Gas-Tax Break Shameful Policy

Executions surge in Middle East

(NEWSER) - Fewer countries than ever are executing people, but those countries are doing so with gusto, according to a new report from Amnesty International. Just 20 nations still use the death penalty. The US executed 43 people last year, making it 5th globally, and the only Western democracy on the list, the AP reports. “If you look at the company we're in globally, it's not the company we want to be in: China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq,” said the executive director of Amnesty International USA. More»

(NEWSER) - If the US wants to be, in Barack Obama’s words, the “world’s leading exporter of renewable energy,” it’s got a lot of catching up to do. China is the king of solar, and it’s moving aggressively on the US market, the New York Times reports. Chinese solar companies have cut the price of panels in half, with one company even selling them at a loss to Americans to build market share. More»

(NEWSER) - China's inefficient power plants and heavy reliance on coal are dragging down global efforts to curb climate change, a Greenpeace report warned yesterday. The report found that major Chinese power companies are responsible for a huge amount of the country's coal use and emissions, with the top three producers alone creating more carbon dioxide emissions than the total for all of Britain, the Guardian reports. More»

Country could be world's leader in clean energy by 2020

(NEWSER) - China is on course to obtain 20% of its energy from wind and solar sources by 2020—a transformation that would make the country the world leader in renewables. Beijing is ramping up its targets for clean energy, helped by the $590 billion stimulus package passed last year, a senior government official told the Guardian. "Due to the impact of global financial crisis, people are all talking about green and sustainable development," he said. More»

Freeman accuses; some deny, some take credit

(NEWSER) - Charles Freeman, the Obama choice to chair the National Intelligence Council who was forced to withdraw his name, thinks he knows what did him in. Though critics point to a number of factors—his stance on human rights, his financial ties to Saudi Arabia and China—Freeman is convinced that the Israel lobby blocked him, reports Politico. “There is a powerful lobby determined to prevent any view other than its own from being aired,” he wrote in a departing statement. More»