I wrote about how a number of participants in Cancún felt that some sense of faith had been restored in the UN process. The reviews are still coming in, but it appears that progress was indeed made, that some highly useful, indeed critical mechanisms have been advanced, and that ongoing negotiations are going to take […]
The Senate has recently passed a new bill, the Food Safety and Modernization Act, which gives the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) much greater power to protect the nation’s food supply. The bill was drafted because of the spate of problems the food industry has had in keeping its food clean in recent years; including […]
UN Climate Change Conference in Cancún delivers balanced package of decisions, restores faith in multilateral process is the official word. The UNFCCC delegates, without all the hoopla of Copenhagen, appear to have materially advanced the cause of saving the planet – and all its people, now and for the future – from the depredations of […]
I’m very happy that I’ve got a two-part article, starting today, in DeSmogBlog, the prestigious environmental blog, voted Canada’s “Best Group Blog.” I’m looking once again at the Canadian tar sands, from the point of view of energy security this time. It turns out that American security is diminished by the use of tar sands […]
Like a lot of progressives, I’m not over the moon about the “deal” that’s been struck in Washington on taxes. There are, however, some justifications for President Obama letting a lot of things fall out of what should have been a whole new approach to how we, the American taxpayers, are asked to invest in […]
Christina Figueres and Ban Ki-moon (Reuters) COP 16 winds up at the end of this week. It is not the blockbuster that Copenhagen was last year – and that’s no surprise. All the foofaraw from last year has been replaced by a bit more focus and many fewer expectations. There are far fewer people as […]
It’s a great little world we live in …. Well, for Ella Fitzgerald and the Gershwins love was the key. Can’t argue with that. Second best? Clean tech. Here are a smattering of recent articles that show that things are indeed looking up: Special Report: Turning Over New Leaf: Get Ready For EV Era – […]
Dr. Nick Cullather writes on the history of development and nation- building. His most recent book, The Hungry World: America’s Cold War Battle against Poverty in Asia, was just published by Harvard University Press. He is the author of two other books, Secret History, a study of the CIA’s overthrow of Guatemala’s government, and Illusions […]
I went to a debate on nuclear energy on Monday evening sponsored by the Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia. The Center is headed by Mike Gerrard, a force of nature in environmental law for over thirty years. “Should nuclear power be an important component of U.S. strategy to combat climate change?” The pros, […]
The estimable Bill McKibben and the hard-charging activists at 350.org have organized 350 Earth – “the world’s first art exhibit large enough to be seen from space.” There are photographs, videos and text here to suit any palate. As the late, great Phil Ochs said: …you must protest you must protest it is your diamond […]
There was an excellent op-ed this weekend in the NY Times that reminds us that we’re in a race. As the climate system continues to show unmistakable signs of a warming world – signs that are accelerating – we need to bring greater focus to how to get ahead of the curve and do what […]
“Fact: The only sustainable path to growth is a low-carbon path.” Felipe Calderón, President of Mexico The last newsletter of the year from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has useful information on a number of subjects including adaptation, finance and technology. Here is President Calderón in a clear, succinct message before the […]
In time for Thanksgiving in the United States, The New York Times featured an article about the emergence of the sweet potato from an American holiday vegetable to one of the fastest growing vegetables in American diets, both at home and in restaurants. “Food and farming experts attribute the sweet potato’s escape from the limited […]
Further to my post from yesterday in which I noted that researchers were recording ever-increasing carbon dioxide emissions from China and, to a lesser extent, India, there have been some articles recently on the rapid rise in China’s coal consumption. The graphics here are from Elisabeth Rosenthal’s article yesterday in the NY Times about how […]
Or, as my grandmother used to say: “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.” So, with that in mind, here are two stories representing the bad and the good. First, the bad news: 2009 carbon emissions fall smaller than expected is the headline from the BBC. In a letter to “Nature Geoscience,” leading researchers […]