Rep. Michael Honda, D-Calif.

International negotiators at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change should not give up on achieving a multilateral, global approach to emission reductions. Currently underway in Doha, Qatar, negotiations are attempting to reach an agreement that will preserve the accomplishments of The Kyoto Protocol, which expires at the end of this month.
The impending expiration of the 1997 international agreement, which commits nearly 40 nations to greenhouse-gas reductions, should provide an even greater incentive and urgency for an agreement to be reached. So too should this latest article by National Journal energy and environment correspondent Coral Davenport titled "It's Already Too Late to Stop Climate Change," which appeared in print appropriately titled "The Climate Cliff".
A healthy planet is in the best interest of everyone and should certainly be a top-priority for every country. Evi

I support a carbon tax in that it will put a price on carbon, recognizing that there is a cost associated with the emission of greenhouse gases. With a financial cost associated with the damaging effects of fossil fuels, renewable energy sources will be able to compete on a fair playing field for the first time where they will be comparable in cost, removing an obstacle to adoption. For this reason, I have cosponsored the Save Our Climate Act, H.R. 3242, which would establish such a carbon tax.

The ease or difficulty in getting a carbon tax adopted may well lie in the details of how it is structured. If a mechanism can be found to establish a fixed value for a tax so that everyone can be certain going in what the tax would cost, that might help to assuage those who fear the uncertainty of how large the tax might be and how it might change in the future. But what is the right cost of carbon? At what level should the tax be set? What will the revenue be used for – to help those with less resources meet the higher cost, to develop green technologies, to support a

While gerrymandering saved the GOP the House majority, the results of the Presidential and Senate elections send a clear message that Americans support candidates who believe climate change is real and want leaders who will act to address the threat it poses to our country and the world. I hope that Republicans will be honest with themselves in their analysis of this election and recognize this.

To address climate change as the American public wants us to, we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across our economy, which requires a shift to renewable energy sources and more efficient use of energy. This isn’t something that drilling in more places for oil and gas or using more coal is going to solve.

There are some things that I believe we will be able to get agreement on in the short term in Congress, such as extending expired or expiring tax incentives for renewable energy and for research and development that will help to bring about improvements in the performance of renewables. We might see some action on legislation related to energy effici

The differences between the two presidential candidates -- and how they’d impact Silicon Valley in the next four years -- couldn’t be starker. One candidate wants to stick with an energy plan dependent heavily on fossil fuels, an old and dirty industry that will only take us backward instead of forward in terms of healthier air, cleaner water and more a renewable and sustainable energy mix. This is not conjecture. Mitt Romney has explicitly committed to doing so.

The other candidate — and this is where Silicon Valley’s innovation and entrepreneurship comes in -- is keen on clean energy and has vowed to make it America’s bread and butter, which is exactly what it should be given America’s ample wind and solar generative capacities. Already investing heavily in renewables, President Barack Obama “gets” what the future of energy should be and wants America to be globally competitive in solar, wind, biomass, among others. There is money to be made here and unless we keep pace, we will be outcompeted by international innovators, f

Silence on climate issues over the past few years is a real problem. The more time that passes before the US enacts a policy to address climate change and takes action, the higher atmospheric carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas levels rise. This is exacerbating the impact of climate change and edging us closer to the tipping point beyond which changes will become irreversible.

At the moment, a so-called “Frankenstorm” is bearing down on the East Coast of the United States. As Hurricane Sandy moves northward from the Caribbean, it is interacting with powerful jet stream winds that are boxing Sandy in along the coast. Blocking patterns such as this have appeared with greater frequency and intensity in recent years, which some scientists have attributed to the loss of Arctic sea ice as a result of global warming.

The 2012 sea ice melt season, which recently ended, saw sea ice extent, volume, and other measures all hitting record lows. The large expanses of water this opens up absorb sunlight and add heat and moisture to the atmosphere, helping to alt

We need to recognize that change doesn't come overnight, especially because many people keep their cars for a decade or longer. It has taken some time to develop the cars and get them to market, and it is going to take some time for consumers to be ready to replace their current cars and begin buying electric cars in greater numbers. Remember, it took about 20 years for gasoline powered automobiles to supplant animal powered transportation.

There are some things the government is already doing to help that should be continued, and additional efforts that we can undertake to help spur adoption of electric cars. We should continue to provide tax incentives to consumers who purchase electric vehicles, and continue to provide support for the installation of charging stations.

By partnering with innovative companies like Silicon Valley’s Coulomb Technologies and Better Place that are leading efforts to install the necessary fueling infrastructure, we can help make consumers feel confident that they will be able to recharge their electric car on long jo