Climate Politics
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Top Obama admin. officials tout clean energy in Seattle
SEATTLE — You could tell by the way Obama administration officials pep-talked a roomful of clean-energy businesspeople today that the White House realizes it hasn’t convinced Americans that “tackling climate change = ending the recession.” Again and again EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and Energy Undersecretary Kristina Johnson pounded on the jobs issue at a pre-Copenhagen […]
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In last-minute stunner, Obama changes plans to attend final day of Copenhagen talks
On Friday, the Obama administration announced a startling shift in plans: rather than stop by the Copenhagen climate talks on Dec. 9, Obama will be going on the 18th, the final day of the meeting — a notable increase in commitment (and political exposure) from the administration. The first week of every COP meeting consists […]
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Lessons from fossil-fueled rats
New research from Cairo shows that rats become more belligerent when exposed to gasoline fumes and tailpipe pollution. If the same thing happens to humans, it might explain why the guy in the Escalade was waving his Smith & Wesson on the freeway in L.A. the other night, but it may also highlight the co-benefits […]
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Watergate redux: Break-ins reported at another top climate research center
Cross-posted from the Wonk Room. Watergate hotel. Photo: NARATwo weeks ago, thousands of illegally hacked emails from a British climate research center were dumped on a Russian webserver, timed to influence the politics of of the international climate negotiations commencing next week in Copenhagen, Denmark. Beginning Thanksgiving week, conservative media and Republican politicians have compared […]
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The tough task of evaluating Kyoto
The Kyoto Protocol has taken criticism from all sides over the years. But in fairness, it is important to recognize that, according to almost any estimate, the treaty has resulted in surpassed targets in some nations, significant emissions reductions even in nations that may miss their targets, and a marked improvement over business-as-usual had there been no […]
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‘The Story of Cap-and-Trade’: This moment demands better solutions
The subtitle of The Story of Cap-and-Trade — the short film released this week by The Story of Stuff Project, Climate Justice Now, and the Durban Group for Climate Justice — is “Why you can’t solve a problem with the thinking that created it.” Our goal in releasing the film was to make a simple […]
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Graham says Obama has his back on climate bill
Sen. Lindsey Graham may be under fire from conservatives back home in South Carolina. But the Republican got a personal assurance from President Obama yesterday that the White House is supporting his efforts to craft a sweeping Senate energy and global warming bill. “The president told me personally he was very open, that nuclear power […]
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John Holdren on the hacked emails and the state of climate science
I’ll post Lubchenco’s equally terrific opening statement — which includes a couple of science demonstrations (!) on ocean acidification — when they are up. You can see all the videos and photos here. Here is the closing statement of Chairman Ed Markey (D-Mass.): Here is the Q&A period of Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.):
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‘An overwhelming bias toward inaction’
Anyone who wants any kind of reform in this country need to grapple with Ezra Klein’s important and clearly argued insight into our current system of “government”: The U.S. Congress is hostile not only to liberal power, but also to conservative power, and for that matter, to majority governance. The rules trump the election, trump […]
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Byrd calls tactics of ‘fear mongering’ coal industry ‘morally indefensible’
Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) Cross-posted from the Wonk Room. The West Virginia coal industry has become a virulent opponent of President Barack Obama’s reform agenda, and the state’s political leaders have cheered it on. In June, West Virginia declared coal the state rock. In September, the coal industry sponsored a rock concert and rally to […]
