Climate Change

"Democrats in Congress wasted no time in taking up President Barack Obama’s challenge Tuesday night that lawmakers take a 'market-based' approach to addressing climate change, even if their effort has little hope of success."

"Two-thirds of Americans want President Barack Obama to act now on climate change, adding momentum to his state of the union promise to take up the challenge with or without Congress."

Some 48 prominent activists were arrested at the White House Wednesday when they protested the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which they say will worsen climate change. The Obama administration faces an upcoming decision on completing the pipeline.

"This year, the Commerce Department will investigate the feasibility of a bicycle share program. The Agriculture Department's Risk Management Agency will redraw planting zone maps for the purposes of insuring nursery-grown plants. And the Department of Defense will scale down its fleet of gas-guzzling Humvees. These are all examples of steps federal agencies will take in 2013 in an effort to deal with the risks of future climate change. The Obama administration released its first climate change adaptation plans Thursday, as part of the annual sustainability reports."

"U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday gave Congress an ultimatum on climate change: craft a plan to slash greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the dangers of a warming world, or the White House will go it alone."

"President Barack Obama’s annual addresses to Congress offer a glimpse at a leader whose rhetoric on energy and the environment has changed dramatically over the past four years -- from his calls to pass sweeping climate legislation in 2009 to a full-throated embrace of natural gas last year."

"As North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory's budget director, Art Pope will help make important fiscal decisions for a state facing serious threats due to climate disruption, from destructive storms and more intense hurricanes to unusually fast-rising seas. But he will carry out that work in a political context that's been shaped by disinformation about climate science -- thanks to efforts Pope himself has generously funded."

"The United States will struggle to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to promised levels by 2020, a report from a prominent think tank warned this week, but the federal government, states and industry already have the means at their disposal to achieve such goals."

"Greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. power plants fell 4.6 percent in 2011 as more generators were switched to cleaner-burning natural gas and renewable sources from coal, according to new data from the Environmental Protection Agency."