Climate Politics
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New Ecuador constitution would give nature inalienable rights
Ecuador’s environment will be given inalienable rights if residents of that country vote yes Sept. 28 on a referendum to overhaul the constitution. One of the draft document’s 444 articles gives nature the right to “exist, persist, maintain, and regenerate its vital cycles, structure, functions, and its processes in evolution.” The controversial constitution, which would […]
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Actress Rachael Leigh Cook disses drilling
I stopped by the “Bank of America Goes Green” reception on Monday, where they ended up not talking too much about green issues after all, what with the hurricane as the more pressing issue of the moment. But actress Rachael Leigh Cook (of She’s All That fame) was in attendance on behalf of the Creative […]
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U.S. EPA criticizes DOT over fuel-economy standards
Officials at the U.S. EPA have criticized their counterparts at the U.S. Transportation Department lately over the DOT’s proposed fuel-economy standards for vehicles of 31.6 miles per gallon by 2015. The EPA has said the DOT used an unreasonably low figure for future gasoline prices — $2.42 a gallon in 2016 and a high of […]
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Grist talks to Niger Innis about the ‘war on the poor’
After the “War on the Poor” event David and I attended Tuesday morning, we caught Niger Innis of the Congress of Racial Equality for a quick interview about their campaign. The presentation this morning focused on politicians whom Innis accuses of being engaged in a “war on the poor” — all of which, at this […]
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Former Democrat Joe Lieberman addresses RNC
Definitely the most anticipated speech tonight — in positive way or a negative way, depending on whom you ask — was that of Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) It was also the first official RNC speech to employ the words “global warming.” “If John McCain was just another go-along partisan politician, he never would have led […]
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Fred Thompson on moose and exotic dancers
Former Tennessee Senator and presidential candidate Fred Thompson on Sarah Palin: “I can say without fear of contradiction that she is the only nominee in the history of either party who knows how to properly field-dress a moose … with the possible exception of Teddy Roosevelt.” OK, so there was nothing really environment-related in Thompson’s […]
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In convention address via satellite, out-going prez calls for offshore drilling
President George Bush just addressed the convention via satellite from the White House, after deciding coming to the convention during Hurricane Gustav might not be the best plan. The crowd was pretty enthusiastic about the president’s address, despite hard feelings among plenty of people here about Bush’s legacy. Bush made a joke about how voting […]
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The party scene is all about the energy debate tonight
The party circuit tonight is oddly exemplary of the energy debate in the country right now. The Minnesota Agri-Growth Council is hosing “AgNite,” where you can be sure that there will be some lively discussion about the ethanol issue. That starts at 8 p.m., and it’s supposedly the hot ticket tonight. Starting at 9 p.m. […]
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First big night of speeches eerily sedate
I just got inside the the Xcel Center for tonight’s events, where Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), Rep. John Boehner, and Laura Bush are slated to speak. President George Bush is going to address the crowd via satellite as well. Some early observations: The tone here is definitely reserved. There are quite […]
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Grist talks to Sen. George Voinovich about oil shale, energy, and climate legislation
Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) stopped by an event Monday sponsored by PIRG and the Young Republicans to talk about energy policy, among other things. In his speech, he was bullish on the prospects for oil production in the United States. “If we can get every drop … we’ve got more oil in the U.S. than […]
