Foreign Policy Blogs

Energy & Environment

Important Miscellany

ICAP , An international coalition has "announced the formation of the International Carbon Action Partnership to fight global warming." Here's the press release from two days ago in Lisbon.  ICAP's founding membership includes, among others, New Jersey, California, New York, the European Commission, New Zealand, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.  They have come together […]

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More Quick Hitters

Coal Plants Blocked – In a somewhat extraordinary recent development, a proposal for two 700 MW coal-fired power plants to be built in Kansas was rejected by the Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Roderick Bremby said in his decision: “I believe it would be irresponsible to ignore emerging information about the […]

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Some Quick Hitters

Energy Conference , In an update from the excellent blog, Hill Heat ("Science Policy Legislation Action"), we learn that we are going to a conference after all on the Senate and House energy bills. See this from my worthy fellow bloggers.  I was not reading the tea leaves correctly when I reported in my previous […]

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Catching Up , October Edition

Mea culpa.  Let me just here say that I've been behind the eight ball and I will continue to try to get out and get some more posts up and running here.  Big News Item: Lawmakers propose bill on global warming from the AP, was the big story from last week.  Legislation introduced by Senators […]

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The Envelope, Please

The Envelope, Please

Great news for the planet:  The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Al Gore have won the Nobel Peace Prize for, in the words of the Nobel Committee, " their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to […]

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More Bits and Bobs (Autumn Edition)

Here's a smattering of recent articles that are not uninteresting. The estimable Fiona Harvey, on the environmental beat for the "FT," has a good overview and analysis of the meetings last week in Washington on climate change – Yo, Kyoto.  She has some of the same sort of barbed quotes I referenced in my last […]

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Irresistible Quotes on White House Meetings

This pungent article from yesterday's "NY Times," At Climate Meeting, Bush Does Not Specify Goals, has some quotes too good to miss.  (It also has an insightful "Back Story" from the reporter, John Broder.  It's a great four-minute interview.  Plus, there's a link at the article to excellent coverage on the presidential candidates' views on […]

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More Climate Change Talks

While the White House was hosting talks in Washington, Bill Clinton had world leaders and worthies of every stripe in New York talking about, among other things, climate change.  The indispensable "Financial Times" has considerable coverage here on the Energy & Climate Change discussions at the Clinton Global Initiative 2007.  The "FT" has ongoing coverage […]

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Coverage of UN Climate Change Summit

There were about 1,300 articles listed by Google on the UN climate talks in New York.  (See previous post under "UN Climate Summit.")  Here's the take from the "FT" today – UN chief upbeat after climate forum.  Ban Ki-moon said:  "Action is possible now and it makes economic sense. The cost of inaction will far […]

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Bits and Bobs , Autumn Edition

Yesterday was the first day of fall.  It's been gorgeous weather where we live, in NYC.  I haven't been out as much as I'd like because I've been hugely busy with a new teaching gig.  This is hard work it turns out.  For all you teachers out there:  Salute!  So, let me try to get […]

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Carbon Tax , Another Voice

Carbon Tax , Another Voice

As noted immediately below, a leading British Conservative Party voice on taxes has (eloquently) explicated their view on “green taxes” , here we’re calling them carbon taxes. I also pointed out John Dingell’s manifesto on this recently. See Big John. Now a leading Republican Party economist, N. Gregory Mankiw, has stated, and quite unequivocally, why […]

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"Oh, to be in England"

Well, over there you have three major political parties fighting and clawing with each other to prove who’s got the better energy and environmental plans.  Over here, you’ve got two parties who seem to compete with each other at times to see who can hold us back.  I quoted Bill McKibben in my inaugural post […]

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Energy Bill Conference Committee

In the immortal words of Daffy Duck:  "What a revolting development this is!"  In a depressing "NY Times" article from yesterday, Hopes Dim for Measures to Conserve Energy, we are told "The prospect of a comprehensive energy package's emerging from Congress this fall is rapidly receding, held up by technical hurdles and policy disputes between […]

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More on Biofuels

More on Biofuels

The influential Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) "brings together the governments of countries committed to democracy and the market economy from around the world to support sustainable economic growth, boost employment, raise living standards" and other worthy pursuits.  An "FT" headline from early this week proclaimed:  OECD warns against biofuels subsidies.  The OECD's […]

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APEC

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation or APEC is a grouping of countries that is "the premier forum for facilitating economic growth, cooperation, trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region."  APEC's 21 Member Economies are: Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; People's Republic of China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Republic of Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New […]

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