Politics

Obama garden drama, and other choice morsels from around the Web

The First Lady helps create the world’s most famous kitchen garden. When my info-larder gets too packed, it’s time to serve up some choice nuggets from around the Web. A high-profile urban garden, two writers, and some vile sludgeAndrew Kimbrell of the Center for Food Safety is one of our most important critics of industrial […]

Tom Philpott Politics

American Clean Energy Security Act strengthens U.S. ability to sabotage international climate talks

“The world is not going to turn its back on coal.“U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven ChuThe Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy Security Act (ACES) won’t cut emissions. It won’t serve as a platform we can improve later anymore than the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) served as a foot in the door to improve our democracy when […]

Gar Lipow Politics

American Climate Energy Security bill still makes things worse.

“The girl’s not playing with a full deck, Giles. She has almost no deck. She has a three.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Faith, Hope and Trick. The American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) repeals the recently won authority the EPA has to regulate greenhouse gases, and replaces that authority with a loophole ridden […]

Gar Lipow Politics

GOP: Solar powered jobs can go to hell (or at least limbo)

The clock was ticking … till it stopped.Courtesy Osha DavidsonJust ten days ago, Arizona state Senator Barbara Leff (R-Paradise Valley) stood before a House committee, making the case for a bill she had written. “The Quality Jobs Through Renewable Energy Bill,” was needed, she said, to make Arizona the leader in solar [power].” Not just […]

Osha Gray Davidson Politics

Counting Senate votes on a climate bill

Track the debate and take action >>> UPDATED: 9 Oct 2009 The House already passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act (aka Waxman-Markey), so now the ball is in the Senate’s court. Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) introduced a climate bill on Sept. 30. For now, here’s a quick breakdown of […]

Grist staff Politics

U.S.-Russia climate and energy efficiency cooperation: A neglected challenge

This piece was co-written with colleagues from the Center for American Progress: Julian L. Wong, a Senior Policy Analyst, and Samuel Charap, a Fellow. The summit between President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev in Moscow on July 6-8 comes in the middle of a packed international schedule of bilateral and multilateral meetings for […]

Andrew Light Politics

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 […]