Climate Politics
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Meet the people who might fill top environmental jobs in an Obama administration
How green would Obama’s cabinet be? A few names to file away. So what exactly does change look like? Barack Obama has ambitious energy and environmental plans. If he wins on Nov. 4, who will he recruit to carry them out? Will he rely more heavily on Washington newcomers or on Clinton […]
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The intellectual bankruptcy of the Cato Institute
“They have learned nothing, and they have forgotten nothing.” So the French statesman Talleyrand supposedly said of the pre-revolution monarchy. The words apply equally well to that bastion of libertarianism, the Cato Institute. Over the years, I have debated one of their senior scholars, Jerry Taylor, many times. He is probably the craftiest debater that […]
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What mix of ignorance, ego, and incompetence explains Palin’s bizarre energy policy speech?
A few words on Palin’s energy speech, which I finally forced myself to read. I don’t really have words to express how bizarre this is. Where to begin? Why do a policy speech at this late date? Why is this better than a rally? Who is this supposed to be directed to? The base, who […]
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China to invest $280 billion in rail network ‘as a stimulus measure’
Australian media reports: China will invest nearly $A445 billion (US$ 280 billion) in its overburdened rail system as a stimulus measure aimed at blunting the impact of the global financial crisis. The investment is part of plans to extend the country’s railway network from the current roughly 125,502km to nearly 160,900km by 2010, Shanghai’s Oriental […]
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Former veep to speak at Power Vote webcast tonight
Power Vote 2008 is hosting a live webcast tonight featuring former Vice President Al Gore. He’ll be talking about his Repower America campaign, the economic and climate crises, and the need for voters to go to the polls on this issue this year. You can RSVP to watch the event over on the Alliance for […]
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‘Midnight regulation’ abounds after June 1 deadline
In less than a week, this country will have a new president … but the old administration will still be hard at work, potentially pushing through last minute regulations for three more months. That leaves plenty of time for more bad news for the environment and public health. This spring, the White House chief of […]
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Palin gives first big speech on ‘strategic energy independence’
Sarah Palin in Toledo, Ohio. Photo: Madalyn Ruggiero / AP For weeks now, GOP presidential candidate John McCain has been saying that in his administration, VP Sarah Palin would serve as energy czar, since she “knows more about energy than probably anyone else in the United States of America.” For the first time since […]
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China concedes its CO2 emissions have caught up to the U.S.
In what appears to be the first official acknowledgement of findings that China is emitting at least as much carbon dioxide annually as the United States (if not more), an official in charge of China’s climate policy released a report saying as much that also warned of a big financial toll from climate change. “Climate […]
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Independent panel finds FDA conclusions on BPA flawed
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s finding earlier this year that the chemical bisphenol A is safe for use in food containers and other products is “not supported by the available data and science,” according to an independent review panel tasked with examining the FDA’s conclusions. The review panel found that “The margins of safety […]
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McCain adviser challenges idea of regulating CO2 under the Clean Air Act
McCain senior policy adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin was on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday talking about the need for the next president to enact “comprehensive policies” to create jobs as well as a “real energy policy.” He also took on the recent assertion from Obama’s advisers that their candidate would regulate carbon dioxide as a […]