Climate Politics
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Job shifts at Interior Dept. mean Bush appointees will stick around
Two former Interior Department appointees unpopular with environmentalists have been “burrowed” into senior civil service posts, giving them job security when Barack Obama takes the White House. “It is an attempt by the outgoing administration to limit as much as possible [the incoming administration’s] ability to put its policy imprint on the Department of Interior,” […]
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Dems boot Lieberman from his EPW post
Senate Democrats decided this morning to let Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) keep his chairmanships of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and Airland Subcommittee of the Armed Services Committee. But as punishment for his rigorous campaigning for Republican presidential candidate John McCain, Lieberman will lose his seat on the Environment and Public Works Committee. By […]
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Obama affirms commitment to climate change, but won’t be going to Poland
Barack Obama won’t be attending the next round of international climate talks next month in Poland, nor is he in Los Angeles today for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s conference on climate change. But the president-elect insists that his administration will be a leader in the effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions. “While I won’t be president […]
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Emissions of Kyoto signatory countries on the rise, U.N. says
Collectively, the 40 industrialized nations that agreed to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol have met their goal of cutting emissions to an average of about 5 percent below 1990 levels, the United Nations reported this week. But some of the biggest reductions were due to economic declines in central and eastern European countries […]
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Obama names long-time Waxman aide as his assistant for legislative affairs
Over the weekend, the Obama transition team announced a few new key members of the White House staff, including Phil Schiliro, who will serve as assistant to the president for legislative affairs. This will be someone to watch, as Schiliro was a long-time aide to Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), who has called for aggressive climate […]
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Obama won’t send delegation to Poland climate conference
President-elect Barack Obama will not attend the United Nations climate conference in Poland next month nor send a delegation on his behalf, the U.N. climate chief announced Monday. Many climate activists had high hopes that President Bush’s successor would attend the conference as a way to jumpstart the sluggish talks. Explaining his decision, Obama said, […]
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NYC announces new, voluntary plan to encourage hybrid taxis
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg outlined a new, voluntary plan to encourage taxi-fleet owners to use hybrid vehicles after the city’s initial plan to dramatically increase taxi fuel-efficiency was struck down by a federal judge last month.
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International talks to save Atlantic tuna begin in Morocco
Representatives from some 46 nations are meeting this week in Morocco to try to hash out an agreement on stemming overfishing of imperiled bluefin tuna while still keeping the bluefin fishing industry alive. Experts say the sustainable catch limit in the Mediterranean Sea should be about 15,000 tons a year, but last year fleets caught […]
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Schwarzenegger bringing governors and international leaders to California to talk climate
On Tuesday and Wednesday, David and I will be in Los Angeles attending the Governors’ Global Climate Summit, hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger. The summit is bringing together governors (as the name suggests) and international leaders to talk about their programs to address climate change and energy concerns, in hopes of forging partnerships going forward. The […]
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Giant public-lands bill put on hold ’til next year
A bill that would protect millions of acres of public land is being put on hold until the new year, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Monday. The Omnibus Public Land Management Act passed out of committee with bipartisan support, but Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has threatened to filibuster over concerns that it will […]
