Climate Politics

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  • Vilsack makes an industry-friendly pick to head the school lunch program

    Processed junk … again? Photo: dancing chopsticks USDA chief Tom Vilsack has repeatedly said that improving child nutrition will be one of his priorities. One key place to start would be the National School Lunch Program. Because of miserly federal funding for ingredients and kitchen equipment, the cafeteria kitchens in our nation’s public schools have […]

    Tom Philpott Politics

  • What explains the recent popularity of market-based environmental solutions?

    Despite the potential cost-effectiveness of market-based policy instruments like pollution taxes and tradable permits, conventional approaches — including design and uniform performance standards — have been the mainstay of U.S. environmental policy since before the first Earth Day in 1970. Gradually, however, the political process has become more receptive to innovative, market-based strategies. In the […]

    Robert Stavins Politics

  • Are we hearing enough from real-world climate pollution reducers?

    I’ve got a somewhat half-formed thought I’d like to throw out. I’m not sure I have the broad historical/academic/whatever knowledge to back it up (“What’s new?” they ask in unison), but let’s see if it resonates with anyone else. It’s well know that actual markets don’t behave like Ideal Markets full of Rational Actors — […]

    David Roberts Politics

  • Wangari Maathai film shows Kenyan tree planting as political subversion

    Planting trees in Kenya is about more than just helping the environment.Alan Dater Planting trees in deforested areas brings a host of benefits, as any good environmentalist knows. Trees provide cleaner air, richer soil, wildlife habitat, and shade. They conserve water and protect lands against floods. They absorb carbon dioxide. Under the rule of an […]

    Jonathan Hiskes Politics

  • A flawed strategy: Why environmental groups should not be chasing carbon dollars

    It’s easy to understand. We’ve had eight years of across-the-board hostility to sustainability investments by Bush & Co., and before that eight years of promises with no follow-through by the Clinton crowd. Now green groups are dazzled by the prospect of hundreds of billions of new dollars for mass transit, energy efficiency, and other projects, […]

    Peter Dorman Politics

  • An apology and an explanation for Friedman

    There’s an old saying my granddad was fond of. “Dave,” he’d say, rocking his chair, puffing his pipe, squinting into the distance, “don’t be such an a**hole.” Wise words. On reflection, my post about Tom Friedman’s column ended up unnecessarily heated and confrontational, even insulting. I stand by my take on the column, but Friedman […]

    David Roberts Politics

  • Fossil Energy Reduction Standard: A better RPS

    Photo: WhiteGoldWielder via Flickr Previously, I described difficulties with RPS policy, whereby layers of patches designed to address political problems create a convoluted overall structure that yields lousy policy. Today, I outline a better approach. Policy first First a caveat: Too much of our energy policy is developed based on politics. There is a point […]

    Sean Casten Politics

  • No stinkin’ green jobs or responsible mining debate!

    For all of her “drill, baby, drill” cheerleading, at least Governor Sarah Palin is willing to have a discussion about renewable energy sources like wind and geothermal. According to the Coal River Wind Project, the West Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Rick Thompson and a handful of House Rules Committee members have just blocked a […]

    Jeff Biggers Politics

  • Oh thank goodness, I was terrified

    “They need not fear what I would write as a bill, [that I would] say, ‘Let’s write a bill without coal.’ You can’t.” — Nancy Pelosi

    David Roberts Politics

  • Fellow Washington Post columnist challenges George Will’s climate denial

    Another Washington Post staffer has joined the pile-on against columnist George Will’s climate-change denial. Fellow columnist Eugene Robinson lambasted Will on the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC Wednesday night, and also called out the editors who let him get away with it. “What George Will did was cherry-pick a sentence in a report, you know, […]

    Kate Sheppard Politics