Muckraker

The inside scoop on green politics, from the Hill to the EPA to your hometown

A Grist special series

Tracking where senators stand on climate legislation
Posted 4 Nov 2009 4:10 PM
Will there be 60 “yes” votes for a climate bill in the Senate, enough to overcome a filibuster? In a special series, we take a look at where senators stand. Read More
Don't mess with him

Badass mayor builds bridges between working class and enviros 3
Posted 24 Aug 2009 2:18 PM by Kate Sheppard
John Fetterman might look like a steelworker, but he's actually the 40-year-old, Harvard-educated mayor of Braddock, Pa., trying to revitalize his town with green jobs and an urban farm. Read More
Lobby horse

Majority of ‘Energy Citizens’ rallies organized by oil-industry lobbyists 6
Posted 21 Aug 2009 10:19 PM by Kate Sheppard
Most of the folks organizing "Energy Citizens" rallies against climate legislation all around the country also happen to be registered lobbyists for the oil industry. Read More

More Muckraker

how will key senators vote on a climate bill?

Carl Levin (D-Mich.) [UPDATED]
Posted 9 Nov 2009 9:34 AM
Sen. Carl Levin is a Midwest, industrial-state Democrat who has concerns about the economic impacts of climate legislation, but thinks something needs to be done about global warming. Read More
How will key senators vote on a climate bill?

Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) [UPDATED] 1
Posted 6 Nov 2009 4:33 PM
Sen. Arlen Specter had been considered a fence sitter on climate legislation, but on Nov. 5 he sided with all but one of the Democrats on the Environment and Public Works Committee in voting to move forward with the Kerry-Boxer climate bill. Read More
how will key senators vote on a climate bill?

Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) [UPDATED] 2
Posted 30 Oct 2009 8:48 AM
Sen. Ben Nelson doesn't believe a cap-and-trade climate bill can pass Congress this session, he said on Oct. 30 -- and he doesn't intend to do anything to help it. Read More
how will key senators vote on a climate bill?

Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) [UPDATED] 1
Posted 28 Oct 2009 9:32 AM
Sen. Robert Byrd hated the climate bill that passed the House in June, but he seems a little more open to the Kerry-Boxer bill being considered in the Senate. Read More
how will key senators vote on a climate bill?

Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) [UPDATED] 2
Posted 27 Oct 2009 9:21 AM
Sen. Evan Bayh is widely considered to be a fence-sitter on climate legislation. Read this letter he sent to a constituent in early October. Read More
How will key senators vote on a climate bill?

Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) [UPDATED] 3
Posted 19 Oct 2009 11:34 AM
Sen. Lisa Murkowski is open to voting for a cap-and-trade climate bill if it would aggressively boost nuclear power and domestic oil and gas drilling, she said in a C-SPAN interview. "Count me as one of those who will keep my mind open as we move forward," she said. Read More
how will key senators vote on a climate bill?

Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) [UPDATED] 2
Posted 15 Oct 2009 2:25 PM
In a letter to a Grist reader, Sen. Chuck Grassley dodges and weaves about climate science, says schemes to reduce greenhouse-gas emission amount to "a national energy tax," and calls for more renewable energy. Read More
Windfall prophet

South Dakota Sen. Johnson comes out in favor of passing climate bill 1
Posted 21 Aug 2009 3:00 AM By Kate Sheppard
South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson (D), considered to be a fence-sitter on climate legislation, seems to be taking more of a strident stance in favor of passing a bill this year. Read More
Mission possible

Veterans push for climate bill with new ‘Operation Free’ coalition 1
Posted 20 Aug 2009 7:21 PM By Kate Sheppard
A new coalition of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans is hoping to counter the oil industry–backed "Energy Citizens" rallies with its own call to pass a climate bill and end dependence on fossil fuels. Read More
Things that go clunk in the night

Cash-for-Clunkers to end Monday night, for real this time 2
Posted 20 Aug 2009 5:30 PM By Kate Sheppard
The "Cash for Clunkers" program has been so successful that it will have to be wrapped up earlier than expected, the Obama administration announced on Thursday. Read More
For what it's Wirth

Former Sen. Tim Wirth stirs up controversy over cap-and-trade, tries to tamp it down 3
Posted 20 Aug 2009 4:32 PM By Kate Sheppard
Tim Wirth -- former Democratic senator from Colorado, former Clinton-era climate negotiator, and current U.N. Foundation president -- raised quite a hubbub this week when he told Bloomberg news that the cap-and-trade bill in Congress had "gotten out of control." Now he's come out with a "clarification." Read More
Face lift

Who are the faces behind FACES of Coal? 5
Posted 20 Aug 2009 9:43 AM By Kate Sheppard
Yet another pro-coal group has popped up to rally folks against climate action. The Federation for American Coal, Energy and Security -- or FACES of Coal -- joins a growing list of "grassroots" groups formed to support fossil fuels. Read More
NRDC Action Fund goes on offense against opponents of climate action 3
Posted 19 Aug 2009 11:48 AM By Kate Sheppard
More anti-climate-bill letters forged under names of senior-citizen groups 1
Posted 18 Aug 2009 3:07 PM By Kate Sheppard
Industry groups launch astroturf ‘Energy Citizens’ website
Posted 18 Aug 2009 9:24 AM By Kate Sheppard
ConocoPhillips works to undermine climate bill, despite pledge to support climate action 4
Posted 17 Aug 2009 3:01 PM By Kate Sheppard
Yvo de Boer of U.N. climate convention says 350 ppm is pipe dream 7
Posted 17 Aug 2009 1:11 PM By Kate Sheppard
Sen. Arlen Specter says he won’t block debate on a climate bill this year
Posted 17 Aug 2009 11:42 AM By Kate Sheppard
Astroturf wars continue as more info comes to light on ‘Energy Citizen’ rallies 4
Posted 17 Aug 2009 10:57 AM By Kate Sheppard
Four Democratic senators call for delay on climate legislation 12
Posted 14 Aug 2009 10:10 AM By Kate Sheppard
National Association of Manufacturers claims climate bill would crush economy 6
Posted 12 Aug 2009 9:55 PM By Kate Sheppard
Gore’s group targets swing senators in new climate ads 1
Posted 12 Aug 2009 2:33 PM By Kate Sheppard