|
| Headline |
Author |
Published |
Section |
The first 100 days
Obama says climate and energy would be top priorities at start of his admin |
Kate Sheppard |
30 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| It's a bit buried here, but Marc Ambinder notes that at a fundraiser in Denver on Wednesday night, Barack Obama said his first-100-day priorities would include sending a 'signal to the world' on energy and climate change. Wish that were a bit more specific, but hey, at least it's in there. |
|
| Topics: Barack Obama, climate, energy, Muckraker, news, politics, presidential race 08 (all these topics) |
|
|
Where's the green beef?
LCV urges prez candidates to be leaders on climate bill |
Kate Sheppard |
30 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The League of Conservation Voters just issued a statement on John McCain's plans to skip out on next week's voting on the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act. Spokespeople for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have said they aren't sure whether the candidates will make it back to the Hill to vote. Here's LCV's official statement: 'Surely, with five months to go before election day, there is time to discharge the responsibility of being a United States senator and t ... |
|
| Topics: climate, John McCain, League of Conservation Voters, Muckraker, politics, presidential race 08 (all these topics) |
|
|
Bush administration climate report ... at last
Overdue federal report acknowledges climate-change realities |
Kate Sheppard |
30 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Under pressure from a court order, the Bush administration put out a new report on climate change yesterday that comes to the conclusion that 'most of the recent global warming is very likely due to human-generated increases in greenhouse gas concentrations.' The report covers familiar (to anyone who's been paying attention) ground -- the impacts of climate change on the environment, economy, and public health. A 1990 law requires that presidents submit a report t ... |
|
| Topics: climate, climate change impacts, Muckraker, politics (all these topics) |
|
|
More defense
EDF airs another ad in support of the Climate Security Act |
Kate Sheppard |
29 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Environmental Defense Fund is running another ad in support of the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act, this one in Washington, D.C., and other markets around the country. It features a talking, businessman-shaped candle melting while offering a bunch of the tired excuses one hears about why climate legislation is a bad idea. 'Sure, climate change is a problem, but let's not rush into anything,' says melting man. 'Remember: haste makes waste.' Watch the ad: |
|
| Topics: climate, Muckraker, politics (all these topics) |
|
|
Dear Governor Greenwash
Hansen: Governors aren't getting it |
Guest author |
29 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The following is a guest essay from noted climate scientist James Hansen. ----- My recent experience with governors raises a question about whether this is an effective way to communicate about climate change. (Apologies for the length -- you may skip the three tales and go to the bottom line.) Dear Governor Pawlenty [PDF] Minnesota Gov. Pawlenty presides over a population that appreciates nature. Explorer Will Steger has done a marvelous job of informing the pub ... |
|
| Topics: cap-and-dividend, climate, Minnesota, Nevada, politics, state politics, Virginia (all these topics) |
|
|
The cowardly lion
McCain to skip another crucial climate vote |
David Roberts |
29 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Unbelievable. Sen. John McCain -- who just weeks ago said of the Climate Security Act, "I hope it will pass, and I hope the entire Congress will join in supporting it and the President of the United States would sign it" -- now says he won't show up to vote on it. He won't vote against it, mind you. Won't go on record. Won't take a stand. He just won't show. 'I have not been there for a number of votes. The same thing happened in the campaign of ... |
|
| Topics: climate, coal, energy, jackassery, legislation, nuclear power, politics, renewable energy (all these topics) |
|
|
Blair weighs in
U.K.'s former prime minister says symbolic vote on Boxer-Lieberman-Warner matters to the world |
Joseph Romm |
29 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| In March, British prime minister Tony Blair launched the Breaking the Climate Deadlock initiative to promote a new global agreement on climate change. Today he has an op-ed the in the Washington Post, 'Leading On Climate Change: How Action in Congress Can Move the World,' in which he argues,The climate change bill that senators are to begin debating next week is a hugely important signal of intent on behalf of U.S. legislators. Yes, negotiations could still alter t ... |
|
| Topics: climate, greenhouse-gas emissions, legislation, politics, United Kingdom (all these topics) |
|
|
Ahead of the curve: States lead on climate change
Great new video on state efforts to tackle global warming |
David Roberts |
29 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Sea Studios has put together a fantastic new video called "Ahead of the Curve: States Lead on Climate Change." Check it out: You might also remember their previous video, 'Ahead of the Curve: Business Leads on Climate Change.' Here it is: |
|
| Topics: climate, climate change mitigation, greenhouse-gas emissions, politics, state politics (all these topics) |
|
|
Stonewall Johnson
|
David Roberts |
28 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Ladies and gentlemen, I give you The Bush Era: |
|
| Topics: Barbara Boxer, climate, jackassery, politics, US EPA (all these topics) |
|
|
On your Markey
Rep. Ed Markey unveils ambitious new climate legislation |
Kate Sheppard |
28 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Rep. Ed Markey, chair of the Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming, unveiled new climate legislation on Wednesday morning, which he says will take 'the innovative actions needed to ensure a greener, healthier, and more prosperous future.' The plan, which Markey will introduce formally next Tuesday, calls for an 85 percent reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions from 2005 levels by 2050, and a number of provisions to encourage technological innovatio ... |
|
| Topics: climate, Congress, Ed Markey, greenhouse-gas emissions, legislation, Muckraker, news, politics (all these topics) |
|
|
Boxer bill update
Probably no U.S. CO2 emissions cuts from new Lieberman-Warner bill until after 2025 |
Joseph Romm |
28 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| I made a mistake about the Boxer substitute for the Lieberman-Warner bill. Every year, it allows enough offsets into the market to cover 30 percent of the total quantity of emissions allowances. I had said it was 15 percent, which was a loophole the size of the Gateway Arch. How big a loophole is 30 percent offsets? Wait and see. I had said the three offsets -- domestic, international, and international forestry -- could make up 15 percent of allowances because the ... |
|
| Topics: Barbara Boxer, climate, climate science, legislation, politics (all these topics) |
|
|
Why a climate bill in 2008? Part IV
Time to kick the oil habit |
Tony Kreindler |
28 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| This is the latest in a series on why it is important to push hard for climate legislation this year. Over the past few months, I've made the case for passing climate legislation in 2008: We don't want to squander the current momentum, we simply can't afford to wait, and while we do, we only prolong a dangerous catch-22. Now we're finally on the doorstep of Senate action on a comprehensive climate change bill. Floor debate over the Climate Security Act (S. 3036) ... |
|
| Topics: climate, energy, gas prices, legislation, oil, politics (all these topics) |
|
|
Zap a lobbyist
|
David Roberts |
28 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| A lobbyist and a lie detector. |
|
| Topics: climate, funnies, lobbying, lying liars, politics, websites (all these topics) |
|
|
Growth industry
Club for Growth starts campaign to derail Lieberman-Warner |
Kate Sheppard |
27 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The Club for Growth -- a conservative group 'dedicated to helping elect pro-growth, pro-freedom candidates through political contributions and issue advocacy campaigns' -- is already waging war on the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act, slated to hit the Senate floor June 2. But instead of going after the bill itself, they're targeting individual senators who seem likely to vote in favor of the bill. They've taken out $250,000 in radio and television ... |
|
| Topics: climate, legislation, Muckraker, news, politics, US Senate (all these topics) |
|
|
Climate and service
Obama's commencement speech calls for service to the country, planet on climate front |
Kate Sheppard |
27 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| David beat me to a post on Barack Obama's commencement speech at Wesleyan on Sunday. The part about climate change and clean energy was good, but what I found most encouraging was at the beginning, when climate change was cited, along with hunger, war, and economic strife, as an area where our personal lives and the life of the nation should be aligned: [Y]ou are about to enter a world that makes it easy to get caught up in the notion that there are actually two dif ... |
|
| Topics: Barack Obama, climate, education, Muckraker, news, politics (all these topics) |
|
|
Would Boxer's bill cut CO2 emissions by 2020?
If cost-containment mechanisms in new climate bill are exploited, emissions could remain unchanged |
Joseph Romm |
27 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The short, snarky answer is 'No; Boxer-Lieberman-Warner is never going to become law.' The longer, analytical answer, which is the primary subject of this post, is 'probably not, thanks to the bill's many cost containment measures, but it would take us off the business-as-usual emissions path.' Before explaining why, let me make clear that the vote on B-L-W is purely symbolic, since it is DOA as a bill can be. Most of the media, most of the public, and most of th ... |
|
| Topics: Barbara Boxer, climate, climate change mitigation, legislation, politics (all these topics) |
|
|
GOP vs. John McCain?
Climate bill fight likely to divide Republicans |
Kate Sheppard |
27 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Politico reports on the divide between John McCain and other Republicans on climate change: By contrast, the debate on a bipartisan climate change bill sponsored by Sens. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) and John Warner (R-Va.) offers McCain a chance to stake out a position different from the president's and see if his party will follow. The catch is that many Republicans are uncomfortable with McCain's talk of a cap-and-trade program for reducing carbon emissions. ... |
|
| Topics: climate, climate change mitigation, John McCain, legislation, Muckraker, news, politics (all these topics) |
|
|
Different worlds
Well-informed Republicans are not concerned about climate change |
David Roberts |
27 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| A new analysis of survey data finds: The more Democrats think they know about global warming, the more concerned they are. But Republicans who consider themselves well informed on the topic seem no more worried than those who profess ignorance, a study suggests. What's going on? Here's my one-sentence diagnosis: Democrats are more likely to be moral relativists and epistemological realists; Republicans are more likely to be the opposite. The base of the right is u ... |
|
| Topics: climate, climate change skepticism, messaging, politics (all these topics) |
|
|
For on the Floor
Nations meet to hash out claims to Arctic seafloor |
|
27 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 8:47 AM on 27 May 2008 What with climate change melting record amounts of Arctic ice, the five nations that claim land rights in the Arctic region have been rushing to stake claim to the minerals and oil wealth beneath the Arctic Ocean. Starting Tuesday, Denmark is hosting talks among the five countries, aiming to bring a measure of civility to the Arctic's predicted black-gold rush. One item that Denmark hopes the ot ... |
|
| Topics: climate, international politics, news, oil, oil and gas drilling, politics (all these topics) |
|
|
Ration-All Thought
Personal carbon trading considered in U.K. |
|
27 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 7:17 AM on 27 May 2008 Britain should go ahead with a carbon-credit trading system for individuals, a committee of Members of Parliament has recommended. The system could be modeled on cap-and-trade programs for industry, setting a cap on the amount of carbon each person is allowed to emit and requiring those who would exceed their allotment to purchase credits from those who emit less. Activities such as using gasoline, c ... |
|
| Topics: climate, climate change mitigation, news, politics, United Kingdom (all these topics) |
|
|
A Cut Below
G8 nations agree on the need to agree on emission cuts |
|
27 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 6:19 AM on 27 May 2008 A three-day meeting of G8 environment ministers in Japan this weekend concluded with a familiar call for nations to agree on goals to cut emissions. The sentiment was formalized in a statement citing "strong political will" among G8 countries to agree to cut emissions by 50 percent by 2050 when they convene at the full G8 summit in Toyako, Japan, in July. "As we head toward the Toy ... |
|
| Topics: climate, G8, international politics, news, politics (all these topics) |
|
|
Call to service
Obama calls for clean energy activists in commencement speech |
David Roberts |
27 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| From Barack Obama's commencement speech at Wesleyan University, 25 May 2008 (he was standing in for Ted Kennedy): At a time when our ice caps are melting and our oceans are rising, we need you to help lead a green revolution. We still have time to avoid the catastrophic consequences of climate change if we get serious about investing in renewable sources of energy, and if we get a generation of volunteers to work on renewable energy projects, and teach folks about ... |
|
| Topics: Barack Obama, climate, climate change mitigation, education, politics, renewable energy (all these topics) |
|
|
ACCCE's lobbying campaign against Lieberman Warner
Coal industry launches full-scale attack against climate legislation |
Brad Johnson |
23 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Originally posted at the Wonk Room. The coal-industry front group American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity has launched a major lobbying campaign against the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act. ACCCE claims it is opposed to Lieberman-Warner because it 'does not adequately embrace' their 'principles' and raises 'just too many unanswered questions.' Principles: ACCCE's 12 principles [PDF] for federal legislation boil down to demands that they be allowed to ... |
|
| Topics: climate, coal, jackassery, legislation, politics (all these topics) |
|
|
Beyond the Palin
Alaska will sue over polar-bear listing |
|
22 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:07 PM on 22 May 2008 Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) will sue the Interior Department over its decision to list the polar bear as a threatened species. "We believe that the listing was unwarranted and that it's unprecedented to list a currently healthy population based on uncertain climate models," says Alaska Assistant Attorney General Steven Daugherty. To green groups, that argument is, shall we say, unimpressive. &quo ... |
|
| Topics: Alaska, climate, climate change skepticism, Department of Interior, endangered species, litigation, news, polar bears, politics, state politics (all these topics) |
|
|
Full text drops
Full text of the substitute amendment to Lieberman-Warner now available |
Kate Sheppard |
21 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The full-text of the amendment [PDF] to the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act is now available, which answers some of the outstanding questions stemming from the outline Sen. Boxer has been circulating. A few important areas to look at in the new version: Cost containment: This is the mechanism, also called an 'emergency off-ramp,' that will automatically release additional emission allowances onto the market to lower the price of carbon credits, should prices r ... |
|
| Topics: Barbara Boxer, climate, legislation, Muckraker, news, politics, renewable energy (all these topics) |
|
|
|
©2008. Grist Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. Gloom and doom with a sense of humor®.