state politics

If you lead a candidate to books, can you make him read?

Kurt Schrader, an Oregon state senator, veterinarian, Willamette Valley farmer, and Democratic candidate for Congress is now considered the favorite to win Oregon’s 5th District — the only competitive district in Oregon for either party. If he wins as predicted, he will beat a self-funded multimillionaire Republican who lost the same race in 2006 — […]

Al Gore stumps for climate action at Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire fundraiser

Nobel laureate and former vice president Al Gore swept into Seattle Friday afternoon to lend a little climate starpower to Washington Democratic Governor Christine Gregoire. At a sold out fundraiser in the Grand Ballroom of the Sheraton Hotel, Gore waxed prophetic about the common thread between the climate and economic crises, the American addiction to […]

Why renewable advocates oppose Proposition 7

This post is crossposted at Vote Solar’s blog. —– Proposition 7 [PDF] is a California ballot initiative that would dramatically increase the state’s renewable energy requirement to 50 percent renewably sourced by 2025. Yet most environmental groups and almost all renewable energy companies and trade associations oppose it. Why? The problem is not with the […]

ACEEE was doing state-level efficiency studies before state-level efficiency studies were cool

Everyone’s buzzing about the new study out of UC-Berkeley showing that California’s energy-efficiency measures have created 1.5 million jobs and saved residents $56 billion in energy costs since 1972. (See Joe Romm’s breakdown, or Brad’s.) Turns out efficiency works! While it’s on everyone’s mind, I’d also direct your attention to "More Jobs and Greater Total […]

How the new European carbon standard could backfire

Last week’s action by the European Parliament to adopt the “Schwarzenegger clause” as a requirement for new coal plants built after 2015 shows the danger of locking in well-intentioned half-measures. The Schwarzenegger clause is a California regulatory requirement that emerged out of SB 1368, enacted in 2006 and rightly hailed at that time as a […]

Florida’s Action Team on Energy and Climate Change unveils full plan to halt warming

The full report from Florida’s Action Team on Energy and Climate Change that we mentioned yesterday is now available. Its release was celebrated today by both business and environmental leaders in the state. The 608-page report outlines 50 specific policy recommendations that the state should enact in order to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. If […]

Florida to release tough climate action plan

The state government of Florida is set today to release its action plan on climate change, which includes significant reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions and indicates that the state stands to reap $28 billion in net economic savings by 2025 if it moves forward with cutting carbon. A draft summary [PDF] of the plan from the […]

Sierra Club helps promote Pickens plan on debate night

Originally posted at the ThinkProgress Wonk Room. —– At 10 p.m. last night, the Sierra Club’s Carl Pope and right-wing oil billionaire, T. Boone Pickens, began a live-streamed chat that had been advertised across the Internet as an “e-rally” in response to the presidential debate. Pickens and Pope previously met in a discussion moderated by […]

Rice debates Inhofe tomorrow

For those who can’t get enough of political debates, here’s another of note. Andrew Rice is the Democratic nominee challenging Sen. James Inhofe (R) of Oklahoma for his Senate seat. They are holding their first — and only — debate on Tuesday, 5:15 CDT, in Tulsa. KJRH will televise and stream online for those who […]