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Andy Stevenson's Blog

Issues: U.S. Law and Policy

The Clean Air Act's Investment Returns Rival Warren Buffett's

February 11, 2010

Posted by Andy Stevenson in Curbing Pollution , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
berkshirehathaway, cleanairact, cleanairact1990, cleanenergy, energysecurity, EPA, murkowskiamendment, warrenbuffett

What if I were to tell you that we are all shareholders in an investment vehicle that has produced better returns than Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway over the past forty years. Strange as it seems it's true. Stranger yet, that...

Putting America First in the Clean Energy Jobs Race

February 4, 2010

Posted by Andy Stevenson in Green Enterprise , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
chinacompetitiveness, cleancars, cleanenergy, cleanenergyjobs, co2eor, energyindependence, energysecurity, environmentalentrepreneurs, lindseygraham, presidentobama, renewableenergy

The United States Senate is considering policy that has the power to reinvigorate the economy, create millions of American jobs, increase our energy security and open up vast new exports markets for American-made products.  That policy is comprehensive energy and...

Three Reasons for the President to Highlight Energy and Climate Legislation in the State of the Union Address

January 20, 2010

Posted by Andy Stevenson in Green Enterprise , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
capandtrade, climatesecurity, energyandclimate, energyindependence, energysecurity, greenjobs, nationalsecurity, presidentobama, senateclimatebill, stateoftheunionaddress

Here are three reasons energy and climate should be a top legislative priority for President Obama and Congress this spring: 1. Jobs Ask employers what’s going to convince them to hire more people and they will all tell you the same...

Climate Bill to Help Unlock a $10trln Opportunity for American Businesses

January 5, 2010

Posted by Andy Stevenson in Green Enterprise , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
advancedvehicles, bestinvestment, bestinvestmentfor2010, buildingefficiency, capandtrade, cleancars, cleanenergy, cleanenergyjobs, co2eor, energyandclimate2009, greenjobs, iea, industrialefficiency, renewableenergy, thomasfriedman, weo

The best US investment in 2010 won’t be made on the floor of a stock exchange. It will be made on the floor of the US Senate with the passage of a bill to cap our carbon emissions. A bill...

Paul Krugman's Affordable Truth Sees Climate Bill Helping Revive the Economy

December 7, 2009

Posted by Andy Stevenson in Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
anafforabletruth, capandtrade, cleanenergy, climateandenergy2009, climatesecurity, copenhagenmeetings, economicrecovery, economicstimulus, paulkrugman, presidentobama

Today's op-ed column by Paul Krugman, "An Affordable Truth" supports a view that a cap and trade bill designed to dramatically cut our greenhouse gas emissions is  “affordable, essential”, and can help our economy recover faster. The article describes how financial incentives...

The Dollars and Sense in Trading Carbon

December 3, 2009

Posted by Andy Stevenson in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
carbonmarkets, carbonregulation, carbontax, carbontrading, energyandclimate2009, feinsteinsnowe, financialregulation, otctrading, storyofcapandtrade, waxmanmarkey

The "trade" portion of the cap and trade bill is getting a lot of heat from the left and the right as being just another way for the banks to get rich and leave us with the bill. These concerns...

Fighting Tomorrow's Battles Today with Climate Policy

December 1, 2009

Posted by Andy Stevenson in Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
cleancars, climatesecurity, energyandclimate2009, energysecurity, EOR, militaryadvisoryboard, natonalsecurity, oiladdiction, oildemand, pentagon, waxmanmarkey

"America's current energy posture constitutes a serious and urgent threat to national security" — Retired Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn, member of the Military Advisory Board Our dependence on foreign oil poses a threat to our national security that will only...

Cleaner Cars to Drive Down our Gas Bills by 10% under Climate Bill

November 15, 2009

Posted by Andy Stevenson in Curbing Pollution , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
americanpetroleuminstitute, API, cafestandards, cleancars, presidentobama, waxmanmarkey

While the oil lobby continues its gas attack on climate legislation, a recent government study suggests that accelerating CAFE standards under the Waxman-Markey climate bill would actually lower our gas bills by more than 10% over the next two decades...

Americans are Dying to Support our Fossil Fuel Habit

October 26, 2009

Posted by Andy Stevenson in Curbing Pollution , Health and the Environment , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
airpollution, capandtrade, climateandenergy2009, coalfiredpowerplants, costofinaction, hiddencosts, kerryboxer, nationalacademyofsciences, nationalsecurity

A new report from the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) reveals that our energy bills are $120bln higher than they appear due to the "hidden costs" associated with the air pollution created by burning fossil fuels. The...

Senate’s Climate Bill Puts Green Collar on Carbon

October 5, 2009

Posted by Andy Stevenson in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
ACES, carbonmarkets, carbontrading, energyandclimate2009, energyspeculation, energytrading, greenpricecollar, kerryboxer, pricecollar

Senators John Kerry and Barbara Boxer have introduced a "green" price collar on carbon under their draft climate bill that should be applauded by emitters and environmentalists alike. A green price collar that will; 1) maintain the integrity of the...

Climate Bill Could Dramatically Increase US Energy Security

September 18, 2009

Posted by Andy Stevenson in Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
API, cap2.0, climateandenergy2009, CO2, coalfiredpowerplants, coaltoliquids, energysecurity, EOR, markettransformation, nationalsecurity, newtgingrich, oilconsumption, oilshales, tarsands, waxmanmarkey

One of the key findings from a new NRDC climate policy study is that policies to support CO2 capture and sequestration at power plants and industrial facilities could also help recover almost 37 billion barrels of stranded domestic oil by 2050. This increase...

Strong Regulation to Keep Carbon Markets Program Viable

September 15, 2009

Posted by Andy Stevenson in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
carbonmarkets, carbonregulation, carbontax, carbontrading, climateandenergy2009, josephmason, marketmanipulation

In a recent WSJ article entitled "Cap and Trade: Recipe for Disaster", Louisiana State University economist Joseph Mason outlines his concerns that special interests have already taken control of the European carbon markets and that the US carbon markets are...

Sage Words on Climate: Buffett and the Butterfly Effect

August 23, 2009

Posted by Andy Stevenson in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
capandtrade, carbondeficit, climateandenergy2009, climatechange, greenbackemissions, warrenbuffet, waxmanmarkey

In an NYT op-ed column this past week titled "The Greenback Effect," Warren Buffett voiced his concern that unchecked government spending by Congress is "spewing a potentially damaging substance into our economy" known as "greenback emissions". According to Mr. Buffett...

Energy Reforms Critical for Assuring Carbon Markets

August 12, 2009

Posted by Andy Stevenson in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
carbonregulation, carbontrading, CFTC, energyandclimate2009, energytrading, feinsteinsnowe, financialregulation, markettransformation, positionlimits, waxmanmarkey

A new report to be released later this month by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is expected to reveal that contrary to their previous findings, speculators were in fact to blame for generating a "significant" amount of the...

A Price Collar Won't Protect the Carbon Cap

July 28, 2009

Posted by Andy Stevenson in Green Enterprise , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
capandtrade, carbonregulation, carbonrisk, carbontrading, cleanenergy, climateandenergy2009, feinsteinsnowe, financialregulation, pricecollar, waxmanmarkey

A brief Politico article last week titled "Time for a Price Collar on Carbon" argued that a price ceiling should be included in the Senate version of climate legislation as a way to better ensure the bill's passage. While the...