Newt Argues a Conservative Green Plan

We need an energy bill, quickly

(NEWSER) - Thomas Friedman is getting antsy about the energy bill languishing in the Senate. He blames Republicans for reducing the debate to insults about "climate change" and "carbon taxers" and Democrats for not fighting back. To get things moving, President Obama has to get serious about rustling up the votes of seven Republican senators, which is seven more than he's got now. If he fails and the GOP takes control of Congress, this opportunity will vanish until "a climate or energy crisis" forces the issue. More»

How else to explain them being OK with the exploding population?

(NEWSER) - Opponents of cap-and-trade legislation must believe that a massive plague will wipe out 2.5 billion people sometime between now and 2050. Otherwise, their stance makes no sense, writes Thomas Friedman of the New York Times . Even if you don’t believe climate change is real—and Friedman does—you can’t deny that the world is getting more crowded. According to a 2006 UN report, the population will rise 2.5 billion by 2050. More»

Former VP dials Congressional Dems to rally support

(NEWSER) - With controversial cap-and-trade climate legislation now in committee, former vice president Al Gore has mobilized his lobbying organization and grass-roots movement behind the bill, even calling some wavering Democrats personally, Politico reports. While some groups feel the measure is too soft on polluting industries, the Nobel Prize winner supports its goal of moving the US toward carbon neutrality. More»

(NEWSER) - Al Gore and Newt Gingrich both appeared on Capitol Hill today, arguing for and against Democratic legislation that would shape US policy on energy and the environment, MSNBC reports. Gore said the legislation, which would mandate a sweeping changeover to a green economy in the next 50 years, “has the moral significance equivalent to that of the civil rights legislation of the 1960s.” More»

To garner support, simplify plan and focus message: Friedman

(NEWSER) - Proponents of cap-and-trade, the climate policy Democrats are currently championing, argue that it “'hides the ball'—it doesn’t use the word 'tax'—even though it amounts to one," writes Thomas Friedman in the New York Times. There’s just one problem: “Opponents are not playing hide the ball anymore.” They’re calling cap-and-trade a tax and, worse, a Wall Street scheme. “So why not go for the real thing—a simple, transparent, economy-wide carbon tax?” More»