News & Comment
Blogs and Opinion
Hurricane Sandy: Beware Of America's Disaster Capitalists by Naomi Klein, The Guardian | November 6, 2012
Less than three days after Sandy made landfall on the east coast of the United States, Iain Murray of the Competitive Enterprise Institute blamed New Yorkers' resistance to Big Box stores for the misery they were about to endure. The same day, Frank Rapoport, a lawyer representing several billion-dollar construction and real estate contractors, jumped in to suggest that many of those public works projects shouldn't be public at all. The prize for shameless disaster capitalism, however, surely goes to rightwing economist Russell S Sobel, writing in a New York Times online forum. Sobel suggested that, in hard-hit areas, Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) should create "free-trade zones – in which all normal regulations, licensing and taxes [are] suspended". This corporate free-for-all would, apparently, "better provide the goods and services victims need". read more »Romneyism by Robert B. Reich, robertreich.org | November 5, 2012
By now, in these last remaining days before the election of 2012, we have learned enough about the beliefs of the Republican presidential candidate to see them as a worldview all its own – a kind of creed that explains Mitt Romney. Those who say he has no principles are selling him short. Despite its contradictions and ellipses, Romneyism has an internal coherence. It is different from conservatism, because it does not intend to conserve or protect any particular institutions or values. It is also distinct from Republicanism, in that it is not rooted in traditional small-town American values, nationalism, or states’ rights. The ten guiding principles of Romneyism are. read more »The Storm We Can’t Ignore by Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, greenforall.org | November 5, 2012
Lately it seems like no one wants to talk about global warming. The issue has received so little attention from our political candidates during this election cycle that you’d think the problem had evaporated. That is until this week when Hurricane Sandy hit, flattening coastal neighborhoods, leaving millions of Americans without power and forcing dozens of others to face the worst loss of all as their loved ones were swept away.The storm was unlike anything we’ve seen in a generation. It was also a sobering reminder of what’s in store for us if we don’t get serious about fighting climate change. We’ll face more frequent and intense hurricanes, along with drought, wildfire and flooding. Globally, we’ll see a spike in food and water shortages, famine, disease, and conflicts over shrinking resources. And poor communities will be hit first and hit hardest. read more »Oil-Rig Wasteland: How The Election Looks From 37,000 Feet by Greg Hanscom, grist.org | November 5, 2012
The last time I flew over the Wyoming gas fields, the scene hadn’t changed much. The gas boom is still going full throttle, thanks in part to deals the Bush administration cut before leaving office. That view from an airplane window is a vivid reminder of the price we’re still paying for eight years of environmental rollbacks, just as the scenes of Hurricane Sandy show the price our kids and grandkids will pay for years of drill-mine-log-everything policies. The last four years are littered with disappointment, but they at least show us that there has been a shift in priorities — a shift that could quickly be undone if we decide to let oilmen run the show again. read more »Which Political Leader Will Deal with “Weather on Steroids?" by Alison Rose Levy, alternet.org | November 5, 2012
In the face of a genuine human, societal, and economic catastrophe, President Obama, Governors Andrew Cuomo and Chris Christie, and Bloomberg—all the front line public officials responsible for witnessing and addressing the full impact of Hurricane Sandy, have in different ways stepped beyond their comfort zones. The devastating impacts and enormous costs have forced these political leaders to recognize that for proper management and planning, politicians can no longer afford to dance around the climate change issue fearing to call a spade a spade in deference to the sensibilities of climate deniers and those who fund them. Now the question is: Will any of these elected officials truly step up to become a leader in the New Green Growth Economy? And if they did, what might that look like? read more »Hurricane Sandy: Rebuilding Is Madness by David Gessner, salon.com | November 5, 2012
“No one could have predicted this.” Those were the words of President Bush after Katrina, and as soon as they came out of his mouth you could almost imagine a hundred coastal scientists shaking their heads all at once, thinking, no sir, this is exactly what we predicted. So, too, New York City last week, though honestly — and I know that this isn’t what people suffering right now want to hear — a lot of the predictions painted a picture that was a lot worse. Water higher, winds wilder, buildings down. read more »World's 'Cleanest Coal-Fueled Power Plant' Is A Climate Bait-And-Switch by Tony Davis, grist.org | November 1, 2012
A few years back, Robert Redford narrated a documentary, Fighting Goliath, that told the epic Texas tale of how a coalition of ranchers, environmentalists, and others banded together in the mid-2000s against a giant power company’s plans to build 11 coal plants that would have belched pollution across the state. When the dust settled, only three plants were approved, and the rest were killed in a buyout of the power company, despite an effort by Gov. Rick Perry (R) to fast-track the scheme. Today in West Texas, the simple heroism of that tale has been replaced by a far more complex story of trade-offs, pragmatism, and scientific uncertainties about a project slated for what Odessa city officials call “the clean energy capital of the world.” At the heart of it all is one of the very first full-scale tests of that still hazy concept, “clean coal. read more »Will Climate Get Some Respect Now? by Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times | November 1, 2012
President Obama and Mitt Romney seemed determined not to discuss climate change in this campaign. So thanks to Hurricane Sandy for forcing the issue: Isn’t it time to talk not only about weather, but also about climate? It’s true, of course, that no single storm or drought can be attributed to climate change. Atlantic hurricanes in the Northeast go way back, as the catastrophic “snow hurricane” of 1804 attests. But many scientists believe that rising carbon emissions could make extreme weather — like Sandy — more likely. In that sense, whatever its causes, Sandy offers a window into the way ahead. So brace yourself, for several reasons. read more »Stormy Weather: The Candidates and Climate Change by Terrance Heath, OurFuture.org | November 1, 2012
Name Storms After Oil Companies -- They're The Ones Most Responsible For Climate Change by OurFuture.org Staff, OurFuture.org | October 31, 2012
As gutsy New Yorkers begin the task of drying out the city, here’s one thought that occurred to me last night watching the horrifying pictures from a distance. It’s obviously not crucial right now — but in the long run it might make a difference. Why don’t we stop naming these storms for people, and start naming them after oil companies? Global warming didn’t “cause” this hurricane, of course — hurricanes are caused when a tropical wave washes off the coast of Africa and begins to spin in the far Atlantic. But this storm rode ocean waters five degrees warmer than normal, so it’s no great shock that it turned into a monster. By the time it hit land, it had smashed every record for the lowest barometric pressure, and the largest wind field. Sandy had a big head start on flooding out the city. read more »
The Latest
House Dems Unveil Oil Spill Plan Ahead of Friday Debate, thehill.com | July 27, 2010
House Democrats on Monday unveiled their strategy to respond to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a package headed for the floor late this week that would shore up offshore rig safety standards and block BP from obtaining new offshore drilling leases.
The bill, slated for debate Friday, also increases oil companies’ liability for damages from offshore spills. read more »
Brownback Calls for Passage of Renewable Energy Standard, washingtonindependent.com | July 27, 2010
Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kans.) announced today his support for including a renewable energy standard in the energy bill Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is expected to unveil tomorrow. read more »
Daschle, Reid Differ on 60-Vote Prediction for Green-Power Mandate, thehill.com | July 27, 2010
Former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle and other advocates of a first-time federal renewable electricity production mandate insist they have enough votes to include it in an upcoming Senate oil spill and energy package, despite Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) prediction to the contrary. read more »
Dems Press Reid to Put Renewable Power Standard in Energy Bill, thehill.com | July 27, 2010
Nearly half the Senate’s Democrats are pressuring Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to include a national renewable electricity mandate in the slimmed-down energy bill expected on the floor this week.
But they face an uphill battle — Reid argued over the weekend that a renewables mandate won’t fly in the Senate. read more »
Reid’s Energy Bill Delayed Until Tuesday, blogs.wsj.com | July 27, 2010
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is keeping much of Washington – and the business community - in suspense over what will be in his energy bill. Reid announced the broad outlines of the bill last week, but has yet to publish the text. read more »
Climate Change Linked to Possible Mass Mexican Migration to U.S., articles.latimes.com | July 27, 2010
Between 1.4 million and 6.7 million Mexicans could migrate to the U.S. by 2080 as climate change reduces crop yields and agricultural production in Mexico, according to a study published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The number could amount to 10% of the current population of Mexicans ages 15 to 65. read more »
U.S. Faces Climate-Driven Water Shortages , grist.org | July 27, 2010
As global warming accelerates, the world will become not only hotter, flatter, and more crowded but also thirsty, according to a new study that finds 70 percent of counties in the United States may face climate change-related risks to their water supplies by 2050. read more »
Cap-And-Trade Advocates See Tougher Battle After Elections , The New York Times | July 27, 2010
With Republicans expected to pick up seats in both the House and Senate on Election Day, most advocates of carbon caps say they face a tougher playing field in 2011.
"From an objective standpoint, it looks like what might be the shift in party balances a little bit might make it harder," said Joe Mendelson, director of global warming policy at the National Wildlife Federation. read more »
Reid Says Renewable Electricity Mandate Lacks 60 Votes, thehill.com | July 26, 2010
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) Saturday said he does not have enough support now to move a renewable electricity production mandate promoting sources like solar and geothermal that are important businesses in his state.
“I don’t think I have 60 votes to get that done,” Reid said at the progressive Netroots Nation conference in Las Vegas.
Utility Companies `Just Exhausted' After Defeat on Cap-and-Trade Measure, bloomberg.com | July 26, 2010
Every month over the past two years, Chief Executive Officer Ralph Izzo of the utility Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. traveled to Washington from Newark, New Jersey, to meet with more than 50 senators and advocate for climate-change legislation. His efforts may have been in vain. read more »
