Democrats confident as US climate change bill vote looms
Democrats confident as US climate change bill vote looms
Sweeping energy and climate change bill would deliver key Obama administration promise to cut US carbon emissions.
- guardian.co.uk, Thursday 25 June 2009 12.10 BST
- Article history
Democrats say they are confident of delivering on one of Barack Obama’s defining promises tomorrow, by calling a vote in Congress on a sweeping energy and climate change bill.
The bill, produced with hands-on involvement from the White House and surrounded by an intense lobbying and PR offensive, would see the US commit for the first time to cutting back the carbon emissions that cause global warming.
Australia filthiest place in the world to make aluminium
Dr John Kaye is a Greens member of the Legislative Council of NSW and has family connections in the Northern Rivers. He visited last month to address the World Environment Day rally at Mur’bah and give a talk with Giovanni Ebono and Tom Tabart at the Mullumbimby Civic Hall. He spoke on the transition to a Green economy and highlighted our dependence on mining as a specific example of what has to change.
The conflict in areas such as the Liverpool Plains in NSW and Central Queensland between farmers and miners over water rights and land use means that we are at a critical point in our decision making. Premier Nathan Rees and Industry Minister Ian McDonald both gave “Let them eat coal” speeches last month suggesting that we must sacrifice prime farming land for coal mines because coal mines earn more export dollars than farms.
Scottish parliament agrees tougher 42% target to cut emissions
Scottish parliament agrees tougher 42% target to cut emissions
Campaigners say ‘hugely significant’ vote to cut emissions by 42% by 2020 sets new ‘moral’ standard for the rest of the industrialised wor
- guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 24 June 2009 15.43 BST
- Article history
Scotland has set itself the world’s most ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets after the Scottish parliament voted today to cut the nation’s CO2 emissions by 42% by 2020.
In a rare show of unity, all political parties at Holyrood unanimously agreed to fix the target as part of a radical climate change bill which also requires the Scottish government to set legally binding annual cuts in emissions from 2012.
John Kaye outlines Green economy
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Getting the green message across
Environmentalists struggle to find the right way to promote green values – and it politicians keep passing the buck
Vines on the South Downs: that is the scenario which fills environmentalists with increasing gloom. As the Today programme reported this morning, climate change can be billed as a rather attractive option in Britain. Who can complain about warmer drier summers? Doesn’t a Mediterranean climate in Kent sound rather attractive?
The reality of course is that Mediterranean climates mean forest fires, chronic water scarcity and real shortages of food but sometimes that is not how the story gets reported.
There is increasing frustration – even desperation – among many parts of the environmental movement about how to communicate with the public. It has become commonplace to argue that scaring people with catastrophic scenarios is counterproductive: terrify people with melting ice caps and floods in East Anglia and they will just switch off or become defiant, in a response of “eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die”.