The New Republic

Politico details the Republican turn against cap and trade: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), under pressure back home from a conservative primary challenger, hasn’t come anywhere close to the climate issue that was once a key component of his “maverick” credentials. READ MORE >>

Charles Krauthammer has a genuine conceptual breakthrough. The BP oil spill is the fault, at least in part, of... environmentalists! READ MORE >>

Good fact-checking from Elizabeth Williamson and Victoria McGrane of the Wall Street Journal: READ MORE >>

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Just how hard is it to clean up a big oil spill? Here's one pessimistic take: Charles Wohlforth, who covered the Exxon Valdez spill back in 1989 for the Anchorage Daily News, says the lesson from the Alaska disaster is that massive slicks can be nearly impossible to clean up, for the most part: READ MORE >>

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Many observers were puzzled last week when President Obama announced his support for expanded offshore oil drilling. Was he trying to win over Republican swing votes for a climate bill? Head off the inevitable anger over summer gas prices? Perhaps. But here's another possibility: The move could have been intended to bolster international support for sanctions on Iran. At least that's what events from the nuclear summit earlier this week suggest. READ MORE >>

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The big news today is that Obama's reportedly planning to open up a bunch of new offshore areas to oil and gas exploration for the first time: READ MORE >>

Note to Sarah Palin: Screw the reality show. Taking Americans on televisual tours of Alaska’s natural wonders would I’m sure be fun and lucrative, but the gig cannot possibly take maximum advantage of your special talents. (As a general rule, nature shows don’t traffic in high-octane demagoguery.) Instead, allow me to suggest a better, more meaningful way to serve your country: Step up and save the Tea Party from itself. READ MORE >>