Climate Politics

P.S.

Obama won Hawaii, with a convincing 75 percent. That’s 10 wins in a row. In response, Clinton is ramping up her attacks.

Obama pledges to cap carbon

In this video (the second of two) of his victory speech this evening in Houston, at about 7 min. in, Obama discusses energy policy — says we’re shipping money overseas and melting the polar icecaps. He pledges to cap carbon, invest in renewable energy, and raise fuel efficiency in cars (it’s "the only way we […]

Wisconsin goes to Obama and McCain

The Wisconsin primary goes to Barack Obama and John McCain — both got about 55%, to Clinton’s 43 and Huckabee’s 37 respectively (Ron Paul got his usual 4). That’s Obama’s ninth victory in a row. Clinton’s chances of reversing this tide are looking slimmer all the time. On that note, both winners seem to be […]

Questions for Obama and Clinton from a Wisconsin farmer

Wisconsin is a state where agriculture is still important, and while farming may not be as glamorous as, say, politics, we still have more people engaged in agriculture-related jobs than any other occupation in the state. Still, when politicians come to Wisconsin, they may do the obligatory photo op on a farm, but they spend their time courting the voters in the big cities. So what are Clinton and Obama promising people like me -- people who spend more time worrying about cows than poll numbers?

Tim Kaine burns national ambitions in coal furnace

Virginia's Democratic governor Tim Kaine, often mentioned as a possible vice presidential nominee, seems to be flushing his ambitions for national office down the toilet by actively working to build yet another coal-fired power plant for one of his biggest campaign donors.

Kaine has tried to present himself as a green, forward-thinking governor by proposing a "Virginia Energy Plan" he claimed would reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 30 percent. True, Kaine is going ahead with plans to purchase 27,000 compact fluorescent bulbs (which will save the amount of electricity used by -- wait for it -- 1300 [!] homes). But when it comes to things that actually matter -- like where Virginia gets its energy -- he's actively backing the construction of a new greenhouse-gas- and toxic-pollution-belching coal-fired power plant in Virginia's Wise County.

Behind this coal plant is Dominion Power, which has contributed over $135,000 directly to Kaine's campaign and inaugural funds. Is the governor acting on behalf of Virginia or the country's well-being, or is he offering quid pro quo for financial support? As it is, Kaine is looking a lot like a dinosaur pol, practicing a kind of politics eerily similar to the Republican culture of corruption.

Al Gore likely to endorse … no one soon

Speculation has been running rampant for months about whom Al Gore will endorse in the presidential race. The latest anticlimactic news: the climate-crusading ex-veep plans to remain neutral for now, as do other influential Democrats including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and previous presidential candidates John Edwards, Christopher Dodd, and Joe Biden.

In case you’re wondering

Yes, Thursday night’s Democratic debate will once again be sponsored by the coal industry.

The major differences between carbon pricing plans are political

Putting a price on carbon is probably an unavoidable part of phasing out fossil fuels to fight global warming and air pollution. For years, Peter Barnes has advocated a brilliant means of mitigating many of the harmful economic side effects: take the revenue from carbon taxes or auctions and rebate it back to the people, dividing it equally among each citizen.

Barnes advocates doing this via an auctioned permit system. However,the same thing could be done with a carbon tax. Instead of auctioning permits, simply tax those same embedded emissions and rebate that revenue to consumers. Raise the tax periodically to lower emissions.

Inevitably, with either a tax or auctioned permits, the price charged for carbon will be passed down the supply chain to consumers. By rebating the revenue back to consumers, you minimize the impact of those price increases. They have to pay more, but they have more money to pay with. You get the price signals to affect behavior, without lowering consumer net income.

… and Bush talks big

A year and a half after ceding Cuba’s reins (and reign) to his brother Raul, Fidel Castro has apparently officially resigned after nearly 50 years at the helm. For me, the news brought to mind the eye-opening piece we ran by Erica Gies shortly after Castro first stepped down in 2006. It explores the green […]

I’m back

Hm, what did I miss? Looks like Obama kept up his streak. He swept the Potomac Primary of Va., Md., and D.C., along with Maine. Hawaii and Wisc. are coming up on Tues., and in the latter at least Obama’s recently taken the lead. (How come nobody’s polling in Hawaii?) He’s enjoyed a run of […]