Copenhagen was pretty much of a fiasco, so Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary General of the U.N., suggested that at the next conference, in Cancun, Mexico, in December, a better approach might be to try to take small steps in sparate fields that build toward wider consensus. Even that will be difficult.
Archive for the ‘Policy’ Category
U.N. chief recommends small steps on climate
Tuesday, August 10th, 2010Overcome by heat and inertia
Thursday, July 29th, 2010Temperature records continue to fall across the country. In Washington D.C., which experienced it’s warmest June on record, Senators are picking up the debate on the climate change bill. While temperatures warm, glaciers melt, and sea level rises, there is little hope of that the bill will receive the necessary votes to prevent it from being stalled.
For now, with limited progress on U.S. climate policy, we must accept the fact that “hot is the new normal.”
Who cooked the planet?
Thursday, July 29th, 2010Paul Krugman of the New York Times asks why the climate bill died. His answer: few legitimate doubts about the science remain, and the scientists and the economics weren’t to blame. Rather, greed and cowardice killed action on the climate change legislation. The whole world, he warns, will pay the price.
Four ways to kill a climate bill
Thursday, July 29th, 2010Writing in the New York Times, Lee Wasserman, the Rockefeller Family Fund head, ascribes failure of the cimate bill to four threads: focussing on green jobs rather than the climate; devising a bill for polluters, not the American people; making it too complicated; and failing to win people’s support for it.
White House energy session changes no minds
Tuesday, July 6th, 2010President Obama invited 23 senators last Tuesday to the White House to discuss energy policy, to no effect. Democrats insisted on pricing greenhouse gas emissions; Republicans insisted such a “tax” would wreck the economy. Various senators suggested approaches; Mr. Obama listened but endorsed none.
Deadly silence on carbon caps
Friday, June 25th, 2010President Obama pushed hard in his Oval Office speech for a strong energy and climate bill, but by soliciting ideas from all quarters he may have signalled he wouldn’t fight for putting a price on carbon. This Politico.com analysis reads the President’s omission of a carbon cap as indicating that no climate bill will be forthcomng this summer.
Imagine a life without oil, and being ready
Thursday, June 10th, 2010The Gulf of Mexico oil spill is swelling the ranks of doomsayers who believe that oil supplies have peaked and will decline fast. They worry about food shortages, a collapsed economy, and civil disorder. Many experts dispute the peak oil hypothesis, arguing technology will keep finding more oil.
For more information on climate change, be sure to visit our main page. Not sure how to leave a comment here, just follow these instructions.
White House threatens to veto move to thwart E.P.A.
Thursday, June 10th, 2010President Obama recently said he would fight for passage of the climate/energy bill. Today he began keeping that promise, threatening to veto Senator Lisa Murkowski’s (R, Alaska) resolution preventing the E.P.A. from regulating greenhouse gases. A statement sets forth the White House position.
For more information on climate change, be sure to visit our main page. Not sure how to leave a comment here, just follow these instructions.
In California, a step towards B.Y.O.B (Bring Your Own Bag)
Thursday, June 10th, 2010Paper or plastic? The right answer is cloth. California uses 19 billion plastic bags a year. The State Assembly just voted to ban plastic bags and make retailers charge at least a nickel for paper bags. Although the state grocery store lobby wants a uniform policy, Senate passage is uncertain.
For more information on climate change, be sure to visit our main page. Not sure how to leave a comment here, just follow these instructions.
The climate majority
Thursday, June 10th, 2010We know that statistics lie, but we aren’t so aware that surveys can mislead too. Jon Krosnick, a Stanford communication professor, critiques recent surveys “showing” that more Americans are climate skeptics. In fact, large majorities believe climate change is real, human-caused, and dangerous.
For more information on climate change, be sure to visit our main page. Not sure how to leave a comment here, just follow these instructions.