Climate Politics

Georgia lawmakers propose suspending endangered-species protections during drought

Lawmakers in Georgia have introduced a bill in the U.S. Congress to suspend Endangered Species Act protections in times of extreme drought, arguing it would help average folks and businesses cope with the serious water woes now plaguing parts of the U.S. Southeast. Georgia’s congressional delegation rallied around the proposal, calling it a “common sense” […]

Lieberman-Warner bill to be introduced tomorrow; green groups fight over strategy

The Lieberman-Warner climate bill will likely be introduced tomorrow and — given its status as the consensus bill and the most likely to pass — the green world is on the edge of its seat. The draft (PDF) that was released in August fell short in a few key respects: the short-term targets were too […]

Who will Gore endorse, and does it matter?

Some commentators are taking the unique approach of discussing Al Gore’s Nobel Peace Prize not in terms of whether he’ll run for president, but in terms of the dangers of climate change who he’ll endorse for president. Marc Ambinder says both Edwards and Obama are actively courting Gore; Chris Cillizza says it will be one […]

On how to divvy up responsibility for climate change

((equity_include)) This is a guest essay by Andrew Pendleton. Pendleton leads the climate change policy work at Christian Aid. The essay is part of a series on climate equity. —– 1. What would climate equity look like? What’s the end state we’re aiming for? There are many truths in the climate change debate — almost […]

Costa Rica and Guatemala deals could point to common ground on climate crisis

The Bush administration, Costa Rica, Conservation International, and The Nature Conservancy will today announce a "debt-for-nature" swap that could herald something bigger in the future. The United States will write off $12.6 million in debt owed it by Costa Rica. In exchange, Costa Rica will protect some of the most valuable rainforest wildlife habitat in the world.

This follows the Bush administration's support for an even bigger swap with Guatemala. Of course, the sums involved and the area conserved are relatively puny compared to the global forest destruction caused by the Bush administration, especially through its support for tropically grown biofuels that require deforestation to be grown.

But the Bush administration has always had two sides to its tropical forest policy. Although it's happy to help Cargill, ADM, and other agrigiants despoil the last remaining tropical forests, it's also expressed quiet backing for carbon ranching -- allowing polluters to get global warming credit for protecting forests instead of cleaning up pollution at their own facilities. They like it because saving carbon through protecting forests is generally a lot cheaper than cleaning up industrial pollution, and we should like it because that means we can keep a lot more carbon out of the atmosphere a lot quicker -- and save the forests, their wildlife, and their indigenous people at the same time.

Of course, the Bush administration's quiet backing of this concept is completely worthless right now until the Bush administration backs strict, mandatory limits on greenhouse-gas pollution. Until they do, polluters will have no incentive to actually go ahead and protect those forests (or clean up their own pollution). But that support -- and today's forest conservation actions -- signals that forest conservation may provide some common ground between Democrats and the White House on stopping the climate crisis.

Why environmental groups have been slow to fight the border wall

The bobcat turned, looked at me, and jumped into the mesquite brush. It was the first day of a three-day visit to South Texas, and I was exploring the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge along the Rio Grande River. Seeing the bobcat was a treat for me — but the kind of treat that could […]

Notable quotable

“I’m interested in good policy. Kyoto, I thought, was bad policy.” — George W. Bush

A look at Ron Paul’s environmental platform and record

Update: Ron Paul dropped out of the presidential race on June 12, 2008. Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul doesn’t spend much time talking about the environment; when he does address the issue, it’s usually to say that our land, air, and water would be in better shape if the government butted out and let the […]

An interview with Ron Paul about his presidential platform on energy and the environment

This is part of a series of interviews with presidential candidates produced jointly by Grist and Outside. Update: Ron Paul dropped out of the presidential race on June 12, 2008. Ron Paul. Photo: MyTwistedLens Enviros may roll their eyes at a candidate who dismisses the U.S. EPA as feckless and disposable, who believes all public […]

Smart commentary on Gore’s Nobel

“Do I derange you?” Photo: Eric Neitzel/WireImage. Gore’s Nobel certainly brought out the mouthbreathers, but it also inspired some insightful commentary, some of it, mercifully, not about its effects on the presidential race. Most commentators did, however, find it difficult to avoid the Bush/Gore comparison. Here’s a sample of some of the better stuff I’ve […]