Edward Felker

Farms-to-forest plan worries Vilsack

An incentive to convert up to 59 million acres of farmland into forests has Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack very concerned, saying impact of the House's climate bill would be disruptive to farming in parts of the U.S.

December 29, 2009

Climate bill pushes trees over food

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has ordered his staff to revise a computerized forecasting model that showed that climate legislation supported by President Obama would make planting trees more lucrative than producing food.

December 26, 2009

Climate change bill tough sell

Earlier this year, Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, the leader of an effort to write a U.S. climate change bill, argued that domestic cuts in greenhouse gas emissions would help President Obama pry similar cuts from China and other major developing nations.

December 22, 2009

Climate deal falls short

Barack Obama on Friday announced that he had agreed to a “first step” global warming deal with four other countries at the U.N. climate change conference — an accord long on promise and short on accomplishment.

December 18, 2009

U.S., China deadlock in Copenhagen

The U.N. climate change summit appeared Wednesday to be falling victim to a standoff between the United States and China, with observers starting to voice fears that already-low expectations for the conference will not be met.

December 17, 2009

EPA claims right to cut greenhouse gases

The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday formally declared that greenhouse gases, primarily from the burning of fossil fuels, pose a threat to human health and need to be reduced.

December 8, 2009

EPA issues CO2 ‘endangerment finding’

The Environmental Protection Agency formally declared Monday that carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels poses a threat to human health and welfare, a designation that set the federal government on the path toward regulating of emissions from power plants, factories, automobiles and other major sources.

December 7, 2009

Panel OKs climate-change bill without GOP

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Thursday passed a sweeping climate-change bill, with none of the panel's seven Republicans participating in the 11-1 vote.

November 6, 2009

Ignoring GOP, Senate enviro panel passes climate bill

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Thursday passed a sweeping climate change bill co-authored by Chairman Barbara Boxer and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., with none of the panel's seven Republicans participating in the 11-1 vote.

November 5, 2009

Republicans may stall climate change bill

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer said late Thursday that she wants to hold drafting sessions as early as Tuesday on the climate change bill pending before her committee, but the meetings could be delayed by Republican stalling tactics.

October 30, 2009

Baucus balks at climate change legislation

A key Democratic senator said Tuesday that he could not support the Senate's global warming bill in its current form, even as President Obama praised the legislation and Democrats moved to push it through committee.

October 28, 2009

Obama dismisses warming skeptics

As the Senate prepares for a week of hearings on sweeping climate change legislation, President Obama on Friday accused opponents of engaging in "cynical" claims that are failing to win the debate over the controversial bill.

October 24, 2009

Obama: Support builds for cap and trade

On the eve of Senate hearings on sweeping climate change legislation, President Obama said Friday that opponents are losing the debate over Democrats' controversial plan to cap carbon dioxide emissions.

October 23, 2009

Climate bill aids authors’ states

A little noticed Environmental Protection Agency analysis shows that the pending climate-change bill in Congress would particularly benefit the states represented by its primary authors.

October 20, 2009

Graham’s endorsement boosts climate bill

The endorsement of climate-change legislation by a leading Senate Republican has jump-started the proposal but also has raised the prospect that it will include two major items that environmentalists dislike.

October 13, 2009

Senate climate bill stricter on emissions

Senior Senate Democrats plan to unveil new climate-change legislation Wednesday that will call for steeper cuts in carbon dioxide emissions than a bill that passed the House this summer, but the measure is likely to be held up until President Obama's top priority, health care reform, is completed.

September 30, 2009

Senate delays climate bill until September

The Senate does not plan to make any serious move toward approving a climate change bill until September, a month later than its leaders' previous expectation.

July 9, 2009

Rep. Kaptur gets $3.5 billion sweetener in climate bill

When House Democratic leaders were rounding up votes Friday for the massive climate-change bill, they paid special attention to their colleagues from Ohio who remained stubbornly undecided.

July 1, 2009

House passes landmark climate change bill

The House Friday narrowly approved a sweeping climate change bill backed by Democratic leaders and President Barack Obama.

June 27, 2009

Energy panel OKs bill to drill offshore

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Wednesday approved an energy bill that would boost renewable energy use and expand offshore oil and gas drilling.

June 18, 2009