Environmental Politics

Herman Cain, who recently threw his hat into the ring of GOP presidential contenders, likes to say that what he lacks in political experience he makes up for with his background in business. That may not be a plus. Cain's business "experience" includes a stint on the board of Aquila, which pushed its employees to invest their retirement savings in company stocks and then speculated wildly in energy markets, wiping out most of the company's value.

Climate scientists have never had stronger evidence that human emissions are causing global warming. Yet House Republicans are busy passing legislation to repeal the scientific findings and end the research programs that collect evidence on climate.

"Democratic U.S. lawmakers have asked Congressional panels to look into whether Koch, an energy company led by brothers who are powerhouses in conservative politics, will benefit if the Obama administration approves a $7 billion pipeline to bring crude from Canada into the United States."

"More than 100 million Americans believe that Judgment Day is just around the corner. It's no wonder then that a relatively long-term problem like climate change isn't a priority in the public's mind."

Fox "news" figures like commentator Glenn Beck have led the charge against the environmental movement. "The circus Roger Ailes created at Fox News made his network $900 million last year. But it may have lost him something more important: the next election."

The oil industry's hold on Congress was illustrated by the Senate's rejection of a Democratic effort to repeal some taxpayer subsidies of the oil giants. A new chart makes clear the connection between oil-industry campaign donations and Senators' support of subsidies.

"Members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have trumped the agency chairman and forced the release of unredacted safety reports on the proposed nuclear waste repository in Yucca Mountain, Nev."

"The California Chamber of Commerce routinely denounces bills that protect workers, consumers and the environment as job killers. But when the bills become law, there's no economic catastrophe."

"Opponents of a pipeline that would nearly double U.S. imports of Canadian oil-sands crude sued the State Department today in a bid to force speedy disclosure of any contacts it made with a lobbyist for the pipeline's sponsor."

"The Senate on Wednesday rejected a Republican bid to accelerate offshore drilling by requiring regulators to speed up decisions on permits and forcing the government to reschedule canceled lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico."