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Coal-Industry Investors Bullish on Waxman-Markey?

May 26th, 2009 · Comments Off on Coal-Industry Investors Bullish on Waxman-Markey?

Let’s be clear: coal is a killer. Despite the fantasies that coal industry advocates and astroturf organizations like to sell about “clean coal“, coal is a killer in the near term (asthma, black lung, etc), mid-term (mercury), and long term (climate change). While coal has had a powerful role in powering the globe from poverty […]

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Tags: coal

A Coal Subsidy Act?

May 21st, 2009 · 6 Comments

The House Energy and Commerce Committee looks poised to vote on the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act later today. As this bill has developed, from an already compromised draft bill through massive compromising to reach a bill submission to committee markups, it has reached the point as to whether it is more […]

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Tags: Energy · politics

Scratching the Head: Wondering about ACES provisions …

May 19th, 2009 · Comments Off on Scratching the Head: Wondering about ACES provisions …

The American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) act is going through Congressional mark-up right now. The 932 page draft is filled with good elements, weak items, and bad — plus plenty of confusion and difficulty for understanding. One of the main “winners” in this bill is the whole Clean Coal movement, with literally billions of […]

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Tags: Energy

Pulling out the Stubby Pencil … and an ACES provision: UPDATED

May 19th, 2009 · 3 Comments

A 932 page bill … with manager’s amendments on top of it … with active committee debate … any single individual with an ability to actually understand the intricacies of the American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act has achieved near-super-human capacities. Reading through the bill, time after time, I pause to scratch my head, […]

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Tags: analysis

Time for the Bully Pupit

May 16th, 2009 · 1 Comment

Mr. President: The time has come. You have spoken, eloquently and frequently and powerfully, about clean energy, energy efficiency, about climate change. You have stated the necessity and opportunity before us, as individuals and nation and global community, with addressing Climate Change. In the House of Representatives, two Committee chairs, Representatives Henry Waxman and Ed […]

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Tags: Congress · Energy · Global Warming · government energy policy · politics · waxman-markey

Poisoning Pills

May 15th, 2009 · Comments Off on Poisoning Pills

The Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy & Security (ACES) Act has moved from draft to a 900+ page submitted bill. To be clear, the ACES is far from a perfect bill, having been weakened from what was originally introduced. Sadly, the Committee Republicans evidently are not interested in a serious “No Regrets” strategy, with introduction of […]

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Tags: politics · republican party

Isolationist Republicans Don’t Believe in American Leadership

May 7th, 2009 · 1 Comment

The Minority Staff of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce has distributed a “dear colleague” letter from anti-science syndrome suffering Joe Barton arguing, based on this MasterResource analysis, that the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act would only reduced Global Warming by .09 degree Fahrenheit by 2050. Let us assume, graciously, that […]

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Tags: analysis · climate change · republican party · truthiness

Core Principles in Face of Warming World

April 1st, 2009 · Comments Off on Core Principles in Face of Warming World

Energy and Global Warming are complex, multifaceted, deep subjects. They are beyond the ability of any single person to totally master. And, a great challenge to those focused on them is seeking how to communicate, in a meaningful way, to those who don’t have the ability to dedicate huge chunks of time to learning about […]

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Tags: cap and trade · climate change · climate legislation · ed markey · Energy · environmental · environmental justice · Global Warming · government energy policy