Climate Politics

Obama and McCain make nice and possibly talk climate and energy

Obama and McCain got together this morning in Chicago for their first post-election meeting, in which they discussed what they could work on together going forward. As many noted prior to the meeting, it’s likely that climate change and energy concerns came up, as Obama had said on the campaign trail that these might be […]

Will Democrats take the votes but ignore the voters in increasingly powerful Northern Virginia?

Northern Virginia voters solidified their reputation Nov. 4 as a virtual factory for Democratic victories. Collectively, the Virginia suburbs of D.C. broke for Obama in numbers exceeding 60 percent. The margin is comparable to such liberal bastions as California and New York. Given the results, and given that 1 in 3 Virginia voters now lives […]

Obama talks energy on 60 Minutes

President-elect Obama was interviewed on 60 Minutes last night about the election and how he is preparing for the presidency. Obama noted early in the conversation that he’s “talking to top economic advisers about how we’re gonna create jobs, how we get the economy back on track and what do we do in terms of […]

NYT gets goofy on cap-and-trade

An NYT piece on Obama’s priorities manages to get two things wrong on energy policy, both in a short section written by John Broder. First, the overall point is wrong. Broder tries to draw a contrast between "an earlier proposal," Obama’s cap-and-trade program, and what Obama is "now emphasizing," big investments in renewables, energy efficiency, […]

… in my head

News that Obama and McCain are meeting today, along with Obama chief of staff-pick Rahm Emanuel and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), got me to thinking … what might that conversation be like? Obama: John, thanks for meeting with me today. McCain: My friend, it’s a real pleasure. Obama: I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve […]

Dingell implores colleagues to side with him on climate bill

A vote on who will lead a committee key to writing any climate legislation could come as early as this week. With the vote on his chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce panel looming, Michigan’s John Dingell — a longtime thorn in the side of efforts to require Detroit to focus on fuel efficiency […]

Why should we assume that a carbon tax will be simple and transparent?

I keep hearing that a carbon tax is obviously superior to a cap-and-trade system because it is “simpler and more transparent.” This has always struck me as a classic case of petitio principii — Latin for starting your argument on third base and boasting about your batting skills. Would a carbon tax proposed and implemented […]

NYT slams Cheney on pollution policies

The New York Times weighs in on the the Bush administration’s possible last-minute move to change the new-source review rules under the Clean Air Act, putting the blame on Dick Cheney: Years ago, riding high and wide as the administration’s energy czar, Mr. Cheney promised — privately in meetings with corporate contributors, and publicly in […]

Obama’s enviro and energy teams heavy on vets of 42nd prez’s administration

Obama is tapping many Clintonites for his transition team. The Obama-Biden transition announced the names of the Agency Review Team leads, who will be charged with completing “a thorough review of key departments, agencies and commissions of the United States government, as well as the White House, to provide the President-elect, Vice President-elect, and key […]

Obama to Poland