Green Politics

Coal emissions is about more than just carbon dioxide. Other nasty stuff comes out of those smokestacks too.

President Obama continues to spend a lot of time with Republicans.

Following up on his discussion with House Republicans over the weekend, he invited a few coal state governors to the White House today, and one big topic of conversation was clean coal.

Brazil is prepared to build a huge dam in the Amazon Rainforest.

Environment Minister Carlos Minc announced on Monday that his department had granted a license allowing for the construction of an 11,000 megawatt hydroelectric dam on the Xingu river in Belo Monte, in the northern province of Pará.

The US Department of Defense released the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) today, outlining its strategy and priorities for 2010 and beyond.

For the first time in its history, the report identified climate change as a threat to national security:

Today the President submitted his proposed budget for the 2011 fiscal year (which starts on October 1) to Congress. He reaffirmed his commitment to addressing global warming by proposing steps to help the U.S. transition away from the dirty fossil fuels that cause global warming and other considerable air and water contamination.

Copenhagen, Denmark - Climate "witnesses" from Bangladesh, Peru, the South Pacific, and Uganda testified at the world's first climate change hearing on Wednesday.

An agreement has been reached among the Danish Presidency of the UN climate conference and delegates as to how further negotiations will proceed. According to the official conference website, talks will focus on two tracks: the Kyoto Protocol and the Climate Change Convention.

Today the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works passed the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (S. 1733) by an 11-1 vote, a preliminary step to sending the climate bill to the Senate floor for approval. The legislation is sponsored by Senators John Kerry, Barbara Boxer and Paul Grattan Kirk, Jr.

This has been a busy week for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Hearings on the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (S. 1733) began on Tuesday and by the end of the day today, EPW will have heard from over 50 witnesses on 10 panels. I will be testifying later this afternoon on S. 1733 and the potential for a clean energy future. Here are a few highlights.

Health and environmental concerns have arisen regarding a Los Angeles truck expressway proposed by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). Local residents and environmental activists filed a lawsuit in late September in Los Angeles Superior Court challenging the plan to construct a new four-lane roadway over the Cerritos Channel, the Los Angeles Times reported.