Washington DC

Big Oil tries to hide behind an acronym

Ever watch the cable news networks during the afternoon? You're bombarded with issue ad after issue ad. Well, imagine that every TV and radio station was like that 24 hours a day. That's local media here in D.C. And since the climate and energy debate began in earnest on Capitol Hill last summer, it seems like you can't get through one commercial break without hearing GM or Big Oil explain how they don't need big government telling them what to do (unless, of course, big government wants to tell them to drill for more oil).

Every morning over breakfast, WTOP Radio gives me a steady diet of news, traffic, weather, and propaganda. But Monday morning brought a new twist that perked me up even before my organic coffee could kick in. It was an ad I'd heard before featuring actors pretending to be "average Joes" saying we need to drill anywhere Big Oil wants. Previously, it had closed with "paid for by the American Petroleum Institute." But this morning, the ad closed with "paid for by API." (To hear the ad without the tag line, go here and scroll down to "Times are changing.")

Of course, if you look at the American Petroleum Institute's print ads, you won't even find an "API." They're tagged with "the people of America's oil and natural gas industry," which sounds vaguely like employees took up a collection on their own to buy the ad. Is Big Oil afraid of its own shadow?

Urban homesteading in Washington, D.C.

Today's slow yet steady movement towards sustainable foods has a decidedly urban feel to it.

This morning, sitting at my backyard patio table and drinking my morning coffee, I looked appreciatively out into my backyard and took a satisfying breath. The highway behind my house roared with the morning rush hour traffic, the high rise apartments across the street were bustling with people hurrying off to school and work, and I was sitting in my own piece of urban heaven. In the past three months, my small yet robust rhombus-shaped backyard has turned into a garden oasis rarely found in even the fertile soils of rural areas. Three raised beds and several fence-side beds later, I was staring at the most satisfying seeds I had ever sowed -- and all of this in the middle of Washington, D.C.

Al Gore to speak at free event in D.C.

Of interest to our D.C. area readers: Former Vice President Al Gore will be speaking at noon on July 17 at the DAR Constitution Hall (1776 D Street NW). Tickets are free, but space is limited. See here to reserve a spot. Gore “will be issuing an unprecedented challenge to policymakers and entrepreneurs,” according to […]

Focusing population growth in the right places will make us both

The New York Times looks at the impact of high gas prices in communities across the nation today and concludes that increases are most painful in rural areas. Part of this analysis involves an examination of money spent on gas as a share of total income. The big middle of the country does badly, and […]

Congress bombarded with requests for renewable tax package

This post is by ClimateProgress guest blogger Kari Manlove, fellows assistant at the Center for American Progress.

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Over 100 retailers, manufacturers, and trade and advocacy groups have sent a familiar message to the Senate: Pass the renewable energy tax package!

About two weeks ago, over 500 members of the American Council on Renewable Energy also sent a letter to Congress encouraging the renewable of the production and investment tax credits. Ever since these tax provisions were cut from December's energy bill, support for them has been snowballing.

Greenpeace pulls off a doozy of a stunt

Some fiendishly clever visual protest from Greenpeace: Joe Romm must be flattered.

Coal industry kicks off a PR campaign aimed at influencing lawmakers

Santa moonlighting on K Street? Photo: iStockphoto I heard from someone in downtown D.C. this morning who ran into a guy in a Santa suit who handed him a flier saying, "even Santa is rethinking his position on coal!" Yes, really. From The Hill: Americans for Balanced Energy Choices (ABEC) is sending 30 Santas to […]

Metro is succeeding, but like all public transit systems, it needs our support

It was a bad headline and a bad take on an important issue from a writer at a publication that ought to know better. Last week, M.J. Rosenberg, writing at TPM Cafe, penned a quick post entitled “Question for Paul Krugman: Why Does the DC Metro Suck?” In the space of a few short words, […]

Climate protesters arrested outside State Department

Greenpeace executive director John Passacantando was among 50 activists arrested today outside the State Department, protesting Bush’s farcical climate meetings.