Ten years ago, I asked a top U.S. Green Party organizer why the party's official platform was such a shallow set of 1960s big government prescriptions, rather than a thoughtful 21st century set like greens in some other countries advance. "When we have a chance to win, we'll put more...

New poll finds voters want a simpler fee-based approach

President Obama has breathed new life into the battle to save the climate. His Copenhagen gambit opens the door to a general, political agreement that could have much broader support than the stalled treaty negotiations.

Now, a...

This past weekend, people in 181 countries came together for what may have been the "most widespread day of environmental action in the planet's history." At over 5200 events around the world, people gathered to call for strong action and bold leadership on the climate crisis.

But you wouldn't have...

But we all need a political force that can undercut their power

When hordes of angry protesters descended on town hall meetings two weeks ago, conservative zealots celebrated what liberal zealots have long admired: the ability of small mobs to shut down discussion on an issue.

Now the...

One of my moments of understanding about the Bush administration happened when George W. said, a year or so into his term, that religion is the source of moral behavior in society - that without religious faith, there was nothing to keep humanity from acting unethically. Implicitly, we need the...

Put a price on carbon to drive efficiency up and coal out

By Bill Shireman

The Waxman-Markey climate bill won't put the nation on ">the low-carbon diet it clearly needs. Instead, the current version of the legislation could actually increase our reliance on coal, warns Dr. James Hansen,...

President Obama has a powerful new set of allies in his corner, the Associated Press reports: lobbyists.

In Obama's reform package, lobbyists for the health care industry "see a strategic opportunity" to "guarantee a steady stream of customers subsidized by taxpayers not only for insurers, but for all medical providers."...

This Fourth of July, it is time for us to lead

It is the responsibility of leaders to make the necessary possible. Needless to say, however, we don't have many true leaders these days, especially in politics.

Too many political animals try to demonstrate their sophistication by letting real solutions...

It's no secret how to save the world's climate: put a price on carbon - enough to drive a 2 or 3 percent annual emissions reduction. Use the revenues to cut taxes on things we want, like jobs, savings, and profits.

That's it. We're done. In a single...

Paul Krugman derides the embarassing right wing Tea Party-goers protesting government spending. He would be more successful if he looked beneath the protests, to the fear that drives many to join them.

True, the tea parties were largely a ratings-boosting initiative of Fox News, and few participants knew they...

The power we birth, when we bring together the political masculine and feminine

The most inspiring and lasting social progress happens when a few left and right citizens stop battling each other over their mutual prejudices, and start listening, learning, and acting in alignment.

That's what happened Thursday in...

The media has a liberal bias, argue angry conservative talk show hosts, from their high-paid perches atop the nation's leading media companies.

Or, the media has a conservative bias, claim liberal Pacifica Radio commentators, pointing to what they claim is corporate control even of public broadcasting.

They are right -...

I took a field trip today, during the lunchtime break of the PowerShift conference in Washington DC - which brought together 12,000 global warming activists - and took a taxi over to the OMNI hotel, where 9,000 equally passionate activists were also meeting, at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

And...

As the Obama administration prepares to take on the worst economic crisis in 80 years this week, it is putting the emphasis on a promising new principle: don't just stimulate old, petroleum-hungry growth -- stimulate smart growth.

That won't be easy. It requires that we change old entrenched ideas on...