Climate Politics
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In the House, a nine-way tie for climate swing vote
The House Democrats who could determine the fate of the American Clean Energy & Security Act: (rear, from left) Baron Hill, Earl Pomeroy, Artur Davis, Rick Boucher; (front, from left) Mike Ross, Charlie Melancon, Jason Altmire, John Tanner, and Gene Taylor.Photo illustration by Tom Twigg / Grist Imagine the 435 members of the U.S. House […]
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22 more House Democrats who hold the keys to Waxman-Markey
In addition to the Carbon Nine, research by economists Matthew Kahn and Michael Cragg shows these 22 Democrats could play a key role in passing comprehensive climate legislation this year, based on the per-capita carbon emissions of their respective congressional districts. Most of the lawmakers listed below have stayed mum about their opinion of the […]
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Waxman-Markey giveaways pit consumer protection against climate protection
Waxman-Markey supposedly requires a large percent of the savings from free permits to be passed along to consumers. The intent is that they act as protection against price increases rather than a source of profits for large companies. Unfortunately, to the extent this works, it is likely to dampen the price signals that are supposed […]
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Obama Supreme Court pick has small but solid record on environmental rulings
President Obama today selected Sonia Sotomayor as his first nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. If confirmed, she would become the first Latin American and only the third woman to sit on the highest court in the land. The hot topic of conversation surrounding her nomination is affirmative action, but over in Gristland, we’re wondering, […]
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Judge Sonia Sotomayor on energy & environment
President Obama has chosen federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court. The African American Environmentalist Association has an extended discussion of her energy and environmental views, reprinted below: Judge Sonia Sotomayor [above] wrote an opinion in Riverkeeper v. EPA, 475 F.3d 83 (2d Cir. 2007), that the EPA was not permitted to engage […]
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Deforestation in Waxman-Markey
I really like Title VII Part E of the Waxman-Markey bill, which puts aside some pollution permit value to reduce international deforestation. (It’s separate from Part D, Offsets.) There are plenty of set-asides in the bill for energy producers, industrials, refineries, all sorts of private interests. VII-E is one of the few set-asides for public […]
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Toles on GOP global warming denial
And a shout out to Toles for his shout out to Dust-Bowlification (see “NOAA stunner: SW faces permanent Dust Bowls” and “Climate change drives SW Dust Bowl sooner than expected“).
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Congress reconsiders regulatory exemption for gas drilling
This story was written by ProPublica’s Abrahm Lustgarten. From left, former Vice President Dick Cheney, Rep. John Salazar, Rep. Dianna DeGette and Sen. Bob Casey are all trying to leave their mark on how natural gas is drilled in the U.S. Abrahm Lustgarten / ProPublicaFour years after Vice President Dick Cheney spearheaded a massive energy […]
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House Majority Leader says climate bill will see fast action
Enjoy the Memorial Day holiday, readers, because when members come back from their week-long break, the pace of action on climate and clean energy legislation is going to accelerate. The House leadership wants to vote on Waxman-Markey before the August recess. I certainly hope they can stay on that schedule since the ideal time to […]
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Obama’s new CAFE standards keep the pressure on Congress to act
It’s an annual rite as familiar as April showers; Americans again jumped in their cars in droves this past weekend to celebrate the unofficial start of summer. It was fitting that last week President Obama took a major step, announcing regulations that will increase fuel efficiency within a few years. With this move, Obama ensured […]
