Climate Politics

UN Secretary-General appoints climate envoys

I haven’t been keeping very close tabs on this, but apparently new(ish) UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon — who is determined to make climate change a priority — has named three Special Envoys for Climate Change. What’s a Special Envoy, you ask? Good question. I searched in vain for answers, and all I found is this: […]

A bill to subsidize making biogas from cow manure

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) has just submitted a bill in the Senate that would establish federal tax credits, loans, and loan guarantees to encourage production of "biogas" from cow manure. Three Republicans are co-sponsoring the bill: Senators Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, Wayne Allard of Colorado, and Larry Craig of Idaho. A similar bill has been introduced in the House. As described by an article in the Omaha World-Herald, the legislation would "help ease America's addiction to fossil fuels by encouraging a renewable resource."

Here we go again.

It’s not an alternative, it’s a subset

Newt Gingrich has a new book out called A Contract with the Earth, which purports to outline a "green conservatism." For a summary, you can check out this brief op-ed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. I approached it with an open mind — eagerly, even. There’s nothing I would like more than for a vibrant green […]

So much goodness you could waste a day

Every since my Brooklyn vacation, I’ve been behind and struggling to catch up. You know what that means … a link dump! Enjoy. In the course of joining the wonkosphere’s call for a carbon tax, Fareed Zakaria comes very close to repeating my slogan: Understanding the causes and cures of global warming is actually very […]

I Don’t Want a Pickle, I Just Want a Fuel-Efficient Vehicle

Senate committee OKs bill to raise fuel-economy standards A Senate committee has approved legislation that would increase average vehicle fuel efficiency to 35 miles per gallon by 2020, with a 4 percent annual increase from 2021 to 2030. For nearly two decades, U.S. passenger cars have averaged 27.5 mpg, while light trucks and SUVs have […]

Tony, We Hardly Knew Ye

British Prime Minister Tony Blair to resign, climate legacy mixed British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced his resignation today in a short speech whose message amounted to, “Sorry about blindly following Bush. Forgive me?” Blair leaves in late June after 10 years at 10 Downing Street, with Finance Minister Gordon Brown expected to replace him. […]

The hits keep on comin’

Senate Foreign Relations Testimony on the grave threat to our nation's security posed by global warming:

• Admiral Joseph W. Prueher (PDF), USN (Ret.), Former Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Command and Former Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China;
• General Charles F. Wald (PDF), USAF (Ret.), Former Deputy Commander, U.S. European Command; and
• Vice Admiral Richard H. Truly (PDF), USN (Ret.), Former NASA Administrator, Shuttle Astronaut and the First Commander of the Naval Space Command.

Memo to conservative global warming deniers: Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) asserts in his opening statement (PDF),"To adequately prepare our security and diplomatic forces for future threats, we need to understand how climate change might be a source of war and instability."

This post was created for ClimateProgress.org, a project of the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

A smackdown in Congress

The corruption and incompetence of the Bush Interior Dept. are legend at this point, so I won’t rehash it all here (though I can’t resist linking to this). Instead, I’ll just report that today, in a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on the Endangered Species Act, Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) laid into Interior Deputy Secretary […]

We’re staying on top of this story

So a bunch of onetime Gore advisers and aides gathered for a meal last night: Among those longtime Gore loyalists who munched on a buffet of sandwiches and salmon at the [Gore friend and ally Peter] Knight home: Longtime powerhouse Dem fundraiser and Democratic National Committeeman Robert Zimmerman; Knight’s wife, Gail Britton; Tom Hendrickson, the […]

Developing ideas on development

Hats off to GreenbuildingsNYC, who beat me to the punch on a couple of items that seem important to future green development.

First, there's a piece by Professor Charles Kibert that critiques a recent report on the benefits of green schools. It is notable for a couple of reasons. First, his analysis asks some important questions about this particular report's benefit claims. Second, through this analysis he critiques the lack of critical review and high research standards in the green building field. There's a response after the post by one of the report's authors. Worth checking out.

Second, the Nevada legislature may be backpedaling on its green building tax breaks: