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A climate hero: An outspoken truth
A look back at James Hansen's seminal testimony on climate, part three |
Guest author |
20 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| A Climate Hero: An Outspoken Truth Worldwatch Institute is partnering with Grist to bring you this three-part series commemorating the 20-year anniversary of NASA scientist James Hansen's groundbreaking testimony on global climate change next week. It is written by Worldwatch staff writer Ben Block. Part three of three follows. Part one is here; part two is here. ----- In May 1989, a few months after NASA scientist James Hansen declared that global warming ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate science, James Hansen, politics (all these topics) |
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Back to Nature
Nature publishes my climate analysis and solution |
Joseph Romm |
19 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Here is perhaps my most succinct and citable explanation of why 'Both national and global climate policy (PDF) must redirect its focus from setting a price on carbon to promoting the rapid deployment of clean technologies' (online here). True, I didn't think I would appear in Nature again. But Nature online asked me for my critique of the Boxer-Lieberman-Warner Bill bill, and they were open to a big-picture commentary based on the latest climate science. They even r ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change impacts, climate science, legislation, politics (all these topics) |
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The Grand Ostrich Party
Conservative heads increasingly buried in sand |
Ryan Avent |
19 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Andrew Sullivan reads this Jim Manzi post (Conservatives are going to win on climate change! By doing nothing!) and says he's on board. He then proceeds to blow my freaking mind: The key will be private and public innovation of non-carbon energy, and possibly carbon capture technology. Frankly, however painful it is for many, the high price of gas is perhaps the best anti-global warming non-policy there is. Now, why is it that the high price of gas is the best an ... |
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| Topics: climate, energy, fossil fuels, gas prices, politics, renewable energy (all these topics) |
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350 or bust
The 350ppm challenge to U.S. environmental organizations and the importance of McKibben's 350.org |
Ken Ward |
19 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Bill McKibben spoke about 350.org recently at the Jamaica Plain Forum. Coming on the heels of recent talks by Ross Gelbspan, also at the JP Forum, and Jim Hansen, in Lexington, Mass., Bill's talk completed a trifecta of area appearances by climate action patriots. My friend Andrée, who attended all three events, said: 'Hansen has the reserve of a scientist, and the certainty of someone who knows he is right. McKibben is just like his writing -- philosophical, wry ... |
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| Topics: Bill McKibben, climate, economy, environmental movement, grassroots activism, James Hansen, politics (all these topics) |
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EIA to McCain: Drop offshore (drilling)
Offshore drilling will have no impact on oil prices through 2030 |
Joseph Romm |
19 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| McCain has flip-flopped his position on offshore drilling, pandered to the oil companies, and embraced the exact same strategy endorsed by the man McCain is trying so hard to run away from -- President Bush. He must have a damn good policy reason: 'Tomorrow I'll call for lifting the federal moratorium for states that choose to permit exploration,' McCain said. 'I think that this and perhaps providing additional incentives for states to permit exploration off their co ... |
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| Topics: climate, energy, John McCain, oil and gas drilling, politics, presidential race 08 (all these topics) |
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A climate hero: The testimony
A look back at James Hansen's seminal testimony on climate, part two |
Guest author |
18 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Worldwatch Institute is partnering with Grist to bring you this three-part series commemorating the 20-year anniversary of NASA scientist James Hansen's groundbreaking testimony on global climate change next week. It is written by Worldwatch staff writer Ben Block. Part two of three follows. Part one is here. ----- An unprecedented heat wave gripped the United States in the summer of 1988. Droughts destroyed crops. Forests were in flames. The Mississippi River ... |
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| Topics: climate, James Hansen, politics, climate science (all these topics) |
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House party
Yet another climate bill introduced in the House; greens applaud |
Kate Sheppard |
17 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Since climate change legislation failed to gather steam in the Senate this month, all eyes are now on the House. Energy and Commerce Committee Chair John Dingell (D-Mich.) has been promising a bill for months. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), chair of the Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming, put out an ambitious bill in early June. Today, Reps. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) added their own legislatio ... |
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| Topics: climate, legislation, Muckraker, news, politics, US House of Representatives (all these topics) |
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McCain's free pass
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David Roberts |
17 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Great post from Hilzoy over at Obsidian Wings, starting with McCain's confused statements on climate change, moving out to McCain's confused statements on other matters of policy, and asking: why is no one in the mainstream media covering this? Why is McCain allowed to get away with it? |
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| Topics: climate, John McCain, politics, presidential race 08 (all these topics) |
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The Department of Defense (of itself)
DOD slows condemning research into its polluting behavior |
Liz Borkowski |
17 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Back in April, a Government Accountability Office report explained how the White House Office of Management and Budget was holding up the EPA's Integrated Risk Information System assessments. According to GAO, the OMB started requiring an 'interagency review' process allowing agencies that might be affected by the IRIS assessments to provide comments on the documents. As a result, some of these outside agencies can effectively block completion of IRIS assessments, whi ... |
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| Topics: climate, Department of Defense, health, politics, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Lessons from an angry planet
Rebuilding in the wake of 'extreme weather' |
Joseph Romm |
17 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| From the standpoint of global climate change, nature's incredible assault on the American heartland this year can be interpreted in one of two ways. Both offer lessons about the challenges of adapting to the climate we have created. As of June 13, 1,577 tornadoes had been reported in the United States, with 118 fatalities. The season started in January, unusually early, with more than 130 reported tornadoes in the upper Midwest. As if to send voters a reminder ... |
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| Topics: carbon trading, climate, greenhouse-gas emissions, politics, severe weather (all these topics) |
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Calamity Kaine
Virginia Gov, possible veep, afraid of Big Coal |
Glenn Hurowitz |
17 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine set a new standard for politician mealy-mouthedness with a letter to his Virginia Air Board (tip of the hat to Raising Kaine for digging this one up). Although he asserts that his letter isn't about any particular decision, everyone outside the governor's office knows that the letter is about one thing: The proposed massive coal-fired power plant being planned for Wise County, Virginia. His bureaucratic opacity (PDF) is sure to be taught in gov ... |
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| Topics: climate, coal, energy, politics, presidential race 08, Virginia (all these topics) |
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Mixed messages
McCain releases new climate ad ahead of speech calling for more drilling |
Kate Sheppard |
17 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| John McCain unveiled a new climate-change ad today -- hours before he's scheduled to give an energy speech in Texas that will call for building more oil refineries and lifting a federal ban on offshore oil and gas drilling. 'John McCain stood up to the president and sounded the alarm on global warming, five years ago,' says the ad. 'Today, he has a realistic plan that will curb greenhouse-gas emissions. A plan that will help grow our economy and protect our envi ... |
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| Topics: climate, energy, John McCain, Muckraker, news, oil, oil and gas drilling, politics, presidential race 08 (all these topics) |
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Mildly different
Are McCain's environmental views really so far from Bush's? |
David Roberts |
17 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The New York Times' Elisabeth Bumiller says, "On the environment ... Mr. McCain has strikingly different views from Mr. Bush." Is that true? Bush wants unstinting federal support and pork for the nuclear industry. He supports "clean coal." He is against raising CAFE standards on automobiles or boosting efficiency and performance standards on other individual economic sectors. He supports removing the moratorium on offshore drilling. He believes in ... |
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| Topics: climate, energy, George Bush, John McCain, legislation, politics (all these topics) |
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Moral obligation, patriotic duty
State poll shows Oregonians ready and willing to do what it takes to halt climate change |
Anna Fahey |
17 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The National research firm Public Opinion Strategies recently conducted a survey of 500 likely Oregon voters to assess views on the issue of climate change and to gauge support for the basic principles of policy measures like the proposed cap-and-trade system in the Lieberman-Warner Act (a.k.a. the Climate Security Act -- legislation that was recently defeated last week in the U.S. Senate, but marked a step forward on national climate policy.) The survey, which presents ... |
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| Topics: cap-and-dividend, carbon trading, climate, economy, energy, greenhouse-gas emissions, Nature Conservancy, Oregon, politics (all these topics) |
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Two out of three ain't bad
McCain campaign clarifies (some of) McCain's climate malapropisms |
David Roberts |
16 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Earlier today, Kate reported on some confused remarks from John McCain on his plan for a carbon cap. Via Politico, the McCain campaign has now clarified the remarks. Here's the original exchange: QUESTION: The European Union has set mandatory targets on renewable energy. Is that something you would consider in a McCain administration? [...] MCCAIN: Sure. I believe in the cap-and-trade system, as you know. I would not at this time make those -- impose a manda ... |
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| Topics: climate, elections, John McCain, politics, presidential race 08 (all these topics) |
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No justice, no cap
National environmental justice coalition blasts cap-and-trade, backs carbon tax |
Charles Komanoff |
16 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Condemning carbon trading as 'fraught with uncertainties, lack[ing] transparency and creat[ing] large opportunities for emitting facilities to engage in fraud,' a national coalition of environmental justice organizations has called for a federal carbon tax to address 'the most critical issue of our time' -- the climate crisis. Photo: Brooke Anderson. The June 2 statement from the Climate Justice Leadership Forum is the latest sign of mounting disaffe ... |
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| Topics: cap-and-dividend, carbon tax, carbon trading, climate, fossil fuels, grassroots activism, politics (all these topics) |
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Who you callin' a carbon tax, buddy?
The political chances of carbon taxes |
Eric de Place |
16 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| There's an ecumenical rift in the carbon policy world. Some favor taxes, while others prefer cap-and-trade. I'm in the latter camp, though I'm sort of a carbon Unitarian: I like carbon taxes too. From a policy perspective, they fit together nicely. Among the reasons I'm on the c&t side is that taxes can be radioactive, at least in U.S. politics. Now, this isn't really a substantive objection to carbon taxes as a policy instrument, but the worry seems warrante ... |
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| Topics: cap-and-dividend, carbon tax, carbon trading, climate, politics (all these topics) |
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The Brownstein diagnosis
What went wrong on Lieberman-Warner? |
David Roberts |
16 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Ron Brownstein -- for my money the best political reporter out there -- examines the implosion of the Lieberman-Warner bill in National Journal. Here's his three-paragraph summary of what went wrong: The bill would have established enough boards and regulations that the chamber [of commerce] was able to distribute a devastating chart, modeled on those used against Hillary Rodham Clinton's health care plan in 1993, that portrayed the proposal as an impossibly tang ... |
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| Topics: climate, energy, greenhouse-gas emissions, legislation, politics (all these topics) |
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A climate hero: The early years
A look back at James Hansen's seminal testimony on climate, part one |
Guest author |
16 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Worldwatch Institute is partnering with Grist to bring you this three-part series commemorating the 20-year anniversary of NASA scientist James Hansen’s groundbreaking testimony on global climate change next week. It is written by Worldwatch staff writer Ben Block. Here follows part one. Part two is here. ----- The speakers at a Washington, D.C., climate rally this past Earth Day, April 22, showcased the range of the modern environmental movement. They includ ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate science, James Hansen, National Academy of Sciences, politics (all these topics) |
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CEI-yai-yai
CEI deniers praise Andy Revkin, diss Tiger Woods |
Joseph Romm |
14 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| I'd like to thank the Competitive Enterprise Institute for publishing such an unintentionally informative and amusing newsletter. Rarely has the anti-scientific nature of global warming denial been so well stated in a mere two sentences: A scientist who says that the atmosphere is warming, and cites certain physical processes, is still a scientist. A scientist who argues that people must take certain acts to avoid disaster has become a priest. In other word ... |
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| Topics: climate, politics, climate science, James Inhofe (all these topics) |
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Maintaining relations
Council on Foreign Relations releases new report on climate change and U.S. policy |
Kate Sheppard |
13 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The Council on Foreign Relations released a new report this week on how the United States should approach foreign policy as it relates to climate change. 'Confronting Climate Change: A Strategy for U.S. Foreign Policy,' as one might expect, indicates that the U.S. needs to come up with a mandatory emissions reduction plan if it wants China, India, and other rapidly developing countries to sign on to a new global pact. 'Visible U.S. leadership is essential to getting ... |
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| Topics: carbon trading, climate, international treaties, Muckraker, news, politics (all these topics) |
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Oh say can you CCS?
Boucher and Upton introduce bipartisan legislation to invest in carbon sequestration technology |
Kate Sheppard |
13 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| House Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-Va.) and ranking minority member Fred Upton (R-Mich.) introduced industry-backed legislation on Wednesday to invest billions of dollars in carbon capture-and-sequestration (CCS) technology. The bill [PDF] is intended to 'accelerate the development and early deployment of systems for the capture and storage of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel electric generation facilities.' It would create ... |
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| Topics: carbon sequestration, climate, legislation, Muckraker, news, politics (all these topics) |
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Against cap-and-dividend
Peter Barnes' carbon policy proposal would not spur the economic changes we need |
Guest author |
13 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| This is a guest essay from Jim Barrett, an economist and Executive Director of Redefining Progress. ----- I should preface by saying that I am a fan of Peter Barnes. He's an emeritus board member of Redefining Progress. He's a smart and thoughtful guy. But I'm not a fan of his cap and dividend idea, mostly from an economic perspective. First, the idea that a price on carbon would be transformative, and that we should do that first and then come in with other ... |
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| Topics: cap-and-dividend, climate, energy, politics (all these topics) |
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e360 and states
New Yale green site draws attention to state climate efforts |
David Roberts |
13 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| I think various Grist contributors have linked over there a few times already, but I've been remiss in not explicitly noting the debut of environment360, the new online publication from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. It's come out of the gate with a bang, with pieces from high-profile writers like Bill McKibben, Elizabeth Kolbert, and Denis Hayes. In particular, check out 'States Take the Lead on Climate,' by Michael Northrop and David Sasso ... |
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| Topics: Bill Mckibben, climate, economy, politics, state politics (all these topics) |
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National Journal confirms our low expectations
Republican members of Congress do not believe in climate change or deem it a priority |
David Roberts |
12 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| National Journal polls members of Congress: Matt draws our attention to one particular quote from a Republican No: "If there's one thing poll after poll indicates, it's that the science is not settled on this issue." Wow. Also: But don't worry: McCain is a maverick! So he should have no trouble overcoming the deep institutional ignorance and intransigence of his party once he's president. BONUS QUESTION: Here's the list of the Dems in the poll -- te ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change skepticism, politics (all these topics) |
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