Climate Change
Is It Bad Politics To Talk About the Environment?
In response to my post expressing disappointment about the treatment of environmental issues in last night’s debate, Dan posted this comment: I agree that the lack of discussion of the environment was disappointing. But we have to remember that the debaters were primarily aiming their remarks at a small segment of the U.S. public whose …
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CONTINUE READINGFracking, Methane, and Moving Toward Better Data Through Collaboration
Is using natural gas produced through fracking better for the environment than using coal? The answer is an unqualified maybe . That’s because we don’t have good enough data to know definitively. But a new collaboration between academics, the fracking industry and environmentalists aims to fill the data gap. First, some background. The boom in …
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CONTINUE READINGRomney versus Truth, Future Generations – And His Own Past
My post earlier this morning about Romney’s embrace of anti-environmentalism was more timely than I knew. According to Climate Wire, he told farmers yesterday: “And then there’s pushing cap and trade, I understand if they push cap and trade it will not only massively impact the income of farms, it will take millions of acres …
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CONTINUE READINGUndecided Voters and Climate Change
If you tuned in to the Republican National Convention, you probably heard Republican nominee Mitt Romney take a stab at President Obama’s 2008 remarks about slowing the pace of global warming. Romney allowed his line to speak for itself, and delegates and the audience erupted in laughter. Yes, global warming was used as a laugh …
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CONTINUE READINGNinth Circuit Finds Public Nuisance Lawsuit Unavailable to Address Climate Change Impacts on Threatened Native Alaskan Village
Today, the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion affirming a federal district court decision to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the Native Alaskan Village of Kivalina that sought damages from oil and electric power companies whose greenhouse gas emissions have contributed to climate change. Kivalina contended that the companies’ greenhouse gas emissions constituted a public …
CONTINUE READINGWarren versus Brown on Energy and Environment
At the debate between Elizabeth Warren and Scott Brown last night, there was a brief discussion of energy issues. Brown defended subsidies for oil companies but criticized Warren for trying to tie him to Jim Inhofe. Unlike Inhofe, Brown does believe in climate change (at least right now — he seems to have waffled over …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate Change and National Security
The two parties disagree sharply about whether climate change can be considered a threat to our national security. A recent paper by Andrew Guzman (Berkeley) and Jody Freeman (Harvard) summarizes the support for this idea among serious students of national security: In 2008, the National Intelligence Council produced the most comprehensive analysis to date of …
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CONTINUE READINGSetting the Record Straight on Obama and the Environment
We shouldn’t underestimate Obama’s environmental achievements.
CONTINUE READINGReasonably Libertarian: Gary Johnson’s Environmental Views
Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson isn’t exactly a household name, but it looks like he’s going to be on the ballot in nearly all states. That made me curious about his environmental positions. I have to admit that Johnson’s views were better than I expected. You can’t really call Johnson an environmentalist, but he looks quite …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat Is the Future Role of Fossil Fuels in the Electricity System?
If you put aside their environmental impacts, fossil fuels are wonderful for generating electricity. They are cheap, reliable, and currently in abundant supply. But the environmental drawbacks are considerable, and the most serious one is their contribution to climate change. To deal with climate change, do we need to adopt an attitude of unremitting hostility …
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