Our National Policy Brownout

We are in the political season, and that means public policy debates are front and center in the media, in Washington, and on the campaign trail. While we are used to partisan disagreement on debates around climate change and energy policy, and for that matter most issues, I must say it is a bit disappointing to see the Presidential candidates politicize these issues as has happened in recent weeks. I’m speaking about the recent calls by Senators McCain and Clinton for a national gas tax “holiday” this summer. This proposal speaks directly to what is wrong with our approach to national energy policy, and our government’s response to climate change. 

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Part III: The Elephant in the Room…China

First off, here is a good blog entry on the “Bush 2025” goals announcement from my friends over at Environmental Leader -- the headline is so outlandish that it almost seems like it is from The Onion.

In my opinion, the elephant in the room in the global climate change debate is China. While both China and the United States each produces more than one-fifth of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, China’s emissions are soaring: China’s annual increase in emissions is greater than Germany’s total annual emissions.

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Part II: What Does Real Leadership Look Like?

Picking up where we left off Tuesday…

So the problem here as I see it is both that we face a crisis of leadership, and that most people are too busy in their daily lives to raise much fuss about it. In my post a few weeks ago I spoke about how the next generation of environmental leaders is being developed and mentored…and this “2025 Goals” announcement by Bush only underscores the need for such strong leadership. What would a strong leader do differently? Well, as I see it, a lot – but here are the big three.

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Too Little Too Late for Bush? A Three-Part Series

I grew up in Washington, DC and have been surrounded by politics most of my life. From the outset in writing this blog I have endeavored to steer clear of political diatribes, but despite that intention I must now venture into the political realm. I have no choice. I can’t sit back and not comment on George Bush’s “plan” for addressing climate change announced last week – the “2025 Goals.” I will endeavor, however, to keep this civil.

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Cabs Finally Going from Yellow to Green

San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors recently approved an ordinance that will require taxi cab companies to operate fleets with greenhouse gas emissions at least 20 percent lower than 1990 levels. To help cab companies pay for it, the Board of Supervisors increased the daily fee (tax) that drivers pay by $12.50. Check out the San Francisco Chronicle article.

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