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| Headline |
Author |
Published |
Section |
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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Ich Infect Dich
Icky disease afflicting Alaskan salmon |
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16 Jun 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:54 PM on 16 Jun 2008 Alaska's prized wild salmon are suffering from a disease that scientists suspect of being boosted by -- you guessed it -- global warming. The emergence of Ichthyophonus as a threat to king salmon has coincided with a steady warming of Yukon River water over the past few decades, which scientists say has welcomed cold-averse parasites northward. "Climate change isn't going to increase infectious diseases ... |
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| Topics: Alaska, climate, climate change impacts, fishing, food, news (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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Pump Up the Volume
China's carbon emissions highest in the world last year, study says |
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16 Jun 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 6:35 AM on 16 Jun 2008 China's carbon emissions were the highest in the world in 2007, exceeding those of its closest rival, the United States, by 14 percent, according to a new study from the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. The NEAA also found in a study last year that China was the world's top polluter in 2006, a finding some other energy agencies disputed. However, the emissions incr ... |
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| Topics: China, climate, energy, news, United States (all these topics) |
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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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