Climate Politics

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  • The Climate Post: Has the political climate changed?

    First things first: The U.S. House of Representatives last week narrowly voted to overhaul the nation’s energy economy by limiting industrial greenhouse gas emissions, boosting efficiency, and developing renewable electricity sources. The American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act would limit, or “cap,” annual pollution and allow industry to buy and sell, or “trade,” credits […]

    Eric Roston Politics

  • Conservative activists wage war on Republicans who voted for climate bill

    Conservative opponents of the Waxman-Markey bill are targeting the eight Republicans who voted for it in the House. The bill would not have passed without their support.Leo Alberti via michellemalkin.com.Republican House members who provided the margin of victory in last week’s narrow passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act are taking heat from […]

    Kate Sheppard Politics

  • Et tu, Al? Franken gulps the ethanol-spiked Kool-Aid

    “I’ve looked at this a lot, and it seems to me that ethanol already helps our carbon footprint and it’s only getting more efficient in the way it’s produced. Corn ethanol is a step on the way to cellulosic ethanol, which is also going to benefit Minnesota. I’m in the pro-ethanol camp.”— Sen. (elect) Al […]

    Tom Philpott Politics

  • 47 groups urge Obama to endorse 2-degree C warming threshold

    A coalition of 47 environment, science, and faith-based groups have sent a letter to President Barack Obama asking him to pursue a goal of keeping global warming to less than 2 degrees Celcius in upcoming international meetings. “Failure to limit warming to 2 degrees Celsius will have the greatest impact on the most vulnerable nations […]

    Kate Sheppard Politics

  • Autos, smart grid and clean tech: DOE turns on the money

    Last week the Department of Energy released part of the $25 billion in loans provided for through the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program, included in Section 136 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The delay in releasing these funds had been one of the longest running scandals in clean tech policy. […]

    Michael Moynihan Politics

  • The WaPo serves up a food-politics column

    Ezra KleinLindsay Beyerstein“Edible Media” takes an occasional look at interesting or deplorable food journalism on the web. Welcome to the table, Ezra Klein When I first started writing about food politics in 2005, the topic area was highly stratified–and still a little obscure. There was Eric Schlosser’s groundbreaking Fast Food Nation (2001) illuminating the topic […]

    Tom Philpott Politics

  • Southern Company dominates the climate lobbying scene

    This post was originally published on the website of the Center for Public Integrity and is reposted on Grist with CPI’s kind permission. —– Southern Company, the nation’s largest electric power generator, also had the largest force of lobbyists among the hundreds of businesses and interest groups that were seeking to influence the landmark climate […]

    Marianne Lavelle & David Donald Politics

  • No healthcare reform without food-system reform

    The AP reports on a new state-level study of obesity rates. And the news is, well, terrifying: Obesity rates among adults rose in 23 states over the past year and didn’t decline anywhere, says a new report from the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation …[W]hile the nation has long been […]

    Tom Laskawy Politics

  • The new Senate global warming deniers

    If you wanted to get progressives more excited about the clean energy and climate protection bill that passed the House last week, you might be inclined to point to Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins HuffPost piece on the $1 billion in green jobs funding that was added at the last minute, including “[l]ocal access to quality jobs, through […]

    Bill Scher Politics

  • Americans United praises Congress for passing ACES

    Americans United for Change is running a new ad in the DC market praising Congress for passing the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES). “Last month, Congress met President Obama’s challenge to create millions of clean energy jobs — not in India or China, but right here, in America,” the ads say. But wait! […]

    Kate Sheppard Politics