Climate Politics

Expect a lot of it

As I mentioned the other day, MarketWatch is doing a big series of articles on business and climate change. This one gets right to the heart of why we’re hiring a D.C. reporter. Now that things have transitioned from whether there’s going to be climate legislation to what climate legislation is going to look like, […]

Corn ethanol bubble stretched thin

Expect the venture capitalists who started this pyramid scheme to quietly jump ship, leaving those who came in last holding the steaming bag. This article is behind the Wall Street Journal subscription wall and I can't post the whole article, though I would certainly like to. Several excerpts follow:

Earlier this year, Mr. Chambliss introduced a bill calling for even greater ethanol use, though with one striking difference: The bill caps the amount of that fuel that can come from corn. Turns out Georgia's chicken farmers hate corn-based ethanol; Georgia's pork producers hate corn-based ethanol; Georgia's dairy industry hates corn-based ethanol; Georgia's food producers hate corn-based ethanol; Georgia's hunters hate corn-based ethanol. And all that means Mr. Chambliss has had to find a new biofuels religion.

(Thanks again, KO!)

U.S. continues to resist pressure on climate change

If I may indulge for a moment in some blogospheric vitriol and vulgarity … I really can’t wait ’til these a**holes are gone: The United States will fight climate change by funding clean energy technologies and will continue to reject emissions targets or cap and trade schemes, its chief climate negotiator Harlan Watson said on […]

Why Does Bill Richardson Hate America?

Democratic presidential candidate unveils ambitious energy plan Today we bring you part 16 of “Promising Energy Policies Put Forth By U.S. Presidential Candidates Who Don’t Have a Chance in Hell of Getting Elected.” This week, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) has been touting his plan for battling global warming. Yesterday, saying the country needs […]

McCain flip-flops on ethanol

John McCain tries to explain his flagrant flip-flop on ethanol: (via Hugg)

The boldest plan on the table

As of today, Bill Richardson has become the boldest, most visionary Democratic presidential candidate on climate and energy policy. (John Edwards is a close second.) No politician from either party has put forward a plan that comes closer to being a realistic response to the energy shortages and climate chaos heading our way. Here’s the […]

Reviews are good

New Mexico governor and Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson gave a big speech today in which he introduced what sounds like an extremely ambitious climate and energy plan. The speech isn’t online yet, and the plan isn’t on his site yet, so all I have to go on is reactions from people who have seen […]

In Eighteen Hundred Seventy-Two, Ulysses Made the Greenies Blue

Legislation introduced to overhaul ancient mining law In 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed a mining-regulation law — and while resource extraction has changed significantly since then, the rules haven’t. Now Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) is seeking to revamp what he calls “the Jurassic Park of all federal laws,” introducing a proposal that would require […]

Naval Gazing

Five environmental groups sue Navy over sonar use off Hawaii Tensions over the U.S. Navy’s use of sonar in anti-submarine exercises off Hawaii have resurfaced, and five green groups are suing to change the practice. Citing concerns that sonar can kill and injure whales, dolphins, and other marine mammals, the lawsuit names both the Navy […]

Now is the time to harangue your reps about farm and food policy.

As debate over the 2007 Farm Bill heats up, more people than ever are realizing that the five-year omnibus legislation, due to expire this year, directly influences what crops are produced in this country, who gets paid for them and how much, the manner in which they are produced, what kind of product they become, and who eats what. They're also connecting the dots and realizing that our current farm and food policy is making us overweight and unhealthy while lining the pockets of multinational corporations and polluting the environment.

Though the increased attention is exciting, the Farm Bill is a hugely complicated and can be difficult to get a handle on. Even its timeline is confusing and unpredictable. Is it too late to express opinions to representatives? The answer is no -- but now is the time to get busy.