Barack Obama

As Obama pushes for rural jobs, his regulators obliterate them

FDA crackdowns on food clubs across the country intimidate producers at a time when our country can least afford to be trashing jobs and opportunity.

Politics, farmers, and change: The end of rural America

Big Ag-friendly policy has put family farms in crisis, but Obama can reverse the trend if he delivers on campaign promises.

Infographic: What it would take to meet Obama's 2035 clean energy goals?

Obama wants 80 percent of America's energy to come from clean and renewable sources by 2035. But what would that really take? Mostly, it means replacing 2/3 of our coal-fired power plants with power sources that don't depend on fossil fuels. The scale of that ambition is difficult to comprehend — which is why it's […]

Storm chaser: Sen. Durbin carries on lonely fight against climate change

While Obama lifts the "cloud of uncertainty" over the economy, Dick Durbin looks like one of the only lawmakers still worried about the real weather.

Issa wants cheaper cars, more climate change

Republican Rep. Darrell Issa (Calif.), whose official role as chairman of the House oversight committee is to be an administrative gadfly, is investigating the new fuel economy standard the Obama administration announced last Friday.

Issa is concerned about how the Obama administration negotiated with car manufacturers over these standards, which will push the average fuel economy of the country's fleet of new cars and trucks to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. The problem, according to Issa, is that the standards could make cars cost more money and limit consumer choice.

Everyone thinks Obama is doing a bad job on the environment

Yale Environment 360 asked a series of environmental thinkers, activists, and policymakers what they think of Barack Obama's record on the environmental record so far. The overwhelming response was that they didn't think very much of it at all.

Here’s climate writer and activist Bill McKibben:

McDonalds and United Arab Emirates greener than America?

Everyone loves a “man bites dog” story. Not everyone likes those tales, however, if they embarrass someone in the process. Take the news out of the oil-rich United Arab Emirates, where fast food giant McDonalds has just announced that they will fuel their delivery trucks with bio-diesel made from their own used vegetable oil. Neutral […]

President Obama is writing the climate legacy of his first term now

Al Gore's Rolling Stone essay highlighted criticism of Obama's climate record, but he still has time to improve.

There's a Foxx guarding the ag-policy henhouse

Rep. Virginia Foxx recently sponsored an amendment to shut down the USDA's Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative.