Climate Politics

The details on Obama’s just-released energy plan

Ah, here we go. Via the Obama campaign, I’ve got the fact-sheet on Obama’s just-released energy plan. The PDF is here, which I’ve translated to HTML for your reading pleasure, below. —– BARACK OBAMA’S PLAN TO MAKE AMERICA A GLOBAL ENERGY LEADER Our nation is confronted by two major energy challenges — global climate change […]

Barack Obama reveals details of energy plan in speech today

Barack Obama is going to unveil the details of his energy plan today. I haven’t seen a copy of the speech or the plan yet, so all I have to go on is the reporting, which is just … awful. I can’t decide which is worse, the L.A. Times, Reuters, or AP. From what I […]

Obama will outline energy plan in New Hampshire

Barack Obama will outline his energy plan later today in a speech in Portsmouth, N.H. Expect him to laud cap-and-trade and energy efficiency, propose spending $150 billion over the next decade on clean energy R&D, and blame politicians for not being ballsy enough to make bold proposals for tackling global warming.

Brain food for your day of rest

Tabs, tabs, so many tabs open. Time for a whirlwind tour of my browser! Got a website? Here are 11 carbon-neutral hosting options. Environmental websites that effectively use graphics and imagery to convey the scope of a problem. I particularly like Gapminder. If Bill Clinton didn’t clear it up for you, the Christian Science Monitor […]

A look at Sam Brownback’s environmental platform and record

Update: Brownback dropped out of the presidential race on Oct. 19, 2007. Republican presidential candidate Sam Brownback, who has represented Kansas in the U.S. Senate since 1996, calls for the U.S. to be “energy secure” so it won’t have to depend on unfriendly countries for oil — and touts ethanol as a homegrown solution to […]

An interview with Sam Brownback 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: Sam Brownback dropped out of the presidential race on Oct. 19, 2007. Sam Brownback. Photo: IowaPolitics.com “America is on the verge of an energy crisis,” Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) warns on his presidential campaign website, blaming “years […]

Yucca Mountain may be doubled in size, need more funding

In a move sure to endear Nevada’s Yucca Mountain nuclear-waste repository to fiercely opposed Nevadans, the Department of Energy has proposed doubling its size. Nevada Rep. Shelley Berkley (D) concisely sums up the reaction of the sane: “Doubling the size of Yucca Mountain will only double the danger. This is not a bad dream; it’s […]

Fred Thompson half-heartedly justifies flip-flop on ethanol

Ol’ Fred Thompson has decided that ethanol’s great after all, even though he voted against subsidies as an allegedly-small-government conservative in the Senate. Why, Fred? We know it can’t be a craven pander to Iowa voters, so what’s the explanation? “I have voted against subsidies in the Senate,” said Thompson. “But I think it’s a […]

What will Sen. Pete Domenici’s retirement mean for the environment?

The last post I wrote evaluating the environmental impact of a supposedly done-for senator was about Larry Craig. So much for that. But while Sen. Wide Stance (R-Idaho) is sticking around for now, Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) will certainly be retiring at the end of the 110th Congress — so it behooves us to look […]

Hillary lays out science proposals

Today, in an address to the Carnegie Institution for Science (timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Sputnik), Hillary rolled out her science agenda. After some strong rebukes to the Bush administration for its "war on science," she offered this course of action:

Expand human and robotic space exploration and speed development of vehicles to would replace the space shuttle.

Launch a space-based climate change initiative to combat global warming.

Create a $50-billion strategic energy fund to research ways to boost energy efficiency and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

Comply with a legal requirement that the executive branch issue a national assessment on climate change every four years. She would also expand the assessment to reflect how U.S. regions and economic sectors are responding to the challenges posed by climate change.

Name an assistant to the president for science and technology, a position that was eliminated in the Bush White House.

Re-establish the Office of Technology Assessment.

Sounds pretty good, even if it's disconcerting that the space-based climate change initiative appears higher up than boosting energy efficiency. Let's hope that was just a hat tip to Sputnik.