Federal Climate Policy
Trump’s Replacement for Project 2025: The “Other” MAGA Plan
It’s not Project 2025, but the “America First Agenda” is worse in some ways.
From the perspective of those who believe in environmental protection, the Trump team’s switch from one rightwing think tank to another doesn’t seem to be much of an improvement. They would both set environmental law back by decades.
CONTINUE READINGThe Ins and Outs of Kennedy’s Environmental Positions
His campaign website is a mashup of very different perspectives, from “back to the earth” to tech bro.
Working through his website seemed to reveal a broad effort to combine distrust of government and big business), belief in free markets, and valuing nature and the land for their own sakes. Kennedy offers an unusual blend of Sixties “back to the land” environmentalism with Tech Bro libertarianism.
CONTINUE READINGIn Their Own Words: Climate Policy and the Party Platforms
The GOP and Democratic Platforms take starkly different approaches.
The two major parties have very different views about energy policy and climate change. Here are their official views, in their own language. Compare and contrast!
CONTINUE READINGDid Democrats Follow Through?
The 2020 Democratic Platform made some big promises. Four years later, where do things stand?
Many of the climate promises in the 2020 Democratic platform were kept, and large down-payments were made toward fulfilling others. The glass is definitely more than half full.
CONTINUE READINGWhat Would Climate Policy Look Like Under One-Party Conservative Rule?
You only need to look at Texas or Florida for the answer: a complete erasure of climate action.
This is not to say that unified control of the federal government by the hard right would entirely halt the progress of clean energy. Just that, if Florida and Texas are any guides, they would do their best to make that happen and to maximize use of what Trump has called the liquid gold under our feet.
CONTINUE READINGThe Best Reason for Optimism About Climate Action
As the saying goes, “It’s the economy, stupid.”
Renewable energy costs have plunged to an extent few people realize. If cellphone prices had dropped as fast since 2010 as the cost of solar power, you could buy a new iPhone for about thirty bucks today.
CONTINUE READINGThe D.C. Circuit and the Biden Power Plant Rule
The court’s denial of a stay is very good news for EPA
The D.C. Circuit frequently denies stays, but this ruling was notable for three reasons: It allows an important climate change regulation to go into effect; it clarified an important legal doctrine; and it has a good chance of being upheld on appeal.
CONTINUE READING35 Major Climate Initiatives Under Biden
By any measure, it has been an eventful four years for climate policy, with billions in spending and many major regulations finalized. Here’s a timeline of the Top 30 actions.
In light of President Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race yesterday, we thought it was appropriate to update this piece about the climate legacy of the Biden-Harris Administration. In his four years in office, Donald Trump rolled back essentially every existing federal policy to limit climate change. The picture under the Biden Administration has …
Continue reading “35 Major Climate Initiatives Under Biden”
CONTINUE READINGHere We Go Again! (Maybe)
The possibility of a second Trump presidency looms ahead. Time for some contingency planning!
As the Project 2025 report shows, people on the other side are doing their own contingency planning, and so should climate advocates. We can expect many of the same actions, beginning with massive regulatory rollbacks (over a hundred rollbacks last time around).
CONTINUE READING(Energy) Independence Day
A post in which I surprise readers — and myself — with strong praise for George W. Bush.
The only way to achieve energy independence is to achieve independence from fossil fuels. That’s not something we can achieve overnight, but the closer we come, the better — for our health, our national security, and the world.
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