Comments Nick Berning has made

  • Matt may be onto something

    Is siding with Big Oil really the image Republicans want right before an election?

    Is opposing serious investments in wind and solar a smart policy?

    Is calling attention to energy issues, when THEY have been in charge of energy policy for most of the past 8 years, a smart move?

    Is this something they really want to shut down the government over?

    Other times they've miscalculated:

    • gov't shut down before the 2004 election
    • impeachment before the 1998 election

    It'd be nice to see Dems a bit more aggressive about pursuing these lines of attack, rather than acting so defensively re drilling and potentially caving.On Is drilling debate a repeat of the immigration debate? posted 1 year, 3 months ago 2 Responses

  • JohnsonMustGo.org

    http://johnsonmustgo.org/On EPA administrator Stephen Johnson neglects his federal oath posted 1 year, 4 months ago 6 Responses

  • Nick Berning

    Great speech.  It's nice to see Gore pushing the debate so far forward, and knocking down the lie that transitioning to alternative forms of energy has to hurt the economy.

    I agree that it's a big deal that Pelosi said Gore's vision is possible, but would like to see more explicit support -- from her, from other members of Congress, and from environmental organizations and the netroots too.On Gore at Netroots Nation? UPDATE: Gore at Netroots Nation! posted 1 year, 4 months ago 6 Responses

  • Unfortunately both Democratic candidates have been

    touting "clean coal," even though there's no such thing.On Direct mailers from Obama campaign hail 'clean Kentucky coal' posted 1 year, 6 months ago 22 Responses

  • Re Wolverine

    It is true that from a green perspective, Senator Obama is not perfect.  For example, like Senator Clinton, he is open to nuclear power -- if cost, safety and storage issues can be resolved.  (Of course, this is far better than Senator McCain's position.  McCain has called for building 700+ more nuclear plants! Check out Joe Romm's report on this here: http://climateprogress.org/2008/05/04/mccain-calls-for-70 ...)

    Given that no candidate will ever be perfect, we're faced with the question of which candidate, on balance, is likely to be the best when it comes to environmental issues.  When added to Obama's already strong (though admittedly not perfect) environmental record and policy proposals, his courage in this gas tax debate demonstrates that he's the best candidate in the race.  This is the highest-profile environmental and energy debate of the campaign, and Obama is the only one taking the right position.  That's telling, and it's earned him Friend of the Earth Action's endorsement.On Friends of the Earth Action endorses Obama; candidates spar over "gas tax holiday" posted 1 year, 6 months ago 10 Responses

  • Oops -- meant she opposed gas tax HOLIDAY

    not gas taxOn A gas tax holiday would be cynical and indefensible posted 1 year, 7 months ago 19 Responses

  • Clinton opposed gas tax in 2000

    Talk about cynical.  During the 2000 campaign she called it a "bad deal for New York."

    And now her campaign can't identify a single expert who thinks this proposal will work.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/01/clinton-camp-gas ...On A gas tax holiday would be cynical and indefensible posted 1 year, 7 months ago 19 Responses

  • Amen

    I took the train from Boston to D.C. yesterday.  Sure beats the hassle of dealing with the airport and cramped seats.

    But we've got nothing on Europe.

    If we could just get one quality high-speed rail line built in the U.S. I think demand would spread quickly.On A candidate finally discusses public transit ... at a random lunch posted 1 year, 7 months ago 30 Responses

  • Permit giveaways in the Lieberman-Warner bill

    The potential for windfall polluter profits from permit giveaways would be realized if the Senate's Lieberman-Warner bill were enacted into law.  Rather than auctioning off all permits -- and making polluters pay for all pollution -- the bill gives hundreds of billions of dollars of permits to industry for free.

    Friends of the Earth Action (where I work -- full disclosure) is waging a campaign to "Fix or Ditch" Lieberman-Warner.  You can learn more at Lieberman-Warner.org.On Why consumer protection means selling carbon permits posted 1 year, 8 months ago 4 Responses

  • A few things to add to the discussion

    Thanks for your post Tony -- this is an important bill for Grist readers to pay attention to.

    I want to add a few potential differences between now and 2009 to the discussion:

    (a) Next year, we might have a president willing to use the bully pulpit to advance a good bill.  That would be major difference.  Clinton, Obama and Edwards have all called for 100 percent auctions and emissions reductions that gets us 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.
    (b) Public opinion about global warming is shifting rapidly.  Hurricane Katrina and An Inconvenient Truth served as catalysts, and it's possible more catalysts will appear in the next year -- perhaps the Olympics in China.  Regardless, I expect public opinion in favor of a strong solution will grow between this year and next.
    (c) The international climate negotiations will be further underway and the higher targets being discussed there could have a ripple effect in the U.S.

    I just don't think it makes sense to conclude that the political environment is unlikely to be better next year when there's a fair chance it will be.

    Also, regarding your point about the potential to improve the Lieberman-Warner bill once it is passed -- the bill contains polluter giveaways worth up to a trillion dollars.  Once pollution permits are given away for free and other subsidies are handed out to polluters, it'll be impossible to get them back.

    Nick Berning
    Friends of the Earth
    On On letting the perfect be the enemy of good climate legislation posted 1 year, 10 months ago 9 Responses