Climate Politics
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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.
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‘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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Oh, Canada
So, it's an interesting time to be an environmentalist in Canada. On one hand, we have a federal government whose green policies were described as "a complete and total fraud ... designed to mislead the Canadian people" by no less than the Goreacle himself.
In this case, however, one of the sometimes-maddening aspects of Canadian politics is of some benefit. You see, natural resources (including all energy sources) are matters of provincial jurisdiction in Canada. This is problematic if you want to see a national plan on fossil fuels, because as a political reality you'd have to get all 10 provincial premiers to sign on -- and that's like herding cats. But it does have its virtues on some days, and yesterday the Toronto Star reported that the government of Ontario (Canada's most populous, most industrial province) is set to announce a far more ambitious green plan than the one announced by Ottawa.
