Grist | Topics | 163 Results

RESULTS		Results 51 – 75 of 163
Page:1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Headline	Author	Published	Section
Bummer for Hummer Reps to discuss dropping the tax break on massive SUVs	Kate Sheppard	25 Jun 2007	Gristmill
For the 'wow, about time' files: the tax write-off for Hummers might be a thing of yesteryear, if one legislator gets his way. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) has introduced legislation to remove the $25,000-or-so tax break that people who drive massive SUVs and Hummers have been getting for years. The break was intended to help farmers, ranchers, and other people who might actually (possibly) have a concrete need for the beasts, but instead it's been helping planet-h ...
Topics: cars, Congress, energy, green living, oil, politics (all these topics)

One more truth about China and climate change It's about more than money	Christina Larson	21 Jun 2007	Gristmill
It's official. China is now the world's top emitter of greenhouse gases. Having spent much of this spring reporting in China, I'd like to second just about everything David said yesterday on the topic. But I have one ginormous point to add. It's not just money that's needed. Yes, it'd be a good thing if Hill folks stopped bashing technology-exchange programs as lending an 'unfair competitive advantage.' And yes, let's stop painting China as the international ...
Topics: China, climate, climate change mitigation, Congress, greenhouse-gas emissions, politics, United States (all these topics)

Oil lobby resorts to open extortion Hardly new, but brazen nonetheless	David Roberts	19 Jun 2007	Gristmill
Senate Democrats want to pay for renewables with taxes and royalties on oil companies. This pressure is causing the oil lobby to threaten higher gasoline prices: Bill Holbrook, communications director for the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association, told ABC News that there are conflicting signals about what path the nation will take coming from both President Bush and lawmakers on Capitol Hill. The president is calling for a 20 percent reduction on gasol ...
Topics: Congress, energy, oil, politics, renewable energy, US Senate (all these topics)

Green-collar jobs in Congress A new amendment from Sanders and Clinton	David Roberts	19 Jun 2007	Gristmill
Over at The Hill's Congress Blog, Sen. Bernie Sanders touts his green-collar jobs amendment to the energy bill, which will come up for debate this week. (Sen. Clinton also put her name on it.) Great to see this issue getting attention. See, again: Van Jones.
Topics: Congress, energy, legislation, politics, US Senate (all these topics)

Breaking: Senate fights off liquid coal More victories	David Roberts	19 Jun 2007	Gristmill
Sweet! Here's a press release I just got from Friends of the Earth: ----- WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Senate today voted against two attempts to encourage the use of liquid coal, rejecting a pair of amendments to the energy bill that would have alternately mandated 6 billion gallons of liquid coal use annually by 2022 or provided $10 billion in loan subsidies to produce liquid coal. 'This is a victory for anyone who takes global warming seriously or cares about env ...
Topics: climate, coal-to-liquid fuel, Congress, energy, greenhouse-gas emissions, legislation, politics, US Senate (all these topics)

We Can't Bear to Look U.S. Senate squares off on ambitious energy bill		19 Jun 2007	Daily Grist
We Can't Bear to Look U.S. Senate squares off on ambitious energy bill All eyes are on the Senate this week as it debates a controversial Democrat-penned energy bill. (Hey! We said "all eyes"! Don't go away.) The legislation contains several provisions that make Big Oil, Big Auto, and Big Republicans squirm: it would shift nearly $15 billion in tax credi ...
Topics: cars, Congress, energy, fuel efficiency, John Dingell, news, politics, renewable energy (all these topics)

Dingell and Boucher back off worst elements of Energy Committee proposal Chalk up a win for Pelosi	David Roberts	18 Jun 2007	Gristmill
Well hey, look at that! No sooner do I write a post on the horrible legislative proposal out of Dingell's Energy Committee than I find out that Pelosi has more or less beat it back. A memo Dingell sent to the committee today (PDF) says that he and Boucher are removing most of the controversial elements: the CTL subsidies, the weak fuel-economy standards, and perhaps most significantly, the preemption of state (read: California) tailpipe air quality standards. The me ...
Topics: coal-to-liquid fuel, Congress, energy, John Dingell, legislation, Nancy Pelosi, politics, US House of Representatives, Washington DC (all these topics)

D.C. Wherein I chat with House types	David Roberts	18 Jun 2007	Gristmill
Hi! I'm back. And -- if you'll indulge me in a little whining -- I'm sick as a dog, woefully behind on the news, buried under work, and just generally frazzled and bedraggled and haggard. And what's with time zones? They're stupid. Woe is me, I tell you. I wanted to do a quick post about my D.C. trip, though, which was a blast. Of course the party was great. Somebody (me?) will probably do a separate post about that later. But aside from that, I ran around town meet ...
Topics: coal-to-liquid fuel, Congress, energy, John Dingell, legislation, Nancy Pelosi, politics, US House of Representatives, Washington DC (all these topics)

The fight in the Senate More intransigence on climate change	Senator John Kerry	14 Jun 2007	Gristmill
Hello! I just wanted to drop by Gristmill to give all of you an update on the energy bill. To no one's surprise, the Republicans are throwing sand in the gears and trying to block any meaningful progress. The energy bill, as it stands, is not nearly strong enough, so there are a number of amendments that must be adopted to give us a bill that actually gets us started on that path of dealing with our energy crisis and our climate crisis.But when we tried to brin ...
Topics: Big Oil, Congress, energy, legislation, politics, US Senate (all these topics)

Nothing busted but our chops How the 2007 Farm Bill can help restore market competition	Aimee Witteman	13 Jun 2007	Gristmill
Are federal authorities finally taking the idea that a few companies shouldn't be allowed to dominate the food system seriously? Well, the Federal Trade Commission recently blocked Whole Foods from gobbling up rival natural foods marketer Wild Oats. Congratulations to the FTC for busting up the natural-foods trust! But even combined, Whole Foods and Wild Oats would account for only 15 percent of natural-foods sales. Meanwhile, Smithfield Foods alone now controls ...
Topics: ag policy, agriculture, Congress, Department of Agriculture, Department of Justice, food, politics (all these topics)

When push comes to guv Ahhhnold and friends tell the folks on the Hill to get with it	Kate Sheppard	13 Jun 2007	Gristmill
Ahhhnold is calling out the U.S. government for being a bunch of girly men and women on climate change. On Monday, he teamed up with Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell, a fellow Republican, to chastise the folks on the Hill for 'inaction and denial' on climate change in an open letter published in the Washington Post. Not only have they failed to take major federal action, they've also tried to thwart actions by progressive states like California and Connecticut, the ...
Topics: Arnold Schwarzenegger, climate, climate change mitigation, Congress, politics, state politics (all these topics)

Action on federal renewable energy standard Make your opinion heard	Adam Browning	12 Jun 2007	Gristmill
Senator Bingaman is with the majority of Americans in wanting more renewable energy. Accordingly, he has authored legislation that would require utilities to increase renewables in their portfolio to 15 percent by 2020. Senator Domenici is with the craven few who don't want this to happen. Accordingly, he has authored an amendment to redefine qualifying renewables to include nukes and coal. So tricky! But we are on to him. The vote on Domenici's amendment will ...
Topics: Congress, energy, legislation, lobbying, politics, renewable energy (all these topics)

CTL stupid compared to plug-in hybrids, say experts, people who can read	David Roberts	11 Jun 2007	Gristmill
A couple of heavy-duty energy wonks from Carnegie Mellon have this to say: The House Committee on Energy and Commerce is considering enacting policies to subsidize the production of transportation fuel from coal-to-liquid projects. Tepper School of Business researchers determined plug-in hybrid electric vehicles are a far better and less costly choice. -- Generating electricity from coal with carbon capture and sequestration and replacing the fleet with plug-in h ...
Topics: cars, coal-to-liquid fuel, Congress, electric vehicles, energy, hybrids, politics (all these topics)

The Whine of the Motor Big Auto pleads for smaller gains in fuel efficiency		07 Jun 2007	Daily Grist
The Whine of the Motor Big Auto pleads for smaller gains in fuel efficiency The heads of Ford, GM, and Chrysler returned to Washington, D.C., yesterday to try to convince Congress not to hike fuel economy standards. Next week, the Senate will consider a proposal to raise average fleet-wide mileage to 35 miles per gallon by 2020 from the current 25; several bills have sprung up to float more modest increases. At least two ...
Topics: Big Auto, climate, Congress, news (all these topics)

Mr. Right, or Mr. Right Now? Getting carbon cap and trade right for renewables	Adam Browning	07 Jun 2007	Gristmill
For the 110th Congress, this is not just a question for Saturday night. One of the reasons why federal carbon cap and trade legislation is so slow in coming -- besides coal state mendacity -- is because it is damn complicated. Of the critical design choices, there is insufficient common understanding of implications, to say nothing of agreement. We will only be successful in fighting global warming via a transition to renewable energy. Carbon capture and sequestr ...
Topics: carbon trading, climate, climate change mitigation, Congress, energy, greenhouse-gas emissions, politics, renewable energy (all these topics)

A handy comeback Use this one to win every argument	Katharine Wroth	07 Jun 2007	Gristmill
Today's Wicked Awesome Comeback comes from Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. Doesn't matter whom he said it to, or why (OK, it was to Big Auto because they're raising a stink about fuel efficiency) -- it's applicable in all kinds of situations: 'I think your position is yesterday forever.
Topics: Big Auto, Congress, politics (all these topics)

Flaws in the Boucher bill It would pre-empt state fuel efficiency laws	Joseph Romm	05 Jun 2007	Gristmill
An energy bill is emerging from the House Energy and Commerce Committee, but it has some "unacceptable" provisions, according to leading energy and environmental experts. Rick Boucher (D-Va.), chair of the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality, has a draft bill online, along with summaries of key provisions. The bill has a variety of important provisions aimed at promoting energy efficiency in electricity and vehicles -- and some useful provisions ...
Topics: air pollution, Big Auto, California, cars, Congress, Ed Markey, energy, greenhouse-gas emissions, Nancy Pelosi, politics (all these topics)

Democracy, food, and the Farm Bill Threatening local control in our food system	Steph Larsen	04 Jun 2007	Gristmill
When the Democrats took control of Congress, a colleague of mine looked at me with a sigh of relief and said, 'Isn't it great that we won't have to be playing defense against bad policy anymore?' If only that first impression were the case. In a democracy, we shouldn't have to be constantly vigilant for bad legislative ideas that could hurt the public good. Our legislators are supposed to be the filter that guards against schemes that would strip rights and take choi ...
Topics: agriculture, Congress, food, legislation, politics (all these topics)

The new conservatism: Like the old totalitarianism Whatever happened to local control is good?	JMG	02 Jun 2007	Gristmill
From Organic Consumers:Failing to suppress grassroots control over food safety laws and labels in the last session of Congress, industry has now called on their friends in the House Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry to slip a similar poison pill into an obscure section of the voluminous 2007-2012 Farm Bill. The provision would give the White House appointed Secretary of Agriculture the power to eliminate local or state food and farming laws, such as those in four Cal ...
Topics: agriculture, Congress, food, politics (all these topics)

Did I say no more CTL? I meant just one more	David Roberts	30 May 2007	Gristmill
There's a growing tension between the subsidy-happy proclivities of Congress and its self-imposed mandate to reduce carbon emissions. You just can't spend all the available federal dollars on ethanol and CTL and expect to reduce emissions. Bills like this one, introduced by Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), are going to bring that tension to a head: A bill about to be introduced in the Senate would push utilities to generate drastically more of their power -- 15%, comp ...
Topics: climate, Congress, energy, greenhouse-gas emissions, legislation, politics, renewable energy (all these topics)

Energy efficiency vs. liquefied coal: Which do you think Congress is subsidizing? Hint: We're talking about Congress here	David Roberts	29 May 2007	Gristmill
Those of you with strong stomachs will want to marvel at the contrast between two New York Times stories out today. Marvel ... and tear your fracking hair out. First, there's this story on energy efficiency. It makes the simple and familiar point that the cheapest, fastest source of energy is negawatts -- not using the energy in the first place. In particular, efficiency is cheaper than coal: 'When we started talking about this in 1990s in terms of energy efficien ...
Topics: climate, climate change mitigation, coal, Congress, energy, energy efficiency, politics (all these topics)

Cap-and-trade is looking like duck-and-cover A rejoinder to Environmental Defense	Charles Komanoff	25 May 2007	Gristmill
Can any of Environmental Defense's three main points stand up to scrutiny? ED: A carbon tax can be gamed as easily as a carbon trading scheme. CTC: A carbon tax may be subject to gaming, but cap-and-trade positively invites it. USCAP concedes that some allowances will be given out (not auctioned) at the outset, which means protracted, high-stakes negotiations ("a giant food fight," a leading utility executive called it) over free allowances ...
Topics: carbon tax, carbon trading, climate, Congress, legislation, politics (all these topics)

News from the Farm Bill front Democracy in jeopardy	Steph Larsen	24 May 2007	Gristmill
In a recent post about the timing of the Farm Bill, I talked about when things related to farm and food policy are likely to move in Congress. There is new information available now, and it's becoming increasingly clear that we all could be in serious trouble if we don't act now to voice our opinion about the state of our food system. Though pressure to consider major reforms in the bill is as strong as ever, events of this week are leaving me with much less hope that n ...
Topics: agriculture, Congress, legislation, politics (all these topics)

Dems in Congress: 'Green-collar jobs' will fight poverty and global warming A hearing in the House shows promise	Van Jones	23 May 2007	Gristmill
Hooray! Hooray! Finally! Yesterday, some House Democrats finally 'connected the dots' on ways to solve two of the nation's biggest problems: failing American job security and global climate security. By addressing both issues simultaneously, these congressional leaders may re-energize the anti-poverty movement -- and transform the debate on global warming. U.S. Representatives Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Hilda Solis (D-Calif.) both sit on the Select Com ...
Topics: Congress, environmental justice, environmental movement, green jobs, politics, Van Jones (all these topics)

Gurls R Dum Oklahoma senator vows to block Rachel Carson centennial resolution		23 May 2007	Daily Grist
Gurls R Dum Oklahoma senator vows to block Rachel Carson centennial resolution A resolution honoring this weekend's 100th birthday of the late Rachel Carson will be blocked if Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has his way. Why? Because the "now-debunked Silent Spring" was "the catalyst in the deadly worldwide stigmatization against insecticides, especially DDT," he says. Yes, damn her for pointing out tha ...
Topics: Congress, dumbassery , news, politics (all these topics)

Page:1 2 3 4 5 6 7		Results 51 – 75 of 163

Stories About: Congress