Skip to content
Grist home
All donations doubled!

Climate Politics

All Stories

  • An interview with renowned climate scientist James Hansen

    James Hansen. Photo: nasa.gov James Hansen, NASA’s top climate expert, believes scientists have an obligation to speak out when their findings have important implications for the public — and he certainly put that belief into practice last year when he told The New York Times that the Bush administration was trying to muzzle his calls […]

  • And if not, why not?

    A journalist of some renown called me last week to ask a question: would it be possible to do both a cap-and-trade program and a carbon tax? Al Gore famously urged that approach, but this journo had heard from other (reliable) sources that it’s not possible. My instinctive answer was yeah, sure, there’s no reason […]

  • Trade in the Shade

    Bush allows Democrats to attach eco-protections to trade agreements If the Decider isn’t careful, he’s going to become the Compromiser. Last week, President Bush and congressional Democrats worked out a deal that will attach environmental and labor protections to trade accords in the works with Colombia, Panama, Peru, and South Korea. The compromise will require […]

  • Tancredo’s fictions

    Republican presidential candidate Tom Tancredo was asked, "what’s the latest work of fiction you’ve read?" His answer: An Inconvenient Truth. Guess that goes on his fiction shelf right next to Darwin’s Origin of Species. More at Tancredo Watch.

  • ‘Eco-terrorism’: Are they really terrorists?

    A federal judge will hear arguments tomorrow, and her ruling will have enormous implications. It’s one of those forks in the road: do we continue down the path toward a police state, or unclench our post-9/11 butts a little and remember that sometimes a misguided a**hole with a dogma and a book of matches is […]

  • Ah ha

    California is suing the federal government over weak fuel-efficiency standards. No wonder the Bush administration made a big to-do of announcing its tepid alternative fuels plan today (even though nothing would happen with it until 2008). Rove’s trying to capture the news cycle. (thanks LL) Update [2007-5-14 13:49:14 by David Roberts]: Pure coincidence! Q The […]

  • This is getting old

    Next month, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will convene a summit of the G8 countries, which will issue a joint declaration on climate change. Here’s how that’s going: A draft proposal dated April 2007 that is being debated in Bonn, Germany, this weekend by senior officials of the Group of Eight includes a pledge to limit […]

  • Won’t run for Congress, but will shill

    It’s official: Richard "Dick" Pombo (R-Nowhere) will not be attempting to reclaim the House seat he lost to Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.). The nation may breathe a sigh of relief. (McNerney’s probably effed anyway, though — after all, it’s still an extremely conservative district.) You may recall that upon losing Pombo went almost immediately through […]