[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”HOUSE: COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN TO REFOCUS PRIORITIES, PROBE CLIMATE SCIENCE”] Among the new priorities of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee in the 112th Congress will be an investigation of climate science. Committee Chairman Ralph Hall (R-TX) opposes cap-and-trade policies and the Environmental Protection Agency’s plans to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Hall has repeatedly suggested…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”FOREIGN AFFAIRS: CANCUN SUMMIT ENDS WITH CLIMATE DEAL”] World leaders reached a consensus on a set of agreements Dec. 11 in Cancun for addressing climate change. Negotiators representing 193 countries agreed to a package that includes establishing a program to preserve tropical rainforests, sharing low-carbon energy technologies and preparing a $100 billion fund to help…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”HOUSE: GOP NAMES COMMITTEE CHAIRS”] House Republican leaders on Tuesday, Dec. 7 announced their roster of committee chairmen, all of whom have vowed to conduct vigorous oversight of the Obama Administration. Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX), a noted climate skeptic, was picked by House GOP leaders to chair the Science and Technology Committee. “Our Committee will…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”HOUSE: SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING PREVIEWS FUTURE OF CLIMATE POLICY”] The House Science and Technology Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, chaired by retiring Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA), held a hearing Nov. 17 entitled “A Rational Discussion of Climate Change: the Science, the Evidence, the Response,” the subcommittee’s last hearing on climate policy before Republicans take control of…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”HOUSE: REPUBLICAN MAJORITY PRESENTS DRASTIC CHANGES IN CLIMATE & ENERGY AGENDA”] The sizable Republican majority in the House means that any attempts to put a price on carbon are off the table. Exactly how the new majority will now approach its climate and energy agenda remains to be seen. Presumptive Speaker of the House John…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”CLIMATE: OBAMA PLANS PIECEMEAL APPROACH TOWARDS ENERGY POLICY”] President Obama plans to tackle a renewable electricity standard, fuel efficiency and green buildings as part of a “bite sized” strategy to work with Republicans to address climate and energy policy when the 112th session of Congress convenes early next year. The move is intended as more…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”OFFSHORE DRILLING: WHITE HOUSE LIFTS DEEPWATER BAN”] The Obama Administration announced Oct. 12 that it is lifting its moratorium on deepwater oil-and-gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. The Administration has been under intense pressure from several regional politicians and business leaders to lift the moratorium, who attribute the ban to the temporary loss of…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”RENEWABLE ENERGY: Senators INTRODUCE bipartisan bill”] Supporters of a renewable electricity standard (RES) measure are pushing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to take up language that would require utilities to source a certain percentage of their electricity from renewable sources. S. 3813, Renewable Electricity Promotion Act of 2010 has been introduced by Senate Energy and…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”SENATE: SENIOR Dems seek action on ENVIRONMENTAL MEASURES”] While the Senate seems unlikely to approve an energy bill during the few weeks it reconvenes before the November elections, it may consider measures on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency climate rules, power plant pollution curbs and energy tax incentives. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) acknowledged it’s…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”HOUSE: NOAA CLARIFIES SPILL ESTIMATES DURING COMMITTEE HEARING”] Roughly three-quarters of the oil that spilled into the Gulf of Mexico from BP’s ruptured well is still in the environment, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) official reported during an August recess convening of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Environment on…
Last week at the Ecological Society of America’s (ESA) 95th Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh, scientists presented research on the foraging behavior of bushbabies, the effects of RoundUp herbicide on amphibians, the benefits of microbial communities inside the human body and the global issues surrounding invasive species, pollution, global warming, elevated nitrogen and hypoxia, among others. Here is just some of the research from ESA’s annual meeting.
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”SENATE: REID TAKES CAP-AND-TRADE, OFF THE TABLE FOR NOW, DELAYS VOTE ON SMALLER ENERGY BILL UNTIL SEPTEMBER”] In the weeks leading up to the August recess, all eyes were on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), who has been weighing options for moving forward with climate, energy, and offshore drilling legislation. The House has completed…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”CLIMATE DEBATE: SENATE POISED FOR ENERGY DEBATE THIS MONTH; FATE OF CARBON CAP UNCERTAIN”] Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) plans to hold a floor debate on climate and/or energy legislation before the August recess, though it remains to be seen what kind of bill the chamber will take up. Reid has been clear that…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”GULF CRISIS: LEGISLATIVE RESPONSES TO OIL DISASTER UNDERWAY”] Following a long series of hearings on the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, legislators are beginning to craft and review measures with which to take action. The need for stronger drilling regulations and increased federal oversight is broadly accepted by both parties, though it remains to be…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”GULF SPILL: EVERGLADES AS POTENTIAL MODEL FOR MASSIVE GULF RESTORATION”] The scope and structure of the “Gulf Coast Restoration Plan” that President Obama proposed in his Oval Office address Tuesday night are still unknown, but senior administration officials say it will go far beyond mopping up crude on beaches and marshes. The plan, they say,…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”SENATE CLIMATE DEBATE: CRITICAL WEEKS AHEAD—OBAMA PREPARES TO PUSH FOR CLIMATE BILL AS REID MULLS FLOOR DEBATE”] Once Congress returns from Memorial Day recess next week, the Senate will tackle a number of climate-related issues, making clearer the prospects of a climate and energy bill this session. Several key events are on the calendar: Senate…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”SENATE CLIMATE DEBATE: AN OVERVIEW OF THE KERRY-LIEBERMAN DRAFT”] On May 12, Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) unveiled their much-awaited draft climate bill. As expected, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) who had until recently been part of the effort to arrive at a bipartisan climate and energy package, did not attend the unveiling…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”SENATE CLIMATE DEBATE: CLIMATE SIDELINED AS DEMOCRATIC LEADERS PUSH IMMIGRATION”] With Washington gearing up to take on immigration reform, prospects for a climate and energy bill this year are increasingly bleak. Democratic leaders maintain that they’ll get to both issues this year, but other lawmakers and observers are largely skeptical. The unexpected turn to immigration…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”SENATE CLIMATE DEBATE: UNCERTAINTY REMAINS HIGH AS KERRY, LIEBERMAN, AND GRAHAM PREPARE TO RELEASE CLIMATE BILL”] Senators John Kerry (D-MA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) are set to unveil their much-anticipated climate and energy bill on Monday, April 23. The trio will not formally introduce it, since doing so would trigger the committee…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”OFFSHORE DRILLING: CONGRESS DEMURS AS OBAMA ADMIN PROPOSES OPENING NEW AREAS FOR LEASING; ENVIRO REVIEWS, CONSTRUCTION WILL KEEP DRILLING AT BAY FOR YEARS”] On March 31, President Obama and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced plans to open new areas—primarily along the Atlantic Coast and in the eastern Gulf of Mexico—for offshore drilling, while placing additional…