doing everything in our power to convince world leaders to commit to a fair, […]
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Naomi Klein says Obama’s stiffing Africa on climate
Cross-posted from MotherJones.com. Nnimmo Bassey, chair of Friends of the Earth International.Photo: foei via Flickr A highlight of my time at COP15 so far was a conversation with the extraordinary Nigerian poet and activist Nnimmo Bassey, chair of Friends of the Earth International. We talked about the fact that some of the toughest activists here […]
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Climate skeptics descend on the Copenhagen talks
Cross-posted from MotherJones.com. The Bella Center, the venue hosting the Copenhagen climate negotiations, is overflowing with advocates seeking action on climate change. But their opponents have turned out in force too. They’re a little harder to identify than, say, the activists walking around dressed as trees. But working the crowds are some of the biggest […]
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NASA climate scientist should come back to earth
Eric’s take on Jim Hansen’s opposition to cap and trade is exactly right. Hansen is a renowned NASA climate scientist. But on climate policy, he’s just lost in space. Now, I’m not going to call Hansen’s support for carbon taxes misguided. Remember, we LIKE carbon taxes. We’ve given BC’s pathbreaking carbon tax lots of sloppy […]
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A global perspective on U.S. climate emissions
To mark the international climate negotiations in Copenhagen, I’m trotting out some maps I made a while back. This one has states labeled with the names of countries that are their greenhouse gas equivalents. In other words, Oregon is responsible for the same level of climate emissions as Ireland; Wyoming is the greenhouse gas equivalent of Vietnam, and so […]
