Climate Politics
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California lawmakers set to take lead on enviro policy
Monday’s Washington Post notes a fact that’s been on many a green activist’s mind in the past two months: California lawmakers are set to play key roles in setting the nation’s environmental policies. The two congressional committees with the biggest say in environmental legislation are chaired by Californians (Barbara Boxer in the Senate, Henry Waxman […]
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S.F. Chronicle says Bush admin. is racing to open up the state’s coasts
The Interior Department is rushing to open up California’s coasts to offshore drilling exploration, the San Francisco Chronicle reported today, a move that could lead to oil derricks being built within three miles to the state’s shoreline. Government estimates show there could be 10 billion barrels of oil off of California’s entire coastline, enough to […]
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Future of Obama presidency hinges on ability to adapt to changing circumstances
I share the relief many liberals feel about the election of Barack Obama. We dodged a bullet on a lot of issues by not electing McCain — inaction on global warming, escalation of wars, budget cuts in the face of a depression. But I don’t share the triumphalism, the idea that conservatives are defeated forever […]
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Sen. Cornyn offers up simplistic recipe for energy security
Sen. John Cornyn of Texas says tumbling gas prices have had the bad effect of making voters less interested in tackling the nation’s energy problems. True. But the Republican lawmaker from one of the reddest states in the union says the biggest stumbling block to energy security isn’t reliance on fossil fuels and an unwillingness […]
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Outgoing Greenpeace leader talks about activism, economics, and his next steps
John Passacantando. Greenpeace has earned a reputation as the environmental movement’s radical faction, and John Passacantando, executive director of the organization’s U.S. arm, has been right in the midst of the action. He took the helm of Greenpeace USA in September 2000, after the group had fallen on hard times and into deep disagreement over […]
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Obama’s NSA pick promotes ‘drill, baby, drill,’ clean coal, and nuclear
For a lot of the folks who voted for Barack Obama, promoting "national security" means weaning ourselves from dirty fuel sources. For the man Obama tapped as his national security advisor, James L. Jones, things aren’t so clear cut, Robert Dreyfuss reports in The Nation. Over the course of a long military career, James established […]
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Memo to the president-elect about NASA
Memo To: PEBO From: Andrew Dessler Re: What to do about NASA on your first day in office Two things: Fire Michael Griffin, NASA’s current administrator. He says stupid things about climate change and is going to be an impediment to the change that NASA needs. Put the Earth back in NASA’s mandate. In 2006, […]
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Brookings and RMI bring energy stakeholders together to forge areas of agreement
A fleet of oil industry reps, enviros, venture capitalists, national-security hawks, and think-tankers walk into a room. After a day and a half of debate, can they walk out with at least three oil-related policy recommendations for the next president? That was the challenge presented by the Rocky Mountain Institute and the Brookings Institution, which […]
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Conservative Dems push back against progressive green spending
Last week the Washington Post had a story on the tension between fast stimulus and green stimulus; this week they have another along the same lines. Smart growth groups and enviros are trying to push the balance as far as possible toward green infrastructure spending: public transit and smart grid. In contrast, Rep. Baron Hill […]
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Climate youth activists target the Capitol Power Plant
The U.S. coal-fired power plant fleet is filled with geezers. Out of 1,522 existing generating units, 600 were running during the Nixon-Kennedy debates. Nearly 10 percent were built in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. Still, it would be hard to find a coal plant that has seen more history than the Capitol Power Plant in […]
