Climate Politics
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Quick thoughts on the USDA’s ‘Know Your Farmer’ program
What should we make of the USDA’s “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” initiative, which the agency rolled out this week? USDA via FlickrAfter hearing USDA official Ann Wright’s remarks Tuesday in Chicago and reading through the press release, I’m both encouraged and skeptical. Speaking to attendees at the Chefs Collaborative Summit — an audience […]
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Conservatives ditch CBO data when convenient to attack climate bill
Conservatives who loved citing the Congressional Budget Office when it was being hard on health care legislation keep on ignoring it when it comes to climate legislation. Today conservatives tried once again to mislead the media into reporting the costs of cap-and-trade are higher than every objective analyst expects. The Competitive Enterprise Institute, with the […]
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Climate SOS campaign aims to defeat ACES for the right reason
As Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s comment makes clear, there will be no climate bill this year. This is a crucial step on the long and tortuous road to averting cataclysm, but defeat for the ACES placebo is of little long term consequence unless it is killed for the right reason. The Climate SOS campaign […]
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EPA revamping rules for toxic releases from coal plants
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced yesterday that it plans to revise the existing standards for wastewater discharges from coal-fired power plants. The news came one day after three environmental groups announced they intend to sue the agency for failing to properly regulate such discharges. Many of these releases come from coal ash ponds like […]
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Obama to propose ending fossil fuel subsidies in Pittsburgh?
According to a leaked letter, the Obama administration is set to propose ending fossil fuel subsidies next week at the Pittsburgh G20. The letter, authored by Michael Froman who is an Obama advisor on international economic affairs, calls on the G20 to eliminate all fossil fuel and electricity subsidies, as a “logical step in combating […]
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Obama talks green to GM workers
President Barack Obama put a green spin on Tuesday’s address to autoworkers at the GM assembly plant in Warren, Ohio. The president sounded confident that the rescued, retooled, reinvented, more or less government-owned GM would be “good for American workers, good for American manufacturing, and good for America’s economy.” And it may just be a […]
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Everything you always wanted to know about EPA greenhouse gas regulations, but were afraid to ask
Two years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the EPA has the authority and the obligation to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. At a stroke, the politics of climate change were changed. The choice was no longer between legislation or no legislation — it was between legislation or regulation. One way […]
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An interview with Jason Burnett, who worked on EPA greenhouse gas regulations
The following is an interview with Jason Burnett, who worked in the EPA under President GW Bush. In it, we discuss efforts by the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases. Burnett quit the EPA in protest in June 2008, alleging interference from the Office of the Vice President. The interview is meant as a supplement to […]
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Activists drape Niagara Falls with banner to protest tar-sands oil
Rainforest Action Network hangs a 70-foot banner in front of Niagara Falls, in protest of Canadian tar sands oil.Photo: Rainforest Action NetworkThere’s a 70-foot banner and activists dangling over the observation tower at Niagara Falls. Before dawn this morning, a small team of climate advocates with the Rainforest Action Network rappelled hundreds of feet above […]
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A big breakthrough on green jobs
The New York State Senate and Assembly, too often a model of corruption and dysfunctionality, rose above petty politics last week to pass forward-thinking legislation on climate and energy, setting a precedent for bipartisanship and a sensible cap and trade system. The State Senate passed the groundbreaking Green Job/Green New York Act, with strong support […]
