Author: Meteor Blades

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Inflation Reduction Act: Once again, GOP unanimously opposes bill that would have huge benefits for red states

I am not the biggest fan of irony in politics. But the unanimous opposition of Republicans in the Senate (and soon probably in the House) to the climate- and health-related provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act is another good example of how the GOP harms its own rank-and-file supporters. Indeed, as we have seen time and time again, with few exceptions, congressional Republicans […]

August 12th

50 GOP Senators voted to block cap on insulin price. We need ads up against them NOW.

Below are the 13 Republican senators up for reelection this year who voted in favor of letting companies continue to price-gouge Americans with outrageous insulin prices. The Senate parliamentarian ruled the Democrats’ proposed cap on insulin prices could not be passed via reconciliation. So Democrats (who voted unanimously for the cap) needed 10 Republican senators to join them to reach the 60-vote […]

August 8th

Federal Green Bank: An important part of the Inflation Reduction Act that nobody knows about

Back at the beginning of the Obama administration in 2009, Democratic Congressmen Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Ed Markey of Massachusetts proposed a national green bank to spur investments in climate-friendly energy as part of the American Clean Energy and Security Act. The House of Representatives passed the bill by a narrow margin, with eight Republicans in favor […]

August 1st

Climate lifeline: We’ve got to STOP Amazon deforestation (which has spiked under Bolsonaro)

Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest hit a horrific 27,800 square kilometers in 2003. But from there it fell to 4,600 square kilometers by 2012, with ups and downs over the next six years, but never again rising above 7,900 squre kilometers. Then in 2019—not coincidentally, the year the reactionary nationalist Jair Bolsonaro took over as Brazil’s president—the denuding of the Amazon […]

July 31st

Could the Senate pass the climate bill WITHOUT Manchin’s fossil fuel subsidies and poison pills?

In a letter Friday, more than 360 environmental and community organizations asked President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to “Hold the line against fossil fuel expansion” and oppose what one signatory—the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD)—labeled fossil fuel “poison pills” tucked into the final pages of the 725-page Inflation Reduction Act hammered out behind the scenes by Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin. […]

July 30th

Earth Matters climate news roundup: Climate activists pivot to local action, frustrated by Washington gridlock

Reporters at Bloomberg Green found that ticked-off climate hawks in various organizations are switching gears in the wake of Joe Manchin’s deep-sixing the Biden administration’s attempt to salvage some climate elements from the Build Back Better proposal that the fossil-fueled West Virginia senator had previously wrecked: By Meteor Blades Many climate groups that had been focused on Washington […]

July 25th

Don’t blame Manchin: The one man responsible for American collapse is Charles Koch

A week after the Supreme Six handed down their wedge-in-the-door decision in West Virginia v. EPA, analysts’ perspectives on the ruling range from “it’s a catastrophe” to “not such a big deal.” The court didn’t go so far as to reverse the 2007 Massachusetts v. EPA ruling affirming that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has authority and an obligation under the Clean […]

July 21st

Climate Emergency: President Biden could issue declaration this week in response to Manchin’s obstruction

Tony Romm and Jeff Stein reported at The Washington Post late Monday night that in the wake of Sen. Joe Manchin’s rug-pulling of President Joe Biden, the president and top White House aides are pondering the possibility of declaring a national climate emergency as early as this week. That’s according to three anonymous sources familiar with the deliberations. In addition […]

July 19th

Why, NY Times? Bret Stephens responds to SCOTUS ruling in WV v EPA with climate science denial

What a big surprise that The New York Times‘ resident climate science denier Bret Stephens thinks the Supreme Court’s ruling in WV v EPA to end the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ability to broadly impose reductions in power plant emissions was the best decision of the court this session. By Meteor Blades Gail Collins: Happy Independence Day, Bret! Want to […]

July 12th