I guess these lives should just be considered collateral damage in Donald Trump’s battle to defend coal: The Trump administration has hailed its overhaul of federal pollution restrictions on coal-burning power plants as creating new jobs, eliminating burdensome government regulations and ending what President Trump has long described as a “war on coal.” The administration’s […]
carbon fee
Posted inPolitical Animal
Big Oil’s Big Nightmare
Fossil fuel companies are scared to death that carbon pricing efforts could be implemented in places like Washington state.
Posted inPolitical Animal
Trump Uncorks, Says Bob’s A Dork
I guess Donald Trump had to find something else to complain about because Alec Baldwin wasn’t in the SNL cold open last night: Sen. Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, on Sunday called the White House “an adult day care center” after President Trump attacked him in a morning Twitter tirade. […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Hurricane Harvey: The Climate 9/11
We will never forget. August 25, 2017–the day Hurricane Harvey hit Texas–will be remembered as a day of infamy and injustice. The horror America experienced that day–and in the days afterward–will be remembered for generations to come. The anger Americans justifiably feel towards those who ignored the advanced warnings of this crisis will never subside. […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
After Hurricane Harvey, Republicans Have No Excuses for Inaction on Climate
How high’s the water, mama? Five feet high and rising How high’s the water, papa? She said it’s five feet high and rising Well the rails are washed out north of town We gotta head for higher ground We can’t come back till the water goes down Five feet high and rising… –Johnny Cash, “Five […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
The Men Who Knew Too Much: Exxon’s Climate Cruelty
What they did was nothing short of sick, nothing short of twisted, nothing short of unforgivable. No wonder one of their executives couldn’t wait to serve the Trump agenda. As David Roberts observes, ExxonMobil’s behavior has been every bit as reckless, selfish and vile as the behavior of the 45th President: The world’s largest oil […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Extreme Makeover: Senate Edition
Last week, I noted that the old-school GOP operatives urging the Republican Party to support a federal carbon tax as a “market-based” way to address climate change might be better off supporting state-level efforts to put a price on carbon. After all, despite some evidence of bipartisanship on climate on Capitol Hill, House Speaker Paul […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Running on Empty
Voters in New York’s 19th Congressional district will face two moral tests when they take a ballot on November 8. The first moral test will involve a choice between Donald “Grab ‘Em in the [Expletive] Trump” and Hillary Clinton. The second moral test will involve a choice between a Republican who has tied himself to […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
In the Court of Public Opinion
Sometimes you can just tell when an effort is doomed. Such is the case with a peculiar proceeding in Oregon this past week, where an effort to get the federal courts to do with the Obama administration allegedly will not is guaranteed to down in flames–the height of irony, as the court case in question […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Crimes and Misdemeanors: Part III
Back in April, I suggested that Rep. Lamar Smith’s (R-TX) harassment of climate scientists should become a focus of discussion in the 2016 presidential election. Smith’s abuse of his position as head of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, and his attempts to destroy the lives of those who have tried to raise […]
