Politics

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 […]

Grist staff Politics

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 […]

Sen. Jeff Merkley Politics

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 […]

Bo Webb Politics

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 […]

Joseph Romm Politics

Sampling the competing flavors of the Senate climate debate

When it comes to the debate over climate and energy legislation, there are those in Congress and business for whom any bill will always be too much, and there are lawmakers and environmental groups for whom no bill will ever be tough enough. In between the two extremes, there are the middle paths, variously labeled […]

Russ Choma Politics

Giveway's in Climate Bill still unfair, inefficient

Peter Dorman, a strong cap-and-trade supporter points out why Stavins’ defense of giveways is wrong. The key paragraphs: To arrive at his judgment, Stavins lumps together the bulk of the free allocations and says, “about 80 percent of the value of allowances [accrue] to consumers, small business, and public purposes.” Hmmmm. So free handouts to […]

Gar Lipow Politics

Kerry-Boxer muddies handling of international offsets

It’s great that climate change returns to the Senate agenda this week. The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, introduced by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) seems to be gaining some momentum, but the slow pace in the Senate makes it extremely unlikely that a vote will occur before the forthcoming […]

Sonia Medina Politics

The Kerry-Boxer bill is not “more ambitious” than Waxman-Markey

I’m sure Steve Mufson and Juliet Eilperin didn’t choose the headline, but whoever did, I think it’s a real mistake to refer to the Kerry-Boxer bill as “a bit more ambitious” than its Waxman-Markey counterpart in the House. This became conventional wisdom almost immediately, but it seems to me both wrong and pernicious — the […]

David Roberts Politics

Climate action in the shadow of the White House

[vodpod id=Video.16192487&w=425&h=350&fv=offsite%3Dtrue%26amp%3Boffsite%3Dtrue%26amp%3Blang%3Den-us%26amp%3Bpage_show_url%3D%252Fphotos%252Fgrist%252Fsets%252F72157622530059301%252Fshow%252F%26amp%3Bpage_show_back_url%3D%252Fphotos%252Fgrist%252Fsets%252F72157622530059301%252F%26amp%3Bset_id%3D72157622530059301%26amp%3Bjump_to%3D] Carrie Madren, a freelance journalist, filed this dispatch from the International Climate Action Day event in Washington, D.C. You had to be pretty dedicated to complete the 350.org march climate action march in Washington, D.C. That’s because participants had to slog down the streets of the nation’s capital in a deluge. Participants in […]