Climate Politics

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  • Sen. Jeff Merkley answers Grist’s questions on Senate climate bill

    Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) won his 2008 race against 40-year Republican incumbent Gordon Smith in a squeaker, with a margin of just 3%. Despite the narrow win, Merkley has come out swinging on climate and energy issues, securing an appointment to the Environment & Public Works Committee, sponsoring or co-sponsoring a series of clean energy […]

    David Roberts Politics

  • Climate Week kicks off in New York with bigwigs and big hopes

    2009: The year so many met so often to talk so much about the perilous state of the climate — and as of September, accomplished so little.  Will this week be the charm? During several different international meetings this year, nations have been getting into position for this December’s international climate treaty talks in Copenhagen. […]

    Emily Gertz Politics

  • Lamar Alexander loves the earth too much to support solar and wind

    Alexander unveiled his nuclear plan in July.One of the few Congressional Republicans who talks about the need to address climate change, Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, made an interesting argument against wind and solar energy this week. He’s concerned about the amount of land required to produce energy from wind and solar, writing in the […]

    Jonathan Hiskes Politics

  • Climate change is a poverty issue

    “Where are you from?”  I was often asked that question while growing up in Southern Indiana in the 1970s.  I didn’t look like anyone else in my white hometown and people had a hard time believing I belonged there. I hated the question, but for them it was a polite way of dealing with their […]

    Aiko Schaefer Politics

  • CBS’s Declan McCullagh promotes another false CEI attack on clean energy reform

    Cross-posted from Wonk Room. According to Declan McCullagh, a libertarian blogger who works for CBS Interactive, secret Obama administration documents reveal that the cost of clean energy cap-and-trade legislation would be $1,761 per household — despite official estimates from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Energy Information Administration of about a […]

    Brad Johnson Politics

  • The soda wars heat up — and the possibilities are thrilling

    To read the news, it would look like soda taxes are just around the corner. First, President Obama mildly suggested in an interview in Men’s Health that soda taxes were worth some consideration. Then Obamafoodorama broke the news of Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent’s reaction to said soda tax: “I have never seen it work where […]

    Tom Laskawy Politics

  • 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 […]

    Tom Philpott Politics

  • 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 […]

    Bill Scher Politics

  • 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 […]

    Ken Ward Politics

  • 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 […]

    Sue Sturgis Politics