Climate Politics

Hawaii legislature allows Superferry to resume voyages

The Hawaii legislature has approved a bill allowing resumption of voyages by the Hawaii Superferry, halted by court order in August because a state-required environmental-impact assessment had not been completed. The new legislation, backed by Gov. Linda Lingle (R), will allow the ferry to make its Oahu-to-Maui and Oahu-to-Kauai treks while the assessment is being […]

Amazing helicopter footage of Greenpeace in the Indonesian peat bogs

In the lead-up to the international Bali Climate summit, Greenpeace has launched a major direct action in Sumatra, Indonesia, to stop the nefarious PT Duta Palma corporation from destroying a pristine tropical forest (and the habitat for highly endangered Sumatran rhinos, tigers, and oh-so-cute orangutans) and replacing it with a palm oil plantation. Click on the picture to the right to watch the extraordinary video of their action, including amazing helicopter footage of both the glorious and denuded Indonesian landscape.

Torching tropical forests is bad enough, but this one lies atop a peat bog and the Duta Palma's henchmen are trying to drain it and burn it to grow the palms -- releasing thousands of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in the process. Indeed, destruction of peat bogs in Indonesia alone accounts for more than 8 percent of total global greenhouse-gas emissions from fossil fuels.

On Gingrich’s new conservative environmentalism

A few days ago I got a review copy of Newt Gingrich’s new book, A Contract with the Earth. We’ve got somebody else reviewing it, so I don’t plan to read it. I do, however, want to make two observations, one on policy, one on politics. On policy: Gingrich’s shtick is that leftists took over […]

Should Gore get arrested protesting coal?

It’s a little sketchily sourced, but according to Mark Hertsgaard Al Gore is “considering” joining the Rainforest Action Network in some direct action protest against coal plants — which could well result in his arrest. Hertsgaard thinks it would be a good thing: If Gore did end up getting arrested during a protest against a […]

A look at Rudy Giuliani’s environmental platform and record

Rudy Giuliani. Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, who served as mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001, talks up energy independence as a critical component of national security. He acknowledges that climate change is happening and that humans contribute to it at least to some extent, but he doesn’t often address the issue […]

The ‘Nissan bloc’

Xenophobia rears its ugly head in the CAFE debate.

What to expect going into Thursday

Thursday's the first "big day" for the Lieberman-Warner climate bill -- the first time the bill can be officially changed, for better or worse, before the vote determining whether the full Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will consider it.

As it stands, the bill has the support of its authors, subcommittee chair Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and ranking member John Warner (R-Va.), plus, as announced last week, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mon.).

That leaves four unknowns on the subcommittee that Lieberman chairs: Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). If they all vote no, the bill dies a quiet, unexpected death in subcommittee.

I say unexpected because the sense on the Hill right now is that the bill will move forward. One Democratic staffer told me that four no's is not "a likely scenario."

"It's important for people to know that nobody's looking for perfection" at this stage, the staffer said. What they're looking for is evidence that some of their more fundamental concerns are addressed and that the bill doesn't just move to the full committee exactly as introduced earlier this month.

That said, Lautenberg and Sanders are ambitious environmentalists, and their fundamental concerns are many. They'll likely be expecting at least some strengthening of the weak emissions-credit auction, and some sharing of the extremely generous subsidies now going overwhelmingly to coal and auto industry. (Sanders wants more for clean energy.) [See this memo (PDF) from Friends of the Earth for the sheer magnitude of the proposed handouts.]

As more information comes along, I'll pass it your way, and will provide continuing coverage on Thursday.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is no fan

Some harsh words just in from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.):

Two analysts argue for ditching Kyoto and finding something better

This is an interesting commentary in Nature, right on many details if, I think, wrong in spirit. Gwyn Prins & Steve Rayner argue that Kyoto has failed and should be abandoned. Its successor policy should: Focus mitigation efforts on the big emitters Allow genuine emissions markets to evolve from the bottom up Put public investment […]

Students organize summit on climate change

You know how some days you just get so wrapped up with those new Facebook apps that you barely notice when columnists in the nation's newspaper of note are talking shit about you behind your back? Earlier this month, Tom Friedman wrote:

America needs a jolt of the idealism, activism and outrage ... of Generation Q [for "Quiet"]. That's what twentysomethings are for -- to light a fire under the country. But they can't email it in, and an online petition or a mouse click for carbon neutrality won't cut it ...

Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy didn't change the world by asking people to join their Facebook crusades or to download their platforms. Activism can only be uploaded, the old-fashioned way -- by young voters speaking truth to power, face to face, in big numbers, on campuses or the Washington Mall.

Big numbers? Washington Mall? Why haven't students thought of this before? Oh, wait: