Climate Politics

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  • Sen. Kerry to youth on climate bill: We’re gonna need your help

    When John Kerry speaks, the kids listen up.Photo: Cliff1066 via Flickr Creative CommonsOn a conference call Tuesday night with young climate activists, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) served up several newsy tidbits, starting with his hint that sort-of climate news will come out of President Obama’s upcoming trip to China and that getting a bill through […]

    Ashley Braun Politics

  • A solar energy future: Maybe you can get there from here

    Almost anything that happens in our nation’s capital can be explained by a quote from Alice in Wonderland. Usually, that’s a bad thing. In the case of the Solar Technology Roadmap Act which the U.S. House of Representatives passed last week, however, invoking Alice is all for the good. Lost in a land where nothing […]

    Osha Gray Davidson Politics

  • Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) [UPDATED]

    Robert Byrd Sen. Robert Byrd hated the climate bill that passed the House in June (more on that below), but he seems a little more open to the Kerry-Boxer bill being considered in the Senate.  As the Bluefield Daily Telegraph reported just after the bill was introduced: [Byrd] said he was encouraged by the greater […]

    Grist staff Politics

  • George LeMieux (R-Fla.)

    George LeMieuxNew Sen. George LeMieux — appointed in September by Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) to serve through the end of 2010, finishing out the term of retired Mel Martinez — has yet to vote on any key legislation that might give us clues as to whether he would support the Kerry-Boxer climate bill.  He […]

    Samantha McCann Politics

  • WWLD: What Would Lincoln Do?

    Dear President Obama, cc: Sen. Kerry, Rep. Markey Our nation faces the gravest threat to our security and well being and the most profound moral challenge since the great struggle to end slavery. We were blessed, then, to be led by another tall, slim politician from Illinois. However, the terrible prospect of climate cataclysm, though […]

    Ken Ward Politics

  • The big stories out of Tuesday’s Senate hearing on Kerry-Boxer

    Today’s hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee — the first of three days of hearings on the Kerry-Boxer clean energy bill — didn’t contain any big surprises. As Keith Johnson notes, Senators generally played their appointed roles. There are four stories out of today that seem notable. 1. Republicans are completely out […]

    David Roberts Politics

  • Who’s who on the EPW: Senate committee begins landmark climate hearings

    Cross-posted from the Wonk Room. John Kerry testifying.This week, hearings begin in the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (S. 1733). This comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation, co-sponsored by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and committee chair Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), will establish a mandatory global […]

    Brad Johnson Politics

  • Scientists claim junk food is as addictive as heroin

    With the rumors swirling that Michelle Obama is a big fan of former FDA Commissioner David Kessler’s new book The End of Overeating, it seems reasonable to check in on the science behind an “addiction model” for salty, sweet, and fatty processed food (an assertion at the core of the book). As it happens, a […]

    Tom Laskawy Politics

  • Obama’s attempt to tap an agrichemical-industry flack runs into trouble

    While in charge of governmental affairs at Croplife America, Isi Siddiqui, second from left, talks global patent law with U.S. Trade Office officials on April 22, 2009. But don’t use the “L” word! Photo: U.S. State Department “[Croplife America] was relentless in its pursuit of monitoring and actively engaging with key influencers in its attempts […]

    Tom Philpott Politics

  • President Obama announces $3.4 billion investment to spur transition to smart energy grid

    As the Senate debated the Kerry-Boxer climate bill in Washington, President Obama travelled to Arcadia, Florida to announce a $3.4 billion investment in to modernize the U.S. energy grid. Have a look at this official White House press release on the president’s new smart grid proposal: Speaking at Florida Power and Light’s (FPL) DeSoto Next […]

    Grist staff Politics