Climate Politics
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How James Hansen gets cap-and-trade wrong
Climate scientist James Hansen has gone on the warpath against cap-and-trade. (See this op-ed in the NYT, among other recent examples.) Perhaps what’s most alarming is that, for all his intelligence, Hansen doesn’t appear to grasp even the basic elements of cap-and-trade systems. In a blog post last weekend, economist Paul Krugman took him to task: … […]
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Where is the fossil-fuel industry in Copenhagen?
The action at the Bella Center in Copenhagen. Can you find the oil lobbyist in this picture?Photo: doug mcneall Just past the security gates and the main entrance to the Bella Center, the site of the Copenhagen climate change conference, attendees must pass through a forest of exhibition booths—there are ones set up by conservation […]
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As the economy withers, thoughts on an inequitable food system
When my info-larder gets too packed, it’s time to serve up some choice nuggets from around the Web. —————- Get ’em while they’re hot. • Grist contributor Tom Laskawy did us proud with his participation in this New York Times “Room for Debate” forum on food stamps. Here’s how he starts: Anti-poverty programs in this […]
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Copenhagen climate talks: the story so far
“The conference, at this point, feels more like a trade show than a political event, but it’s cool to be surrounded by so many people from all over the world — imagine the international terminal at JFK, but with even worse food and people walking by in giant tree costumes.” — Nate Silver of political […]
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How Obama could use his jobs speech to win both domestically and internationally
Obama is under pressure on two fronts: the international community wants him to commit to serious greenhouse gas emission reductions and American voters want him to spur job creation. Unemployment is hovering at 10 percent and there is populist anger afoot in the country, not just among tea baggers but among people from both parties […]
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ClimateGate is Watergate redux
Some environmental leaders have been working to minimize the scandal of ClimateGate, by focusing on the fact the hacked email archive of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit has nothing, besides a few cherry picked quotes taken out of context, that casts a shadow of a doubt upon validity of modern climate science. They are wrong. […]
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A skeptical take on efficiency money in Obama’s jobs plan
King Solomon, reputed to be the wisest man who ever lived, had the difficult job of deciding which of two women was the rightful mother of a baby they both claimed to be their own. Amidst their cries of claims and counterclaims, Solomon did something unique, unexpected, and very, very wise. He acted based on […]
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Will the EPA’s greenhouse-gas decision affect the Copenhagen climate talks? [UPDATED]
Will the EPA’s greenhouse-gas decision affect the Copenhagen climate talks? On Monday, as expected, the U.S. EPA officially declared that greenhouse gases are a threat to public health (the so-called endangerment finding), which means the agency is now “now authorized and obligated to make reasonable efforts” to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. We asked our expert panel […]
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Copenhagen day 1: Scandal! Bullying!
What better way to open the Copenhagen climate talks — the meeting of the UNFCCC that is supposedly going to decide the fate of the entire world — than with broad civil society outrage at the egregious lack of democracy in the process. Here’s the inside scoop: the Danish presidency is desperate for a positive […]
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Google Earth tours Coal River Mountain at COP15
As a special presentation at the Copenhagen climate summit, Google Earth took world leaders on a virtual flyover of Coal River Mountain, selected as one of a handful of “global crisis hotspots.” Narrated by coal miner widow and Coal River Mountain resident Lorelei Scarbro, the tour looks at both the costs of mountaintop removal and […]
