Politics
Judd Gregg on oceans
It often seems that Commerce Secretaries come in knowing little or nothing about their Department’s responsibilities for ocean resource management and ocean and atmospheric research. One reason many environmentalists were excited about the prospect of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson taking on the job was that Richardson had expressed a strong commitment to ocean protection. …
Continue reading “Judd Gregg on oceans”
CONTINUE READINGDEMON SPAWN OF THE STIMULUS
From an initial concept by H.P. Lovecraft: The Boxer-Inhofe Amendment SEE! $50 billion in new stimulus money for highways to be introduced on the Senate floor tomorrow!!!! HEAR! Nothing for transit!!!!! SMELL! (TASTE?) (FEEL?) Alleged environmentalist Barbara Boxer (D-Marin County) writing a bill with climate denier James Inhofe (R-Olduvai Gorge) to build thousands of miles …
Continue reading “DEMON SPAWN OF THE STIMULUS”
CONTINUE READINGBarack Obama: America’s #1 Liberal
…if you follow Robert Frost and define a liberal as a man “who is too broadminded to take his own side in a quarrel.” He lets Daschle go today after allegedly fully backing him yesterday. More to the point for this weblog, in the Senate, he completely checks out on the fight over transit funding, …
Continue reading “Barack Obama: America’s #1 Liberal”
CONTINUE READINGFederal scientists could get increased whistleblower protection
Before it passed the economic stimulus bill on Wednesday, the House grafted on the text of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, H.R. 985, from the previous Congress. That bill, which passed the House last year, would (among other things) have extended whistleblower protection to federal workers who reveal the dissemination of “false or misleading” scientific …
Continue reading “Federal scientists could get increased whistleblower protection”
CONTINUE READINGConflicting data need not make environmental controversies worse
Anyone interested in the resolution of environmental controversies featuring conflicting or incomplete scientific accounts (and what interesting environmental conflict doesn’t fit in that category?) should read this article by Biggs et al. in the January issue of BioScience (subscription required). As the authors explain, the fact that two scientific studies produce conflicting results or lead …
Continue reading “Conflicting data need not make environmental controversies worse”
CONTINUE READINGA republican moment on climate change? Maybe not yet
The environmental community has been understandably excited about the prospect of finally getting U.S. legislative action in light of the popularity of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, the development of a public consensus on the reality of global warming, the election of Barack Obama, and strong Democratic majorities in both House and Senate. That optimism, …
Continue reading “A republican moment on climate change? Maybe not yet”
CONTINUE READINGEnergy and Environment Issues in the House
According to Energy and Environment Daily, House members have organized to promote energy and climate legislation “Reps. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) and Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) are co-chairmen of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition, a new caucus designed to push for policies that promote renewable energy and domestic manufacturing, create “green collar” jobs, help curb global …
Continue reading “Energy and Environment Issues in the House”
CONTINUE READINGMore accusations of politics trumping science and law at Interior
The Washington Post reports that officials at the Department of Interior ignored “key scientific findings” and the views of National Park Service officials “when they limited water flows in the Grand Canyon to optimize generation of electric power there, risking damage to the ecology of the spectacular national landmark.” The Post story, written by Juliet …
Continue reading “More accusations of politics trumping science and law at Interior”
CONTINUE READINGA Wavering Federal Policy on Climate Change?
President Obama yesterday made official (sort of) his plan to fulfill a campaign pledge to grant the State of California authority to adopt pioneering greenhouse gas emission controls for vehicular sources. That announcement, while expected, is a breath of fresh air when it comes to state-federal environmental policymaking. It comes after eight frustrating years in …
Continue reading “A Wavering Federal Policy on Climate Change?”
CONTINUE READINGThe perfect political storm
Co-blogger Dan Farber points to a story in Tuesday’s NY Times about a new study by NOAA’s Susan Solomon and others of the environmental effects of allowing carbon dioxide to equilibrate at levels much above its current 385 ppm. As Dan points out, the prospects for already dry areas are frightening. There’s another important lesson …
Continue reading “The perfect political storm”
CONTINUE READINGJoin Our Mailing List
Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.
