US Corporate Climate Efforts in 2017 Offer Hope for 2018

Corporate climate action is one of the most hopeful stories of 2017 and many say there is reason to believe that it may prove to be an even bigger story in 2018. Hundreds of US corporations are slashing their emissions and adopting increasingly robust sustainability programs. A wide range of companies and organizations have committed billions to combat climate change. All across the US companies are crafting mitigation strategies and increasingly considering their adaptation needs. We are witnessing the broadest US corporate climate consensus that we have ever seen. It goes well beyond the Climate Action Partnership that was formed in 2007.

Trump's First 100 Days are a Climate and Environmental Nightmare

Trump's first 100 days have been a dismal failure. Trump failed to deliver on almost every single one of his promises leading many to conclude that the self-proclaimed deal-maker can't seem to close. True to his word he is making progress on one front, depriving Americans of clean air and clean water.

Trumps Muslim ban failed, his attempt to pass health-care legislation also failed. Congress will not finance his wall and nor will Mexico.  Rather than drain the swamp he has made the swamp bigger. The president has rewarded the wealthy on the backs of the poor and the middle class. His one-page reward-the-rich tax plan does not have a snowball's chance in hell of passing and if it were ever enacted by Congress it would trigger economic ruin.

Republicans Trying to Kill the EPA Quickly

Trump drew first blood with an Executive Order that enfeebled some of the EPA's activities, now Republicans are going in for the kill. They recently proposed a bill that seeks to abolish the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Known as H.R.861, the bill has the following self-explanatory title: "To terminate the Environmental Protection Agency."

While this bill is unbelievably destructive for the American people it should come as no surprise when you consider Republican obstructionism for the last eight years and the man who is now President of the United States. Within his first two weeks in office, Trump signed an Executive Order that targeted the EPA.

Justice Scalia's Death Bodes Well for the Clean Power Plan

The EPA's Clean Power Plan (CPP), the centerpiece of the Obama administration's climate efforts was stayed by the US Supreme Court on February 9, however the death of Conservative justice Antonin Scalia just a few days later breathes new life into the plan.

In total 27 states, the coal industry, and the Republican party want to stop the EPA's efforts to reign in emissions from US power plants. Their efforts to undermine the plan are at odds with American opinions. Polls show that the majority of Americans support the CPP even in states that oppose it.

Hilary Maintains her Climate Silence as O'Malley Pushes his Green Agenda (Iowa Democratic Presidential Town Hall)

Hilary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley are the three remaining candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for president. On January 25th they fielded a barrage of questions from voters in a town hall meeting at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, The moderator was CNN anchor Chris Cuomo.

O'Malley emerged from the Iowa Town Hall as the greenest of the three candidates with Sanders trailing some distance behind. O'Malley bluntly stated that "this planet is worth saving," and Sanders reaffirmed his commitment to tackle climate change. Hilary remained silent on climate and clean energy and let her rivals steal the green thunder.

Climate and Energy Excerpts from the Fourth Democratic Primary Debate

Three candidates met for the fourth Democratic debate hosted by NBC News and YouTube and moderated by anchor Lester Holt. The debate took place in Charleston, South Carolina, on Sunday January 17th. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley were present for the debate. However, except for a passing reference to renewables ("I would work quickly to present to the congress my plans for creating more...clean and renewable energy...") Clinton did not address climate change or energy issues. Hilary's silence on these importance issues in the fourth debate mirrors her strategy in the preceding debate.

Here are the climate and energy remarks made by Sanders and O'Malley during the fourth debate:

Republican Climate Avoidance and the Sixth GOP Debate

Republican candidates for president seem to think that if you ignore the climate crisis American voters won't notice. During the sixth Republican debate there was no mention of climate change or global warming, the COP21 deal, renewable energy, cleantech, or the low carbon economy, and of course nary a word was uttered on emissions or greenhouse gases.

Climate change was a no show in the first Republican debate, the CNBC presidential debate and in the November debate they made their opposition to climate action clear. Republican presidential candidates have stated that they do not believe we should not do anything to combat climate change.

Obama Signs Executive Order to Reduce GHGs in the Federal Government and Across their Supply Chain

President Obama is leading by example and significantly reducing the federal government's greenhouse gas emissions. In the first week of November the President signed an executive order that cuts emissions and weaves sustainability into the fabric of the federal government.

The move will cut government greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40 percent and avert 26 million metric tons of GHG emissions by 2025. The White House claims that this will save tax payers up to $18 billion in energy costs and increase the share of federal energy derived from renewables by at least 25 percent.

Climate Excerpts from the CBS Democratic Primary Debate

The CBS Democratic Democratic primary debate took place in Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday November 14th. Here are the climate related excerpts from that debate. The moderator for the debate was CBS News political director John Dickerson. Hilary Clinton summarized the field of Democratic candidates for President when she said, "All of us believe climate change is real."

Obama Clean Energy Budget and Republican Opposition

Here is a summary of the green elements in President Obama's $4 trillion budget for 2016 which he sent to Congress on Monday February 2. Republicans are already expressing their opposition to a number of proposals contained in the budget. This includes higher taxes on wealthier Americans and corporations as well as a number of climate oriented mitigation and adaptation initiatives.

GOP Denial and President Obama's Climate Legacy

Republicans continue to resist the veracity of anthropogenic climate change despite an endless stream of scientific warnings. The GOP response to President Obama's State of the Union address was given by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and she did not mention climate change once. The only time she mentioned the environment was in the context of her party's support for the Keystone XL.

Video - Stop the Republican Environmental Assault

Republicans were planning their assault on environmental protections even before they won big in the 2014 midterms. It did not take them long to identify targets in their anti-climate/anti-environment crusade. No single agency is more maligned by the GOP than the EPA.

Cromnibus Bill Foreshadows the GOP's Legislative Agenda

In the December budget bill, Republicans gave themselves and their friends a number of Christmas gifts. The so called Cromnibus bill is a pale reflection of what Republican legislators will do when they have even greater control in 2015.

After the House voted in favor of a 1.1 trillion government funding bill, the Senate followed suit and passed the bill on Saturday night (December 13) with a vote of 56 to 40. To avoid a government shutdown, Republicans demanded some non-germane amendments that amount to big gifts for themselves and their friends in the oil industry and on Wall Street.

Anti-Environmental Tidings in a Bill to Keep Government Running

A pre-Christmas bill contains some bad tidings for the environment. Republicans had an extortion list to avert a government shutdown that included blocking environmental protections. The so called Cromnibus bill, narrowly passed in the House with a vote 219 to 206, it will keep the government running until next September. The $1.01 trillion, 1,603-page spending bill is chalked full of pork including a number of anti-environment provisions.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and many of her colleagues were particularly displeased with two attached riders that would significantly increase the ceiling for political donations from wealthy patrons while scaling back the Dodd Frank Wall Street reform act designed to reign-in the kind of Wall Street activity that sparked the financial crisis of 2008.

The Weapons Republican will use in their War on Climate Protections

There are a number of weapons that the GOP will use in their war against climate protections. The planning has already begun as the new slate of Republican legislators and governors prepare to be sworn in in January. Here is the array of resources each side has at its disposal.

Republicans are already zeroing in on targets. They will try to pass legislation that eliminates climate change mitigation efforts and environmental protections. They will support fossil fuels and resist cleaner forms of energy.

The right to filibuster and a Presidential Veto are all that stand in the way of the GOP's legislative assaults. When the Democrats avail themselves of their only option or the President uses his veto, Republicans can be expected to wreak bloody havoc.

Republicans Pass Anti-Science Bill in the House

Republicans in the House of Representatives have passed a bill that would keep the EPA from using science to inform and support their policy positions. Republicans have a long history of resisting science particularly when its serves their partisan interests. However, with this new bill they have sunk to a new low as few pieces of legislation are as blatently anti-science as this one.

In November the House passed a bill that would limit the type of scientific research available to the EPA for crafting regulations. The bill deceptively named the Secret Science Reform Act of 2014 passed in the House with a vote of 237 to 190. While the legislation purports to restrict the EPA's use of science that is "hidden and flawed" it is actually an attempt to undermine access to things like medical research which guarantees that the medical records of those who participate are kept confidential.

Republicans Declare War on the Environment and Surrender to Climate Change

Even before the new slate of Republican's take their seats in Congress early in 2015, they have already begun their assault on the environment and efforts to fight climate change. They have promised to take on the EPA and President Obama's climate change agenda.

Led Mitch McConnell, the man destined to be the next Senate majority leader, this climate-denying-coal-loving Senator has made his anti-science, anti-climate and anti-environment intentions clear. In his home state of Kentucky he campaigned on the promise of combating what he has terms Obama's "war on coal." One of the top items on the Republican agenda is fast tracking of the Keystone XL.

Republican Ignorance and the Latest IPCC Report

The Republican's response to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report puts their ignorance and their partisan politics on display. Although this is among the world's most comprehensive reports on climate science it is dismissed by the GOP as "politics".

Listen to what two leading Republicans had to say about the IPCC's conclusion that the Earth is headed towards, “severe, pervasive, and irreversible” climate change impacts:

Republican Law to Curtail (Environmental) Regulations

Even before the 2014 midterms Republicans were looking for ways to fight environmental regulations.  Republicans have already passed legislation in the House that would keep the federal government from spending money on regulations. The bill is called the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act. It would require the approval of both houses of Congress for any federal rules that cost $100 million or more per year.

Republicans are well known for their outdated anti-regulatory political philosophies. They have not changed their tune one bit even though recent history has painfully demonstrated that it was the absence of regulations that led to the global recession of 2007 & 2008.

Republicans and Democrats on Climate Change

There is a massive gulf separating Republicans and Democrats on the issue of climate change. Climate change and environmental issues did not keep Republicans from achieving gains in the Senate, the House of Representatives and many gubernatorial contests. When we take a look at voting patterns we once again see the stark partisan divide between Democrats and the GOP on climate change.