Politics

The latest green legislation, lobbying, and activism, from the Hill to the EPA to your hometown

Maverick harms

For McCain, it’s really all about the fake snow 1
Posted 5 days, 8 hours ago by Tom Philpott
Once a fighter on behalf of climate legislation, McCain has recently been mumbling Palinesque denialist platitudes. What gets his famous temper boiling these days? Two words: fake snow. As in, not enough of it. Read More
Land grab

Will Africa’s farmland become a ‘resource curse’? 8
Posted 5 days, 23 hours ago by Tom Philpott
The New York Times Magazine recently ran a great piece about rich nations buying up farmland in Africa. Tom Philpott gives his take. Read More
From wreaths to positions

City preps and countries posture ahead of Copenhagen talks 4
Posted 1 week, 2 days ago by David Turnbull
It's an exciting time to be in Copenhagen reflecting on a year of intense pressure, activity, and engagement around the world. The last time I wrote, I was convincing myself, and others, that all was not lost for December. Now, on this bright and sunny day, I'm as convinced as ever that world leaders can achieve an ambitious outcome in Copenhagen if they try. Read More

More Politics

Wen the climate is willing, but the action is weak

EU pushes China further after pledge to slow carbon intensity 0
Posted 18 minutes ago by Agence France-Presse
The European Union said Monday that cataclysmic climate change cannot be averted without Chinese leadership, but China's lead climate delegate, Wen Jiabao, stood firm in pushing for the rich world to take the lead. Beijing said last week that by 2020 it would curb emissions per unit of GDP by between 40 and 45 percent compared to 2005 levels. Read More
Organic farming has a major part to play in a low-carbon world

Soil carbon—a blind spot in the debate on carbon 2
Posted 6 hours ago by Emma Hockridge
COP15 looks like it may well be a cop out. The world was disappointed when it became clear Barack Obama would not get climate protection legislation through the U.S. Senate, endangering any meaningful global agreement. But a much earlier cop out came when agriculture failed to make it onto the agenda at all. Read More
Spin me baby one more time

On ‘climategate’ 31
Posted 1 day, 16 hours ago by David Roberts
The Manufactured Doubt industry has been around for decades, working to thwart regulatory constraints on large corporations that make dangerous products. Not only are all the same techniques being used in the same way on climate change, in many cases they're being used by the same people and institutions that fought against tobacco, CFC, asbestos, and auto safety regulations. Read More
Don't mess with Texas (Ranger)

Chuck Norris on Copenhagen 22
Posted 5 days, 2 hours ago by Tom Athanasiou
A lot of dreck comes across my desktop. I'm even on a list called "ennui mail," and some of it is utterly irredeemable. But still I took notice when Chuck Norris: Copenhagen Talks To Forge "One World Order" blew in. Read More
The U.S.-India climate ‘partnership’ 0
Posted 5 days, 4 hours ago by Jonathan Zasloff
At least that’s what the White House is calling it. Does it mean anything? Maybe. Read More
No More Communiques

Obama headed to Copenhagen, sets the bar for success 39
Posted 5 days, 6 hours ago by Bill Scher
President Barack Obama will attend the climate summit in Copenhagen next month and offer to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 17 percent (from 2005) by 2020. Read More
Obama going to Copenhagen 0
Posted 5 days, 6 hours ago by Agence France-Presse
President Barack Obama will attend the climate summit in Copenhagen next month and offer to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020, officials said Wednesday. Read More
Singin' in the rain

What to make of the new climate poll 41
Posted 5 days, 16 hours ago by David Roberts
There's a new Washington Post-ABC News poll out on climate change; Juliet Eilperin's got a good piece up about it (despite the terrible headline, for which she is not responsible). Having watched this story bounce around, I'm frustrated yet again by how these polls are discussed. Here's how I would write the lede to the story. Read More
Remembering People Power in Seattle in 1999 and Berlin in 1989

Learning how to count to 350 0
Posted 5 days, 23 hours ago by Rebecca Solnit
Next month, at the climate change summit in Copenhagen, the wealthy nations that produce most of the excess carbon in our atmosphere will almost certainly fail to embrace measures adequate to ward off the devastation of our planet by heat and chaotic weather. Activists -- farmers, environmentalists, island-dwellers -- around the world will try to write a different future, a bolder one, and if anniversaries are an omen, then they have history on their side. Read More
Notable Quotable

Obama administration officials grateful for early spring 10
Posted 5 days, 23 hours ago by Ashley Braun
When a bill to address climate change gets put off, be grateful that climate change itself pitches in to help. Read More
Oh, SNAP!

More NYC farmers markets accept food stamps and sales soar 1
Posted 6 days, 2 hours ago by Tom Laskawy
The NYT's Cityroom blog offers some hopeful news on getting more healthy food into low-income neighborhoods. Read More
The Kids Are Alright. Not So Sure About the Adults.

Kids just say no—to fossil fuels 0
Posted 6 days, 9 hours ago by Osha Gray Davidson
See how one young activist is rallying his fellow teens to fight climate change -- and what happened when he took his message to D.C. Read More
Making buildings more efficient: rationalizing retrofit markets 5
Posted 6 days, 16 hours ago by David Roberts
Capturing the massive social benefits of fuel efficiency requires regulation 6
Posted 6 days, 23 hours ago by Michael A. Livermore
Copenhagen talks ready for take off: 5, 4, 3… 0
Posted 6 days, 23 hours ago by Geoffrey Lean
Obama administration may (finally) offer greenhouse-gas targets 4
Posted 1 week ago by Jonathan Hiskes
Making buildings more efficient: looking beyond price 5
Posted 1 week ago by David Roberts
Newtongate: the final nail in the coffin of Enlightenment thinking 0
Posted 1 week, 1 day ago by Gar Lipow
Merkley wants Senate jobs bill to help finance building efficiency retrofits 5
Posted 1 week, 2 days ago by David Roberts
John McCain’s troubles are the world’s troubles 8
Posted 1 week, 2 days ago by Jonathan Hiskes
Ecological farms: the only real way to feed an increasingly hungry world 11
Posted 1 week, 3 days ago by Debbie Barker
No to Obama’s agrichemical industry man, yes to Bed-Stuy Farm 3
Posted 1 week, 3 days ago by Tom Philpott