George Zornick

Obama Makes a Strong Choice to Head the EPA

George Zornick on March 5, 2013 - 12:17 PM ET

Gina McCarthy speaks at a climate workshop sponsored by The Climate Center at Georgetown University, Thursday, February 21, 2013, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

There are three basic things one would hope to see in the White House’s nominee for the Environmental Protection Agency. He or she should possess a big, ambitious vision for combating climate change; he or she should have federal rule-making experience, since that’s the administration’s only real hope for getting things accomplished in that area; and he or she should be able to get confirmed by the US Senate.

State Department Report Paves the Way for Keystone Approval

George Zornick on March 1, 2013 - 7:14 PM ET

The State Department released its initial reassessment of the environmental impact of constructing the Keystone XL pipeline late Friday—and the document quickly enraged environmentalists and seemed to buttress the arguments of pipeline proponents.

Since it’s a draft, the report made no recommendation one way or the other on building the pipeline. But it raised no major environmental concerns with doing so. This is the key paragraph:

Based on information and analysis about the North American crude transport infrastructure (particularly the proven ability of rail to transport substantial quantities of crude oil profitably under current market conditions, and to add capacity relatively rapidly) and the global crude oil market, the draft Supplemental EIS concludes that approval or denial of the proposed Project is unlikely to have a substantial impact on the rate of development in the oil sands, or on the amount of heavy crude oil refined in the Gulf Coast area.

Sequestration Is Here: The Danger That Lies Ahead

George Zornick on March 1, 2013 - 4:50 PM ET

John Boehner and Republicans are balking at Barack Obama's replacement plan, which still includes far more cuts than new revenues. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais.)

At midnight, $85 billion in federal budget funds will be sequestered (that is, held back) by the Treasury Department, with the potential to cause real pain for the economy and many Americans if Republicans and Democrats can’t agree to some sort of solution. (For an explainer about how this all came about, see here.)

Ad Policy

Financial Transactions Tax Introduced Again—Can It Pass This Time?

George Zornick on February 28, 2013 - 2:24 PM ET

Representative Peter DeFazio and Senators Tom Harkin and Sheldon Whitehouse (left to right) announce a bill to create a financial transactions tax on February 28, 2013, in the US Capitol. Photo by George Zornick.

Just like the Congress before this, and the one before that, the 113th Congress will have a financial transactions tax to consider—and its backers are confident that, this time, they can make it law.

Did a Contribution to Obama’s Inaugural Win a Crucial Nuclear Loan Guarantee?

George Zornick on February 26, 2013 - 1:47 PM ET

Michelle and Barack Obama greet attendees at the Inaugural Ball. Southern Company helped fund the event and is now up for a loan from the administration. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster.)

President Obama’s inaugural committee struggled to raise money for the festivities earlier this year—perhaps that’s normal for the second time around, especially when the first inaugural was so hyped and so historic. The sluggish fundraising came even though the committee allowed corporate contributions, unlike the first inauguraiton, and also made a major retreat on donor transparency: the inaugural committee released only the donor name, and not his or her employer, city, state and amount donated. (The Center for Responsive politics has still only matched 60 percent of the names released by the committee to an employer, and it has no idea how much the person donated.)

Another Ad Attacks McConnell on Gun Control

George Zornick on February 25, 2013 - 6:55 AM ET

Ahead of a big Senate hearing this week on an assault weapons ban, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will again be the target of tough new ads in his home state on gun control—reminding voters of the money he’s taking from the industry and his hardline stance against any new reforms.

The new ad, taken out by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, features a Kentucky hunter named Gary who calmly boasts that he only needs one shot to take down a deer, and doesn’t understand why anyone would need high-capacity weapons. He then blames McConnell for blocking reform so he can keep receiving gun industry money. See it here:

Rupert Murdoch Actually Raises a Good Point About Keystone XL

George Zornick on February 22, 2013 - 12:07 PM ET

The irascible head of News Corp sent the above Tweet on Thursday, undercutting months of diligent work on behalf of his American cable news network to paint the Keystone XL pipeline as the safest, most awesome public works project ever.

Aside from providing pipeline opponents endless “even Rupert Murdoch thinks …” talking points, Murdoch has done a real service here by highlighting a sometimes underlooked problem with Keystone XL: pipeline integrity. Indeed, tar sands oil is uniquely heavy and dirty, and the government isn’t totally sure it can be safely transported. Which is not what one really wants in a pipeline that literally traverses the entire country.

'Forward on Climate' Rally Sends a Message to Obama: No Keystone

George Zornick on February 17, 2013 - 3:08 PM ET

A sign at the "Forward on Climate" rally in Washington, DC, on February 17, 2013. (Photo by George Zornick.)

Over 35,000 people descended on the National Mall in Washington on Sunday, huddled together against a stinging cold wind to deliver a message of opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline. Their audience was really just one man, the only one with the power to stop the project: Barack Obama.

Sanders, Boxer Outline 'Gold Standard' Climate Bill

George Zornick on February 14, 2013 - 6:54 PM ET

Senators Bernie Sanders and Barbara Boxer, along with representatives of many mainstream environmental groups and think tanks, announce comprehensive climate change legislation, February 14, 2013, on Capitol Hill. Photo by George Zornick.

In the midst of a heightened conversation on combating climate change—as thousands of protestors are headed to DC this weekend to protest against the Keystone XL pipeline project, and as President Obama increasingly uses his bully pulpit to talk about the issue—the Senate is now jumping into the fray.

More Civil Disobedience at the White House Over Keystone XL

George Zornick on February 13, 2013 - 4:11 PM ET

Environmental leaders and activists handcuff themselves to the White House gate on February 13, 2013. (George Zornick)

As an administration decision on Keystone XL looms—Secretary of State John Kerry said last week it would come in the “near term”—the protests and civil disobedience in Washington are heating up once again.