Climate Politics
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Another green group backs the Democratic presidential candidate
Environment America today became the latest green group to endorse Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. “Sen. Obama has publicly committed to fully addressing the pressing problem of global warming and moving the United States toward a new energy future,” said Margie Alt, executive director of Environment America. “He has made clean energy one of the […]
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Meetings about clean energy conspicuously fail to identify the main barrier to it
There were two remarkable aspects of the National Clean Energy Summit: Federal policy recommendations from the varied speakers — scientists, business types, politicians — were largely in sync. In fact, I got sick of hearing the same policies touted over and over again: renewable tax credits, cap-and-trade, electricity grid improvements, efficiency standards, renewable mandates, increased […]
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Everyone’s talking about Obama’s VP pick
Barack Obama is expected to reveal his vice presidential selection sometime this week, possibly as soon as today, though it’s looking like a campaign event in Springfield, Ill. on Saturday is the most likely location for an announcement. If you’ve turned on cable news in the past few days, the pundits have been jabbering non-stop […]
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That which cannot be named
There must have been a dozen separate speakers at the summit who mentioned the need for long-term extension of the renewable tax credits (PTC and ITC). Every one of them identified it as a necessary and beneficial policy, and just about every one lamented that Congress hadn’t done it. Only one speaker the whole day […]
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‘Gang of 10,’ part 2.5
Part 1 argued argued that the Democrats would be smart to compromise on offshore drilling. Part 2 began an analysis of the bipartisan compromise proposed by the “Gang of 10” senators, suggesting that deal isn’t so bad. I am interrupting this series to point out that the House GOP is so nervous that the Dems […]
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Visiting oil rig, McCain calls again for more offshore drilling
Sen. John McCain visited an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana Tuesday, reiterating his call for more offshore drilling and bashing Barack Obama for not sharing his enthusiasm. “Sen. Obama opposes new drilling,” said McCain, who himself opposed new offshore drilling until this summer. Actually, to the chagrin of enviros, Obama said recently that […]
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NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg announces plans for renewable generation in his city
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has become the politicians other politicians love to love, and he came on stage in the wake of a glowing introduction from Harry Reid, greeted by enormous applause. Most of Bloomberg’s speech covered familiar ground, bashing federal politicians for inaction on clean energy, lamenting how far behind America has […]
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McCain visits an oil rig, repeats call for more offshore drilling
Hurricane Dolly blew away John McCain’s planned visit to an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico last month, but the senator made another go at it today. On a Chevron-operated rig 150 miles off the coast of Louisiana, McCain reiterated his call for more offshore drilling and bashed his opponent for not being enthusiastic […]
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In either an Obama or McCain adminstration, climate legislation will be back-burnered
Just months ago there was a palpable sense of optimism that no matter who is elected president this November that the U.S. would soon embark on serious climate change legislation. I think recent events have shown that the chances of that happening are slim to none. Let’s start with if McCain is elected. Today the […]
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National Clean Energy Summit: Clinton miscellanea
A few more bits from Clinton’s Q&A were of interest. First, he was asked how he would respond to ordinary people’s pocketbook concerns on energy, and that’s when he really shined. (Responding to average folk was always Clinton’s strength.) He said that of course some of these reforms will raise the unit cost of energy […]
