carbon cap
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Another pathetic day in the U.S. Senate
Today was an important day for the energy bill. Sort of. The entire Democratic Senate caucus met to discuss how to move forward on climate and energy. Kerry, Bingaman, and Cantwell all presented — and argued for — their respective bills. (They made videos, too — Kerry’s; Cantwell’s.) The intent was to make some kind […]
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The unfinished tale of climate legislation: Eric Pooley’s ‘The Climate War’
The pursuit of U.S. legislation to address the threat of climate change has been going on for more than 20 years. It has pit entrenched industries against scientists and campaigners, political appointees against agency staff, American diplomats against UN officials, propagandists against journalists, red states against blue states, and John McCain 2010 against John McCain […]
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![President Obama in Oval Office]()
![President Obama in Oval Office]()
A mildly contrarian take on Obama’s Oval Office speech
Reaction to Obama’s Tuesday evening speech was swift and brutal. “JUNK SHOT,” blared Huffington Post’s homepage. “What was the point?” asked Jason Linkins. “What a terrible speech,” said Kevin Drum. Having gone back and watched it a second time, I think these reactions may be a touch overwrought. Whenever Obama speaks, there’s always some set […]
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Carbon trades took a hit in the Great Recession
Photo: James Mitchell via FlickrAs we know, one of the few beneficial side effects of the Great Recession of 2009 was the decline in global greenhouse gas emissions as our consumer-centric economy sputtered. But that also sent the voluntary carbon markets into a tailspin, according to a new report released Tuesday by Bloomberg New Energy […]
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Why it’s worth passing a crappy climate bill
This weekend I was asked to contribute to The New York Times‘ Room for Debate. I was kind of under the impression that the question was, “Is the Kerry-Graham-Lieberman bill worth passing?” Apparently, though, it was, “Does the climate bill stand a chance?” Obviously those questions have different answers! Mine was geared to the former, […]
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Federal climate policy should preempt state and regional initiatives
In just a few days, Sens. John Kerry, Lindsey Graham, and Joe Lieberman will release their much-anticipated proposal for comprehensive climate and energy legislation — the best remaining shot at forging a bipartisan consensus on this issue in 2010. Their proposal has many strengths, but there’s an issue brewing that could undermine its effectiveness and […]
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Carbon cap would deny Iran precious petrodollars: Over $100 million a day
Cross-posted from Wonk Room. A strong cap on carbon would significantly cut the flow of petrodollars to Iran’s hostile regime, a Wonk Room analysis shows. The economic and political strength of Iran’s dictatorship is a threat to the national security of the United States and the world, and its nuclear ambitions threaten to destabilize the […]
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Abandoning Congress is not a winning strategy for climate activists
Cross-posted from the Wonk Room. Senators drafting comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation are negotiating with polluters, and talking about combining a cap on carbon with public incentives for nuclear plants, “clean coal,” and offshore drilling. Should supporters of strong, progressive action to solve the climate crisis give up on Congress and work within the […]
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Counting the world’s capacity for emission reductions
Delegates in Copenhagen are struggling through the difficult start of the second week of talks, with charges and counter-charges that one party or another is not doing their part to save the planet and the future of humanity thick on the ground. This is not atypical in the history of the U.N. climate meetings, but […]
