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Obama lays down plans for high-speed rail
The Obama administration has big plans to create a “world-class passenger rail system” across the country, the president announced this morning. “What we need … is a smart transportation system equal to the needs of the 21st century,” said Obama. “A system that reduces travel times and increases mobility. A system that reduces congestion and […]
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Nevada senator plans to revive ‘drill here, drill now’ mantra
Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) was on Ed Morrissey’s internet radio show, Hot Air, earlier this week, where he said Republicans plan to revive the “drill here, drill now” call this summer. He said they need to be “on guard” against “liberalism” on issues like energy. Here’s the quote, via ThinkProgress: MORRISSEY: In 2008, when gas […]
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We're F*cked
Very interesting, very positive response from 200+ at American Friends Service Committee conference on the triple threats of security, economy and climate to blunt assessment of the state of climate change and climate politics. Another strong indicator that our organizations are fast losing touch.
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Palin says global warming harms Alaska, still wants to drill
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (from left), Senator Mark Begich, Congressman Don Young and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar arrive at a public forum meeting in Anchorage Tuesday to discuss Outer Continental Shelf development.Courtesy Alaska governor’s officeSarah Palin seems to have discovered global warming, and she’s got just the thing to do about it. Yesterday […]
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Why two climate bills are better than one
As this is written, two House Committees — Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means — are considering climate legislation. Both are following similar timetables, and hope to report bills by June. In the case of Energy and Commerce, chairman Henry Waxman has released a 648-page discussion draft. The draft creates a large and […]
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Indiana bill would define clean coal and nuclear energy as ‘renewable’
Indiana’s statehouse.Flickr: mattindy77The Indiana lawmakers are considering legislation that would define “clean coal” and nuclear-generated electricity as renewable energy. They’re also mulling bills that would define John “Cougar” Mellencamp as a jazz musician and categorize the pork tenderloin sandwich as a vegetable. Seriously, the energy change, being debated as part of a set of changes […]
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Greenpeace’s new leader talks up need for a green grassroots
Phil RadfordPhoto: Kate SheppardGreenpeace USA’s announcement on Tuesday that the group is elevating its grassroots director to serve as the next executive director sends a clear signal that the 38-year-old environmental organization is focused on growing its membership and playing a lead role in rallying public support for big changes in U.S. energy and climate […]
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Myth: Climate policy must be simple
Among the weird memes that has grown up around the cap-and-trade debate, one of the most puzzling to me is that C&T is fatally flawed because it is complex. Americans don’t “get it.” They’ll only support a climate policy that is so “simple and transparent” that you can explain it on a napkin. (Like a […]
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Towards the Copenhagen climate change agreement: Round One
The international global warming negotiations in Bonn, Germany have just wrapped up. They began with a loud applause as U.S. Special Climate Envoy Todd Stern announced that the U.S. is back. And they ended with the reality of the work that needs to be done over the next 8 months to ensure a strong agreement […]
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Obama’s school-lunch chief not much of a reformer
Note: This essay was written with Kate Adamick of Food Systems Solutions LLC and Beth Collins of Lunch Lessons LLC. Supersize me.Photo: bookgrlToday, 30 percent of American children are over-weight or obese. For children born in the year 2000, one out of every three Caucasians and one out of every two African American and Hispanics […]
