Climate Politics

Legal strategies for battling climate change

This post is by ClimateProgress guest blogger Bill Becker, Executive Director of the Presidential Climate Action Project.

When President Bush delivered his much-hyped climate policy speech from the Rose Garden last April (see here), he voiced an interesting concern. He's worried that the courts will do what the other two branches of government have failed to do: take meaningful action to curb the country's carbon emissions.

"We face a growing problem here at home," the president said. "Some courts are taking laws written more than 30 years ago -- to primarily address local and regional environmental effects -- and applying them to global climate change."

"Decisions with such far-reaching impact should not be left to unelected regulators and judges," he continued. "Such decisions should be opened -- debated openly; such decisions should be made by the elected representatives of the people they affect. The American people deserve an honest assessment of the costs, benefits and feasibility of any proposed solution."

The White House promised that Bush's Rose Garden remarks would be important and it was correct: The president's call for open debate and an honest assessment of climate action was a major policy shift. His complaint about unelected judges making decisions was specious, however. The elected members of past Congresses and Bush's predecessors signed the 30-year-old laws on which some of the current court decisions are based. Old laws are being applied to global warming because the current Congress and White House have failed to pass new ones.

McCain thunders against ag subsidies, vows fealty to trade agenda

Speaking before the National Restaurant Association on Monday, John McCain delivered a stirring rant against agriculture subsidies and the latest farm bill (text here.) No doubt burnishing his "maverick" image among editorial writers, the senator lambasted the bill as a giveaway of "billions of dollars in subsidies to some of the biggest and richest agribusiness […]

Sen. Boxer’s summary of her Manager’s Amendment to Lieberman-Warner

On Friday, Senate Environment and Public Works Chair Barbara Boxer circulated a document summarizing her “substitute amendment” to the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act. This is likely the version of the bill that will go to the floor. We’ll post some analysis of how the bill has changed shortly, but for now, here’s Boxer’s entire summary […]

Grist talks to underdog Oregon Senate contender Steve Novick

Tomorrow is the presidential primary in both Oregon and Kentucky, but it’s also a key Senate primary in Oregon, where two Democrats are facing off to see who will get to take a crack at unseating Gordon Smith, the sole GOP senator on the West Coast. When Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley announced his bid […]

Permit auctions: the mark of progressive cap-and-trade

I missed this last week, but Kevin Drum is doing God’s work explaining the difference between cap-and-auction and cap-and-giveaway to the progressive masses. I did the same thing here, but as usual used way too many words.

In Oregon, Dem candidate admits ignorance on biggest environmental story in PNW

For enviros in the Pacific Northwest, the Hanford nuclear site is a Very Big Deal. The decommissioned nuclear production complex along the Columbia River in central Washington manufactured the plutonium used in the first nuclear bomb. Today, Hanford is the most contaminated nuclear site in the country and the focus of the nation’s largest environmental […]

Waxman discloses evidence that White House influenced EPA California waiver

It's been a matter of extreme controversy since last December, when EPA -- confronted with an impending front-page Washington Post exclusive -- suddenly announced it was denying California's request to enforce its greenhouse gas standards for motor vehicles.

After months of dogged investigation, California Rep. Henry Waxman disclosed today that he had evidence that the White House tampered with the decision. The issue is certain to come up tomorrow as EPA Admistrator Steve Johnson appears before Waxman's panel.

Waxman's House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released the results of its investigation (PDF) today, including private depositions with key EPA staffers.

The House is lagging behind the Senate on climate change

The Hill is ablaze with discussion of the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act, which is expected to hit the Senate floor in early June. But on the House side, movement on climate legislation has been slow and quiet. Several bills have been floated, but none have gained any real traction. Everyone is waiting to see what […]

Sebelius …

… continues to kick ass.

Limbaugh angry about being smarter than McCain

“It offends me that a man running for the president of the United States knows 10% of what I know about this. It offends me. In the case of Obama and Hillary, they know what they’re spewing is a bunch of BS. They know they’re spouting lies. I don’t know what McCain is doing here, […]