Climate Politics
All Stories
-
Senate EPW chair calls on Obama to invest in infrastructure and green energy
In a press conference and a letter to Barack Obama, Senate Environment and Public Works Chair Barbara Boxer today called for massive investment in public infrastructure to grow the economy and reduce global warming, though she was not specific about amounts of money or a timeline for action. “America pulled itself out of the Great […]
-
Higher gasoline taxes to boost efficiency would be ‘a mistake’
I couldn’t agree more with PEBO on Meet the Press Sunday: New gasoline taxes aren’t the way to boost energy efficiency. Remember, European gas taxes have long been more than $2 a gallon higher than ours, and as of 2002, the average fuel economy of European Union vehicles was 37 miles per gallon, which is […]
-
Obama and Biden to kick it with Al Gore tomorrow
This just over the transom from Obamaland: Tomorrow, President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden will be meeting with former Vice-President Al Gore in Chicago to discuss energy and climate change and how policies in this area can stimulate the economy and create jobs. There will be a pool spray in the meeting and […]
-
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 […]
-
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 […]
-
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 […]
-
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 […]
-
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 […]
-
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, […]
-
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 […]
