Climate Politics

Romney wins Michigan GOP primary after bashing McCain on fuel economy

Mitt Romney won Michigan’s Republican primary on Tuesday, after whacking John McCain for supporting tougher fuel-economy regulations and promoting “radical climate change legislation.” Romney portrayed himself as a defender of Michigan’s floundering auto industry and said the automakers shouldn’t be burdened with having to produce more fuel-efficient cars. McCain also got broadsided by an anti-environment […]

Romney takes Michigan

CNN is calling Michigan for Romney. Guess all that pandering worked. This means a long and extremely divisive race on the R side.

Pro-warming Romney has sham slam on McCain

Think Progress has the whole story, but I'll repeat it here, since, tragically, it may represent the shape of things to come in climate politics for many years, making it hard for Republicans to do the moral thing on climate:

Last weekend, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (R) slammed Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for supporting "radical climate change legislation," and "pushing for a massive new energy tax." Romney is using an anti-environment front group, the American Environmental Coalition (AEC), to attack McCain. Last week, AEC co-chair George Landrith said:

When it comes to climate change, John McCain and Al Gore are far too much alike for my comfort. John McCain has been sponsoring legislation for the past several years that would give Al Gore much of the regulatory control and power he sought when he and Bill Clinton tried to get America to sign on to the UN's Kyoto global warming treaty ...

When listening to John McCain, it would seem that evangelicals should remember the biblical warning found in St. Matthew 7:15 to "beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves."

Sad. And quoting the Bible, too! [Note to Romney/AEC -- You need a more plausible metaphor: McCain may be many things, but he's no sheep.]

Court justice frolicked with coal exec while fraud case was pending

When found guilty of fraud and penalized $50 million by a West Virginia jury, coal company Massey Energy appealed to the state Supreme Court — and won in a 3-to-2 decision. Now a motion has been filed to disqualify Justice Elliott Maynard from the case and withdraw his favorable vote, as pictures have surfaced of […]

What will the House Oversight Committee chairman turn up next?

Henry Waxman is trying to get to the bottom of the EPA's refusal to allow California to regulate greenhouse gases more strictly than the federal government does. Ryan Grim at Politico has the details:

In the letter, Waxman, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee gives a hint that the investigation will likely soon escalate to subpoenas. "In prior investigations, the Committee has allowed counsel representing the agency to be present during transcribed interviews. In this case, since your own conduct is being examined, this accommodation would not be appropriate, although counsel employed by the agency may participate if they certify that their presence is as counsel for the witness," he wrote.

I'm sure the explanation for all of this is not corrupt or disgraceful. No sir. The full text of the letter is below the fold.

President Bush asks OPEC to boost oil production

President Bush, on a trip to Saudi Arabia, has urged the key member of OPEC to boost oil production. “Oil prices are very high, which is tough on our economy,” said Bush. “I would hope, as OPEC considers different production levels, that they understand that if … one of their biggest consumers’ economy suffers, it […]

Make a video on how to improve the world

Davos. You know, the big important event to which you and I aren't invited? Well, if you have a suggestion for the world's leaders on how to make the world a better place, YouTube is sponsoring a contest and the winner gets a free, all-expense-paid trip. The winning video, that is. Not you. You still aren't invited.

Hat tip to Project Better Place, who submitted this spot-on if treacly video:

Organic production and research

This is the third in a series of five farm bill fact sheets from the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. For more information on the status of all sustainable agriculture provisions in the Senate and House versions of the farm bill, please visit SAC's farm bill legislative tracking center.

Despite the fact that organic agriculture is one of the fastest growing sectors of American agriculture, the U.S. is currently experiencing a domestic shortfall of organically produced food as consumer demand continues to outpace supply. Considering the enormous potential organic practices have to increase farm revenue in our rural communities, preserve and enhance the environment, and provide nutritious food to our citizens, federal policies aimed at assisting farmers' and ranchers' transition to organic production must be a priority in the 2008 Farm Bill.

U.S. Green Party holds its first presidential debate of the season

The Green Party held its first presidential debate of the campaign season last weekend in San Francisco. The five candidates answered a series of questions about the Iraq war, the farm bill, health care, and more at the three-hour event. Ego and rancor weren’t on display at the Green debate the way they have been […]

Conservation title schemes, youth flee CAFO country, and a side of E. coli beef

In Meat Wagon, we round up the latest outrages from the meat industry. In the business section of Sunday’s New York Times, reporter Andrew Martin shined a bright light on a USDA program called the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, or EQIP. Funded through the conservation title of the farm bill, EQIP was originally intended to […]