Published on September 10th, 2008
Last week I wrote about the US Senate race in Colorado featuring Democratic congressman Mark Udall - now is the time to feature his cousin, fellow congressman and fellow senatorial candidate, Tom Udall of New Mexico. Udall received some great news in the past week when the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee canceled all their ad buys in New Mexico. Given their prior commitment to refuse spending money in races they couldn’t win, they seem to have taken all steps in conceding the race, short of actually pulling their candidate. In this now-uncontested race, Udall faces current GOP Congressman from New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional district, Steve Pearce. As with all of the senatorial and congressional races that I’ll be highlighting this fall, the Senate race in New Mexico has significant implications for environmental policy. Now that the GOP has all but bailed on Pearce, we can even be a bit more certain about what those implications will be.
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Published on September 9th, 2008
This is a guest post by Meg Hamill who works at an environmental non-profit called LandPaths in partnership with the Open Space District of Sonoma County California.
Australia, the world’s 16th biggest polluter when it comes to carbon emissions, with five times more carbon pollution per capita than China, has come under criticism for setting carbon targets that are too low. Australian climate adviser Ross Garnaut was appointed in 2007 by prime minister Kevin Rudd to examine the impacts of climate change on the Australian economy.
Currently Australia is working on their Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme under a ‘cap-and-trade’ model. Last Friday Garnaut urged the Government to cut greenhouse gases by 10% on 2000 levels by 2020. He set a price of $20.00 Australian ($16.25 USD) per ton in the first years of Australian carbon trading. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on September 7th, 2008
In his weekly radio address on Saturday, President Bush said Congress was ignoring the American public’s wishes by not expanding offshore drilling on the outer continental shelf.
“If members of Congress do not support the American people at the gas pump, then they should not expect the American people to support them at the ballot box,” Bush warned.
President Bush said before members of Congress begin their heavy campaigning, they shouldn’t leave Washington without addressing high gas prices. “At the very least,” the President suggested, “Congress should take action on three common sense energy solutions that enjoy bipartisan support.” Those are: Read the rest of this entry »
Published on June 11th, 2008
My first reaction to the failure of the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act was disappointment. The Senate was unable to defeat a filibuster led by Minority Leader McConnell and Senators Allard (CO), Inhofe (OK), and Cornyn (TX) and fell 12 votes shy of cloture. The bill also did not have enough support to override Bush’s promised veto. Once again the US government failed to act on climate change; however, the news is not all bad. Lieberman-Warner was weak legislation, and it did not follow scientific recommendations to limit carbon emissions.
Lieberman-Warner was not opposed by a majority of environmental groups, and it was recognized as an important step. Dave Hamilton, director of global warming and energy programs for the Sierra Club, explained the flaws in the legislation, “We’d like to see the targets and timetables stronger,” although the Sierra Club supported Lieberman-Warner. Hamilton was not alone in concern over the bill. 1Sky, an organization that did oppose the bill, felt we should not back it because it only offers a band-aid solution. Betsy Taylor, President of the 1Sky campaign’s Board of Directors stated:
This bill failed on two fundamental measures and that is why 1Sky and many others did not support it. It would not have reduced carbon emissions as deeply or as quickly as the world scientific community says is necessary to address global warming. And, it would have given more money to the bloated fossil fuel industry, and left ordinary Americans paying too much for rising energy bills. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on June 7th, 2008
Finally, the wait is over. Congratulations to Barack Obama!
Go get ‘em!!!
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Published on June 6th, 2008
As gas prices hit record high amounts and continue to rise, US citizens are finally turning to public transportation for daily commutes and vacations. Multiple sources are reporting a surge in the use of public transportation. As scores of people jump on the “bus” public transit officials nationwide are continuously determining how to accommodate their new riders.
The American Public Transportation Authority reports 35% more travelers will use public transportation this summer. They provide this list of the country’s top ten summer city destinations and their expected use of public transportation:
New York City (53 percent - up 5 percent)
Washington, DC (47 percent - up 1 percent)
Boston (48 percent - up 5 percent)
San Francisco (40 percent – remained constant)
Philadelphia (38 percent - up 4 percent)
Chicago (35 percent - up 4 percent)
Seattle (32 percent – up 2 percent)
Las Vegas (30 percent – up 4 percent)
Los Angeles (31 percent – up 5 percent)
Atlanta (25 percent – up 3 percent)
Needless to say in a country where each household owns an average of 2.28 vehicles, this surge in use of public transportation is coming with growing pains. The increase in gas prices is effecting public transportation providers, which will be reflected in the expected increase in fares. Many companies are finding it necessary to increase their fleets and routes. The cost of expanding their operations coupled with the high fuel prices are a concern. Some companies that provide public transportation are making cut backs while others are pressing forward. Overall, it seems those involved in the public transit industry are looking at this increased need for their services as positive.
One of the benefits of living in a free capitalist society is the ability to choose where we spend our money. As Americans we know, money talks! Bus, train, subway or bike….as a society we are joining together and saying no to the rising cost of fuel. There is excitement in the air (and less CO2) as we join together this summer either by choice or forced compliance. I welcome the change!
Other related posts: Public Transit is for Lovers; Why I Sold My Car, or How I Learned to Stop Driving and Love the Bus
Photo Credit: http2007 via Flickr, Creative Commons License
Last week I wrote about the US Senate race in Colorado featuring Democratic congressman Mark Udall - now is the time to feature his cousin, fellow congressman and fellow senatorial candidate, Tom Udall of New Mexico. Udall received some great news in the past week when the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee canceled all their ad buys in New Mexico. Given their prior commitment to refuse spending money in races they couldn’t win, they seem to have taken all steps in conceding the race, short of actually pulling their candidate. In this now-uncontested race, Udall faces current GOP Congressman from New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional district, Steve Pearce. As with all of the senatorial and congressional races that I’ll be highlighting this fall, the Senate race in New Mexico has significant implications for environmental policy. Now that the GOP has all but bailed on Pearce, we can even be a bit more certain about what those implications will be.
