Environmental Politics

"A United Nations chief dismayed at the lack of resolve toward the climate crisis; a daunting deadline for negotiating a new treaty; 125 or so heads of state; a sprawling agenda of fossil fuels, food, forestry and finance; a train of think tanks hauling gigabytes of green data; countless teach-ins, press conferences, art shows—plus tens or even hundreds of thousands of activists marching through midtown Manhattan, demanding action now."

"Described as a historic package of Northern Nevada lands bills — six introduced by Congressman Mark Amodei and one by Rep. Steven Horsford — will be up for final passage in the House as a bipartisan suspension bill on Monday, Sept. 15."

"Prominent oil lobby the American Petroleum Institute (API) said the Obama administration will likely boost the amount of biofuels refiners must blend into the nation's fuel supply to help out a Democrat in a tight Senate race."

"Efforts to come up with a new chemical regulation bill face an uphill battle in the Senate."

Proponents of Scottish independence are banking on that country's North Sea oil to fuel its economy -- but after four decades of pumping the reserves may not last forever.

"New US sanctions on Russia are the strongest yet against Russia. The point of new Russia sanctions on five major energy firms is to 'shut down' Russia's deepwater, shale, and Arctic exploration, according to one senior US official."

"Carpetbagger Scott Brown is discovering that his newfound refusal to accept climate science may hurt him in November’s New Hampshire Senate election. According to a new poll commissioned by the League of Conservation Voters, 48 percent of New Hampshire voters say they would be less likely to support a candidate who does not acknowledge the reality of climate change, versus only 21 percent who say they would be more likely."

"The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Thursday easily approved Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall’s nomination to be second in command at the Energy Department."

"The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Wednesday rejected a senior federal expert's recommendation to shut down California's last operating nuclear power plant until the agency can determine whether its twin reactors can withstand powerful shaking from nearby earthquake faults."