Environment

Waxman’s Successor as Top House Climate Hawk May Need New Perch

E&E 02/04/14 By Nick Juliano With the first two publicly declared contenders for Rep. Henry Waxman’s House Energy and Commerce post primarily focused on the “and commerce” pieces of the committee’s jurisdiction, the California Democrat’s successor as the House’s No. 1 climate hawk may have to find another perch from […]

Congress vs. the Super Pollutants

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 12/11/13 By Michael Shank and US Congressman Scott Peters Despite clear warnings of a new climate normal, we still have not made significant progress in Congress to address the root causes. Global climate change has resulted in devastating consequences, but Congress and the president remain […]

A Quick Climate Cure: Stopping Super Pollutants

ROLL CALL 12/09/13 By Michael Shank and US Congressman Scott Peters With gridlock gripping Washington, D.C., and preventing action on even simple fronts, it’s hard to see how Congress and the president will agree on good climate action policy. But the need is clear. Examples of extreme weather occurrences seem […]

A New Look at Climate Change

REUTERS 12/09/13 By Michael Shank and US Congressman Michael Honda The annual United Nations climate change talks, which concluded last month in Warsaw, unfortunately found little common ground on carbon. The talks broke down over the world’s richest nations’ inability to agree with the poorest on how to address the […]

UN Climate Change Negotiations in Poland This Week

WASHINGTON TIMES 11/18/13 By Michael Shank and Matt Lichtash WASHINGTON, November 18, 2013 – With the United Nations meeting this week in Warsaw, Poland, for its annual conversation on climate change, one wonders if the international community can come together quickly enough to respond to this month’s warnings from the […]

Tea Party, Progressives Unite on Fast-Track Trade Authority

WASHINGTON TIMES 11/13/13 By Michael Shank WASHINGTON, November 13, 2013 — With the Tea Party coming out hard against President Obama’s trade agenda, there may be some synergy among conservatives and progressives in tackling this year’s hottest transnational conflict. Outspoken critic of the Obama trade agenda and Washington Times Communities […]

Report: Food Insecurity Rising as Crop Production Falls

WASHINGTON TIMES 11/03/13 By Michael Shank WASHINGTON, November 3, 2013 — America’s food security is at immediate risk, according to a report leaked this month by the New York Times. Americans should expect crop production to fall by as much as 2 percent each decade for the rest of the […]

How to Build a GDP Measure for the Real Economy

THE ATLANTIC 10/24/13 By Michael Shank, Ben Beachy, and Justin Talbort Zorn One year ago this week, Hurricane Sandy ravaged much of the eastern seaboard, leaving tens of thousands of families homeless and nearly as many businesses shuttered.  Yet, by many estimates, the hurricane was good for the economy. It […]

Climate Crisis and the Will to Act

THE HILL 10/22/13 By Michael Shank and US Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) In the past month, the U.S. has faced two grave threats, one domestic and one international. Both pose serious consequences to the United States and the world at large, and no one knows how either will end. The […]

Five Steps America Must Take Now to Combat Climate Change

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 10/15/13 By Michael Shank and Matt Lichtash The government shutdown, even after it ends, will slow much of the president’s second-term agenda items. Obamacare isn’t the only policy on the political chopping block.  Despite reports by U.N. scientists and Nature researchers this month that the […]