Climate Change

A Good Week for Environmental Federalism

This has been a very good week for proponents of environmental federalism. On Tuesday, President Obama convened a Rose Garden ceremony to announce first-ever federal regulatory mandates specifically designed to address global warming. The federal government’s new CAFE standards for new cars and light trucks, beginning with the 2012 model year, will simultaneously reduce greenhouse …

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Good news and bad news on climate change

First the bad news, which is not exactly new but is getting new attention. In the absence of strong policy interventions, warming may be much worse than the IPCC’s projections.  MIT’s Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change issued a report in January projecting median surface warming in a “business as usual” …

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Auto Emissions Deal–Enough Credit to Go Around?

The announcement of the deal on auto emissions was roundly hailed as a remarkable achievement of the Obama Administration.  There is no arguing with the notion that it was dramatic, both in terms of the bargaining process and the outcome.  The Los Angeles Times today provided a behind-the-scenes view of the months-long negotiations, including everything …

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Both Sides are Right on Waxman-Markey

Cara asks what people think about the Waxman-Markey bill.  It seems clear to me that both sides are right.  And no, this isn’t a case of realism versus idealism. Waxman-Markey might be the strongest thing that can get through Congress right now.  And even that might be over-optimistic: Waxman can move the thing through the …

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Taking sides on Waxman-Markey

Now that the revised Waxman-Markey compromise draft has been make public (here), those in favor of strong climate change regulation are soul-searching about whether to support it.  Did Waxman give away too much — on, among other things, free allowances to industry, reduced caps, and lessened requirements for ramping up renewable energy sources (see Steve’s post …

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Obama’s Bold New Auto Standards

In what is a huge victory for California and a strong national commitment to more fuel efficient cars, the New York Times is reporting that the Obama administration will grant California its waiver to issue tough greenhouse gas emissions standards while at the same time combining those standards with a new national Corporate Automotive Fuel …

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Sea level falling in places — but change still problematic

This morning’s New York Times has this story by Cornelia Dean describing the changes global warming is bringing to Juneau, Alaska. While sea level is rising relative to coast lines in many parts of the world as ocean waters warm and expand, the opposite is happening in and around Juneau. As the region’s glaciers recede, …

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A Carbon Map of America

A post on DailyKos makes the very important point that carbon emissions vary vastly within the United States, linking to a terrific Purdue University mapping project on carbon emissions.   As the post indicates, reliance on coal is a key factor. But there are other forces at work as well. In considering the role of the …

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Educational Equality as an Environmental Issue

This is the first in an occasional series about surprising dimensions of environmental problems. Today’s thesis is that  promoting educational equality in developing countries would be a good thing for the environment.  In other words, environmentalists should favor directing more educational funds to girls rather than following the norm in many countries, which is to …

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Relist Yellowstone’s grizzlies?

Grizzly bears in the Yellowstone region were removed from the ESA list in 2007 on the grounds that they had recovered to the point that they no longer needed protection. Now Doug Peacock argues in Environment 360 that Yellowstone’s bears should be returned to the ESA’s protected list. His piece highlights three key challenges for …

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