Battle for the Senate: Iowa
The Iowa race features two candidates with very different views about climate change.
The Senate race in Iowa pits incumbent Joni Ernst against Democrat Theresa Greenfield. Climate change is the area where the two contrast most strongly. Greenfield accepts the science and calls for action. Ernst is still in the "maybe it relates to a little bit to humans" phase of climate denial. She also says she's "so skeptical" of the COVID death count. “These health-care providers and others are reimbursed at a higher rate if covid is tied to it, so what do you th...
CONTINUE READINGWhen Republicans Supported the Environment: Bush 41
The GOP wasn’t always the sworn enemy of environmental protection.
Younger people today probably know about George Herbert Walker Bush (R) as the father of George W. Bush and (perhaps) as the architect of the first Iraq War. But he also had some notable environmental achievements to his credit. Here are some of his accomplishments: Air Pollution Law. The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments were a massive revamp of the statute. The Act established a successful cap-and-trade system for cutting acid rain. Bush had to engage in considerable...
CONTINUE READINGCalifornia’s Burning. What’s the Link to Climate Change?
Answering your denialist friends
It's a hard day to work in California, what with all the burning. Those closest to the fires and smoke are evacuating (or being rescued), or are among the brave men and women fighting in inferno-like conditions to increase fire containment. But even those of us far away and physically safe from the fires are distracted and scared. The skies won't let us forget what's happening all around. We're posting photos, checking air quality monitors, texting friends, a...
CONTINUE READINGRebuilding Environmental Protection
It will take years to fully recover from the damage of the Trump era. We will need some new ideas.
After almost four years of Trump, federal environmental protection is in about the same shape as Western Europe at the end of World War II, filled with bomb craters and destruction. If the election turns out in Biden's favor, he will be faced with the task of rebuilding from the smoking ruins. Here are some initial, somewhat tentative thoughts about "rebuilding better." One component of being "better" is "less vulnerable to being axed by conservative judges." Rec...
CONTINUE READINGHousing Solutions Fizzle In California’s Legislature
A rundown on the failures (and few successes) this session
Housing policy is at the center of all of our major societal problems in the United States: Care about racial justice? Restrictive housing and land use policies are responsible for our deeply segregated towns and cities. Climate change? Bad housing policies are the reason why so many people are forced into long, emission-spewing commutes, because they can't afford to live close to their jobs. Economic inequality? Inflated home prices and rents increasingly force mid...
CONTINUE READINGNorth Carolina: A Tight Senate Race with High Environmental Stakes
Control of the Senate may hang in the balance.
In the Tar Heel State, Republican Incumbent Thom Tillis faces a tough face against challenger Cal Cunningham. This race is central to Democratic hopes to flip the Senate. The candidates have contrasting environmental views. Thom Tillis. When Tillis ran in 2014, his main claim to fame was championing deregulation in the North Carolina legislature, which endeared him to the Tea Party. His campaign website doesn’t have an issues tab. (My impression is that this is more...
CONTINUE READINGGene Drives, Biodiversity Conservation, International Law, and Emerging Politics
My latest article is published by Global Environmental Politics
A set of new biotechnologies are being developed that will force many of us, especially those concerned about biodiversity loss, to re-examine how we understand the relationship between biotechnology and conservation. These are "gene drives," which would be used to genetically modify, reduce, or eliminate populations of species. My paper "Governing New Biotechnologies for Biodiversity Conservation: Gene Drives, International Law, and Emerging Politics" was published toda...
CONTINUE READINGBattle for the Senate: Colorado
A Republican who's expressing support for the environment, versus a Democrat who wants to do a lot more.
The Colorado Senate race pits incumbent Republican Cory Gardner against John Hickenlooper. Gardner makes a point of stressing his support for environmental protection and has apparently been working hard to strengthen his environment record since he moved to the Senate in 2014. Cory Gardner. Gardner’s Senate website touts his bipartisanship. It says that he “was ranked the 3rd most bipartisan Senator by The Lugar Center for his work in the 116th Congress to bu...
CONTINUE READINGTaking Technology Seriously in Global Environmental Politics
A special issue on new technologies is now available
I am proud to announce a special issue of Global Environmental Politics on new technologies, edited by Simon Nicholson of American University and me, is now available. We write in the introductory essay: Human beings are at once makers of and made by technology. The ability to wield tools was an essential ingredient in propelling an otherwise unremarkable ape to a position of dominance over ecological and even planetary affairs. This dominance has been attained throu...
CONTINUE READINGHerd Immunity
What Could Possibly Go Wrong with Trump’s Latest Coronavirus Idea?
"Herd immunity" seems to be gaining ground in the White House as a coronavirus strategy. The idea is to protect the vulnerable population, while letting the virus run its course among the rest. The disease then dies out because so many people are immune. What could possibly go wrong? In theory, this idea would work, if having a mild or asymptomatic case gives long-term immunity, and if the vulnerable can be fully protected. We’re not positive about the first ass...
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