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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Sen. Jeff Bingaman answers Grist’s questions on the climate bill [VIDEO]
Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) is chairman of the Energy & Natural Resources Committee and a key player on energy issues. In June, his committee voted to approve S. 1462, the American Clean Energy Leadership Act, an energy bill that may or may not be combined with a climate bill from Sen. Barbara Boxer’s Environment & […]
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Why the Second Circuit “nuisance” case brings good news, and bad (part 1)
Cross-posted from Warming Law. Coverage and analysis is slowly trickling in of the landmark ruling [pdf] handed down by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit late yesterday, in which a 2-judge panel held that a group of states and environmental groups could sue several electric utility companies for creating a “public nuisance” […]
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Preserve states’ right to fight climate change
In his Sept. 22 U.N. speech President Obama got it right: the battle to arrest calamitous climate change can be won only if each of us enlists, perseveres, and fights “for every inch of progress.” It is, therefore, critical that the nation not embark on that battle with one hand tied behind our collective back. […]
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China steals Cimate Week spotlight, but U.S. still in the hot seat
U.N. headquarters: Site of all the inaction.Photo: United NationsThe U.S. was given a starring role at the United Nations Climate Summit on Tuesday, but China stole the show. President Barack Obama had pride of place on the agenda, as the first head of state to speak to the gathered world leaders, ministers, and climate negotiators. […]
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Fossil fuel subsidies dwarf clean energy subsidies; Obama wants to eliminate them
One often hears opponents of clean energy say that renewable sources are too expensive; they can’t get by without subsidies; they can’t compete in a “free market.” One of the many reasons this is a daffy argument is that there is no such thing as a free market, certainly not in energy. Existing energy sources, […]
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If you can’t say something helpful, don’t say anything at all
Cross-posted from Warming Law. The Washington Post has been editorializing in favor of congressional action to address climate change for more than a decade, but an editorial Monday makes us wonder if they mean it. The piece, entitled “Regulating Carbon,” bears a menacing subtitle: The EPA is getting ready. Congress? Not so much. And that’s […]
