Climate Politics
All Stories
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Congress and Obama team signal that they will be ready for Copenhagen
In a letter from U.S. groups making the rounds here in Poznan, delegates are being urged to make the decisions needed in Poznan to keep us on schedule for making a final deal in Copenhagen next year, as promised in the historic consensus reached last December in Bali. While the December 2009 meeting in Copenhagen […]
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Kansas governor says she’s not planning to take a post in the Obama administration
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has taken herself out of the running for a cabinet position under Obama. She has been rumored as a top candidate for the head of Labor, Energy, Education or Agriculture. “Given the extraordinary budget challenges facing our state and my commitment to continuing the progress we’ve made in Kansas, I believe […]
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Activists circulate last-minute petition to urge progressive farm-policy chief
The Obama transition team is reportedly going to announce the new USDA chief in the next few days. If the short list of candidates now being circulated is any indication, the president-elect is feeling serious pressure to make an agribiz-friendly choice. But just as pressure can be applied from above, it can also come from […]
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Who will Obama tap to guide our oceans and atmosphere policy?
Washington Post columnist Andrew Freedman zeros in on the prospects for the top job at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The pick will oversee fisheries and atmospheric science research, among other things. “[T]he next few years are slated to be a rebuilding phase for NOAA; similar to a sports franchise that has hit a […]
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Tribal leaders converge on Denver to protest Black Mesa project
It looks like another rushed “midnight regulation” from the Department of the Interior may be issued in favor of Peabody Coal, and the Navajo and Hopi people of Black Mesa are trying to stop it. A large delegation has traveled to Denver to meet with top officials in the Office of Surface Mining and hold […]
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Green stimulus: Where can the money go, and how fast?
In his radio address on Sunday, Obama sketched a progressive stimulus spending package that’s kicked up quite a bit of chatter. Some transit advocates were ticked off that roads and bridges got a shout-out but there was no mention of transit. Michael O’Hare goes so far as to say that "Obama has, on the whole, […]
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Rumors fly about who Obama will tap for Interior Secretary
Buzz in Washington right now is that the Obama transition team is considering two new candidates for Secretary of the Interior: Kevin Gover and Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.). Most speculation last week focused on Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), but these new names appear to be high on the list as well. The transition team […]
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NRO’s media critic waxes moronic about my Salon piece
Sure, everyone knows National Review Online‘s climate blog is a must-not-read. But now the NRO‘s media critic Kevin D. Williamson has exploded (imploded?) over, of all things, my recent Salon piece, “What will make Obama a great president.” He headlines his post: “Head-Clutching Buffoonery: Salon, Romm, and Kyoto” but then hypocritically criticizes the mild sub-head […]
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The Black Mesa nightmare returns
For the sake of a deliberate and balanced approached to mining, indigenous rights, and environmental concerns, let’s hope U.S. Representative Raul Grijalva takes the reins at the Department of the Interior in Obama’s administration. Take this week’s startling announcement that the George W. Bush administration might quietly give the green light to reopening the scandalous […]
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We can haz everee-thing!
Coal lobby billboard: "Clean coal means our next President won’t have to choose between a clean environment and our economy." EPA head Stephen Johnson: "Americans should not have to choose between clean coal or effective environmental protection; we can achieve both."
