"Coal Is The Future" – Tony Abbott
Australia’s prime ministerial windbag, Tony Abbott, leaves no doubt about where he stands on climate change – it’s “crap.” Since coming to power, the now seriously unpopular Abbott has wasted…
carbon tax
Actually making the carbon tax revenue neutral could fund a fair education settlement
As the teachers’ strike continues, the BC Liberals have turned to an old stand-by: fear-mongering that they will have to raise taxes if they are to fund a settlement that…
How To Save The Climate In One Simple Step
There’s one simple step that will start to turn around around the climate crisis. Price carbon, get industry to pay the cost of their own pollution, and return the money…
Building Momentum For A Price On Carbon
Citizens’ Climate Lobby held its 5th Annual Conference in Washington DC June 22 – 24th. It was my second international CCL conference; at last year’s meeting there were 365 CCLers…
Pondering a palatable pipeline…
I guest-hosted TWiE podcast episode 137 a few days ago, an episode devoted to the Alberta oil sands / tar sands. If you ask me (and I realize none of…
Where’s the tax in BC’s carbon tax?
British Columbia’s carbon tax has been getting some high praise lately. A recent article in the Atlantic called it “the crown jewel of North American climate policy”. Such assessments need…
Surprise! Putting Price On Carbon Is A Job-Creating Bonanza
* SAN DIEGO, MARCH 3, 2014 – An aggressively-priced carbon tax in California, with revenue returned to the public, would actually grow the state’s economy and increase jobs, according to…
A Republican Talks About Changing The Dialogue On Energy & Climate
For this week’s TED Talk Tuesday, former Republican Congressman Bob Inglis spoke at TEDx Jacksonville earlier this year about energy and climate. Mr. Inglis is now the Executive Director of…
B.C. ‘s "textbook example" of good climate policy
High praise indeed from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In a recent speech, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría praised B.C.’s carbon tax as being “as close to a…
Green Party MLA Andrew Weaver Changes Colours-Green Mixed with Red Makes Brown
Richard ‘Hub’ Hughes- Political Blogger Andrew Weaver is not wasting much time putting his oar in the water. As the only and BC’s first Green MLA he is under a…
Grassroot Activists Gather On Capitol Hill To Lobby For Carbon Tax
* It was no easy feat trying to keep my cool while racing in my high heels between Congressional and Senate offices in the scorching D.C. heat last Tuesday.…
On climate change, a clear distinction between the major BC parties
By: Pembina Institute | Press Release: VANCOUVER — An assessment of climate change issues in political platforms reveals clear distinctions between British Columbia’s four major parties. Prepared by the Pembina…
Politicians Fiddling While Planet Burns: Scientists Warn 400 PPM Milestone Ahead
From Citizens Climate Lobby Canada: MAY 1, 2013 – “For the first time in 3 million years , the average daily concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, as recorded…
Party Positions on BC’s Carbon Tax
With the release today of the NDP’s fiscal plan in advance of the May 14 election here in British Columbia, we are now finally able to assess where the major…
Internalizing the Externalities of Fossil Fuels
It’s time to internalize the externalities of the fossil fuel industry. For far too long, the extremely high price we all pay in the pollution of our “commons” – air,…
Lessons from Big Tobacco: When the right to make money trumps the right to clean air
In Manitoba, beach-goers fed up with cigarette butt litter and drifting plumes of smoke have reason to celebrate. The province is the first in Canada to make beaches and playgrounds…
Plug-in electric car sales in Canada, January 2013 (via GreenCarReports)
My column on plug-in car sales in Canada for January 2013, is now up at GreenCarReports. Since it’s hard to write ~600 words about sales statistics in the very small…
Carrots and Sticks: How to Fund Public Transit
If we as a planet are going to avoid passing over the two-degree threshold of runaway climate change, we are going to have to start rationing greenhouse gas emissions. Efficiency…
From the mouths of Muppets: Why climate solutions are “simply not done”
Last month, while reading and reviewing Too Much Magic, I came across a line in the latter half of the book that really stung: “Not even people who are preoccupied…
Mankiw on raising taxes
This is a notable development in the U.S. conservative spectrum, an op-ed from Gregory Mankiw in the New York Times today dares to talk about raising taxes and on the…