Climate Politics
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Jill Richardson’s apt critique of the redesigned Senate Ag Committee website
The entire top half of the page is now dominated by a picture of the many healthy foods that our government’s ag policy does not promote: red and yellow bell peppers, purple cabbage, tomatoes, broccoli, sweet corn, onions, and leafy greens. — La Vida Locavore’s Jill Richardson noting the irony in the new Senate Ag […]
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WSJ reporter knocks own editorial page for Chamber defense
Today the Wall Street Journal editorial board published a typically dismissive editorial defending the U.S. Chamber of Commerce from the companies that have quit or criticized it over its position on climate change. The Chamber, to recap, opposes the clean energy bill in Congress and recently called for a “Scopes Monkey Trial” questioning the scientific […]
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Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas)
Kay Bailey HutchisonSen. Kay Bailey Hutchison sent the following letter to Grist reader Blanca Estela in early October, responding to questions about the senator’s stance on climate legislation. Hutchison says she opposes a cap-and-trade system, arguing that it would raise energy prices for average Americans and cause economic hardship. She says she does want to […]
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Is Michelle Obama about to take on Big Food?
With all the talk of Michael Pollan and Jamie Oliver lately, it’s easy to ignore the person who right now is, given her current address, the most influential voice on food policy in the country. Naturally, I’m talking about First Lady Michelle Obama. While she’s been exercising what diplomats would call her “soft power” for […]
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U.S. headed for massive decline in carbon emissions
For years now, many members of Congress have insisted that cutting carbon emissions was difficult, if not impossible. It is not. During the two years since 2007, carbon emissions have dropped 9 percent. While part of this drop is from the recession, part of it is also from efficiency gains and from replacing coal with […]
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A scary new climate study will have you saying ‘Oh, shit!’
“Oh, shit.”They say that everyone who finally gets it about climate change has an “Oh, shit” moment — an instant when the full scientific implications become clear and they suddenly realize what a horrifically dangerous situation humanity has created for itself. Listening to the speeches, ground-breaking in their way, that President Obama and Chinese President […]
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Teabaggers erupt at Lindsey Graham: ‘Wussypants, girly-man, half-a-sissy’
Cross-posted from Wonk Room. Right-wing activists across the nation are enraged by Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) decision to work with Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) to craft comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation. In an op-ed published in Sunday’s New York Times, Graham and Kerry discussed their agreement on a framework for mandatory global warming pollution […]
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Roland Burris (D-Ill.)
Roland BurrisSen. Roland Burris sent this letter to Grist reader Kevin Wolz in early October, responding to questions about the senator’s stance on climate legislation. Burris says he supports many aspects of the Kerry-Boxer climate bill introduced in late September, particularly the provisions on nuclear power, agricultural offsets, and clean coal. Dear [Constituent]: Thank you […]
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Nobel Prize in economics a big boost to commons and blow to corporate control
You’ll be hearing a lot about the “commons” for the next few days. It’s about time. There are celebrations taking place around the world — and not just by people, but maybe in the plant and animal kingdoms as well — for Oslo’s award of the Nobel Prize for Economics to Elinor Ostrom. Not only […]
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Robert Casey (D-Penn.)
Robert CaseySen. Robert Casey sent this letter to a Grist reader in early October in response to questions about his stance on climate legislation. He affirms that climate change is a serious problem and that he intends to work toward legislation to curb greenhouse-gas emissions. He also talks up “clean coal” and touts his efforts […]
