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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #450 on: December 01, 2015, 02:39:18 PM »
This New ETF Tracks the Green Version of the S&P 500
The S&P 500 is now available scrubbed of companies that own fossil fuel reserves.
Quote
If you could scrub the carbon footprint from your S&P 500 exposure, would you?

That’s what a new exchange-traded fund attempts to do. The SPDR S&P 500 Fossil Fuel Free ETF (SPYX) is a greener version of the world’s first and largest ETF, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY). 

SPYX, which will be launched Dec. 1, is part of a growing trend in low-carbon investing, or lowering the carbon footprint of otherwise popular indexes. With $2.2 trillion worth of assets benchmarked to the S&P 500, there is no more popular index.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-30/this-new-etf-tracks-the-green-version-of-the-s-p-500
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #451 on: December 06, 2015, 06:35:36 PM »
Editorial: On climate change, time to act is now
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The most important thing New Hampshire can do in the short run to combat global warming is replace 1st District Rep. Frank Guinta with someone capable of more than short-term, self-serving thinking.

The climate talks under way in Paris are indeed the last, best chance to bring the world’s nations together to reduce global warming to a level that doesn’t threaten life on much of the planet and guarantee mass migration and civil mayhem. An extreme view? Not according to the Pentagon, which called climate change the biggest threat to national security America faces.
http://mobile.concordmonitor.com/home/19819181-108/editorial-on-climate-change-time-to-act-is-now
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #452 on: December 07, 2015, 03:57:14 PM »
Bernie Sanders Unveils Climate Plan
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Democratic presidential [candidate] Bernie Sanders rolled out an expansive climate plan Monday that aims to cut U.S. carbon emissions 80% by 2050 and create 10 million clean energy jobs.

To accomplish these goals, the 16-page plan takes a kitchen sink approach, including everything from a tax on carbon to a ban on fracking to a push for more walkable cities.

And beyond the environmental goals, the plan has a political one, too - to enfeeble the fossil fuel industry, whom Sanders says has "bribed politicians into ignoring [climate] science"
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/bernie-sanders-unveils-climate-plan-n475366
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #453 on: December 15, 2015, 08:46:39 PM »
Chicago Sun-Times editorial:  'Next president better be a climate change believer'

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The next U.S. president must be committed to ensuring our nation carries out its pledges and remains an leader in addressing climate change. Presidential candidates should be working day and night to sell the deal at home, building support for it now and long after President Barack Obama leaves office.

If the United States falls short, other nations will back out. But if the United States leads the way, as only our nation can, global warming can be checked.
http://chicago.suntimes.com/opinion/7/71/1178953/editorial-keep-momentum-going-addressing-climate-change
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #454 on: December 20, 2015, 01:54:34 PM »
Economic imperatives are starting to drive the fight against global warming, and that could be a game changer.
Quote
Another conference speaker was Frederic Samama, the deputy head of institutional and sovereign clients at Amundi, one of the top asset management firms in Europe. Amundi was a founding member of the Portfolio Decarbonization Coalition, which now also includes massive global investors Allianz and ABP. The coalition has a total of 25 investors committed to gradually decarbonizing $600 billion in assets.

Samama’s presence signaled just how far energy sector investors have moved in recent decades toward building a cleaner economy.

“The big drivers of capital will be when we put a price on carbon or there is some incentive that will increase the potential return for a given risk,” said Lépinard. “When the policy makes it more attractive, then more money will flow.”
http://prospect.org/article/will-big-finance-join-fight-curb-global-warming
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #455 on: December 20, 2015, 03:42:31 PM »
Obama Was His Best Dorky Dad Self on Running Wild With Bear Grylls
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/12/18/obama_on_running_wild_with_bear_grylls.html
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Laurent

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #456 on: December 20, 2015, 05:41:18 PM »
I think there should be many prices for carbon.

1) A price to remove the carbon from the atmosphere, based on the current price including everything in the process, mining, making... plus an economic multiplier x2 or x3
2) A price for the consumer which should be above the renewable electricity price to produce the same kwh.
3) A price for the producers, who extract, that one should be higher than the price to remove the carbon from the atmosphere. (It must stay in the ground)

The difference between the sell price and the producer price would go for science, helping the local organic electrical cells to lower the consumer price, extract the carbon from the atmosphere...

Something that does limit the quantity of energy used by each people like taking into account the ecological footprint that has to be in a perimeter. For example for town of 5000 people, if the average foot print is 3 hectare/person, then the town need 3 x 5000 = 15 000 hectare in the perimeter that it does control.

Because it is difficult and not energy efficient to produce everything on one spot, we could define different zones, one where 80% percent is produced within 10 Km etc...

We have a long way to go...

Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #457 on: January 08, 2016, 08:45:00 PM »
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Sigmetnow

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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #459 on: January 14, 2016, 02:39:21 PM »
Obama Wants To Change The Way America Sells Its Coal And Oil
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“I’m going to push to change the way we manage our oil and coal resources, so that they better reflect the costs they impose on taxpayers and our planet,” Obama said. “That way, we put money back into those communities and put tens of thousands of Americans to work building a 21st century transportation system.”

Obama is talking about the fossil fuels that come out of publicly owned land — land owned by the federal government and set aside for recreation, wildlife, ranching, and, yes, energy development. In recent years, solar and wind farms have been constructed on public land — electricity was long ago deemed a public good — but continuing to develop coal and natural gas, particularly at below-market prices, goes against the climate actions the Obama Administration has fought for.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/01/13/3738934/obamas-last-climate-gasp/
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citrine

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #460 on: January 15, 2016, 05:51:05 PM »
Critique of Obama's State of the Union address re: climate and energy

The Limits and Missed Opportunities of Obama's Energy Legacy
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=15452
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #461 on: January 18, 2016, 04:58:59 AM »
Bernie Sanders on climate change during the Democratic presidential candidates debate tonight.
(2 minute video clip)
https://twitter.com/msnbc/status/688922505906528256


Here’s everything said about climate change at Thursday's Republican candidates debate  ::)
http://grist.org/article/heres-everything-said-about-climate-change-at-the-gop-debate/
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #462 on: January 29, 2016, 07:40:47 PM »
South Florida Is Sinking. Where Is Marco Rubio?
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South Florida business leaders and even many local Republican politicians are no longer in climate change denial. Now, deep in the fine print of resolutions and memoranda being passed around among the various task forces in the area, one sees the mantra “Elevate. Isolate. Relocate.” Abandonment of some parts of the community to water is now accepted as unavoidable. Even the most conservative estimates assume that a percentage of the next generation of Floridians will become internally displaced Americans, climate change refugees.

While panicking Miami policymakers are contemplating dire climate-related matters like the possibility of relocating people and infrastructure, Florida’s two presidential candidates are silent. Senator Marco Rubio and former Governor Jeb Bush have ignored the problem. Bush has no constituents to answer to anymore, but Rubio does. On the campaign trail, he brushes off questions about climate change by saying, “I’m not a scientist.” ....
http://www.newsweek.com/2016/02/05/marco-rubio-climate-change-denier-south-florida-flood-crisis-420326.html
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #463 on: January 31, 2016, 05:13:20 PM »
Copenhagen set to divest from fossil fuels
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Copenhagen’s mayor has announced plans to divest the city’s 6.9bn kroner (£700m) investment fund of all holdings in coal, oil and gas.

If his proposal is approved at a finance committee meeting next Tuesday, as expected, the Danish capital will become the country’s first investment fund to sell its stocks and bonds in fossil fuels.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/29/copenhagen-set-to-divest-from-fossil-fuels
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #464 on: February 01, 2016, 04:06:42 PM »
New U.S. ruling makes it more likely your retirement plan will offer socially responsible investments.
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Of the more than 1,200 401(k) plan participants and 300 eligible nonparticipants surveyed, 87 percent want investment options that align with their values and 82 percent would likely choose such an option if offered. Also, 55 percent of the nonparticipants said they'd be more likely to participate in their workplace plan if it offered an SRI option.

There are different terms used in the industry for socially responsible investments. The Labor Department calls them economically targeted investments, while some people talk about environmental, social and governance strategies. Regardless of the term, their commonality is an investment approach that examines a company's social or environmental practices instead of looking exclusively at its financial performance.
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/02/01/want-a-more-ethical-401k-plan-new-ruling-may-help.html
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #465 on: February 01, 2016, 05:23:46 PM »
Republican politics in the U.S.:  not so much a "Drive for Climate Change Action"; more like Highway Gridlock.

US elections 2016
Republicans reject climate change fears despite rebukes from scientists
Ted Cruz has presented ‘misleading’ information in the Senate, scientists say, while Marco Rubio rejects ‘destroying our economy’ – despite pleas for action coming from officials in his own state
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/01/republicans-ted-cruz-marco-rubio-climate-change-scientists
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #466 on: February 02, 2016, 03:05:38 PM »
We should be growing corn for food, not fuel.

What You Should Know About Ethanol and the Iowa Caucus
http://fortune.com/2016/02/01/ethanol-and-the-iowa-caucus/
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #467 on: February 06, 2016, 07:41:30 PM »
Hillary Clinton’s Leftward Shift on Climate
Helped along by both President Obama and Bernie Sanders, Clinton has broken her silence on fossil fuel extraction from public lands.
https://newrepublic.com/article/129316/hillary-clintons-leftward-shift-climate
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #468 on: February 07, 2016, 07:29:25 PM »
Tweet from U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders:

Quote
The U.S. needs to lead the international community in fighting climate change to maintain our economic strength and global security.
https://twitter.com/berniesanders/status/696376390854144001
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #469 on: February 07, 2016, 07:52:08 PM »
South Florida Representatives create a bipartisan caucus in the U.S. House to act on climate change effects.  But Florida senator and presidential candidate Marco Rubio is nowhere to be seen.

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They’ve created a “Climate Solutions Caucus” in the House to “explore policy options that address the impacts, causes, and challenges of our changing climate,” according to House filings quoted last week by Citizens’ Climate Lobby.

Here’s the mission: “The Caucus will serve as an organization to educate members on economically-viable options to reduce climate risk and protect our nation’s economy, security, infrastructure, agriculture, water supply and public safety.”
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/02/06/as-rubio-waffles-two-floridians-in-the-house-seek-bipartisan-climate-progress/
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #470 on: February 09, 2016, 04:30:34 PM »
Climate Change Keeps Coming Up At GOP Campaign Stops -- And People Are Clapping
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MANCHESTER, N.H. -- When Dan Kipnis stood up and asked Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) about his plan to address climate change, he thought he might face some angry audience members who didn't like his question. He was shocked to instead find people clapping for him.

"I thought I'd get some boos or something like that," the 65-year-old retired fishing boat captain from Miami Beach told The Huffington Post after Rubio's Sunday town hall in Londonderry. "But you know, these people up here in New Hampshire, they're pretty enlightened."

This event wasn't an isolated incident. Questions about climate change frequently come up at GOP town halls, even though it's an issue that the candidates rarely talk about unprompted and one that almost never comes up during debates.

Kipnis said he was also able to ask former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) a climate change question at a New Hampshire town hall, and he received a similar reception.

"I basically got a standing ovation," he said.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gop-climate-change_us_56b8fdd8e4b08069c7a85a83?
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #471 on: February 11, 2016, 07:34:18 PM »
From Self-Driving Cars To Clean Energy, Obama Lays Out His Plan For A Climate-Smart Economy
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President Obama sent his final budget proposal to Congress Tuesday, and there’s a lot in there for environmentalists to love. Of the $4.1 trillion in proposed spending, more than $47 billion would be spent on programs related to the environment and climate change, from expanding climate resilience to greening the nation’s transportation system.

“We have made great strides to foster a robust clean energy industry and move our economy away from energy sources that fuel climate change,” Obama wrote in his introduction to the budget, outlining advances that have been made in renewable energy in the past few years.

“Despite these advances,” Obama continued, “we can and must do more. Rather than shrinking from the challenge, America must foster the spirit of innovation to create jobs, build a climate-smart economy of the future, and protect the only planet we have.”

Most, if not all, of these budget proposals are unlikely to pass through a Republican controlled Congress, so the document is more of an outgoing presidential wish-list than a hard-and-fast road map for the future. Still, here’s a breakdown of just how Obama’s proposed budget would create a climate-smart economy and a more sustainable national infrastructure:
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/02/10/3747630/obama-budget-environmental-proposals/
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #472 on: February 12, 2016, 08:38:35 PM »
Bernie and Hillary Have Major Differences on Climate. If Only the Debate Moderators Would Ask.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/02/12/bernie_sanders_and_hillary_clinton_differ_on_climate_change.html
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #473 on: February 18, 2016, 08:23:11 PM »
Quote
Ford has cut ties with the controversial lobby group Alec, joining a roster of big corporations that have distanced themselves from the rightwing network that promotes policies at the state level to counter environmental regulations.
...
Ford’s departure from the American Legislative Exchange Council puts it in league with other massive corporations that in recent months have concluded that association with the lobbying network is more trouble than it’s worth. Other big firms that have similarly broken connections include the technology companies Google, Facebook, eBay and Yelp, as well as the energy giants Shell and BP.
...
The Guardian revealed that part of the group’s anti-green agenda was to agitate to make it more difficult for homeowners to install solar panels.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/17/ford-quits-alec-lobby-conservative-environment
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #474 on: February 18, 2016, 09:03:17 PM »
Republicans:  Hey, kids!  Do you like clean energy?  We do, too!  Sort of.  ;)

Republican Jay Faison Launches Super PAC to Boost Clean-Energy Candidates
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For Mr. Faison, the argument on behalf of forming a clean energy platform for the GOP is a political one. “We know the left is going to use this as a wedge issue in this election,” he said in an interview. “I’m dedicated to helping conservatives and the GOP go on the offense on this issue.” He said offering a conservative clean-energy platform would strengthen the party among key demographics, such as young voters.

Republican presidential candidates largely say they don’t oppose clean energy, just government policies that would support it – for example, tax credits for wind and solar power. On the stump, Republicans frequently deny the existence and importance of climate change and mock Democrats’ focus on the subject.
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2016/02/17/republican-jay-faison-launches-super-pac-to-boost-clean-energy-candidates/
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #475 on: March 01, 2016, 01:11:37 PM »
Florida Democratic Representative Alan Grayson is running for Marco Rubio's seat in Congress.  He is also a Democratic party superdelegate.  He asked people to vote online to tell him how to use his superdelegate vote. 

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I’m a “superdelegate.” In July, at the Democratic Convention, I will be voting for one or the other. I’d like to know which one you think I should vote for, and why.
http://alangraysonemails.tumblr.com/post/139502786856/bernie-sanders-or-hillary-clinton-talk-to-me?is_related_post=1

The result:

Now, after listening to We, the People, I feel the Bern.
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Perhaps inspired by the Bernie Sanders message of “Not me. Us.”, for the past several days, I have appealed to Democrats across the nation to tell me for whom I should vote, as a Super-delegate at the Democratic National Convention. The response has been absolutely overwhelming. Almost 400,000 Democrats voted at GraysonPrimary.com. More than the number who voted in the South Carolina primary. More than the number who voted in the New Hampshire primary and the Nevada caucus combined.

The results: Sanders 86%, Clinton 14%. More than just a landslide. An earthquake.
http://alangraysonemails.tumblr.com/post/140215957691/i-feel-the-bern


Quote
I hereby endorse @BernieSanders to be our Democratic nominee for President of the United States. #FeelTheBern alangraysonemails.tumblr.com/post/140215957…
https://twitter.com/alangrayson/status/704329402839121920
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #476 on: March 07, 2016, 04:52:51 PM »
Quote
Immediately, Bernie Sanders replied with a zinger: “My answer is a lot shorter. No. I do not support fracking.”
Hillary Clinton, Who Used to Sell Fracking Around the World, Denounces Fracking at Debate
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/03/06/demdebate_bernie_sanders_crushes_hillary_clinton_on_fracking.html
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #477 on: March 07, 2016, 04:58:21 PM »
New York State’s pension fund would have an additional $5.3bn to give to its retired employees if it had divested from fossil fuel companies and put that money into clean energy, according to a new report.
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The report’s findings are in step with market trends. A record-breaking $329.3bn was invested in renewable energy worldwide last year, while falling oil and gas prices have delayed $380bn worth of investments in deepwater and other projects.

“Clean energy indices have out-performed the market over the last year, three years, and five years,” said Brett Fleishman, senior analyst at 350.org, a climate policy advocacy group. “And clean energy indices have way out performed oil and gas indices over the last 12 months.”
http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/mar/04/fossil-fuel-divestment-new-york-state-pension-fund-hurricane-sandy-ftse
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #478 on: March 10, 2016, 03:30:50 PM »
"Climate Hawks Vote" website asked its members to vote for which presidential candidate the Climate Hawks SuperPac should endorse.  Hillary Clinton provided a statement on her climate support bona fides, while Bernie Sanders said he would not comment because he does not request SuperPac help.

After 22,156 votes (scrutinized carefully for legitimacy), Bernie Sanders takes an extraordinary 92% of the vote!

Information about the vote:
THE ‘CLIMATE PRIMARY’: CLIMATE HAWKS VOTE LAUNCHES MEMBER-DRIVEN PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY ENDORSEMENT VOTE
Quote
We will campaign vigorously on your behalf to highlight the climate plans of your chosen candidate. Funds we raise will be used not on expensive television ads but on grassroots organizing and voter education. CHV will also continue to mobilize on behalf of our endorsed climate leaders down the ticket.
http://www.climatehawksvote.com/the_climate_primary_climate_hawks_vote_launches_member_driven_presidential_primary_endorsement_vote


Results page:  http://www.climatehawksvote.com/climate_primary_results

@ClimateHawkVote
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skanky

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #479 on: March 16, 2016, 02:29:15 PM »
Breaking news, in today's budget, the UK chancellor...
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...announces tax cuts for the oil and gas industry. Petroleum revenue tax is effectively abolished...

...and...

Quote
...is freezing fuel duty. He says the move means a £75 a year saving for the average driver.

Which jars with their recently stated aim to cut emissions to zero later this century. I guess "later" being the operative term.  ::)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/business-35783243

Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #480 on: March 16, 2016, 03:03:03 PM »
Breaking news, in today's budget, the UK chancellor...
Quote
...announces tax cuts for the oil and gas industry. Petroleum revenue tax is effectively abolished...

...and...

Quote
...is freezing fuel duty. He says the move means a £75 a year saving for the average driver.

Which jars with their recently stated aim to cut emissions to zero later this century. I guess "later" being the operative term.  ::)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/business-35783243

Wondering, "Why would they do that?", I figured it had to be because the industry is floundering. 
And I found this:
Quote
The North Sea oil industry has urged the chancellor to hand it a rescue package of tax breaks in next week’s budget, warning that the sector is “fighting hard for its survival” amid rock-bottom prices.

The lobby group Oil & Gas UK said about 14bn barrels of an estimated 20bn barrels of oil lying beneath the UK continental shelf in the North Sea would not be extracted unless conditions for the industry improved.

Economics director Mike Tholen said this could result in a decline in production that “puts at risk hundreds of thousands of skilled jobs, billions of pounds of tax revenues and the UK’s energy security”.
North Sea oil industry calls for rescue package of tax breaks in budget
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/mar/08/north-sea-oil-industry-calls-for-rescue-package-of-tax-breaks-in-budget


We seem to be aoproaching the last gasp of the fossil fuel industry.  Even tax cuts won't save all those jobs.
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #481 on: April 21, 2016, 12:55:27 AM »
I guess that some bipartisan US Congressional action on climate change is better than nothing:

http://www.newsweek.com/climate-change-bipartisanship-450151

Extract: "In a historic first, a small group of House Republicans and Democrats will convene Wednesday morning in Washington, D.C., to talk about climate change, as members of the newly formed Bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus."

See also:
http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060035831
« Last Edit: April 21, 2016, 01:00:31 AM by AbruptSLR »
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #482 on: April 21, 2016, 05:04:03 PM »
Good news and some bad news here.

Senate Passes Legislation Tailored to a Modern Energy Landscape
Quote
The Senate on Wednesday passed the first broad energy bill since the George W. Bush administration, a bipartisan measure to better align the nation’s oil, gas and electricity systems with the changing ways that power is produced in the United States.

The bill, approved 85 to 12, united Republicans and Democrats around a traditionally divisive issue — energy policy — largely by avoiding the hot-button topics of climate change and oil and gas exploration that have thwarted other measures.

Its authors, Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, chairwoman of the Senate Energy Committee, and Maria Cantwell of Washington, the panel’s ranking Democrat, purposely stepped away from any sweeping efforts to solve or fundamentally change the nation’s core energy challenges.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/21/us/politics/senate-passes-broad-bill-to-modernize-energy-infrastructure.html
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #483 on: April 22, 2016, 11:54:18 PM »
With the US suicide rate on the rise (see attached plot), it may be difficult to get many US politicians to support action on climate change:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/22/health/us-suicide-rate-surges-to-a-30-year-high.html?_r=0

Extract: "Suicide in the United States has surged to the highest levels in nearly 30 years, a federal data analysis has found, with increases in every age group except older adults. The rise was particularly steep for women. It was also substantial among middle-aged Americans, sending a signal of deep anguish from a group whose suicide rates had been stable or falling since the 1950s.
The suicide rate for middle-aged women, ages 45 to 64, jumped by 63 percent over the period of the study, while it rose by 43 percent for men in that age range, the sharpest increase for males of any age. The overall suicide rate rose by 24 percent from 1999 to 2014, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, which released the study on Friday."

See also:
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db241.htm
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #484 on: April 27, 2016, 02:43:12 AM »
Senate votes to increase wind energy funding
Quote
The Senate passed an amendment Tuesday that would keep funding for wind energy research and development at its current level and restore a cut that appropriators had put into their bill.

The amendment, from Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), would provide $95.4 million for the Department of Energy’s wind program, up from the $80 million in the bill proposed by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.).

Alexander, chairman of the subcommittee that oversees energy and water spending bill, is a frequent critic of wind energy, which he says gets too much government assistance and should compete on its own.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/277669-senate-votes-to-increase-wind-energy-funding
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #485 on: April 29, 2016, 08:48:05 PM »
U.S.:  These Republican Lawmakers Are Turning To Climate Action To Help Keep Their Seats
Quote
For most Senate Republicans, climate change is an anathema: 70 percent of Republicans in the Senate deny the scientific consensus that climate change is happening and humans are the main cause.

But a growing number of liberal and moderate Republican voters are concerned about climate change and want their elected officials to reflect that concern. And that leaves Republicans in tight campaigns for reelection with an interesting choice: embrace climate action, long seen as a liberal stance, or risk losing crucial voters.

Some Republicans have already made that choice — and they’re pivoting toward the center on climate policy. Early this week, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) filed an amendment to the 2017 energy bill specifying that climate change is real and that human activity contributes to the problem. Notably, the amendment fails to quantify how much of a role humans play in climate change, but it does state that Congress has a responsibility in taking actions to cut greenhouse gas emissions and support clean-energy technology.

The amendment was co-sponsored by four Republican senators — Mark Kirk (IL), Kelly Ayotte (NH), Susan Collins (ME) and Rob Portman (OH). Three of those senators — Kirk, Ayotte, and Portman — are currently running tight campaigns for reelection against opponents that tout strong records in environment and climate policy among their accomplishments.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/04/28/3773402/republican-senators-embrace-climate/
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #486 on: April 30, 2016, 03:32:38 PM »
Need much more of this.

Two senators want the U.S. to start selling war bonds — to fight climate change
Quote
What if we fought climate change with the same commitment we fight wars? The Green Party’s Jill Stein and Al Gore have long argued for a World War II-scale mobilization to fight climate change, and on Wednesday, two senators introduced a bill — the Climate Change Adapt America Bond Act — that’s the most concrete realization of this concept yet.

Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) propose issuing up to $200 million worth of infrastructure bonds to raise funds for climate change adaptation efforts like seawall construction, desalination, and drought resilience programs. The bill would leverage public interest to fend off the climate menace, modeled after the U.S. War Bonds program from World War II.
http://grist.org/news/two-senators-want-to-start-selling-war-bonds-to-fight-climate-change/
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #487 on: June 06, 2016, 07:32:25 PM »
Washington, D.C., announces divestment of $6.4 billion pension fund from coal, oil and gas companies
Quote
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The District of Columbia government announced Monday that its $6.4 billion pension fund has fully divested from its direct investments in 200 of the world’s most polluting fossil fuel companies. In doing so, Washington, D.C. has taken a critical step toward addressing climate change, joining the more than 500 cities, philanthropic organizations, faith groups, universities, and other organizations that have divested funds worth a collective $3.4 trillion.
http://dcdivest.org/2016/06/06/dc-divests-pension-fund-oil-gas-coal-companies/
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #488 on: June 08, 2016, 03:53:22 PM »
Will This Retired Lawyer Open the Floodgates of Divestment From Fossil Fuels?
Quote
His proposal calls for a legal reinterpretation of what constitutes prudent management of institutional funds now that the investment landscape is filled with new risks for fossil fuel investors.

With the world heading toward zero carbon emissions after the signing of the Paris agreement, Longstreth thinks it's time for some fresh guidance.

To that end, he's working channels to convince various attorneys general to spell out those risks in an "interpretive release," and offer guidance on how to handle them. He thinks the attorneys general of New York, Massachusetts and California will be most receptive to his proposal.
...
ICN: Let's say the Massachusetts attorney general issues an interpretive release along these lines, does it immediately put pressure on Harvard and MIT to divest from fossil fuels, for example?

Longstreth: Yes, it's addressed directly to them. It's like a telephone call directly to Drew Faust [the president of Harvard] saying, 'hey, you are subject to the law we administer and enforce, and here's what we think it means in regard to your portfolio of fossil fuel companies.'

And then by indirection it would apply to Stanford and the University of Texas, and Princeton University, even though they are in other states, because the law is uniform. And you'll influence the SEC, because again they'll be caught with their pants down, doing nothing, when they ought to be leading the charge.
http://insideclimatenews.org/news/07062016/retired-lawyer-boris-longstreth-floodgates-divestment-fossil-fuels-climate-change-investments
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12Patrick

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #489 on: June 08, 2016, 09:12:39 PM »
Thus far ALL climate change actions are to slow...

Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #490 on: June 10, 2016, 02:19:58 AM »
Clinton Claims Nomination, Blasts Trump on Climate
The first female U.S. presidential candidate will use global warming as an election issue
Quote
"We believe we need to make America the clean energy superpower of the 21st century, not insist that climate change is a hoax," Clinton said.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/clinton-claims-nomination-blasts-trump-on-climate/
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sidd

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #491 on: June 10, 2016, 08:53:43 AM »
Here's some Climate Change Action, and Money and Politics. Right on time, rich people paying the rulers of poor people to shoot em at the border as they flee. Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani.

"  ... part of Europe’s migration policy in Africa has set off alarm bells ... Europe’s dealings with repressive dictatorships in Sudan and Eritrea that have raised the concerns of human rights and humanitarian groups. "

" ...the Eritrean regime tries to stop people fleeing the country with a shoot-to-kill policy on its borders ..."

I am trying, and failing,  to imagine West Germany paying East Germany to build the Berlin Wall. Ah, but that was different, I hear apologists say.

I fear this, and worse to come. But of course it is much easier than cutting back on fossil consumption ... for now.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/eu-migration-eritrea-sudan_us_5759a90ae4b0e39a28acd632

sidd
« Last Edit: June 10, 2016, 08:59:58 AM by sidd »

anti-revisionism

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #492 on: June 10, 2016, 11:26:59 AM »
sidd, from that same article

Quote
Countries who do not cooperate will face consequences, the document warns. “Those countries who ... work with us will get certain treatment,” an EU official elaborated following its release. “Those who don’t want to or are incapable will get different treatment and that will be translated via our development, trade policies.”

 :o

Poor countries if you do not obey, we will crush you, sincerily, your masters

p.s. also a lotta lies about eritrea in that article  >:(

Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #493 on: June 29, 2016, 01:14:04 PM »
Science Organizations Again Urge Congress to Take Climate Change Seriously
The letter, signed by many major American groups, pushes back against climate denial and calls for policy solutions to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Quote
Thirty-one major American scientific organizations sent a letter to Congress on Tuesday emphasizing the overwhelming consensus on climate change science and the urgent need for climate action. The letter served as a scientific counterpoint to recent actions by Congress designed to question that consensus.
http://insideclimatenews.org/news/28062016/science-organizations-again-urge-congress-take-climate-change-seriously-lamar-smith-science-committee
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #494 on: June 30, 2016, 02:44:50 PM »
Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe plans to sidestep legislature and address climate change
Quote
Gov. Terry McAuliffe plans to bypass state legislators to address climate change by reducing carbon emissions from Virginia power plants.

McAuliffe signed an executive order Tuesday directing state agencies to deliver concrete recommendations for the carbon reductions by next spring.

The move puts him at odds with state lawmakers, who in the state budget specifically prohibited any spending related to the federal Clean Power Plan for reducing power plant carbon emissions while it is being challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court.
http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/government-politics/article_fff96c88-e59e-53ea-ae20-113d3c471f9a.html
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #495 on: June 30, 2016, 03:42:16 PM »
University System of Maryland to direct its endowment away from fossil fuels
Quote
The foundation that oversees the state university system's $1 billion endowment said Tuesday that it will stop investing directly in coal, oil and natural gas companies — a victory for a student-led movement to direct more of the portfolio toward clean energy.

The University System of Maryland Foundation, which helps fund scholarships, endowed professorships and more, said it would sign on to a United Nations pledge to be more socially aware in its investments, and appoint a staff person to identify opportunities in renewable energy.

"It's because of the students and the positions they took that caused us to focus on it this year," said Leonard Raley, president and CEO of the foundation. "But the world is changing and we're paying attention to it. We're concerned about climate change and I think the actions that our foundation took reflect that."
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/bs-md-usmf-divestment-20160628-story.html
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #496 on: June 30, 2016, 08:25:40 PM »
UK assigns climate skeptic to head climate change committee

UKIP to chair assembly climate change committee despite scepticism
Quote
Wales Green Party leader Alice Hooker-Stroud said putting a UKIP politician in charge of a climate change committee was "absolutely ridiculous".

"It makes a complete mockery of Welsh politics and today I am ashamed to be governed by a group that could make this decision," she said.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-politics-36651136
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #497 on: July 05, 2016, 04:46:42 PM »
Fossil Fuel Industry in Denial on Divestment
Quote
The main repository of industry pushback is DivestmentFacts.com, which endeavors to “educate” the public about the facts of divestment...as told by the Independent Petroleum Association of America. Given that their similar project to defend fracking, Energy in Depth, is not only funded by Big Oil, but also guilty of relying on shoddy pseudo-science, it’s unlikely anyone legitimate will take its claims seriously. But the fact that they’ve gone to the trouble of setting up a website demonstrates that they’re growing increasingly worried by the movement’s successes.
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/7/5/1545210/-Fossil-Fuel-Industry-in-Denial-on-Divestment
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #498 on: July 10, 2016, 04:16:07 AM »
U.S. Democratic Party Platform
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Eric Holthaus: If what I think happened just happened, it's a watershed moment in US climate politics. "All of the above" is dead.
https://twitter.com/ericholthaus/status/751956207280107520

Quote
Brad Johnson:  "I hope our brothers and sisters in the media are taking note of this moment." @BenJealous #climate #DemPlatform
https://twitter.com/climatebrad/status/751954409131806720

Video:
Quote
.@joshfoxfilm's full statement before the unity amendment #FeelTheBern #DemPlatform
https://twitter.com/people4bernie/status/751953929013858304

Quote
Brad Johnson:  Read the unity climate amendment that just passed unanimously: #DemPlatform #climate
https://twitter.com/climatebrad/status/751955725585412096
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silkman

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Re: Money and Politics: The Drive for Climate Change Action
« Reply #499 on: July 10, 2016, 10:36:08 AM »
UK assigns climate skeptic to head climate change committee

UKIP to chair assembly climate change committee despite scepticism
Quote
Wales Green Party leader Alice Hooker-Stroud said putting a UKIP politician in charge of a climate change committee was "absolutely ridiculous".

"It makes a complete mockery of Welsh politics and today I am ashamed to be governed by a group that could make this decision," she said.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-politics-36651136


Sigmetnow, this story fortunately relates to the Welsh Assembly, not Westminster.

That said, anything is possible should the increasingly odious Andrea Leadsom become our next Prime Minister with the support of the climate sceptic right wing of the Tory party!

Wales, of course, is a country the size of, well, Wales😊. However, they did unlike England, get to the semi-finals of the EURO 2016 football tournament, just edging out the mighty Iceland in the process.

Good things sometimes come in small parcels, it seems.

In the post Brexit gloom here, just 35 miles from the Welsh border, we could do with some good things right now.