I know what you’re thinking right this very minute. You’re thinking, “You know, reading about the climate and stuff is all well and good, but I really wish that this Kondrat character would bring me video of Jay-Z joining U2 on stage to rap during ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday,’ as that would realize many of my dreams.” Well, GUESS WHAT! Done.

Man. Powerhouses, teaming up in front of the Brandenburg Gate. Read the rest of this entry >>

Just yesterday, we talked about how it seems that Congress won’t be passing a climate change bill prior to Copenhagen, and we noted how that could be an impediment for the climate change talks to take place there. Unfortunately, it seems like the United States’ reticence to get its act together on a bill will, in fact, greatly diminish the possibility of a binding, enforceable treaty on climate change this December.

Though many members of Congress have been very cautious on the progress of the climate change bill, I had been holding out a very slim and naive hope that perhaps our negotiators might go ahead and pull a fast one in Copenhagen and agree to a treaty that hadn’t been approved by Congress. Nope. From the Guardian: Read the rest of this entry >>

About a week ago, we told you about a joint venture between Chinese and American companies to build a huge wind farm in Texas, using Chinese turbines, and funded by Chinese banks, as well as loans and grants from the U.S. government. Up to speed? Good. The story seemed pretty cut and dry, but nothing ever really is, especially when it’s China and the U.S. and $1.5 billion. Senator Chuck Schumer, from New York, is seeking to make sure that no federal stimulus funds earmarked for clean energy development go towards this project. His reasoning? The turbines will be made in China. Read the rest of this entry >>

Okay, I know that we’ve kinda beaten this point nearly to death, but it bears repeating that the United States needs a climate change bill in place before going to the Copenhagen Conference in December, as our negotiators are not allowed to promise in a treaty anything that our government has not already codified unilaterally. So it’s desperately important that Congress pass a bill if the United States is to play any real constructive role in the Copenhagen process. We’ve been cautiously optimistic about the possibility of a bill being passed, especially with Senator Barbara Boxer trying to force the bill into the Senate from her committee. However, one opinion coming from Mother Jones fears that this is already a lost cause, and no climate change bill will be passed before the Conference. Read the rest of this entry >>

Let’s recap here: way back in April, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission made this ironic joke where they said it can’t regulate nuclear materials. More specifically, the commission said it cannot stop foreign nuclear waste from being imported into the United States for disposal. This was in response to a company called EnergySolutions wanting to import waste from Italy and dispose of it in Utah. And then, in May, a federal judge ruled that, in fact, nuclear waste can be imported into the country. Though this is being appealed. So, why have I told all this back story?

The House Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Environment has endorsed a bill that would ban nuclear waste from being imported into the country, which means the House can soon vote on the bill, and it’s likely to pass. Utah’s Deseret News reports that Committee chairman Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., stated, “We on the committee will not allow the United States to be the world’s dumping ground.” Read the rest of this entry >>

Yesterday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke to a special bicameral (update: the correct adjective here is “joint”) session of Congress, the first German leader to do so since 1957. And, when she addressed Congress, Chancellor Merkel told our august legislators that they need to get their act together on climate change. Which is pretty dead on given how some Senators are actively trying to get that act to stay apart. Reuters talk about Chancellor Merkel’s stern words:

“We have no time to lose,” Merkel said, referring to a U.N. climate conference next month in Copenhagen, where countries will be trying to forge a successor to the Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012. “We need an agreement on one objective — global warming must not exceed two degrees Celsius,” she said. “To achieve this, we need the readiness of all countries to accept internationally binding obligations.”

Read the rest of this entry >>

Al Gore, former Vice President and current environmental hero, sat down with Katie Couric yesterday for her online program @KatieCouric to discuss all things environmental and green. He even had a few things to say about one of our current favorite topics here at TakePart, the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change. Take a look.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

A few things that Gore says in that video are things we’ve been pushing here at this site: that Congress really ought to pass a climate change bill prior to Copenhagen if we want to see the conference be effective, that we have the promising news that China is willing to be a part of an international treaty, and has been making great strides in clean energy technology, but most importantly, that an international treaty is an urgent priority for the whole world.

The whole interview runs about a half hour, and of course is both fascinating and full of important information. Usually I’d just link to it, but what the hell. Let’s put it right here. Read the rest of this entry >>

Last week, we told you that Senate Republicans on the Environment and Public Works Committee had planned on boycotting work sessions on the Senate’s climate change bill, in order to stall the bill from leaving the committee, and thus halting a vote on the Senate floor. Well, the first work sessions were scheduled for today, and Senator Barbara Boxer, Democratic leader of the committee, announced yesterday that the climate change bill would still be taken up today, with or without the Republicans on the committee.

Through some weird Senate rules, even though the boycott of work sessions should forestall the bill being considered, Senator Boxer can do an end-run around the boycott. Says the Washington Post:

Under committee rules and precedent, two members of the minority are customarily required in order to provide a quorum for a markup. But Boxer and her aides will rely on a provision in the rules that will allow the Democrats to proceed as long as a majority of committee members are present, and can report out the bill if a majority is present and votes in favor of the bill. Democrats outnumber Republicans on the panel by a ratio of 12 to 7.

Committee Republicans are claiming that the Environmental Protection Agency has yet to do a full enough economic impact statement on the climate change bill, and even sent Senator Boxer a letter yesterday (PDF) asking her to delay proceedings until the analysis can be made. But Senator Boxer rejected this. Read the rest of this entry >>

Oil companies aren’t exactly thrilled when it comes to the proposed cap-and-trade system of selling carbon credits the federal government has proposed, claiming that it will just cost way, way too much money to buy the credits, demand for gas would go down, and business would be ruined. But wait, you might say. Why would demand for gas go down? Well, because the oil companies would simply pass the price of the carbon credits on to you, the consumer. To the tune of 13 cents a gallon.

A new study by Point Carbon, an independent energy consulting group, dispelled the myth, however, that demand for gasoline would decrease in conjunction with any price decreases. So while a carbon market would, ultimately, cost oil companies money, they can be confident they can offload much of the expense. Read the rest of this entry >>

Last month, a report came out that suggested developing nations will need at least $500 billion a year to fight the impact of climate change. Well, a gaggle of European Union leaders got together late last week, and set the bar instead at 100 billion euros (let’s say about $148 billion American). But on the positive side, the E.U. leaders did agree to contribute to a global fund that would go towards helping developing nations pay to combat climate change. It is contingent, however, on other nations making the same pledge at the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change. The New York Times sums up:

Mr. Reinfeldt, the Swedish prime minister, said…between 22 billion euros and 50 billion euros would have to come from public funds, as opposed to private sources like investments in carbon-reduction projects.

Mr. Reinfeldt also said that E.U. nations could make a voluntary decision to contribute to a so-called fast-track mechanism that would make funds available immediately to developing countries.

Environmentalists are calling this an agreement without teeth, and instead had just set vague goals without mechanisms to reach them, and focusing more on what the global community ought to do, and not what Europe should do. Read the rest of this entry >>