The National Rifle Association is a case study for political success. According to Robert Walker, the former President of Handgun Control, Inc., climate change advocates could learn from the NRA’s tactics.
While the American Power Act bill of the US is widely believed to have no chance of sailing through in 2010, it is pertinent to note its key provisions as future versions might carry several of its most important points.
Much of the conflict over climate change between developed and developing countries focuses on who should pay for the transition away from fossil-based fuels. Some in the West say that countries with less stringent environmental laws, such as India and China, should be subject to a carbon tariff, often referred to as a border adjustment tax.
Yesterday I went to one of the best one day symposia I have attended, a gathering focused on India and Climate Change. I am glad I attended because it gave me insight as to what role India can and should have in the global debate over environmental policy. Too often, global political leaders and environmentalists lump together China and India when they discuss what these nations should do in combating climate change
The past few weeks have been disheartening for those who believe climate change is a real problem. While I prefer to push clean technologies by arguing for energy independence and keeping our dollars at home, the scientific evidence behind climate change has always made sense to me. So depending on how you feel about the [...]
Thomas Friedman with CNN’s Campbell Brown
I had almost forgotten about CNN, but today at the gym, I spent my time on the elliptical machine watching Campbell Brown interview’s of Thomas Friedman. I still have not read Friedman’s book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded, but I’m motivated to snag a copy after watching him this afternoon. His [...]
Yesterday I attended a talk given by USA Ambassador Friis Petersen of Denmark at UCLA’s CIBER (Center for International Business and Research). Ambassador Petersen was in Los Angeles for the day and somehow UCLA was fortunate enough to get a few minutes of his time. With the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change scheduled for next [...]
One of my favorite TV shows was Arrested Development. Savagely witty and delightfully satirical, this show depicting a riches-to-rags Orange County family will be remembered for its insight in early 21st century living. One of my favorite exchanges is when Portia de Rossi’s character, Lindsey, bemoans her family’s crash into poverty, only to recover 5 [...]
Last year I worked for a company that sent me all over North America for really no good reason. On one hand, it was a fascinating experience listening to energy executives talk about their corporate strategy when oil was hovering at US$150 a barrel. But when you are flying halfway across the country spewing out [...]
Last week’s Taiwan took a an awful pummelling from Typhoon Morakot, which was especially cruel considering that many of the villages hit were still recovering from a 1999 earthquake that destroyed many towns and villages. What’s chilling about Morakot and its wrath is what we’re going to see in the coming decades–many of those drastically [...]
I recently had a discussion with like-minded folks where we bantered about what it meant to be “green.” It’s gone from fringe to fashion, activist to academic, from mocked to a true movement.
Growing up, the debate had always been so polarized. Remember the spotted owl controversy of the early 1990s? Then there was the urban [...]
What’s been said?