Blog
Green Climate Fund: Course correction needed?
Originally posted on Reuters The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is meant to be a new, innovative institution that will directly support climate action in developing countries, with a particular focus on the poorest and most vulnerable who thus far have had little access to climate finance. Further, the GCF… Read More
Getting climate finance right
Successful examples for the Green Climate Fund from around the world UN climate watchers are eager to see what projects and programs the Green Climate Fund finances out of the starting gate. The implications of the initial project pipeline are big — not only because they will set a precedent… Read More
‘Kayaktivists’ to protest offshore oil and gas drilling
A group of kayakers is demanding that the Obama administration put an end to offshore oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Ocean. The “kayaktivists” will protest in front of the White House on Saturday. They are calling for President Obama to revoke oil and gas exploration leases in the Chukchi… Read More
Bumblebees Decimated by Climate Change: Study
All bees — all pollinators, actually — are under stress these days, but bumblebees are especially affected by climate change, according to a new study. Other species are mitigating the effects of warming by expanding their territories northward, but not bumblebees, found the study, published in Science. In fact, bumblebees… Read More
Court upholds ban on contractor pay-to-play donations
Earlier this week, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously rejected a challenge to the 1974 ban on campaign contributions by federal contractors. Ruling on Wagner v. FEC, the 11-member court collectively upheld the Nixon-era rule designed to prevent quid pro quo corruption via “pay-to-play” political donations by individual… Read More
EPA spending bill pulled from House floor
House leaders’ decision to pull the Interior Department and Environmental Protection Agency spending bill from a vote Thursday benefits environmental groups, at least for a short time. Obama designates three new national monuments; EPA spending bill pulled from House floor -Washington Post 7/10/2015… Read More
Environmentalists Aren’t Sorry Confederate Flag Debate Threatens Bill To Cut EPA Funding
Here’s one group that’s not very disappointed that a major House appropriations bill has gotten bogged down in a fight over the Confederate flag: environmental advocates. The bill, which would appropriate funding for the Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency, was pulled from the floor Thursday morning after… Read More
Cruise industry eyes Cuba
The Obama administration’s plans to normalize relations with Cuba and the introduction of legislation to relax travel restrictions between the U.S. and Cuba have launched a tourism frenzy -- and the cruise industry is first in line. Read More
When Wilmar finishes, we have no future left: New report on Nigerian palm oil land grabs
The oil palm tree is native to West Africa and palm oil, in its rawest form, is a staple of the West African diet. So, while it is new to Western consumers as an ingredient in roughly half of our packaged foods and cosmetics, palm oil is nothing new to… Read More
Clinton emails may revive environmental group’s lawsuit
Hundreds of emails reveal that Clinton’s staff was concerned over the agency’s response to FOIA requests. An environmental group whose request for records related to the Keystone Pipeline was reportedly hampered while Hillary Clinton served as secretary of state is considering taking the case to court for the second time. Read More