Climate Change Goes 0-for-3 in Debates: Debate moderator Chris Wallace failed to ask a question on climate change or energy policy in the final presidential debate. The issue got two seconds of airtime when Hillary Clinton mentioned her plan for new clean energy jobs to fight climate change. Only two percent of the total time in the three debates was spent on climate and energy policy, due mostly to an audience question in the second debate — not a single moderator asked a climate question. (Vox, Brad Plumer column; New York Times, Paul Krugman column $; Grist, Emma Foehringer Merchant column; Mashable, Andrew Freedman column; Huffington Post, Kate Sheppard column; Guardian, Oliver Milman analysis; New York Times, David Leonhardt column $; ThinkProgress, Joe Romm column; Discover, Tom Yulsman column; Fusion, Ari Phillips column; USA Today editorial; Engadget, Mat Smith column; Bustle, Cheyna Roth column)
Solar “Political Jiu-Jitsu”: Florida’s Amendment 1 ballot initiative is an “incredibly savvy maneuver” that disguises anti-rooftop solar policy as pro-solar, an insider admitted. Sal Nuzzo, vice-president of the James Madison Institute that provided research for the utility-backed solar amendment, was caught on tape detailing the industry’s strategy. The amendment “would completely negate anything they (pro-solar interests) would try to do either legislatively or constitutionally down the road,” Nuzzo says. Opponents of Amendment 1 say this recording vindicates their assertions that the initiative is intentionally deceptive. (News: Miami Herald, ThinkProgress, Tampa Bay Times, Greentech Media, Sunshine State News, WMNF, Fox 4. Commentary: Forbes, William Pentland op-ed; Orlando Sentinel, Paula Dockery op-ed; Panama City News Herald editorial)
Typhoon Haima Displaces Tens of Thousands in Philippines: Super Typhoon Haima made landfall on the Philippines’ Luzon Island as a Category 4 storm, just days after Typhoon Sarika dumped 20 inches of rain on the island. Nearly 100,000 people have been evacuated with at least seven reported deaths. There’s been major flooding, landslides and significant damage to infrastructure. The storm, known locally as Lawin, is the strongest since Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 that killed more than 6,000 people. Theintensity of landfalling typhoons in the northwest Pacific has increased markedly since the 1970s. (News: BBC, Reuters, CNN, Wall Street Journal $, Washington Post$, Mashable, New York Times $, Climate Home, Al Jazeera, AFP, AP, Al Jazeera. Background: Climate Signals) |