states

I was surprised to see Sam Stein of The Huffington Post report Dick Cheney’s remarks on gay marriage as the former vice president taking a “more progressive tilt” than President Obama. Here’s what Cheney said:
I think people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish. Any kind of arrangement they [...]

My previous post reports on a UC Berkeley study showing how California’s environmental policies have boosted that state’s economy.
The National Conference of State Legislatures, in conjunction with the University of Maryland and the Center for Integrative Environmental Research, is releasing reports that also show that economic and environmental interests are aligning in other states.

Members of industry have long contended that environmental protections are incompatible with economic growth. That was one reason the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act didn’t get passed this year.
But a new economic study released today crunches some numbers and finds that environmental and economic interests are often aligned.

The first carbon cap-and-trade program has launched in the U.S. this week.
Ten northeastern states are capping their industrial CO2 emissions at 188 million tons and holding auctions for power plants to trade pollution allowances.

By developing its own plan to tackle climate change, California set a precedent for states looking to slash greenhouse gases. Now Chicago’s doing the same.  Mayor Richard Daley has laid out the first specific plan for a city to cut greenhouse gases to fight global warming.