Climate Politics
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From hopeful climate to climate of despair
It was less than a year ago, but everything seemed so different then. George W. Bush was still in the White House, but officials gathered at the annual international climate talks, held last December in Poznan, felt new hope in the chilly Polish air: President-elect Obama had, against many expectations, made it clear that combatting […]
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Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) [UPDATED]
Richard Lugar “I don’t see any climate bill on the table right now that I can support,” Sen. Richard Lugar said on Nov. 10, dashing any hopes that he might get behind some version of the Kerry-Boxer legislation that’s moving through the Senate. “We really have to start from scratch again,” he continued. Lugar has […]
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How 7.4% of Americans can block humanity’s efforts to save itself
A couple weeks ago I wrote a piece on what’s really killing climate legislation: the absurd procedural chokepoints in the U.S. Senate, coupled with an unprincipled minority devoted to obstruction. I’m happy to report there’s been an uptick lately in people trying to draw attention to this problem. From the last week or two: Univ. […]
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Lester Brown and I, diavlogging
I recently recorded my first BloggingHeads TV … episode? diavlog? not sure what they’re called … with Lester Brown, focused on the latest edition of his book: Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization. My main takeaway from the experience is that I need a much better microphone on my laptop. The sound is pretty […]
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The night I slept with Jim Hansen
Students take a stand on Boston Common.Ian MacLellanIt seemed like I had just fallen asleep in my bivvy on the hard soil of the Boston Common on Sunday night, when I was rudely awakened around 1:00 a.m. by the voice of Craig Altemose, founder and driving force behind the Massachusetts Leadership Campaign, crackling through a […]
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Feed the world sustainably by 2050? Yes, we can!
Adding a bit more data to food system reformers’ arguments, a new study led by Germany’s prestigious Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research takes on the question of whether we can “feed the world” while preserving the planet come 2050. Short answer: Yes! Researchers modeled various agricultural styles, growth patterns, and diets. Here’s what they […]
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How the 40 year drop in the minimum wage helped cause obesity
I have written about the link between wages and obesity before — with wages dropping since the 60s and healthy food prices always going up, people eat more unhealthy food. But now two economists have drilled down into these issues and claim to have found a specific link between a drop in the minimum wage […]
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Obama will go to Copenhagen — if he can seal a deal
U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday he would travel to Copenhagen next month if a climate summit is on the verge of a framework deal and his presence there will make a difference in clinching it … “If I am confident that all of the countries involved are bargaining in good faith and we […]
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The Copenhagen Conference on food security
For the 193 national delegations gathering in Copenhagen for the U.N. Climate Change Conference in December, the reasons for concern about climate change vary widely. For delegations from low-lying island countries, the principal concern is rising sea level. For countries in southern Europe, climate change means less rainfall and more drought. For countries of East […]
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Senate Finance Committee calls on polluter lobbyists to defend pollution economy yet again
Cross-posted from the Wonk Room. On Tuesday, Sen. Max Baucus’s (D-Mont.) Finance Committee will look at the effect of clean energy legislation on the “future of jobs.” Appearing before the committee are four industry or conservative lobbyists and one coal-industry union lobbyist, Abraham Breehey. The only economist to testify will be Margo Thorning, a lobbyist […]
