Stop the Keystone XL

Posted on September 17, 2013 by Bill Hewitt

I’ve written here a number of times about the Alberta tar sands and the Keystone XL, and going back a few years as well at my old Foreign Policy Association blog. Ryan Lizza, a great political analyst and writer, wrote a fascinating update recently at The New Yorker: The President and the Pipeline. Not only does Lizza bring us up to date on the politics of the pipeline, but he profiles one of the key players in the mix today: Tom Steyer. Steyer is an activist with a difference – he’s got financial resources and many like-minded friends with similar resources. He’s got the ear of President Obama. He’s an increasingly influential force in Democratic party politics. He also founded the Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance at Stanford Law School, along with his equally high-powered wife, Kat Taylor. (I interviewed the executive director there, Dan Reicher, for my book, when Dan was still at Google.) Steyer is, in short, somebody I’m glad to have in my foxhole with me. Continue reading →

“The Global Threat of Our Time”

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Bill Hewitt

That’s what the President of the United States called climate change today at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. With Chancellor Angela Merkel on the podium beside him, he said: “The effort to slow climate change requires bold action. And on this, Germany and Europe have led.” Truer words were never said. “Our dangerous carbon emissions have come down. But we know we have to do more — and we will do more.” President Obama was referring to the US here in his speech. Continue reading →

Tar Sands – Is the Noose Tightening?

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Bill Hewitt

There has certainly been a tremendous amount of activity surrounding the Keystone XL pipeline project – as there should be: It’s a big test for the environmental movement and, frankly, for the Obama Administration. If approved and built, the KXL will give a tremendous boost to the economic prospects for Canadian tar sands. If denied, the permit will, at the same time, be a serious body blow to the further development of the tar sands and, perhaps more importantly, provide a hugely important signal from Barack Obama that he is deadly serious about solving the climate crisis. Beating back KXL will also be a historic victory for us treehuggers. Continue reading →

“Stop KXL” in New York (and The New Yorker)

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Bill Hewitt

Last week, there was a rally and March in New York City to send yet-another message to President Obama that the Keystone XL pipeline is a bad idea for the U.S. and for the planet. This picture juxtaposes two things of which we need more: loud and focused activism on climate change and superb green buildings like the Bank of America Tower. I’ve written here a few times about the KXL project. I’ve also had the privilege of interviewing one of the architects of the BofA Tower, Bob Fox, for my book. This building is also known as One Bryant Park and is one of the most advanced green buildings of its size in the world.

The salience of the opposition to the Keystone XL project is growing. One more indication is Elizabeth Kolbert’s eloquent essay in this week’s New Yorker: Lines in the Sand.

Continue reading →

China and US Boost Cooperation

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Bill Hewitt

I wrote in December about the Carbon Budget 2012 report from the Global Carbon Project. As you can see, China and the US are well ahead of the pack in carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion – from power, transportation, buildings and industry. Continue reading →

John Kerry at State

Posted on December 22, 2012 by Bill Hewitt

John Kerry is on track, with no significant US Senate opposition on the horizon, to become the next US Secretary of State. President Obama formally announced his nomination yesterday at the White House. In his remarks, Obama said: “…we’ve got to harness all elements of American power and ensure that they’re working together — diplomatic and development, economic and political, military and intelligence…” Of course, those tools need to be brought to bear on the pressing issues of climate change and sustainability. The Department of State has an awful lot in its portfolio and increasingly that has included taking these matters of the health of the planet and its people much more seriously than ever before. Continue reading →

Doha Climate Gateway

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Bill Hewitt

What is being called the “Doha Climate Gateway,” more formerly the 18^th Conference of the Parties (COP18) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), wrapped up this past weekend in Doha. It was the first conference of the parties to take place in the Middle East and, according to the Earth Negotiations Bulletin of the venerable IISD, the conference drew around nine thousand folks, including 4,356 government officials, 3,956 representatives of UN bodies and agencies, intergovernmental organizations and civil society organizations, and 683 members of the media. Continue reading →

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