Politics
The Subsidy Saga Continues
Two days ago, I criticized Democrats for failing to support Tom Coburn’s proposal to eliminate the infamous ethanol “blender” subsidy, hiding behind procedural objections. Well, it turns out either that they had a change of heart, or the procedural objections were real: The Senate voted 73-27 Thursday to kill a major tax break that benefits …
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CONTINUE READINGNostradamus, I Ain’t
On Friday, I predicted that Senate Republicans would side with Grover Norquist against Tom Coburn and block repeal of one of the egregious ethanol subsidies now polluting both our tax code and our country. Well, so much for that: most Senate Republicans did the right thing and voted to remove the subsidy. In this case, …
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CONTINUE READINGA GOP Ethanol Trap? Not Likely.
I hope I’m wrong. Jon Chait reports that Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) will force a cloture vote on his proposal to eliminate the ethanol “blending” subsidy, which costs the government about $6 billion annually, is horrible for the environment, and is economically inefficient. His take is that this represents an ideological skirmish between Coburn and …
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CONTINUE READINGOn the Advantages of Being Out of the Political Spotlight
Environmental issues haven’t been on the front page much recently, and on the whole I think that’s a good thing. The fact is that budget issues, the race for the Republican presidential nomination, and Medicare have pushed the environment out of the spotlight. Predictions about politics are always hazardous and seem to be getting even …
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CONTINUE READINGRomney Gets Real
Mitt Romney, bucking the current in his own party, has admitted that the problem of climate change is real. According to the Boston Globe: “I don’t speak for the scientific community, of course,’’ Romney said. “But I believe the world’s getting warmer. I can’t prove that, but I believe based on what I read that …
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CONTINUE READINGTough Political Choices On Climate Are Hardly Unique to U.S: The Case of Germany and Nuclear Power
German Chancellor Angela Merkel made headlines this week when she announced that the country would phase out its nuclear power plants by 2022. The Fukishima nuclear crisis in Japan led Germany to review its reliance on nuclear power and the result of that review was Merkel’s decision to shut down the country’s existing plants. Here’s …
CONTINUE READINGThe Endangerment Litigation
I’ve just spent some time reading the initial briefs in the D.C. Circuit on the endangerment issue. They strike me as much more political documents than legal ones. A brief recap for those who haven’t been following the legal side of the climate issue. After the Bush Administration decided not to regulate greenhouse gases under …
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CONTINUE READINGMore Subsidies Hypocrisy from Tim Pawlenty?
At least so claims the Iowa Republican, a website that says it represents “News for Republicans, by Republicans.” If you believe the Republican, Pawlenty is doing no more than parroting the talking points of the ethanol industry: Pawlenty’s announcement speech in Des Moines yesterday was more passionate than some of his other recent speeches. The …
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CONTINUE READINGIs NJ Governor Christie Running for President? He’s Backing Out of RGGI and Moving Toward Climate Denialism
On the bad-news-for-climate-policy front and in the ever-expanding category of Republican-officials-who-do-an-about-face-on-climate-change, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announced today that he’s pulling the state of New Jersey out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) by the end of the year. RGGI is the only up and running cap and trade program in the United States …
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