Special Reports

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The Mission Ahead: Energy and Environment

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Angelides: Bipartisanship Is Crucial for Producing a Meaningful, Job-Creating Climate Change Bill

Nov. 2, 2009

The climate and clean energy bill being debated in the Senate is exactly what we need to revitalize our battered economy and allow American businesses to not only compete, but lead in a low-carbon global economy.

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Drevna: Defending Consumers’ Choices

Oct. 5, 2009

Clearly the summer of 2009 will be one remembered not for its blistering temperatures, but for the heated debate over consumer choice — the right for Americans to decide for themselves the role their government should play in the marketplace. Without a doubt, health care reform has been the talk of the town hall, but another equally controversial discussion involving consumer choice is only a few more blocks down Main Street.

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Rep.Capps & Scarlett: A Better Way to Secure Our Border

September 29, 2009

Along this nation’s southern border, hundreds of miles of fence now snake over hills, through arroyos, and across deserts and grasslands. The fence, for many, symbolizes national security. But a closer look shows a planning and construction process fraught with problems as environmental protection laws are circumvented, community voices are muted and property owners along the border are ignored. A new measure, tucked into a Senate spending bill, would tighten prescriptions for border fencing. The measure moves us in the wrong direction.

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Farrell: Why the Business Community Is Wary of Cap-and-Trade: a View From Virginia

August 27, 2009

The House recently passed a controversial bill that seeks to establish an emissions trading structure referred to as cap-and-trade. It passed by a very slim margin, mostly along party lines, and was opposed by 44 Democrats. If the bill manages to pass a vote in the Senate and is signed by President Barack Obama, it would impose strict limits on the carbon-based energy used by American businesses.

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Spruill: A National Policy for Our Crowded Ocean

August 24, 2009

When we look out to the blue horizon, the ocean seems like a calm, vast space. But what we see on the surface of the water is deceiving — the ocean is alive with activity and it is crowded with wildlife and industrial uses. Like urban sprawl on land, the demand for space in our oceans and on our coasts is growing. New renewable energy and aquaculture facilities, commercial fishing, recreation, offshore drilling and shipping are all competing for space, and our demands continue to grow. Our ocean is getting crowded at a time when it is vulnerable to major changes.

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Climate Change — Now It's the Senate's Turn

As the climate change debate moves from the House to the Senate, experts weigh in on the policies and politics that will shape this important legislation in a special report.

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Cochran: House Paves the Way for Bill’s Success in Senate

August 3, 2009

Big change is hard, particularly in Congress. The status quo has its defenders, and that’s absolutely true in energy policy.
But something extraordinary just happened: A majority of the House — including Members from coal states, industrial states, farm states and some reform-minded Republicans — passed a clean energy bill that will cut oil imports and put us on a path to a low-carbon economy. That’s a change in energy policy beyond anything in most Americans’ lifetimes.

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Sandor: It’s Time U.S. Benefits From Cap-and-Trade

August 3, 2009

The Waxman-Markey bill that narrowly passed the House in June had a cap-and-trade system at its heart. With the bill now in the Senate, much concern remains about whether capping greenhouse gas emissions will hurt the U.S. economy, especially during a period of fragile economic recovery. Debate remains intense. But key facts, often overlooked, may provide some perspective.

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Timmons: An ‘Anti-Energy’ Bill Is the Wrong Approach Today

August 3, 2009

When the Senate takes up legislation that attempts to address climate change next month, everyone should be clear the debate is really about an energy bill — or more accurately, an “anti-energy” bill.

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Forrister: Companies Need Certainty, Not Delay

August 3, 2009

In the wake of House passage of energy and climate legislation, the big question confronting the Senate is whether to act this year — which will no doubt involve much effort and compromise on all sides — or whether to wait.

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Reilly, Rowe and Tierney: Guidelines for Reliable, Affordable Cap-and-Trade

August 3, 2009

Seventeen years have passed since President George H.W. Bush traveled to Rio de Janeiro and joined world leaders in pledging to stabilize greenhouse gases from human activities. Since then, U.S. emissions have increased 14 percent while global emissions have risen nearly 36 percent. Clearly a new global effort is needed. And time is of the essence.

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Richter: The Senate Can Improve on the House Bill

August 3, 2009

Will climate change finally wake us from our energy lethargy? Three times in the past 36 years, our nation has suffered from oil shocks and done little to implement lasting policies that could avoid them in the future. We took some small steps in the 1970s and 1990s, but ultimately we failed to close the deal.

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Mason: EU Cap-and-Trade System Provides Cautionary Tale

August 3, 2009

In the past several months, energy and climate discussions have taken center stage on Capitol Hill with lawmakers scrambling to meet the aggressive deadlines they’ve announced for cap-and-trade legislation. Top House and Senate Democrats agree that it’s imperative they pass climate change legislation. However, our nation’s leaders must also recognize the importance of taking the steps necessary to review proposed policies with a critical eye.

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Kamarck: Gore’s Carbon ‘Tax Shift’ Beats Cap-and-Trade

August 3, 2009

In late June, the House of Representatives narrowly passed a historic climate change bill. Now, the Senate has taken up the task of creating its own version of this enormous and complex legislation — an endeavor that’s likely to face many challenges. In fact, passage is far from certain.