| Headline |
Author |
Published |
Section |
In China, we'll win or lose China's emissions are an argument for, not against, America taking action |
Ryan Avent |
16 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The fight against global warming: China has clearly overtaken the United States as the world's leading emitter of carbon dioxide, the main heat-trapping gas, a new study has found, its emissions increasing 8 percent in 2007. The Chinese increase accounted for two-thirds of the growth in the year's global greenhouse gas emissions, the study found. But here's the kicker: The United States still has a vast lead in carbon dioxide emissions per person. The average ... |
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| Topics: China, climate, economy, greenhouse-gas emissions, international politics (all these topics) |
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A preview Climate chaos shuts down trains |
JMG |
15 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The National Association of Rail Passengers reports that Amtrak is taking a pounding from the flooding in the midwest, making trips difficult or impossible and generally showing how we've managed to go from the finest rail system in the world to one that would shame Bulgaria (to steal Kunstler's line).Thanks, climate change! |
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| Topics: climate, climate change impacts, public transportation (all these topics) |
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Google plugs in Notes from a plug-in hybrid conference |
Michael Moynihan |
15 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Silicon Valley came to Washington this week to talk about plug-in hybrids at a great conference organized by Google.org with Brookings. The combination of tech visionaries, electric cars on display, Washington heavy hitters such as John Dingell, Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and even a couple of film stars, Peter Horton and Anne Sexton of Who Killed the Electric Car?, made for a great meeting. Here are my notes from the standing room o ... |
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| Topics: cars, climate, electric vehicles, hybrids, placemaking, renewable energy (all these topics) |
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GHG policy thoughts, economics edition The goal of climate policy is not high GHG prices |
Sean Casten |
15 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| There's an implicit assumption in much of the climate policy debate that to meaningfully lower greenhouse-gas emissions, we need a high price on carbon. The assumption is wrong. Economics 101 In a market setting, price is a function of supply and demand. For a given commodity, prices will be high when demand outpaces supply and low when supply outpaces demand. Thus oil, for instance, is expensive. And autographed copies of my pen and ink cartoons are cheap ( ... |
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| Topics: carbon trading, climate, economy, energy, greenhouse-gas emissions, renewable energy (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, climate science, James Inhofe, politics (all these topics) |
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The price isn't right Nuclear power is expensive |
Joseph Romm |
14 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| In mid-2007, a Keystone Center nuclear report (PDF), funded in part by the nuclear industry estimated capital costs for nuclear of $3600 to $4000/kW including interest. The report notes, 'the power isn't cheap: 8.3 to 11.1 cents per kilo-watt hour.' In December 2007, retail electricity prices in this country averaged 8.9 cents per kwh. Mid-2007 has already become the good old days for affordable nuclear power. Jim Harding, who was on the Keystone Center panel and was ... |
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| Topics: business, climate, economy, energy, nuclear power (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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Guess I won't be seaing you Arctic sea ice update: 2008 poised to repeat -- or beat -- 2007 |
Joseph Romm |
13 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| For months, the deniers have been extolling the fact that the Arctic sea saw record refreezing last fall. And they have been claiming that this somehow fits into the absurd claim that the planet is now in a major cooling trend. But back in the real world, the planet keeps warming, and the Arctic is taking the worst of it, which could lead to potentially catastrophic methane emissions from the tundra, as noted here. The National Snow and Ice Data Center just reported:A ... |
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| Topics: Arctic, climate, climate change impacts, climate science (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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Our Ruined Harvest As corn and soy fields drown in rainwater, the food crisis deepens |
Tom Philpott |
13 Jun 2008 |
Victual Reality |
| A cornucopia of bad circumstances. Here in the United States, we grow 44 percent of the world's corn crop, and 38 percent of its soy. For the great bulk of that massive harvest, we rely on a single region: the Midwestern farm belt. And over the past couple of weeks, torrential rains have hammered that area, at a particularly sensitive time for its grand swath of corn and soybean pla ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, climate, food, green living, severe weather, shopping, Victual Reality (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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I'm melting Breaking news: Permafrost loss linked to Arctic sea ice loss |
Joseph Romm |
12 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| A major new study published Friday in Geophysical Research Letters by leading tundra experts has found 'Accelerated Arctic land warming and permafrost degradation during rapid sea ice loss.' The lead author is David Lawrence of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, who I interviewed for my book and recently interviewed again via email about his recent work. The study's ominous conclusion:We find that simulated western Arctic land warming trends during rapid sea ... |
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| Topics: Arctic, climate, climate change impacts, climate science, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (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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Still, waters run deep Mainstream media misses connection between global warming and Midwest floods |
Joseph Romm |
12 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The British and the Chinese understand global warming has driven their record flooding. The United States? Not so much. Although you wouldn't know it from most U.S. media coverage, the record 'once-in-a-hundred-year flooding' the Midwest now seems to be getting every decade or so is precisely what scientists have been expecting from the warming. A 2004 analysis [PDF] by NOAA's National Climatic Data Center found an increase during the 20th century of 'precipitation ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change impacts, climate science, severe weather (all these topics) |
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Manifestos for the next president Climate action plans for the first 100 days and beyond |
Maywa Montenegro |
12 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| I am blown away by the depth and scope of the nonpartisan Presidential Climate Action Project. Its centerpiece is a first-100-days plan, detailed in a 300-page report, covering issues ranging from energy policy and green collar jobs to the farm bill and ethanol subsidies to the Law of the Sea. My only quibble is the continued support for grain ethanol -- although the project does advocate quick turnover to cellulosic sources -- how quick that evolution will be is a ... |
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| Topics: ag policy, climate, energy, ethanol, politics (all these topics) |
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Dingell dangle Dingell promises climate bill friendlier to manufacturers |
Kate Sheppard |
12 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair John Dingell (D-Mich.) has been saying for months now that a climate bill from his committee is on the way. Yesterday he talked about his pending legislation to industry folks, promising it would be friendlier to their interests than the Senate bill that failed last week: Dingell told the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association, the auto supplier trade association, at a luncheon on Capitol Hill Wednesday that the cl ... |
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| Topics: climate, energy, legislation, Muckraker, news, politics, US House of Representatives (all these topics) |
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So, what now? What we learned from the stymied Climate Security Act, and what comes next |
Kate Sheppard |
12 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| After months of engine-revving, the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act sputtered to a halt in the Senate last week. Now attention has turned to what was learned -- or wasn't -- and how things might play out the next time a climate bill makes it this far. Despite what looked from the outside like an unproductive and anticlimactic week of grandstanding and delays, the bill's sponsors emerged from the experience claiming sunny optimism about the future. 'It ... |
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| Topics: Barbara Boxer, climate, legislation, Muckraker, news, politics, US Senate (all these topics) |
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Notable quotable Ragin' Cajun for Gore |
David Roberts |
11 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| 'I think if I was Senator Obama I would say the biggest economic problem we face is the biggest national security problem and the biggest environmental problem. And if I were him, I would ask Al Gore to serve as his vice president, his energy czar, in his administration to reduce our consumption and reliance on foreign energy sources. That would send a signal to the world, to American people, to Congress, to everybody, that America's getting serious about this horrendo ... |
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| Topics: Al Gore, Barack Obama, climate, politics, presidential race 08, quotables (all these topics) |
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Money changes everything Everyone wants a piece of the climate bill pie |
Joseph Romm |
11 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The debate over the Climate Security Act bill has made it clear that trillions are at stake in global warming legislation. No surprise, then, that the Senate power brokers don't want Barbara Boxer's (D-Calif.) Environment and Public Works committee to have the only say on who gets what. E&E Daily ($ub. req'd) has the story of how the climate bill is likely to have a much longer and far more tangled journey next year:Next year's Senate climate debate is shaping up t ... |
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| Topics: Barbara Boxer, climate, legislation, politics, US Senate (all these topics) |
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Corn polls New surveys suggest changing views on biofuels |
Ron Steenblik |
11 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Biofuel policy has made it to the polls. Yesterday, the National Center for Public Policy Research, a nonprofit, non-partisan educational foundation based in Washington, D.C., released the results of a survey (PDF) conducted at the beginning of this month which claims to have found that most Americans -- 'including those in the Farm Belt' -- want Congress to reduce or eliminate the mandated use of corn ethanol. In response to the key question, 'What do you think Congr ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, biofuels, climate, energy, ethanol, European Union, politics (all these topics) |
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Action on Solar Investment Tax Credit Delayed Lack of credit threatens solar industry |
Michael Moynihan |
11 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Originally posted at the NDN Blog. The failure of the Senate to obtain cloture on the Solar Investment Tax Credit -- coming on the heels of the collapse of climate change legislation last Friday -- should send a wake up call to the environment and clean technology communities that a new more forceful strategy is needed to make progress on climate change and energy independence. At a moment when the U.S. economy is suffering from the effects of a full blown oil sh ... |
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| Topics: business, climate, economy, energy, legislation, politics (all these topics) |
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Why not a revenue-neutral carbon cap? The silver-lining of Lieberman-Warner's demise |
Peter Barnes |
11 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The demise of the Lieberman-Warner climate bill may not be a bad thing if it spurs environmentalists and politicians to ask: Is this the best way to cap carbon? Let's be clear what Lieberman-Warner was. Yes, it contained a carbon cap. But mostly it was about spending or giving away trillions of dollars. It was, as Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) put it, 'the mother and father of all earmarks,' and every lobbyist in town was at the trough. The bill sought to allocate a vast ... |
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| Topics: cap-and-dividend, carbon trading, climate, legislation, politics (all these topics) |
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Should the World Bank get the coal shoulder? House ponders investment in multilateral clean tech fund; greens argue it isn't all that green |
Kate Sheppard |
11 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Last week, the House Finance Committee's Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade, and Technology (the HFCSDIMPTT for short) held a hearing about whether the United States should invest in a multilateral fund to support the deployment of clean energy technology in the developing world. There's been talk of World Bank investment in clean tech for years; now they're asking G8 nations to pony up. The hearing stemmed from a Bush administration p ... |
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| Topics: climate, Muckraker, news, politics, tech, World Bank (all these topics) |
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Wait, they're not the same?!
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David Roberts |
11 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| In the Boston Globe, Carol Browner and Bob Sussman construct a short and powerful critique of McCain's climate/energy positions, tacking against the kind of foolishness that has addled the brains of the folks over at the L.A. Times. |
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| Topics: Barack Obama, climate, energy, John McCain, messaging, politics, presidential race 08 (all these topics) |
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