Kate Sheppard

Speaking of the economic feasibility of a cap-and-trade system, as Massachusetts secretary of energy and environmental affairs Ian Bowles pointed out in a New York Times editorial over the weekend, the Northeastern states that are members of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative are already well on their way. Massachusetts and other member states will hold […]

To conclude their week of calamity, the EPA did something that was actually very positive for the environment by releasing an economic report finding that proposed government action on climate change is entirely feasible. Which is of course why they did their best to bury it by releasing it late Friday afternoon. The report looks […]

Skaidra Smith-Heisters of the Reason Foundation released a new study yesterday on industrial hemp, which finds that the plant is a cost-effective, environmentally-friendly substitute for many other fibers. According to Smith-Heisters: There are numerous environmental advantages to hemp. Hemp often requires less energy to manufacture into products. It is less toxic to process. And it […]

I noted I noted my concern about what sort of characters John McCain would appoint to positions of power in agencies like the EPA. Jesus’ General has a recommendation for the post he should reserve for John Hagee: On the domestic front, I think Pastor Hagee would be an excellent pick to head up the […]

Here’s a distressing number for you: according to the Here’s a distressing number for you: according to the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, the percentage of respondents who think Barack Obama him as a Muslim increased five points since their last poll, from 8 percent to 13 percent. Of course it’s well documented that there […]

Florida Democratic party chairwoman Florida Democratic party chairwoman Karen Thurman put forward a draft proposal today for a combined mail-in/in-person party primary on June 3 in order to get their delegates seated at the DNC. You can read the press release here, or the full memo Thurman sent to the presidential candidates, DNC Chairman Howard […]

It’s no secret that things are screwed up at the Bush EPA, but it’s been a revelatory week in just how so. To wit: The EPA’s big update of smog standards yesterday was significantly less stringent than the standards recommended unanimously by its own scientific advisory council, at the behest of Bush himself. Also yesterday, […]

Via TPM, an interesting quote from Geraldine Ferraro in December 2006, in a Times piece on the chances of a woman and a black man running in the Democratic primary: “All evidence is that a white female has an advantage over a black male — for reasons of our cultural heritage,” said the Rev. Jesse […]

Even though the Democratic primary is still chugging along, today the AFL-CIO is Even though the Democratic primary is still chugging along, today the AFL-CIO is set to announce a $53 million campaign to elect a Democrat — no matter which Democrat that happens to be. “McCain Revealed,” as they’re calling the campaign, will highlight […]

Eliot Spitzer‘s resignation speech was, as expected, was short and revealed very little. In the two minutes and 40 seconds he spoke, he apologized for “private failings” without elaboration. “The remorse I feel will always be with me,” said Spitzer, with wife Silda Wall Spitzer by his side once again. “From those to whom much […]