Climate Politics

After many years of trying, we’re moving in the right direction at last

I'm a bit bleary eyed after midnight votes, and about to do an event in Boston on the energy fight, but I wanted to come back here to Gristmill to tell you how good it feels to have gotten something good done in the Senate instead of just stopping bad things from happening.

A year ago I was battling to stop drilling in ANWR. Last night, finally -- after years of battling and five years after we introduced the Kerry-McCain legislation to raise fuel efficiency standards -- we actually accomplished things in the Senate that will improve the environment.

This is something that never would've happened with Bill Frist as the Majority Leader. But with Harry Reid leading the Senate, we were able to finally pass the first significant rise in CAFE standards in over a generation.

Senate Dems still fighting for energy package

Disappointed about the half-victory in the Senate yesterday? Don’t give up hope yet. Majority leader Harry Reid’s still got some fight in him (from CongressNow, sub. rqd.): Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) this afternoon said he will revive the energy tax package that was defeated amid Republican opposition this week, saying he was confident […]

Self-proclaimed conservatives often simply just like different outcomes

Michigan has an important case up before a state Supreme Court known for two things: Making radical revisions to laws the Republican majority dislikes, and proclaiming its strict textualism in interpreting the law.

In the case before the Supreme Court, attorneys for Nestle Waters North America have argued in opposition to citizens' rights under [the Michigan Environmental Protection Act], saying that citizens must be "directly affected" by an environmental action to go to court over it. That means only people who can show pollution, impairment or destruction of natural resources on their own property could take action under MEPA. Nestle, which wants to continue pumping water from a large Michigan wetland for bottling and sale, mostly outside the state, is being challenged under MEPA by a group called Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation.

The House of Reps leads the way to a greener capitol

The Hill’s alive with the sound of greening. Or at least, it should be, as soon as our representatives start following through with their “Green the Capitol” initiative, the final report on which was released yesterday in Washington, D.C. The report is the result of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s call for an energy […]

Johnson Stiffens Smog Rules

Current U.S. ground-level ozone standard deemed insufficient Smoggy air could get cleaner if a new U.S. EPA standard passes muster. Agency head Stephen Johnson has proposed lowering the allowable amount of ground-level ozone from 80 to 84 parts per billion to 70 to 75 ppb, since “the current standard is insufficient to protect public health.” […]

Be Still Our Beating Hearts

Senate-approved energy bill calls for fuel-economy increase First, the good news: the U.S. Senate has passed an energy bill containing the first significant fuel-economy increase in years. The bill requires cars and light trucks to get an average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020, up from the current 22.2 mpg for light trucks and […]

One small step forward, one step, uh, sideways

You may have heard that today the Senate reached a compromise on CAFE: they will keep the 35mpg-by-2020 requirement, but drop the 4%-every-year-thereafter requirement. The loophole for SUVs will be closed. (Bizarrely, newly minted environmentalist Ted Stevens [R-Alaska] was instrumental in keeping the amendment alive.) This is good news, in a symbolic sort of way […]

Salt Lake City might jump in for another term

It’s no secret that we have something of a organization-wide crush on crusading Salt Lake City mayor Rocky Anderson. As he mentioned in our interview, his plan has been to leave politics and move into advocacy behind environmental and human rights causes. But it looks like he might be reconsidering. You see, the slate of […]

It’s about more than money

It's official. China is now the world's top emitter of greenhouse gases.

Having spent much of this spring reporting in China, I'd like to second just about everything David said yesterday on the topic. But I have one ginormous point to add.

It's not just money that's needed. Yes, it'd be a good thing if Hill folks stopped bashing technology-exchange programs as lending an "unfair competitive advantage." And yes, let's stop painting China as the international bad guy. It ain't helpful, especially when the Chinese can rightly point out that Americans and Europeans are still, per capita, the world's energy hogs.

But the really troubling thing is that, even when Beijing is trying to do the right thing -- and they have some surprisingly progressive energy targets on the books -- the government often can't enforce its own edicts. Wonks call this a "rule of law" problem. By Beijing's own estimates, one-fifth of power plants operate illegally, dodging the government's own environmental regulations and best intentions.

I don't mean to sound hopeless. I'm actually hopeful about some of the broader changes underway in China that might make solutions more workable. (Sorry to be elliptical; I write about this in an upcoming Washington Monthly article, but, jiminycrickets, I don't have an online link yet.)

In the meantime, yep, the West should take some responsibility for helping China, India, and Africa avoid the worst of the worst on global warming. If not for their sake, then for ours.

Dirty energy lobbyists are out in force

Argh: Senate Democrats yesterday were scrambling to prevent the sweeping energy overhaul bill, a top domestic priority, from crumbling amid growing regional divisions within their party and Republican concerns. “The moment of truth on this energy bill is coming very shortly,” Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) said. Also, argh: Three powerful lobbying forces — automakers, electric […]