Climate Politics
All Stories
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The right-wing caricature of environmentalism inhibits action on matters of human welfare
Recommended: "Earth Worship," an article from the latest issue of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Report. It offers a window into environmentalism as seen feverishly imagined by the far right. It begins: Addison, Texas — "Environment is not about saving nature," the founder of Freedom Advocates, Michael Shaw, sternly warned an audience of antigovernment […]
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Enviros and urban planners puzzled by Obama’s transportation pick
Ray LaHood.Wednesday’s surprise pick of Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) to head the Department of Transportation caught greenies and urban-planning types off guard. Though they’re not condemning the pick, they are emphasizing that transit will be a major challenge and that the next secretary needs to be up to the task. LaHood has served on the […]
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Prehistory called, it wants its worldview back …
“Environmental issues are a luxury good. Now we have to tighten our belt and to cut the luxury.” — Czech President Vaclav Klaus, criticizing the newly signed E.U. climate deal
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Vilsack’s appointment is representative of the narrow range of viewpoints in Obama’s Cabinet
Tom Vilsack is going to be secretary of agriculture, hmmm … Let’s see, ethanol proponent, enthusiastic supporter of GMOs and biotechnologies, and political debtor to agribusiness. Yup, it seems clear that Obama really took Michael Pollan’s "Farmer in Chief" piece to heart. Short of actually appointing, say, Monsanto’s chairman, it is hard to imagine a […]
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Michael Pollan, Nicholas Kristoff, and others weigh in on USDA pick
For the first time ever, I would wager, an incoming president’s USDA pick has emerged from the back news pages and into the national conversation. On the radio, three shows I know of devoted significant time to the topic. NPR’s Morning Edition interviewed Michael Pollan this morning; The Takeaway featured New York State farmer Ben […]
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Hilda Solis chosen to head Labor Department
Wow! This is amazing news. Solis has been one of the House’s leading champions of green jobs and environmental justice. She was the sponsor of the Green Jobs Bill. More on this soon, but … wo0t!
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Vilsack on organic ag and ethanol
If you’re digging around on Tom Vilsack, Obama’s nominee to head USDA, you might want to check out a couple of interviews, both done during his (brief) presidential campaign this year. The short assessment is: He seems committed on climate change and energy security, and committed on vastly ramping up ethanol, and utterly unaware of […]
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U.S. proposes protections for seven penguin species
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this week proposed listing six species of penguins as threatened and another species as endangered, a move that will have little consequence within the U.S. as wild penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere. However, the proposed designations could aid negotiations for international species protections. Species advocates generally praised the […]
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California unveils comprehensive ‘green chemistry’ plan
California unveiled a comprehensive “green chemistry” plan this week that aims to both encourage the development of less-toxic products and compel manufacturers to reveal exactly what’s in their products and how dangerous they could be to the public. One part of the plan calls for an online database with info on hundreds of thousands of […]
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Report finds widespread meddling with species decisions
Officials at the U.S. Interior Department improperly meddled in a number of decisions affecting imperiled species under the Endangered Species Act, a report [PDF] from the agency’s inspector general has found. The Bush administration agreed last year to reexamine a number of decisions made by Julie MacDonald, an ex-official accused of orchestrating much of the […]
