Climate Politics
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Climate change to cause ‘economic deserts,’ U.N. chief says
Parts of the world undergoing severe, sustained drought will likely have to be all but abandoned by humans because water shortages (caused by climate change and overuse of rivers and aquifers) will make them unlivable, the executive director of the United Nations Environment Program warned this week.
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A look at House races with hot eco-angles
With all 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives up for reelection every two years, it can be hard to keep track of which races will have much of an environmental impact. Here’s a cheat sheet on some of the contests enviros are following most closely, based on the greenest (and least-green) candidates in […]
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FDA advisory panel says agency should redo BPA risk assessment
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration should redo its flawed risk assessment that found the chemical bisphenol A is harmless, an FDA advisory panel said on Friday. The advisory panel’s finding is an amen to an independent assessment of the FDA’s findings released last week.
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The AP tries to figure out where the candidates stand on mountaintop removal mining
The Associated Press attempts to figure out where the presidential candidates stand on mountaintop-removal coal mining. They talked to campaign surrogates about what the candidates think, and here’s what they got: Mountaintop removal mining “irreversibly alters our natural treasures and poses potential threats to water sources,” and the Republican McCain believes the industry doesn’t need […]
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Schwarzenegger for Obama Energy Secretary?
Until this weekend, the The Great Mentioner had Schwarzenegger on the shortlist for Obama Energy Secretary. That was the buzz in the Politico’s "Dems sketch Obama staff, Cabinet," and on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos, where Arnold said of Obama: I would take his call now, I will take his call when he’s president […]
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The environmental take on this year’s gubernatorial races
In the absence of federal action on climate change, governors have become the real leaders on the issue. Eleven governors will be elected on Tuesday, and a number of gubernatorial candidates have put forward very green plans –- as well as some not-so-green ideas. Here’s the rundown on guv races to watch this year. —– […]
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Corporate Watchdog radio interview
Wherein I discuss the two candidates’ energy and environmental positions.
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What pollsters can learn from climate modelers
Pollster.com has an interesting piece on the confusing disparity among all of the polling being done for this election. In particular, "likely voter model design depends significantly on judgments that pollsters make about how to model the likelihood that any voter sampled will actually turn out and vote in the election." The author, Clark A. […]
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The Senate and the union hall: Where American climate policy will succeed or fail
Democrats are salivating at the prospect of a 60-vote majority in the Senate, enough to override a veto and other procedural hurdles. They will almost certainly gain a commanding majority in the House. But environmentalists should realize the answer to their problems isn’t that simple. Sixty Democratic votes would not be enough to break through […]
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The next president should use the Clean Air Act to control greenhouse gas emissions
This essay was originally published at Yale Environment 360. —– The urgency of the current situation cannot be overemphasized: The latest scientific research tells us that global warming is accelerating at a rate beyond previous expectations, and that the window for a timely response is closing quickly. Despite some political efforts to muddy the waters, […]
