Mean Joe Green #34: An Environmental President: Trick or Treat?
We’ll see…
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Low Impact Living: Who’s the Greenest? Obama vs. McCain
My Bottom Line is Green: McCain v. Obama on Renewable Energy
Archive for the ‘Legislation’ Category
Europe Adds Flights To Its Emission Trading System
Published on October 26th, 2008
By 2012, All Flights Arriving At Or Departing From An EU Airport Must Participate In The Emission Trading System.
On Friday, the European Council adopted a directive that demands aviation activities must be included in the EU’s Emission Trading System (ETS). The ETS started operations back in 2005 in an effort to curb Global Warming, and is the largest multi-country Greenhouse Gas emission trading system world-wide.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) strongly objected to the decision - duh! The IATA accounts for over 200 airlines and 93-percent of scheduled international air traffic. Read the rest of this entry »
EPA Clouds Its Enforcement Record Under Bush Administration
The report was requested by Reps. John Dingell (D-MI), the Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Bart Stupak (D-MI), Chairman of its Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation.
In a statement released by Dingell’s office, the GAO report was said to have found “shortcomings in the measures used by the Environmental Protection Agency to report the effectiveness of its civil and criminal enforcement programs to Congress and the public.”
The report says the EPA overstated it enforcement of environmental violations by including fines that may never be paid when tallying its penalties.
Coal Is Not the Answer: Sierra Club Launches Coal-Debunking Campaign
Published on October 23rd, 2008
Pushes back against coal industry PR blitz
You would have to live under a rock to have missed the massive media campaign coal industry groups have been waging over the last year or two. The language and symbols of clean coal now fill the airways on radio and TV; they appear on billboards, in talking points and even on websites like this one. The coal lobby has spent hundreds of millions of dollars this year alone trying to convince politicians and the people who elect them that coal is now or will soon be “clean.”
Big coal’s presence throughout this long election season as a major sponsor of the presidential debates from November 2007 to October 2008 stands in striking opposition to the absence of any substantive political discussions about climate change in the debates themselves.
But not everyone is buying it. As Kevin Grandia at DeSmogBlog points out, the Sierra Club just launched a PR push of their own, arguing that coal is not the answer. Here’s a little slice of the 116 year-old organization’s new debunking strategy. Read the rest of this entry »
California Will Vote on Misleading Renewable Energy Initiatives
California Propositions 7 and 10 mislead voters with words like “renewable energy” and “alternative fuel”.
I like to think of myself as an informed voter. I always read the California General Election Official Voter Information Guide, but I am a sucker for anything with “renewable energy” or “alternative fuel” in the title (or childrens’ hospitals and farm animals). When I first read about Propositions 7 and 10, I thought they sounded like good ballot initiatives. Who wouldn’t want all utilities to be required to provide 50% renewable energy by 2025? It was only after I discovered leading environmental groups opposed these propositions that I began to question these statutes. Read the rest of this entry »
Palin Protests Federal Listing of Beluga Whales as Endangered
Published on October 18th, 2008
Again questions science behind an endangered species listing
The beluga whales of Alaska’s Cook Inlet are endangered and require additional protection to survive, officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Friday. The ruling contradicts Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s administration who has questioned the science showing a decline in the distinctive white species.
It was the second wildlife-themed rebuke Gov. Palin received from Washington this year. The governor had previously asked federal courts to overturn an Interior Department decision declaring polar bears threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
Obama Vs. McCain: Who Will Better Serve the U.S. Economy?
The word was that both candidates had prepared meticulously for the final presidential debate.
- Obama had a three point strategy:
- 1. To continue exactly as he has been without making any mistakes now.
2. To close the stature gap; to prove wrong those who still believe that Obama does not have the experience or judgment that McCain has.
3. To show America how he would address the issue of economy
McCain’s debate strategy:
1. To attack Obama’s association with William Ayers without being offensive to the extent where he would turn people off
2. To show America how he would address the issue of economy
After another tumultuous day in the market with the worst one-day percentage declines since the crash of 1987, addressing the state of the U.S. Economy was supposed to be foremost for both candidates in an effort to win the votes of undecided and independent voters. Advisers for each candidate said that he would use the final debate to lay out his vision for the country and promote his economic policies while drawing differences with his opponent. Read the rest of this entry »
Prince Charles Attacks Emphasis on Wind and Solar Power in Green Building Industry
Published on October 14th, 2008
The Prince of Wales criticized the green building industry for relying on eco-gadgets like wind turbines and solar panels while ignoring inefficient buildings.
The heir apparent to the British Crown, His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales has called on developers to use traditional methods and materials alongside the best in “eco-technology” to solve the problem of creating environmentally friendly properties instead of opting for “slick, highly marketed techno-fixes.” Read the rest of this entry »
U.S. - India Nuclear Deal Passes as America Focuses on Bailout Plan
Published on October 11th, 2008
National and international news sources are reporting about a nuclear deal between the US and India. The US Congress and Senate have both approved a nuclear deal between the US and India. The LA Times reports the debate ensued for three years. The deal passed the Senate on September 28th, Congress October 1st and ends a 30-year ban on sales to India of nuclear technology and fuel. The ban was the result of India developing and testing a nuclear device in 1974. The deal was signed yesterday, October 10th, and does not require India to sign the Non-proliferation treaty. Read the rest of this entry »
Will EU Member States Use Economic Crisis to Weasel out of Climate Targets?
Leaders of some EU countries may use the global financial crisis as an excuse to back out of climate change commitments, according to sources close to the ongoing energy negotiations The Guardian reports that the EU council, which meets next week, will propose dropping the previous commitment to an automatic increase in emissions cuts if the world gets a major climate change agreement next year in Copenhagen - which is a big “if.”
The current EU target of a 20% reduction in emissions by 2020 is set to automatically increase to 30% if a global deal is signed. But apparently, EU is seeking a completely new legislative process if the EU target is to go over 20%. Read the rest of this entry »
