insanity
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One reason Congress might consider scrapping the filibuster
Lester Brown came to our office today and had a nice chat with us Gristers. (Have you watched my diavlog with Brown? It’s must-see tv!) The guy is wicked smart. You really, really should buy his book Plan B 4.0 — it’s the best summation of humanity’s converging ecological problems and the best roadmap to […]
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How 7.4% of Americans can block humanity’s efforts to save itself
A couple weeks ago I wrote a piece on what’s really killing climate legislation: the absurd procedural chokepoints in the U.S. Senate, coupled with an unprincipled minority devoted to obstruction. I’m happy to report there’s been an uptick lately in people trying to draw attention to this problem. From the last week or two: Univ. […]
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Treasury memo hysteria shows media incapable of screening out junk
Is any piece of nonsense from right-wing opponents of clean energy policy too silly, too outrageous, to get its day in the national press spotlight? It would seem not. Last week, CBS conservo-blogger Declan McCullagh breathlessly reported: “Obama Admin: Cap And Trade Could Cost Families $1,761 A Year.” That figure spread like wildfire through right-wing […]
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Netroots Nation frustration and the impediments to progressive change
I just returned to Seattle from Netroots Nation, the yearly gathering of progressive bloggers, journalists, and activists. Last year, in Austin, the atmosphere was absolutely electric, with the election approaching and a clear sense of battle lines drawn, victory within reach. Also, lots of great parties. This year, at least from my limited perspective, the […]
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Gideon Rachman: Inability to prevent mass suffering and death a “dilemma for climate activists”
This column from Gideon Rachman in the Financial Times really pushes my buttons. There’s something beneath the surface that is downright pathological, and not at all unique to Rachman. It besets most political pundits on this issue. I’ll try to dig it out. The premise of Rachman’s column is that while everyone accuses climate change […]
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Sarah Palin, George Will, and Potemkin debates
While I was away on vacation (it was wonderful, thanks for asking), the Washington Post editorial page featured opinion pieces from Sarah Palin and George Will, two of conservatism’s leading, um, thinkers, revealing a great deal about the WaPo editorial page and the quality of conservative thinking. Rebuttal has been ably carried out by many […]
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Congress is the problem
Felix Salmon blogs at Reuters about the seeming exhaustion of Obama’s political capital — on both climate change and financial regulations, he just can’t seem to get what he wants out of Congress. I think Matt Yglesias and Ryan Avent both have the appropriate response: the problem here is not Obama, but Congress. Indeed, the […]
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West Virginia celebrates the blessings of a coal-based economy
West Virginia gets more of its electricity from coal than any other state. To celebrate that fact, yesterday WV Gov. Joe Manchin (D) declared coal the official state rock. Yes, really. Coal is now the state rock of West Virginia. But why should Manchin stop there? Having a coal-based economy has given his state so […]
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Must-read new story on the Tennessee coal ash disaster and the myth of “clean coal”
Stop what you’re doing and proceed immediately to the current issue of GQ magazine, which contains a blockbuster piece of investigative journalism: “Black Tide,” by Sean Flynn. Here’s the slug: Just days before Christmas last year, an environmental disaster one hundred times the size of the Exxon Valdez (yes, you read that right) unfolded on […]