Democracy News: What Should Obama Do About Climate Change?

Mission News & Events Masthead

February 26, 2008

What Should Obama Do About Climate Change?

The Washington Post

What would an Obama administration do about global warming? The Washington Post's Sebastian Mallaby believes Obama needs to embrace an idea that will be found in the upcoming issue of Democracy. Mallaby writes:

Democracy: A Journal of Ideas has a neat climate proposal in its next issue. Instead of charging drivers for car insurance at a fixed rate, why not link the insurance cost to the number of miles driven? That would create a new incentive to drive less, cutting carbon dioxide emissions by around 130 million tons per year, according to author Jason Bordoff. Obama should be celebrating this sort of creative thought...

You can find Mallaby's full piece here. We've decided to release Bordoff's article early; you can find it here.

Sign up for our mailing list

In Front of His Nose

Martin Kettle: Christopher Hitchens has had an orchestra seat from which to view history and has captured a lot—but what has he missed?

Why We Must Judge

Roger Berkowitz: It’s not all relative: Without judgment, a society loses its sense of justice.

From Democracy's Pages to Law of the Land

News: A letter from Editor Michael Tomasky on the signing of the financial regulatory reform bill -- and the new consumer financial watchdog it establishes that was first written about in Democracy.

Politico Discusses Michael Tomasky's

News: Writing in Politico, reporter Abby Phillip spoke with Michael Tomasky about his recent essay "Against Despair," which appeared in the Summer 2010 issue of Democracy.

Experts Respond to "The Baby Business"

News: Some of the world's leading adoption organizations and experts have responded to E.J. Graff's piece from our last issue.

America 2021: The Military and the World

The Defense Roundtable: Our largest threat: Pakistan. Our alliances: reshuffled by demographics. Terrorism: on the wane (maybe). New frontier for conflict: the Arctic cirlce. Four experts discuss

The Hezbollah Problem

Steven Simon and Jonathan Stevenson: To defang Iran, and help Lebanon and Israel, we must demilitarize Hezbollah. Which means we'll have to talk to them.

The Rove Legacy

Thomas B. Edsall: He concedes nothing. He accepts no responsibility. He blames liberals. Why Karl Rove is still an icon for today's Republicans.

Toward an i-Welfare State

James P. Pinkerton: When will all the benefits of e-commerce come to e-government? A response to the previous issue's symposium on liberalism.

The Debate Inside Iran

Nader Hashemi: Some fascinating Iranian intellectuals are laying the groundwork for democracy. What chance of success do they have?

V-Day in the Culture Wars

Ethan Porter: The culture wars are over, and we've won. We should learn to celebrate that--and move on to the next battle that demands our attention.

Against Despair

Michael Tomasky: How our misreading of history harms progressivism today.

DMV Liberalism

Joe Klein: Good governance--starting with transparency and citizen access--is the predicate for everything else.

What Happened to Women?

Katha Pollitt: Instead of moving to the center, liberalism should try embracing people who are actually liberals—starting with women.

Obama and Civic Idealism

Michael Sandel: Obama can still redefine liberalism, but he must bring economic power to heel.

Radical Sheet

Elbert Ventura: What the short, rumbustious history of Ramparts magazine means for modern journalism.

Wilson, Past and Present

Trygve Throntveit: The neoconservatives turned Woodrow Wilson into something he was not. In truth, Obama is more like him than Bush ever was.

That Old College Lie

Kevin Carey: Are our colleges teaching students well? No. But here's how to make them.