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  • Top 10 reasons the Senate should strengthen and pass the Waxman-Markey bill

    This post first appeared on the NRDC Switchboard site. It is vital to enact comprehensive energy and climate legislation this year — to help deliver economic, energy, and climate security.  As President Obama has said, the choice is “between a slow decline and renewed prosperity; between the past and the future.”  The time to act […]

  • Nuclear + cap-and-trade = bipartisan climate bill?

    Getting a climate bill through the Senate with some Republican support might be easier than many observers think, but only if it comes with provisions providing a big boost for nuclear energy. That was one takeaway from Tuesday’s Senate committee hearing on climate change legislation, the first of a series that the Environment and Public […]

  • California net metering bill progresses

    Just to follow up on a previous thread, AB 560 (the bill to lift the net metering cap in California) passed a key hurdle today, passing out of the Senate Energy, Utilities, and Communications committee by a vote of 9-1. The bill was amended–instead of lifting the 2.5 percent cap on net metering to 10 […]

  • Rural county asks EPA chief not to make it ‘The Ash Hole of Alabama’

    Kingston, Tenn., coal ash spillThe Environmental Protection Agency is still figuring out what to do with the millions of tons of coal ash that spilled through a broken levy levee in eastern Tennessee last December. But it looks like much of it may be shipped to Perry County in central Alabama, where residents are none […]

  • EPA attorneys criticize Obama nominee

    This story was written by ProPublica.org’s Joaquin Sapien. The Obama administration’s nomination of Ignacia Moreno to head the environment division of the Department of Justice is moving quietly through the confirmation process, with hearings expected to begin in the next few weeks. Moreno has worked for the environment division before, during the Clinton administration. But […]

  • What is Obama’s international climate strategy?

    International climate negotiations often seem like some sort of cosmic science fair project — an aquarium full of hamsters connected to rudimentary motors. There’s a lot of frantic running, a lot of sweat and heat, but in the end, very little light. Faith in the UN climate process has dimmed. Joe Romm calls it a […]

  • Senator, how will you vote on the climate bill?

    Track the debate and take action >>> House lawmakers are now on the record about climate legislation, but senators still haven’t been pinned down. As the Senate begins deliberation on climate legislation, help Grist find out how senators will vote. Send a message like this one to your two U.S. senators, then post their replies […]

  • Senate panel to kick off climate hearings on Tuesday

    The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee this week will begin the task of drafting climate and energy legislation, picking up where the House left off after passing the American Clean Energy and Security Act at the end of June. A hearing called for Tuesday will look at different “legislative tools” for addressing climate change. […]

  • What’s become of school lunch

    Where’s my bubble-gum-flavored apple? Photo: dancing chopsticks Remember back in April, when I bemoaned Obama’s choice of an industry-friendly school-lunch overseer? The job of administering the USDA’s school-lunch program went to Janey Thornton. She had made her name serving in several capacities for the School Nutrition Association–a conglomeration of school cafeteria managers who have never […]

  • Rep. Massa explains his ‘no’ vote

    Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) was one of 44 Democrats who voted against the American Clean Energy and Security Act (aka Waxman-Markey) on June 26. Massa sent out the following explanation to his campaign email list: On Friday, June 26th, the 111th Congress voted on, and passed the Cap & Trade Climate Bill (H.R. 2454). I […]