Climate Politics
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Kerry smacks down Inhofe’s lies about the cost of climate policy
At today’s hearing on the Kerry-Boxer bill, Sen. Inhofe (R-Okla.) was spouting the usual lies about the high cost of the policy. Kerry responded: That’s good, but he could have said so much more. Even with those shortcomings of economic models, the costs turn out to be “modest,” in CBO chief Doug Elmendorf’s words. For […]
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Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) [UPDATED]
Evan Bayh Sen. Evan Bayh is widely considered to be a fence-sitter on climate legislation. He has a generally respectable environmental record, but his home state of Indiana is reliant on manufacturing and coal, so he worries that a climate bill could raise energy costs for his constituents and their employers. In August, Bayh […]
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Why it’s better to invest in efficiency than to hold electricity rates down
Joe Romm draws attention to some extremely interesting thoughts from Glenn English, head of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. NRECA represents 900-plus small, not-for-profit, typically coal-based utilities in the Midwest. We tend to think all coal utilities are after more free allowance allocations under a cap-and-trade system, but as Climate Wire (sub req) reports, […]
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U.N. chief will pressure senators on climate bill
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at a press conference in Seattle (Oct. 26, 2009).Jon Hiskes / GristAs the U.S. Senate begins work on a climate and energy bill this week, senators shouldn’t be surprised if they get a phone call from the guy who counts every person on Earth as a member of his constituency. Ban […]
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Sen. Boxer explains why the Kerry-Boxer bill is so important
The Kerry-Boxer climate change bill is on the Senate’s agenda this week. Senator and co-sponsor Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) explains why this bill and this issue are so critically important.
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Senate digs into climate bill at hearings this week
Barbara Boxer (at podium) and John Kerry (tall guy in blue tie) introduce their climate bill.Photo: Sierra ClubThe Senate moves into its last day of hearings on the climate bill that Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) introduced on Sept. 30. The Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee, chaired by Boxer, has been […]
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As senators get to work on climate, find out where they stand
Get involved in the fight against climate change. The Senate is finally getting down to business on climate legislation, holding hearings on the climate bill sponsored by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.). Do your senators support the bill, and action against climate change in general? Help us find out! Send a message […]
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Clean energy is an easy choice
Cross-posted from Daily Kos. The past few months the political debate inside and outside the beltway has largely been centered on health care reform, but I wanted to take a moment and turn the discussion to the big battle looming on the horizon. Congress is gearing up to take on another critical challenge we’re […]
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Dear Mr. President: We face a national security threat on Coal River Mountain
Bo Webb (right) with James Hansen (left) at a Coal River protest last summerPhoto: Antrim CaskeyDear Mr. President: I write to you in a moment of urgency. In your address at MIT last week, you told students that the “Pentagon has declared our dependence on fossil fuels to be a security threat.” Here in the […]
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Boxer releases chairman’s mark, EPA releases economic analysis
U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, today released the text of the Chairman’s Mark of the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (S. 1733).Senator Boxer said, “We’ve reached another milestone as we move to a clean energy future, creating millions of jobs, and protecting our […]
