Climate Politics
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Scientists call for cleanup of Chesapeake Bay
Marking the 25th anniversary of a pact between local, state, and federal agencies to clean up Chesapeake Bay near Washington, D.C., a group of scientists on Monday called for a brand new plan to save the fragile area, arguing that the largely voluntary $6 billion plan now in place has done little to solve the […]
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Canadian oil sands projects polluting aquifers, report says
The massive, energy-intensive oil sands projects in Alberta, Canada, are leaking some 2.9 million gallons of contaminated water each day into the region’s aquifers, according to a new report by Environmental Defense and Pembina Consulting based on the industry’s own estimates. “Virtually everyone close to the tar sands industry knows that all tar sands tailings […]
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Memo to President-elect Barack Obama on democratizing the energy system
Dear President-elect Obama, Congratulations on your historic election. Now the truly heavy lifting begins. You have declared your intention to make "a new energy economy" your "No. 1 priority." We urge you to follow a path that leads not only to changes in the fuels underpinning our energy system but also to changes in the […]
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Praying for a bailout in Detroit
Lordy: Pentecostal Bishop Charles H. Ellis III, who shared the sanctuary’s wide altar with three gleaming sport utility vehicles, closed his sermon by leading the choir and congregants in a boisterous rendition of the gospel singer Myrna Summers’s “We’re Gonna Make It” as hundreds of worshipers who work in the automotive industry — union assemblers, […]
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Stephen Johnson defends Bush as ‘pro-environmental’
“The president is really a very pro-environmental person. When we first talked, he used the phrase which is precisely, philosophically, where I’ve always been at EPA. He said, ‘Steve, I want you to accelerate the pace of environmental protection while maintaining our nation’s economic competitiveness.'” — Stephen Johnson, EPA administrator
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Draft bailout deal calls for ‘car czar,’ ban on lawsuits challenging emissions standards
Congressional Democrats and the White House appear to have reached a deal on a $15 billion rescue plan for the auto industry, one that includes a ban on lawsuits challenging California’s greenhouse gas emission standards and a call for a “car czar” to oversee the rescue efforts. “The terms of any financial assistance under this […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
