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Scientists: Keystone XL Would ‘Undermine’ Obama’s Climate Legacy
Posted by The Hill: Ben Geman on January 15th, 2013
The Hill: A group of prominent climate scientists say President Obama’s legacy is on the line as he mulls whether to approve the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline.
“We hope, as scientists, that you will demonstrate the seriousness of your climate convictions by refusing to permit Keystone XL; to do otherwise would be to undermine your legacy,” the 18 scientists wrote in a public letter to Obama released Tuesday.
Scientists signing the letter include James Hansen of Columbia University and NASA, Stanford...
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Dems Seek Climate Vote On Post-Sandy Aid Bill
Posted by The Hill: Ben Geman on December 20th, 2012
The Hill: Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) want to use debate over post-Hurricane Sandy aid to put lawmakers on the record on climate change.
His amendment declares the “sense of the Senate” that mitigating the effects of “extreme weather,” including curbing humans’ contribution to climate change, is in the nation’s economic interest.
Whitehouse and three colleagues proposed attaching the language to the $60.4 billion recovery and reconstruction bill that’s currently on the Senate floor.
But with...
TransCanada CEO says Kerry pick shouldn’t change Keystone pipeline’s status
Posted by The Hill: Ben Geman on December 18th, 2012
The Hill: The CEO of the company seeking to build the Keystone XL pipeline doesn’t appear to view Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), a longtime advocate of battling climate change, as a threat to the project if he becomes secretary of State.
The State Department is leading the federal review of the proposed pipeline to bring Canadian oil sands to Gulf Coast refineries, although President Obama has indicated that he will ultimately be the decider.
TransCanada Corp. CEO Russ Girling tells Reuters that the project's...
Al Gore calls Sandy a ‘disturbing sign of things to come,’ urges climate action
Posted by The Hill: Ben Geman on October 31st, 2012
The Hill: Al Gore said Tuesday that Hurricane Sandy is a “disturbing sign of things to come” in a warming world and should prompt action to curb greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels.
“We must heed this warning and act quickly to solve the climate crisis. Dirty energy makes dirty weather,” the former vice president said in a statement on his website.
Gore cited Sandy, which slammed ashore late Monday, and smaller-scale flooding in his hometown of Nashville two years ago, noting “both storms were...
New study ties heat waves to climate change
Posted by The Hill: Ben Geman on August 5th, 2012
The Hill: Extreme summer heat waves and droughts in recent years are the result of climate change, a top federal scientist concludes in a new peer-reviewed study.
The study by James Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, could provide new political ammunition for environmentalists struggling to defend and advance climate regulations. Hansen touted the analysis he authored with two colleagues – which will be published Monday – in a weekend Washington Post column.
“These weather...
Waxman presses GOP for hearing on extreme weather, climate
Posted by The Hill: Ben Geman on July 13th, 2012
The Hill: Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), a top House Democrat, is urging the Energy and Commerce Committee's Republican majority to hold a hearing that explores links between climate change and extreme weather.
The request, spelled out in a letter Friday, is a sign that Democrats and environmentalists hope to translate the recent record-setting heatwaves into political momentum for efforts to battle global warming.
It asks Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) to convene a hearing “on the recent wildfires...
Heat wave, fires have climate change supporters on offensive
Posted by The Hill: Ben Geman on July 6th, 2012
The Hill: Record-breaking heat across the country and catastrophic wildfires in Colorado are giving environmentalists a rare opening to regain the political offensive on climate change.
While scientists caution against chalking up specific weather events to climate change, they say generally that heatwaves, wildfires and other extreme weather is expected with increasing frequency and intensity in a warming world.
Skeptics of climate change often point to winter blizzards as evidence that the planet is...
EPA Chief Vows ‘Strong Science’ on Hydraulic Fracturing
Posted by The Hill: Ben Geman on February 28th, 2012
The Hill: Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson is defending the rigor of the agency’s study of potential water contamination linked to the controversial natural-gas drilling method hydraulic fracturing.
From her testimony about EPA’s proposed budget to be delivered to a congressional panel Tuesday:
As I've mentioned before, natural gas is an important resource which is abundant in the United States, but we must make sure that the ways we extract it do not risk the safety of public...
Poll shows support for Keystone pipeline, environmental regulations
Posted by The Hill: Ben Geman on February 25th, 2012
The Hill: New polling data shows strong support for approving the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline that the Obama administration rejected in January, a decision that unleashed a torrent of GOP attacks against President Obama. The Pew Research Center poll released Thursday finds 66 percent who have heard about the issue say the proposed pipeline to bring oil sands from Alberta, Canada, to Gulf Coast refineries should be approved, while 23 percent say it shouldn’t. The data reveals a partisan split but substantial...
Obama delays Keystone decision until after 2012 reelection bid
Posted by The Hill: Ben Geman on November 11th, 2011
The Hill: The Obama administration announced Thursday it would delay a politically explosive decision on the proposed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline until after the 2012 elections.
The pipeline is especially treacherous waters for President Obama because it splits key elements of his base. While green groups oppose it, several major unions are pushing for approval.
Keystone had become a serious thorn in Obama’a side, with environmental groups warning they’d feel betrayed if the pipeline moved forward....