Climate Politics

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  • Does Schwarzenegger care more about tea partiers or the planet?

    Like any Hollywood actor, and like any politician, Arnold Schwarzenegger likes to talk a good game. And on climate, he talks a lot. He loves to promote inconsequential gab-fests like the Governors Global Summit on Climate Change. But when the rubber hits the road, will he actually, you know, do anything about it? Whether a […]

    Jonathan Zasloff Politics

  • Ontario launches comprehensive system of feed-in tariffs

    Ontario, on Thursday, launched the province’s long-awaited program of feed-in tariffs in response to its ground-breaking Green Energy Act. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure George Smitherman, and Minister of the Environment John Gerretsen made the announcement against the iconic backdrop of Toronto’s cooperatively-owned wind turbine. This was the last in a […]

    Paul Gipe Politics

  • Illinois points the way to food system reform

    Not your father’s Corn Belt. This development in Illinois managed to pass somewhat under the radar, probably because it took place during the dog days of summer. But it’s still a big deal — Illinois has a new law that starts building the infrastructure for a real regional food system: The legislation establishes a council […]

    Tom Laskawy Politics

  • G20 needs to advance the global agenda on climate change

    Cross-posted from the Center for American Progress. The world’s leading economic powers remain inactive in preventing an increase in the serious impacts of climate change. While current impacts of climate change may not have reached alarming proportions, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that will happen soon enough if we do not take […]

    John Podesta & Rajendra Pachauri Politics

  • Another Monsanto man in a key USDA post? Obama’s ag policy’s giving me whiplash

    Like a tractor driven by a drunk, the Obama administration keeps zigzagging on food/ag policy–sometimes veering in the direction of progressive change, other times whipping back toward the agrichemical status quo. In the last couple of days, there’s been a sharp turn toward the status quo. As I reported yesterday, Obama plucked Islam “Isi” Siddiqui […]

    Tom Philpott Politics

  • The Climate Post: Climate change blamed for New York midtown traffic

    First Things First: The journal Nature has published a study that attempts to find numerical “planetary boundaries” for global change, an effort that the authors believe will help policymakers better understand humanity’s impact on the planet and its life. A team of Earth scientists, led by the Stockholm Resilience Center, has identified and defined nine […]

    Eric Roston Politics

  • Why the Second Circuit ‘nuisance’ case brings good news, and bad (part II)

    Cross-posted from Warming Law. In an earlier post, we explored the background, context, and historical significance of the Second Circuit decision handed down late Monday in Connecticut v. AEP, in which the court ruled that a group of states and environmental groups could sue several major electric utilities for contributing to a “public nuisance” in […]

    Hannah McCrea Politics

  • Seizing the opportunity: reflections from the U.N. Climate Summit

    Climate week began with world leaders participating in a full day of discussions on global warming. Over 100 world leaders were in attendance-the largest gathering of world leaders on global warming and the first in many respects. The leaders of a number of the key countries provided remarks. Yesterday’s events were intended to give a […]

    Jake Schmidt Politics

  • Pop Quiz

    Which of the following organizations — U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Natural Resources Defense Council or the American Coal Council — posted the following paragraph? “… policies to support CO2 capture and sequestration at power plants and industrial facilities could also help recover almost 37 billion barrels of stranded domestic oil by 2050. This increase in annual oil […]

    Ken Ward Politics

  • Boxer, Kerry will introduce Senate climate bill next week

    Cross-posted from Change.org. Sens. Boxer and Kerry at a climate rally in June.Photo: David Pierpont, NWF via FlickrLast night at Pittsburgh’s Andy Warhol Museum, Teresa Heinz read a message from her husband, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), that set the gala crowd to cheering:  He and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) will introduce a climate bill in […]

    Emily Gertz Politics