Blog
Dirty electricity isn’t renewable fuel
The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is the most important federal policy you have never heard of. It is also undoubtedly the most broken. For 15 years, it has forced dirty corn ethanol into the nation’s fuel supply. Read More
Biden’s ambitious goals for climate and agriculture require bolder strategies
The need for change is urgent, and the benefits to farmer and worker livelihoods, our climate, natural resources, and public health is immense. Read More
Role of carbon tax in Green New Deal
Climate change is a crisis that needs new thinking. For almost 30 years, the promise of cap-and-trade, carbon markets and faith in capitalism have generated a never-ending debate that has careened toward political inaction. Read More
A glimpse at Brazil reveals the big REDD problems that California’s Tropical Forest Standard fails to address
With the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change special report this week that explores the impacts of 1.5°C global warming, the heat is on to continue doing everything we can to address the climate crisis. But not all climate solutions are created equal. Read More
The California legislature just extended cap and trade. 3,000 people will die.
Richmond, California has been my home for the past 15 years. It’s also home to the largest refinery on the west coast, operated by Chevron, California’s single largest stationary source of greenhouse gas emissions. For almost four years, Richmond’s environmental justice advocates have been campaigning to prevent Chevron… Read More
Is California Selling Climate Illusions?
The Governor has spent the last months promoting the expansion of complicated market-based carbon trading mechanisms, known as “Cap-and-Trade,” as a cornerstone of state and global climate policy Read More
California plays fast and loose with climate science and environmental justice
Californians and global citizens are coming to soberly understand that California’s climate leadership may not be designed to protect people and the planet, but rather to protect polluters and their profits. Read More
Mexico’s human rights record raises questions for California REDD policy
Friends of the Earth Mexico and Friends of the Earth U.S. sent a letter to California officials yesterday, urging them to forego any joint agreement with Mexico on climate change, carbon trading and REDD until the Mexican government proves itself capable of guaranteeing the security of the population. Read More
False Solutions for Forests: Biomass Energy, Sustainable Timber, and Carbon Markets
Even as policies guiding timber exports fail to curtail deforestation, the world’s energy economy is demanding increased burning of biomass -- meaning forests. Read More
California REDD: A False Solution
Among environmental advocates, and especially forest defenders, REDD can be a complicated and divisive issue; among those a little beyond the inner circles of environmental advocacy, it’s downright baffling. Read More