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  • Feed the economy, or starve it? The answer’s clear.

    Photo: greenforall.orgIn economic-policy circles, a debate rages around what medicine might cure the ailing economy. The topic doesn’t draw much attention in environmental media, but I would argue that the direction of economic policy is at least as important as the hopelessly vexed question of energy policy. Before I get to the green implications, let’s […]

  • Smart cap-and-trade will boost growth, create 2.8 million jobs, and cut carbon pollution

    Cross-posted from Wonk Room. A new macroeconomic analysis of green economic policies finds that cutting global warming pollution will make the economy grow faster. The Center for Climate Strategies (CCS), building upon analysis they did of state-level climate plans for the National Governors Association, analyzed the economic and environmental impact of legislation in line with […]

  • The Maine Lesson of Cap and Trade

    Last week, I referenced an official from Maine saying: “The investments we are seeing in renewable energy, in energy infrastructure, appear to be the largest wave of capital investment in the state’s history.” Which is obviously great news for the state, especially during a recession. Since then, the Kennebec Journal has reported on the formation of […]

  • A Cleveland mall turns lost retail space into farm stand

    Photo: Fast CompanyShopping malls, those bastions of American consumerism, have not been immune to the recent economic downturn. In a recent piece by our own Greg Lindsay, we looked at the impending decline of the mall, which is part of the “single-use environment” category of real estate development that will slowly disappear over the next […]

  • The jobs are in the trees

    With Congress and the White House considering spending scarce dollars to jump-start employment, they’ll need to get the biggest jobs bang for the buck to give Americans confidence that they’re spending our money wisely. Probably the biggest jobs generator of all, and one of the least recognized, is investing in forest and land restoration and […]

  • Winning the clean energy race: a new strategy for American leadership

    By Teryn Norris & Devon Swezey You know the world is changing when the president’s first trip to Asia is defined by a new U.S. foreign policy dubbed “strategic reassurance” – convincing China that the United States has no intention of containing its growing power or endangering its foreign investments. As the New York Times […]

  • A Clean Energy Bargain

    Earlier today the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) released a Policy Brief summarizing economic analysis of clean energy and climate protection legislation that we have been working on for more than a year. We know that the Senate debate on this legislation will turn largely on economic issues, so we used two well-known national energy […]

  • A Clean Energy Bargain

    Earlier today NRDC released a Policy Brief summarizing economic analysis of clean energy and climate protection legislation that we have been working on for more than a year. We know that the Senate debate on this legislation will turn largely on economic issues, so we used two well-known national energy models to examine the impact […]

  • Obama lays down plans for high-speed rail

    The Obama administration has big plans to create a “world-class passenger rail system” across the country, the president announced this morning. “What we need … is a smart transportation system equal to the needs of the 21st century,” said Obama. “A system that reduces travel times and increases mobility. A system that reduces congestion and […]