Climate Politics
All Stories
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McCain gambles with the U.S. economy; House Republicans hold the bailout hostage; chaos reigns
Yes, yes, I know the financial crisis is not strictly a green issue — except insofar as it dries up capital desperately needed for green investments — but I just have to put some kind of note on record here. This is the most bizarre political season in memory, and the last few days have […]
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Senate Democrats propose a new economic stimulus package
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) have unveiled a $56.2 billion “economic recovery package” that includes funding for things like public transit, home weatherization, and environmental cleanup. With time running out on this Congress, they may try to attach the measure to a continuing resolution. “We must […]
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Regulation-loathing Cheney aide nominated for key Energy Dept. post
With the nation’s attention turned to the financial crisis, the White House today announced that the president intends to nominate F. Chase Hutto III, a senior aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, as assistant secretary for policy and international affairs within the Energy Department. Hutto, who has been a leading opponent of environmental regulations within […]
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House approves $25 billion in direct loans for auto industry
The House of Representatives yesterday approved $25 billion in direct loans to help the auto industry comply with stricter gas mileage standards. The loans will assist automakers in meeting fuel-efficiency standards set in last year’s energy bill that push fleet standards up to at least 35 miles per gallon by 2020. The funds can […]
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Obama/Biden campaign releases science and innovation plan
The Obama campaign released a policy outline [PDF] today on science and innovation, pledging to double federal funding for research over 10 years. An Obama-Biden administration, they say on their website, would change “the posture of our federal government from being one of the most anti-science administrations in American history to one that embraces […]
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A car in every garage
Everyone in the world has already linked to this story about McCain’s 13 cars (Obama has one — a hybrid Ford Escape), but I just can’t get over the humor of this sentence: "The McCains also own three 2000 NEV Gem electric vehicles, which are bubble-shaped cars popular in retirement communities." I think the hypocrisy […]
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Gingrich’s group is flush with victory and flush with cash
The Congressional moratorium on offshore drilling is set to lapse, and Newt Gingrich’s astroturf group, American Solutions for Winning the Future, is riding high: Las Vegas casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson upped his ante in former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s unregulated issues-advocacy group in August, with a $750,000 donation that helped propel the organization to the […]
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McCain’s veep candidate lacks breadth and depth on energy issues
I have a new article in Salon on Sarah Palin, “The fungible candidate.” But it is really about the (lack of) judgment of John McCain. He famously said of his VP pick, “She knows more about energy than probably anyone else in the United States of America.” As we’ll see Palin lacks both breadth and […]
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Green initiatives unveiled at Clinton Global Initiative gathering
The purpose of the Clinton Global Initiative is to bring together some of the folks working on specific global challenges, people who can support their good ideas, and those who would benefit from the solutions. These people get together, discuss, collaborate, and in some cases announce major initiatives that have come out of these partnerships. […]