Climate Politics
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Why did McCain sell out to Big Oil? Ask Charles Keating
John McCain’s new coziness with Big Oil is in many respects just a replay of his old coziness with Charles Keating. In both cases, money and access bought influence. Let’s start with oil. Last month, Time reported that McCain tapped a “prominent Washington lobbyist,” William E. Timmons, Sr., to run his transition, should he win […]
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Ingrid Jackson’s question about climate change put candidates on the spot
For the first time in this year’s presidential debates, the two candidates were asked point-blank about what they would do to address climate change in the first two years of their administration. Ingrid Jackson asks the candidates about environmental issues. This morning, Grist caught up with the young woman who asked the question — Ingrid […]
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E.U. Parliament votes on proposals to cut emissions 20 percent by 2020
On Tuesday, the European Parliament’s environment committee voted on a range of proposals intended to help achieve the European Union’s ambitious goal of cutting its greenhouse-gas emissions 20 percent by 2020. The committee voted to force E.U. utilities to buy all their pollution permits by 2013 and to enact strict carbon caps on power plants […]
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McCain mystified by Obama’s concerns over nuclear
Besides Obama’s prioritization of energy, there was another particularly striking moment in the debate. (And I’m not talking about McCain referring to Obama as “that one.”) In the midst of an answer on climate change, McCain said: Now, how — what’s — what’s the best way of fixing [climate change]? Nuclear power. Sen. Obama says […]
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Obama names energy as first administration priority
The candidates have put forth ambitious proposals on a number of issues, but one of the great unanswered questions of the race has been what each would prioritize in office. The first policy initiative undertaken by the new president will benefit from a sense of first-term energy and momentum. Depending on what happens in ensuing […]
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Obama and McCain asked directly about climate change at debate
The second 2008 presidential debate included a single, pointed question on global climate change from an audience member, but that didn’t stop both candidates from working the issue of energy independence into their responses to all sorts of questions throughout the 90-minute faceoff. By and large, John McCain and Barack Obama stuck to their scripts […]
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The House Energy and Commerce Committee releases draft of potential climate legislation
Energy and Commerce Committee Chair John Dingell (D-Mich.) and ranking member Rick Boucher (D-Va.) released a “discussion draft” of their long-awaited climate change legislation today. “This draft is the culmination of nearly two years of intensive work on climate change by the Committee and marks an important step in our ongoing efforts to address this […]
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Republican congresscritters are in serious trouble
Remember when "drill, baby, drill" was going to reverse a horrible electoral year for Republicans in Congress? Turns out maybe not so much: The possibility that Democrats will build a muscular, 60-seat Senate majority is looking increasing plausible, with new polls showing a powerful surge for the party’s candidates in Minnesota, Kentucky and other states. […]
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Coal miners in West Virginia stay home in protest of anti-Obama NRA tactics
Coal production at the Blacksville No. 2 Mine in Monongalia County, W.Va., came to a halt for one day last week when all the miners stayed home in protest after a National Rifle Association camera crew tried to get them to bad-mouth Barack Obama on film. The United Mineworkers of America has endorsed the Democratic […]
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CNN reports on the battle for Coal River Mountain in W.Va.
In August, we brought you the story of Coal River Mountain, one of the last mountains in West Virginia’s Coal River Valley that hasn’t been destroyed by mountaintop-removal coal mining. Residents are lobbying to build a wind farm on the mountain, but Massey Energy is moving ahead on plans to strip-mine a 10-square-mile area of […]
