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The Battle Over the New Climate Bill

By Jonathan Isham / On June 29th, 2009
Today, hundreds of citizens are on the forefront of the climate movement; 20 years ago, in the summer of 1989, the fight against global warming had only two well-known spokespeople: Senator Al Gore and NASA Scientist Jim Hansen.  (Bill McKibben, now at the helm of the indispensable 350.org, joined this august roster with the publication of The End of Nature).  Recently, I was lucky enough to hear each of them share their strong opinions about American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), the House’s energy and climate bill that
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Getting to the Root of Recurring Water Conflicts

By Holly Doremus / On April 21st, 2009
The western United States is characterized by highly variable and seasonal rainfall patterns. To deal with the constant threat of drought, the West relies on intensively managed water systems. Today, those systems face two challenges that were not anticipated when they were developed decades ago: increased demands that water be left in streams to sustain aquatic systems; and global climate change, which will decrease snowfall, leaving less water for farms and cities. The inevitable result is heightened conflicts over water allocation.
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Terry Tamminen: "Cop" to It Now: An Empty-Handed US Will Be a Party-Pooper

By Terry Tamminen / On April 15th, 2009
The 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) sounds like a contradiction in terms--conferences are business-like and dull while parties are, well, fun! But COP 15 is actually the formal name of the annual gathering of nations that participate in the UN's effort to curb climate change and the "party" is about half a year from now in Denmark. Will the US arrive with little more than a tourist map of Copenhagen and some well-worn stories about China being the world's leading emitter of greenhouse gases (GHGs)?
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Obama Needs Churchill 101

By Jonathan Isham / On February 25th, 2009
In times of great trial, the best politicians strive for Churchillian rhetoric – or better yet, simply quote Churchill.  And in tough times, no quote resounds more than Churchill’s memorable assessment, in late 1942, of the Battle of El Alamein, the first major British victory in WW II: “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”
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What comes after *Yes, we can!*

By Jonathan Isham / On November 18th, 2008
So what next for climate activists swept up in ‘Yes, we can!' mania?  Perhaps we first must acknowledge how hard this is going to be.  As a friend wrote to me in reaction to last week's blog post, "I share your enthusiasm about the long-term, but the near term is going to be very challenging.  Obama needs to convince the public that some pain is required immediately in order to clean out the problems in the financial system, mortgage markets, and budget deficit." My friend is right of course, and so-far-so-good
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Yes, we can!

By Jonathan Isham / On November 5th, 2008
Yes we can! - That unforgettable call-and-response, heard again last night in Barack Obama's stunning acceptance speech, echoes today around the world.  And I and my fellow climate activists are happy to take all the credit for the President-elect's use of this phrase.

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