White House Should Coordinate Geoengineering Research to Help Fight Climate Change

Published October 30, 2010

| FoxNews.com

The White House should come up with a strategy for federal research into large-scale intervention in the Earth's climate system that could help tackle climate change, a new watchdog report concludes.

The Government Accountability Office found in its report more than 50 current studies, totaling slightly more than $100 million, focusing on piecemeal strategies to reverse climate change, but none directly addresses what would happen if adventurous programs on carbon dioxide reduction and solar radiation management were put in place.

"Without a coordinated federal strategy for geoengineering, it is difficult for agencies to determine the extent of relevant research, and policymakers may lack key information to inform subsequent decisions on engineering and existing climate science efforts," the report said, adding that most of the $2 billion spent each year on federal climate science research could also help geoengineering with better coordination.

Geoengineering either removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or offsets temperature increases by reflecting sunlight back into space.

GAO cautioned that these strategies poses some environmental risks that could be hard to contain.

"Major uncertainties remain regarding the scientific, legal, political, economic and ethical implications of researching or deploying geoengineering," the GAO report read.

The GAO prepared the report for Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology.

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White House Considers 'Decoupling' Bush Tax Cuts Ahead of Midterms

The White House is heading back to the drawing board to determine the fate of the Bush tax cuts, amid fears Congress will not approve a plan to hike taxes on the nation's wealthiest families if Republicans take an expected House majority in next Tuesday's election, The Washington Post reported Saturday.

The Obama administration is mulling a strategy that would break apart the Bush tax cuts, according to sources familiar with the matter. The plan would call for a permanent extension of cuts for families earning less than $250,000 a year, and a temporary extension of cuts on income above that level.

The proposed "decoupling" of tax provisions would delay a decision on cuts for the so-called "rich" until next year or the year after, the sources said.

Republican leaders have pushed to extend the Bush tax cuts, which expire in December, for all income brackets, while President Obama insists that the country cannot afford to keep tax breaks on income over $250,000 a year for families, or $200,000 for individuals.

Partisan haggling blocked a vote on the cuts before elections, but Congress is expected to take-up debate again in mid-November, most likely with a new Republican majority in the House and additional GOP seats in the Senate.

While preferring a permanent extension across income brackets, Republican leaders have said they would accept a two-year extension of all the cuts.

White House officials confirmed they were reviewing a strategy for the lame-duck legislative session but declined to comment on decoupling or other compromises such as backing tax breaks for the rich in exchange for Republican approval of additional stimulus.

American taxpayers could see increased rates reflected in their January paychecks if Congress does not approve an extension before the end of the year.

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Midterm Races Could Hold Key to White House, Congress in 2012

President Obama's name is not on the ballot Nov. 2, but his chance at a second term in the White House could be on the line. 

As the president and top Democratic surrogates like Bill Clinton criss-cross the country to campaign for their party's gubernatorial candidates, party operatives are looking ahead to what this year's race will mean for 2012. 

And so far, it's not looking good for Democrats. 

Several peculiarities in the 2010 landscape could have great bearing on the next election. For starters, Republicans are projected to pick up several seats in the 37 governors' races being held next Tuesday. That could give whoever is running as the GOP presidential nominee in 2012 a powerful surrogate at the helm of a number of key swing states. 

In addition, this year's governors' races coincide with the 2010 Census, the national head count that will be used as the basis for reshaping congressional districts nationwide. The governors, by virtue of their veto pen and other factors, have considerable sway over that process -- and if Republicans make the kind of gains forecasters predict, the party will be poised to redraw the congressional map to their advantage come 2012. This would help the party either build, or reinforce, a congressional majority two years from now, while having a more indirect impact on the presidential race. 

Finally, projections show that when the districts are redrawn, red states will likely end up gaining seats in Congress while blue states will lose them. For Obama, this means a more grueling and challenging climb to the 270 electors needed to secure reelection in 2012 -- the number of electors each state has is based on the number of its congressional seats, and if deep-red states like Texas grow, that's bad news for the sitting president. 

"The states that are going to gain congressional seats are the ones that John McCain won," said David Avella, executive director of Republican recruitment arm GOPAC. 

All these factors are on the minds of Republicans who, in some cases, are plotting a two-cycle path to Washington domination. The Republican Governors Association publicly claims that its races in 2010 are the key to a 2012 wave. 

"The RGA believes Republicans won't win back the U.S. Senate, House or presidency until first reclaiming a majority of governorships for the GOP," the group says on its website. 

Democratic governors provided Obama a big boost in the 2008 presidential election in several battleground states -- Democrats were at the helm of nearly every "purple" state Obama won, from Colorado to Virginia to Ohio to Iowa. 

But what if some of those seats change hands? Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland was an enthusiastic advocate for Obama's presidential campaign in 2008, but now he's fighting for his political life against GOP candidate John Kasich. Republican gubernatorial candidates are poised to take back Democratic seats in Obama-supporting Pennsylvania, Iowa and Michigan, among other states. The storied battleground of Florida is still a toss-up in the race between Republican Rick Scott and Democrat Alex Sink. 

Avella said the outcomes play heavily into the 2012 presidential race. 

"The governor controls the political machinery for his party," he said. He said Republican governors will be able to leverage fundraising networks in support of the GOP nominee as well as shape legislative agendas that could rally Republican voters in the next cycle. 

Plus, most of the new governors -- as well as the state legislatures -- will have sway over the redistricting process, one of the biggest prizes to come out of the Nov. 2 midterms. 

"That's why the governor's (seat) is so important at this particular time" said Jerry Shuster, political communication professor at the University of Pittsburgh. "It's a critical time for both parties and they know that." 

Governors can help shape congressional districts for the benefit of their party's incumbents and challengers; for Republicans, this would mean upping their chances at a congressional takeover in 2012 if they fall short next month. This process also can have an indirect effect on the presidential race. Avella noted that a boost in the number of Republican-friendly congressional districts could give more momentum to GOP candidates, and in turn rally more GOP operatives and money to turn out the vote for the presidential nominee. 

While Obama would not have to worry in most states about the shape of congressional districts -- presidential electors are divvied up based on the popular vote in each state -- the individual districts come into play in Maine and Nebraska. Those two states have a hybrid system where the votes in each congressional district factor into which presidential candidate wins their electors. 

More importantly, a study released at the end of September showed that blue states stand to lose about a half-dozen districts while red states stand to scoop up about that many as a result of the redistricting process. 

The analysis from Election Data Services projected that Texas, a GOP stronghold, would gain a whopping four congressional districts. New York, a Democratic powerhouse, would lose two, according to the data. 

Shuster said the impact of those shifts on the White House race depends on a host of factors. If the economy starts to turn around, it's a "limited" issue, he said. But if Republicans field a strong candidate and the economy stagnates for another two years, "then it has the possibility of having an impact on the outcome of the election."

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White House doubts need to halt all foreclosures

WASHINGTON –  A top White House adviser questioned the need Sunday for a blanket stoppage of all home foreclosures, even as pressure grows on the Obama administration to do something about mounting evidence that banks have used inaccurate documents to evict homeowners.

"It is a serious problem," said David Axelrod, who contended that the flawed paperwork is hurting the nation's housing market as well as lending institutions. But he added, "I'm not sure about a national moratorium because there are in fact valid foreclosures that probably should go forward" because their documents are accurate.

Axelrod said the administration is pressing lenders to accelerate their reviews of foreclosures to determine which ones have flawed documentation.

"Our hope is this moves rapidly and that this gets unwound very, very quickly," he said.

With the reeling economy already the top issue on voters' minds, the doubts raised over foreclosures and evictions are becoming a political issue with the approach of Nov. 2 elections.

Underscoring those pressures, two leading lawmakers took opposing stances on the wisdom of a moratorium.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, a top House Democrat, said she backed a foreclosure moratorium and government talks with the banking industry to concoct ways to let lenders reshape troubled mortgages. She said the foreclosure problem has been "extremely vexing" in her state.

The No. 2 House Republican, Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, said a national moratorium would remove the protections that lenders need.

"You're going to shut down the housing industry" with a national stoppage, Cantor said. "People have to take responsibility for themselves."

In recent days, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., in a tough re-election race, urged five large mortgage lenders to suspend foreclosures in his state until they establish ways to make sure homeowners don't lose their homes improperly. Attorney General Eric Holder said that the government is looking into the matter, and Democratic lawmakers urged bank regulators and the Justice Department to probe whether mortgage companies violated laws in handling foreclosures.

The attorneys general of up to 40 states plan to announce a joint investigation soon into banks' use of flawed foreclosure paperwork, a person familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press late Saturday.

On Friday, Bank of America became the first bank to halt foreclosures in all 50 states. Three other institutions — JPMorgan Chase & Co., Ally Financial's GMAC Mortgage unit and PNC Financial — have stopped foreclosures in the 23 states where foreclosures must be approved by a judge.

President Barack Obama vetoed a bill last week that would have made it easier for banks to approve foreclosure documents, which the White House said could hurt consumers.

Axelrod spoke on CBS' "Face the Nation" while Wasserman Schultz and Cantor appeared on "Fox News Sunday."

(This version CORRECTS institution's name to Ally Financial.)

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