Climate Politics
All Stories
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Contesting on occupied terrain
“I am open and I am willingFor to be hopeless would seem so strangeIt dishonors those who go before usSo lift me up to the light of change.” “I Am Willing,” by Holly Near There is much evidence to indicate that there will be a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives next […]
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Congress gives green light to “cash for clunkers” bill; Obama to sign
The “cash for clunkers” bill is now headed to President Barack Obama’s desk, and he’s expected to sign it enthusiastically. Obama and Vice President Joe Biden personally lobbied senators to support the bill, helping stave off a Republican-led effort to kill it. The bill ultimately passed the Senate on Thursday as part of a large […]
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White House and enviros amp up efforts to pass climate bill in House
The House is gearing up to vote on the American Clean Energy and Security Act as soon as next week, and both the White House and environmental groups are planning a full-court press to get it passed. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), coauthor of the bill, has said he is “very close” to making a final deal […]
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Negotiations are all well and good, but where’s the bling bling?
With less than six months to go before Copenhagen, the global climate negotiations are at a pivotal moment. After a two-week negotiating session in Bonn, the negotiations are turning the corner. Or are they? For the first time, negotiators in Bonn debated the draft text of a global deal – a mixed bag of good, […]
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The Climate Post: Gimme your wallet–or else the forest here gets it
The Obama administration this week released a 196-page plain-language report that describes predicted future impacts of climate change on the U.S. The report comes during a week of inconclusive negotiation among key House lawmakers on climate legislation, and as the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee passes what could be the third energy bill in […]
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House GOP circulating anti–climate bill document created by coal lobby
[See updates below.] It’s no secret that the fossil-fuel industry produces many of the talking points Republicans use to scare voters about energy legislation. Usually, though, dirty energy execs don’t literally sign on as authors. House Republicans are circulating a PowerPoint document that purports to show the regional breakdown of costs for energy consumers under […]
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Cap-and-trade primer goes to Washington (DC)
We all know that the devil’s in the details when it comes to legislation, and the American Clean Energy and Security Act, a.k.a. Waxman-Markey, is no exception. This 900-plus page proposal tackling climate change and clean energy is chock full of such fiendish facets. We at Sightline Institute carefully studied the climate portion of the […]
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The climate bill is about more than shaking the money tree
Shake it, but please don’t break it.While Tom Philpott has been following the cage match between the House Ag Committee and its chairman Rep Collin Peterson, and Rep. Henry Waxman, author of the Waxman/Markey climate bill currently before Congress, the latest doings seem to have broken through to the broader blogosphere. Maybe it’s because the […]
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CBO: Household costs under Waxman-Markey likely much lower than report reflects
Last Friday, the Congressional Budget Office answered some questions from Sen. John Kerry about its much-discussed report (PDF) on the costs of cap-and-trade. You’ll recall the report’s principle conclusion: a cap-and-trade program would reduce the deficit over the next decade. Despite that positive outcome, the report contained some scary numbers, like the fact that the […]
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What does the CBO report on Waxman-Markey actually tell us? (Not much).
The Congressional Budget Office recently issued its report on the Waxman-Markey bill. The Washington Times soon trumpeted: “CBO puts hefty price tag on emissions plan: Obama’s cap-and-trade system seen costing $846 billion.” This is quite misleading. Actually, the CBO report tells us virtually nothing about the economic costs of the bill or how much consumers […]
