Climate Politics
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Senate should consider deforestation as part of climate bill
This post was co-authored by Lincoln Chafee, former Republican senator from Rhode Island. It was cross-posted from Roll Call. It is imperative that the United States find effective and economically viable solutions to the climate crisis. Our elected officials and business leaders ask how we can afford the global transition to a low-carbon economy. Around […]
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A victory for Katrina victims; a defeat for Alaskan villagers
Cross-posted from Warming Law. A federal appeals court has reversed the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by victims of Hurricane Katrina seeking damages related to global warming, while a federal district court in California has dismissed a similar lawsuit brought by an Alaskan village allegedly disappearing beneath rising sea levels. These rulings come weeks after […]
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CAFOs: ‘Above the Law’ like Steven Seagal?
You looking at me, punk? Okay, okay. I’ve got a good one for you. Ready? Q: Why are CAFOs just like B-movie action “star” Steven Seagal? A: Because despite being Under Siege, Marked for Death and On Deadly Ground, they remain Hard to Kill and, even worse, Above the Law. The ultimate example of this has […]
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Chamber plays the fool in Yes Men hoax
Another brilliant stunt from the Yes Men: the New York pranksters sent out a fake press release this morning, pretending to be from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber is reversing its opposition to the clean energy bill in Congress. It’s had a change of heart. It’s now taking climate change seriously, the press […]
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Report: Forest conservation can be as reliable as other ways of reducing pollution
Photo: Mongabay A combination of dramatic technological advances, experience, and application of a little common sense has markedly increased scientists’ confidence in their ability to monitor forest conservation projects for their climate impact. As The Eliasch Review [PDF], the U.K. Government’s authoritative recent report on forest-climate science and policy, put it, “Using appropriate techniques, forest […]
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Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) [UPDATED]
Lisa Murkowski Sen. Lisa Murkowski is open to voting for a cap-and-trade climate bill if it would aggressively boost nuclear power and domestic oil and gas drilling, she said in a C-SPAN interview aired on Oct. 18. “Count me as one of those who will keep my mind open as we move forward,” she said. […]
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If the grass looks greener, it’s important to understand the nature of the fence
Cross-posted from The Bellows. One of the things about politics is that solutions always seem easier to implement and more promising before they stand a real chance of being implemented. People who have for one reason or another fallen in love with the idea of a carbon tax watch the difficulty Congress is having negotiating […]
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Is anyone in charge of food safety?
The fact that there remains no one in charge of food safety at the USDA has become a sick sort of joke among food policy types. It’s true that there is a second in command, Jerold Mande — but he’s a cancer doctor with no food safety background and, at best, a caretaker. He has […]
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Calling all radicals: Unite for Kerry-Boxer
As an activist who has been arrested for civil disobedience, organized national climate mobilizations, protested outside of coal plants, and worked for Greenpeace, I am calling on my friends and colleagues to fight for the Kerry-Boxer “Clean Energy Jobs Act” and a strong global treaty in Copenhagen. On Monday Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Energy […]
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Is the Congressional Budget Office trying to kill humanity?
Cross-posted from Wonk Room. Yesterday, Doug Elmendorf, the director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), testified before the Senate energy committee about the “comparatively modest” cost of a cap-and-trade system to limit carbon pollution. The Washington Post and Wall Street Journal blared “Congressional Budget Chief Says Climate Bill Would Cost Jobs” and “Cap-and-Trade Would Slow […]
