Climate Politics
All Stories
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BLM unveils rule change to undermine Congress’ veto of mining projects
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management on Thursday announced a rule change that attempts to eliminate Congress’ power to veto mining projects on public lands. A 1976 law currently allows Congress to intervene to stop mining projects when “an emergency situation exists and extraordinary measures must be taken to preserve values that would otherwise be […]
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Canadian Parliament suspended, PM Harper survives … for now
The situation in Ottawa has passed, for now. The Governor-General (representing Her Majesty Elizabeth II) has granted Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s request to prorogue (or suspend) Parliament, meaning that the confidence vote that had been scheduled for Monday will not happen for now. This is a day of firsts, as this is the shortest […]
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What will make Obama a great president? Part 2
Future historians will inevitably judge all 21st century presidents as failures if the world doesn’t stop catastrophic global warming. If global warming exceeds 5°C (or even 3°C), then we will head inexorably toward an ice free planet with widespread desertification, sea levels rising 6 to 12 inches a decade for centuries, the oceans turning into […]
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Bush policies cause U.S. GHG emissions to soar 1.4 percent in 2007
OK, this isn’t entirely news to readers (see here). But the Energy Information Administration’s just released final report [PDF] covers pretty much everything a climate junkie could possibly want to know about U.S. GHG emissions in 2007. The bottom line: Total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2007 were 1.4 percent above the 2006 total … […]
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Green groups launch campaign highlighting falsity of ‘clean coal’
A coalition of national environmental groups, under the moniker “Reality Coalition,” today launched an ad campaign spotlighting the fact that “clean coal” doesn’t actually exist. The groups are spending several million dollars on print, broadcast, and online ads, as well as a website. The campaign is a shared effort of the Alliance for Climate Protection, […]
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Some thoughts on the merits of regulating greenhouse gases via the Clean Air Act
Marc Ambinder considers something environmentalists have been discussing for months now: the possibility that Obama will create a carbon trading system via the EPA, using the Clean Air Act instead of (or before) going through Congress to get legislation. An Obama aide strongly suggested Obama would go this route this earlier this year, but backed […]
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Note to progressives: Your guy won!
The following is a guest essay from Hal Clifford, executive editor of Orion Magazine. —– In the wake of Barack Obama’s victory, the relief was palpable, the excitement unprecedented. For a while. And then the nitpicking started. Not from Fox “News” or the Arizona country club where John McCain conceded. From the left: He’s just […]
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The Big Three offer their restructuring plans to Congress
The CEOs of the Big Three automakers are back in the Capitol today (this time, they drove in hybrids rather than taking private jets), prepared to offer their revamped plans for restructuring to lawmakers. Their latest proposals contain considerably more promises to use a government bailout to make more efficient automobiles. Under pressure to prove […]
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Judge orders Duke Energy coal plant to comply with Clean Air Act
In what environmentalists are calling a precedent-setting case that closes a perceived loophole in the Clean Air Act, a federal judge has ordered utility Duke Energy to conduct a formal assessment of its under-construction Cliffside Stream coal-fired power plant to make sure it will be using the best-available technology to curb its mercury emissions.
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Dear media,
Obama did not drop his oil windfall profits tax or reverse his pledge to implement one. The tax was supposed to kick in when oil went above $80/barrel. It’s now below that. I know everyone is desperate to get the first told you Obama was just another lying politician!!1! story, but please, try to wait […]
