How an unlikely mix of environmentalists and free-market conservatives hammered out the strategy known as cap-and-trade.  By Richard Conniff, Smithsonian magazine, August 2009. For a strange alliance of free-market Republicans and renegade environmentalists, cap and trade, or what was once called emissions trading, represented a novel approach to cleaning up the world—by working with human
[continue reading...]

Nearly 40 years ago, Congress passed a truly remarkable piece of legislation—the Clean Water Act. This document outlined sweeping commitments to restore and maintain the integrity of our nation’s waters, rid them of pollution, and make them safe for humans and wildlife alike. Recent posts include: Welcome to Coming Together for Clean Water Topic 1:
[continue reading...]

UNITED NATIONS — At a tumultuous time in U.N.-led climate negotiations, one of the world's most credible scientific groups agreed Wednesday to plug the recent cracks in the authoritative reports of the United Nations’ Nobel Prize-winning global warming panel. “We enter this process with no preconceived conclusions,” said Robbert Dijkgraaf, a Dutch mathematical physicist who
[continue reading...]

March 16 (Bloomberg) — Former President Bill Clinton told lawmakers the U.S. may fall behind China in the race to dominate the global market for clean energy unless Congress passes climate-change legislation, two senators said. via Clinton Warns U.S. May Trail China in Energy Race, Senators Say – BusinessWeek.

SPRINGFIELD – U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry toured a new, environmentally friendly Peter Pan Bus Monday while touting comprehensive climate change legislation he's pushing in the U.S. Senate. Kerry, D-Mass. also praised the $787 billion federal stimulus program for breaking the back of the recession and called for the federal health-care reform to pass with
[continue reading...]

WASHINGTON — Sen. John Kerry says he is pushing environmental reforms to create jobs and spark energy independence, with climate benefits along “for the ride.” via The Associated Press: AP Interview: Kerry: Energy bill more about jobs.

The 2010 edition of the National Bike Summit and the League of American Bicyclists annual meeting kicked off this morning in Washington DC. Much of the news has focused on Google enabling bicycle directions on Google Maps, but the main purpose of the Bike Summit is to organize, lobby politicians, and make LAB policy decisions.
[continue reading...]

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking public comment on the annual Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2008 draft report. This report will be open for public comment for 30 days after the Federal Register notice is published.

When you drink a glass of organic milk, how do you think it was made? You may picture cows grazing in pasture. You may think the cows never had antibiotics. You may expect a guarantee that they haven't eaten genetically modified feed. These are some of the perceptions that prompt shoppers to buy organic products,
[continue reading...]

The bitterly contested fight in Washington over global warming and pollution is also taking hold at the state level. The Environmental Protection Agency, which is threatening to regulate carbon emissions if Congress won’t, is facing legal heat from states that say new regulations will kill jobs at the worst possible time. Texas, Alabama and Virginia,
[continue reading...]

Groups like Conservation International are among the most trusted “brands” in America, pledged to protect and defend nature. Yet as we confront the biggest ecological crisis in human history, many of the green organizations meant to be leading the fight are busy shoveling up hard cash from the world’s worst polluters–and burying science-based environmentalism in
[continue reading...]

WASHINGTON — Delaware has made strides in improving its air quality, but a “national solution” is necessary to curb emissions from out-of-state power plants, the state’s top environmental official told lawmakers Thursday. The lawmakers decided to address other pollutants while climate change legislation is being debated. U.S. Sens. Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, and Lindsey
[continue reading...]

The Rotary effort called Children’s Safe Water Alliance, has provided 20,000 bio-sand filters in the Dominican Republic, reaching an estimated 100,000 people, said Hildreth. Other areas have benefited, as well, including Africa, India, and Central and Latin America. “Through bio-sand filters, we have the power to change the health of a nation,” said longtime Guilford
[continue reading...]

March 4 (Bloomberg) — U.S. power companies may be willing to go first with new rules to curb greenhouse-gas pollution as long as they don’t have to go alone, NRG Energy Inc. Chief Executive Officer David Crane said. via Utilities May Go First With Carbon Rules, NRG’s Crane Says – BusinessWeek. March 4 (Bloomberg) —
[continue reading...]

March 3 (Bloomberg) — The disclosure of research “missteps” hasn’t shaken the consensus that manmade emissions from burning fossil fuels are contributing to climate change, President Barack Obama’s top science adviser said. The release of scientists’ e-mails and errors in a report by a United Nations climate panel show researchers are human, John Holdren said
[continue reading...]

This Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, you have a chance to add your voice to the hundreds of thousands of people who will be urging their senators to pass the bill as part of a 72-hour call-in campaign — a national grassroots effort by more than 30 groups. The campaign is organized by environmental organizations, labor
[continue reading...]

March 3 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama’s top environmental regulator will testify before Congress today amid growing opposition to her agency’s proposed limits on the pollution linked to climate change. Lisa Jackson, head of the Environmental Protection Agency, will face lawmakers a day after Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia called for a two-year
[continue reading...]

New Haven is among the least healthy counties in the state, according to  County Health Rankings, which show us that where we live matters to our health. The health of a community depends on many different factors – ranging from individual health behaviors, education and jobs, to quality of health care, to the environment, according
[continue reading...]

NASA just released a report showing that the key culprit causing global warming today is on-road transportation. While coal plants and agriculture are big emitters too, some of their heating emissions are offset by cooling emissions such as sulfates. This research shows that alternatives to carbon dioxide-emitting automobiles need to be a priority for us
[continue reading...]

A group of senators is “moving very rapidly” to craft climate-change legislation this year, Senator John Kerry said. The Massachusetts Democrat said he met to discuss legislation with Senators Joseph Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, and Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, as well as Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Carol Browner, Obama’s adviser on energy
[continue reading...]