Climate Action » senate

Clean Air Act Digest, 7.15.11

USCAN — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 02:58:40 +0000

UPDATES

Updates:

House:

Appropriations Committee:

This past Tuesday, the House Appropriations Committee approved the FY2012 Environment and Interior appropriations bill. The base bill contained dozens of policy riders that would put our nation’s air and water at risk; during the mark up, the bill was further loaded down by amendments that will imperil the quality of the air we breathe.

While the environmental community has expressed disappointment with the entire package for a variety of reasons, the assaults on public health are particularly egregious:

- The “Anti-Science, Pro-Pollution” soot amendment would block the EPA from considering the harmful health effects of soot.

- The “Dirty Air, Anti-Science” rider (Sec 431) would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from moving forward with carbon pollution standards for the biggest polluters.

- The “Death and Disease from Cement Pollution” amendment would give cement plants a free pass to continue emitting mercury, a potent neurotoxin.

- The “Mercury Poisoning, Death, and Asthma Attacks” amendment would delay the Cross-State Air Pollution rule and the Mercury Air toxics standard for at least two years. These protections are designed to curb smog, soot, and toxic air pollution from power plants and are expected to save tens of thousands of lives each year.

The appropriations bill is expected to move the House floor as early as next week. Please consider sending an alert to your membership, see below for sample text.

Energy and Commerce Committee:

On Tuesday the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the ‘‘Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation Act of 2011” (TRAIN Act; H.R. 2401). The legislation targets a specific list of life-saving public health protections provided by the Clean Air Act. This bill requires redundant analyses of Environmental Protection Agency rules, wasting both time and taxpayer dollars. Representative Whitfield (R-KY) offered an amendment that would delay the EPA’s plans to limit mercury and air toxics from power plants. The amendment passed with bipartisan support.

Clean Air Act: Reducing Pollution, Saving Lives
Conference and Advocacy Day

Early next week more than 60 people from across the country will gather in Washington, DC in support of healthy families and communities. As part of a two-day conference and advocacy day the participants represent the diverse voices of faith, consumers, public health, women, small business and communities of color. These individuals come united to express strong support for the Clean Air Act and in opposition of any efforts to weaken it. The 10 diverse organizations involved include the American Lung Association, Consumers Union, Health Care Without Harm, Interfaith Power and Light, League of Women Voters, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), National Council of Churches, National Latino Coalition on Climate Change, Small Business Majority, and US Climate Action Network.

ACTION ALERTS

Consider sending an action alert to your membership on the Interior Appropriations bill. Sample text is below.

Sample text:

Subject: Oppose the FY 2012 Interior and EPA appropriations bill (bill # TBA)

Dear Representative ,

I urge you to oppose the FY 2012 Interior, EPA and Related Agencies appropriations bill (bill # TBA) and any amendment that would further block protections for the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the lands and wildlife that we value. The bill is already loaded up with at least 23 policy riders that would undermine environmental laws. We must cut wasteful spending, but gutting critical programs and cutting special deals to protect big polluters won’t balance the country’s checkbook.

I do not want to return to a time when our rivers were so polluted they burned and our air was too thick with pollution to safely breathe. I want to ensure that the next generation is able to enjoy America’s treasured landscapes and unique wildlife.

Congress should not hijack spending bills to launch sneak attacks that undermine the public’s right to clean air, clean water and the preservation of America’s natural heritage.

Once again, I urge you to oppose the FY 2012 Interior, EPA and Related Agencies spending bill. Congress should be investing in America’s future, not destroying it.

Sincerely,

[Your name and address]

IMPORTANT DEADLINES

Mercury and Air Toxics Comment Deadline Extension:

We now have until Thursday, August 4th to submitt comments, for those who haven’t made their voice heard it’s time to take this extra oppurtunity to urge the EPA to finalize strong air pollution standards for power plants.

Three months ago, after 20 years of delay, the Environmental Protection Agency finally proposed strong mercury and air toxics standards for power plants. EPA’s proposed standards for power plants that burn coal and oil are projected to save as many as 17,000 American lives every year by 2015.

Don’t waste any more time to weigh in and speak up for standards that will save lives and protect children. Please see the Sierra Club’s fact sheet for more information on the proposed standards and check out this sample action alert and comment card template that can be used to draft your own.

More resources :

Unbranded Mercury and Air Toxics Comment Postcard, Sierra Club

Public Comment How-to for EPA’s Proposed Mercury Rule, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy

Sample action alerts:

Tell the Obama Administration to Reduce Toxic Air Pollution from Power Plants, Natural Resources Defense Council

Tell EPA: Close Toxic Air Pollution Loophole from Coal-fired Power Plants, American Lung Association

UPCOMING EVENTS

Comment Delivery Event:

Thousands of Americans have been sending public comments to the EPA, urging them to strengthen clean air standards that will reduce this dangerous air pollution. A coalition of organizations and activists will deliver comments to the EPA that have been collected across the country. Dozens of representatives from the environmental, public health, minority, faith, business and other communities and elected officials will be presenting the Environmental Protection Agency with public comments asking them to set strong standards on power plants to reduce mercury pollution.

Please join the rally to make it a success. Contact Lyndsay.Moseley@sierraclub.org for more information.

When: Tuesday, July 19th, 12:00-12:30 p.m.

Where: 5 Post Office Square

Boston, MA 02108

NEW MATERIALS

House Spending Bill Halts Endangered Species Listing, Blocks Clean Water Protections and Guts Clean Air Act, National Wildlife Federation News 7.14.11

Paying to Pollute: Will House Coal Ash Bill Benefit Big Contributors or Pollution’s Victims?, Environmental Integrity Project 7.12.11

Small Business Majority Letter, John Arensmeyer Founder & CEO 7.12.11

Operation Free Letter Re Interior-EPA Approps,, 7.12.11

Public Interest Community Appropriations Bill Coal Ash Opposition Letter, 7.7.11

Don’t forget the Clean Air Act fan page on Facebook.

USCAN’s Clean Air Act Pages include a compilation of member materials.

Clean Air Act Digest is a publication put together by US Climate Action Network and Natural Resources Defense Council please contact Kate Smolski at ksmolski@climatenetwork.org for more details. Click here for past issues.

Clean Air Act Digest, 5.13.11

USCAN — Fri, 13 May 2011 19:40:08 +0000

UPDATES

Updates:

The Obama Administration is poised to complete the reconsideration of the ozone health standards by late July. On May 13, 13 leading health groups sent a letter to the President urging him to support science-based standards that will protect public health.

The respected firm the Analyst Group issued a report authored by Sue Tierney that rebuts alarmist claims by Edison Electric Institute and other utilities about negative impacts on electricity reliability resulting from EPA clean air, clean water and coal ash standards.

This past week, doctors form six public health organizations sent a letter to Representative Barton (R-TX) challenging his claim that air pollution does not have health impacts: “Some of us treat patients, including children, with pulmonary, cardiovascular, and other chronic diseases, and some of us treat children who have neurological impairment. We work each day to improve the lives of patients and their caregivers and to protect the public from known environmental hazards. We ask that you protect the Clean Air Act and support efforts to reduce the health threats posed by air pollution. Doing so will improve public health and lower health care costs for all.” In addition, the physicians attached a list of articles on the health effects of air pollution.

ACTION ALERTS

ASK AEP: What’s Your Number?

Several weeks ago American Electric Power (AEP) released draft legislation that would exempt electric utility units from Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act requirements applying between now and 2021. It also exempts power plants from the basic obligation to comply with health-based national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) during that period. This reckless legislation would put the health of millions of Americans at risk.

Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Sierra Club launched a new campaign Tuesday that challenges American Electric Power (AEP) to publicly name the number of lives it wants Congress to sacrifice to give AEP and other polluters delays and rollbacks of national limits on toxic air pollution.

Here is how you can help.

Feel free to use, share, and clone materials for action.
See background on the campaign, Tweets, and an action alert here.
Link in to the “What’s Your Number?” Facebook event, May 17, 2011, here.
Contact Mandy Warner at awarner@edf.org for more information.

Comments for Mercury and Air Toxics Standards:

After 20 years of delay, the Environmental Protection Agency has finally proposed strong mercury and air toxics standards for power plants. EPA’s proposed standards for power plants that burn coal and oil are projected to save as many as 17,000 American lives every year by 2015. However, it’s up to us to demonstrate powerful public demand over the next few months to keep the standard strong against relentless industry attacks.

These standards have officially been entered into the Federal Register. We now have until July 5th, 2011 to submit comments. Please see the Sierra Club’s factsheet, sample action alert and comment card for more information. If you are planning to generate comments please contact Lyndsay Moseley at Lyndsay.Moseley@sierraclub.org.

IMPORTANT DEADLINES

EPA Power Plant Air Toxics Dear Colleague:

Representative Capps, Schakowsky and Wasserman Schultz are currently circulating a dear colleague letter in the House of Representatives in support of the EPA Power Plant Air Toxics Standard. Please urge Representatives to sign on to this letter to show support for protecting kids from mercury and toxic air pollution. For more details please contact Paul Billings at America Lung Association, pbillings@lungusa.org. Also, check out the Sierra Club’s online action alert.

Mercury and Air Toxics Coalition Letter:

Environment America, is circulating a coalition letter intended to show broad support for the standards from many different stakeholders. Feel free to circulate this far and wide, as we want as many groups as possible on the letter. There is no deadline yet. All organizations are welcome, please view the letter and sign on here. For more information contact Shelly Vinyard at Shelley@environmentamerica.org.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Public Hearings for Mercury and Air Toxics Standards:

EPA will hold public hearings on the recently released Mercury and Air Toxics Standards in Philadelphia, Chicago and Atlanta. Each hearing will begin at 9:00 a.m. and continue until 8:00 p.m. (local time). The public may preregister to speak at the hearings at a specific time. People also may register in person on the day of the hearing, and will be worked in to openings in the schedule of speakers. To get involved contact Sierra Club Coordinator Jessica Hodge at Jessica.Hodge@sierraclub.org.

May 24: Chicago, Ill.
Crowne Plaza Chicago Metro

799 West Madison Street

Chicago, Ill. 60611

Preregistration deadline 5 p.m., May 19

May 24: Philadelphia, Pa.
Westin Philadelphia

99 South 17th Street at Liberty Place

Philadelphia, Pa. 19103

Preregistration deadline 5 p.m., May 19

May 26: Atlanta, Ga.
Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center

61 Forsyth Street SW

Atlanta, Ga. 30303-8960

Preregistration deadline 5 p.m., May 23

More details can be found here:

Official Regulatory Actions Page – Environmental Protection Agency

Announcement Public Hearings (PDF) – Federal Register – 4.28.11

NEW MATERIALS

Unbranded Mercury and Air Toxics Comment Postcard

How to Prepare Mercury and Air Toxics Public Comment, Sierra Club

Major National Latino Organizations Support Strong Mercury and Air Toxic Standards, National Latino Coalition on Climate Change Press Release 5.11.11

Citizen-Funded Ads Take on Senators for Siding with Big Polluters, 350.org Blog 5.10.11

Brief on American Electric Power (AEP) Draft, Environmental Defense Fund

Don’t forget the Clean Air Act fan page on Facebook.

USCAN’s Clean Air Act Pages include a compilation of member materials.

Clean Air Act Digest, 4.15.11

USCAN — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 15:04:35 +0000

UPDATES

Continuing Resolution:

Last Friday night, after weeks of negotiations and a near shutdown of the government, Congressional leaders reached a deal on the Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government until Sept 30, 2011. In a significant victory clean air supporters beat back another attempt to block clean air standards when House budget negotiators were forced to drop their insistence on extreme EPA riders. The White House and Senate leadership insisted the the Clean Air Act remain intact and a bill free of these damaging riders is expected to pass by this Friday. The bill does include 1.35 billion cuts to the EPA budget but will allow the agency to continue to move forward on reducing dangerous carbon pollution.

Hearings:

This Friday the House Energy and Commerce Energy and Power Subcommittee will have a hearings on EPA’s new limits on toxic pollution from industrial boilers and cement kilns and the proposal to set similar rules for coal-fired power plants. The rules, that have come under attack by House Republicans, would require these industries to install pollution controls that would save thousands of lives each year and prevent asthma, heart attacks and other life threatening illnesses. On Thursday Rep. Ed Whitfield, chairman of the subcommittee, told POLITICO to expect the GOP to roll out a bill following the two-week congressional recess that would block the implementation of these rules.

New Web Resources:

A new website from a coalition of environmental groups makes it easy to find out who voted for polluters or public health. DirtySecrets.org looks at how much money each of the “Dirty Air Politicians” who voted for polluters has taken from them. And it lets you know how many kids in their state have asthma, and how many times kids had to be rushed to an emergency room, gasping for breath, because of a severe asthma attack.

Want to find out the health impacts of power plant pollution since the EPA released their Mercury Air Toxics Rule? Visit Green for All’s new website costofdelay.org.

ACTION ALERTS

Senate “Dirty Air Amendments” Accountability

Last week the Senate defeated a suite of dirty air deals that would have prevented the Environmental Protection Agency from taking action to reduce carbon pollution.

Please take this opportunity to thank your Senator for standing up for the health of the nation, including children with asthma, and for challenging the agenda of big polluters.

Please take this opportunity to express your disappointment with your Senator’s vote to put the agenda of big polluters ahead of the health of the nation and children with asthma.

Be heard; let your Senators know you noticed where they stand with big polluters! See NRDC’s full action alert with sample letters, short descriptions of each amendment, and links to see how your senators voted. Or for more information contact Jamie Consuegra, jconsuegra@nrdc.org.

IMPORTANT DEADLINES

EPA Power Plant Air Toxics Dear Colleague:

Representative Capps, Schakowsky and Wasserman Schultz are currently circulating a dear colleague letter in the House of Representatives in support of the EPA Power Plant Air Toxics Rule. Please urge Representatives to sign on to this letter to show support for protecting kids from mercury and toxic air pollution. For more details please contact Paul Billings at America Lung Association, pbillings@lungusa.org.

Comments for Mercury and Air Toxics Standards:

Two weeks ago, EPA announced the most important actions to clean up air pollution from dirty coal-burning power plants since the Clean Air Act was last updated in 1990. EPA’s proposed mercury and air toxics standards for power plants that burn coal and oil are projected to save as many as 17,000 American lives every year by 2015. There is no official deadline yet but once officially submitted into the Federal Register we will have 60 days to submit comments. Please see the Sierra Club’s factsheet and sample action alert and comment card for more information.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Power Shift April 15-18 Washington DC:

Join hundreds of activists on Monday in front of the White House who will deliver petitions on behalf of a quarter million Americans calling on President Obama to stand up for a future where we breathe free and polluters pay. For more details on the Power Shift Conference visit powershift2011.org.

Monday, April 18 at 10:00 AM

Power Shift Rally

Lafayette Square (north of White House)

1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Washington DC

Public Hearings for Mercury Air Toxics Standard:

EPA will hold public hearings on the recently released Mercury Air Toxics Standard in Philadelphia, Chicago and Atlanta. Details on the timing and location for those hearings will be made available soon in a separate Federal Register notice and posted at http://www.epa.gov/airquality/powerplanttoxics/.

NEW MATERIALS

New Coal Ads, Sierra Club 4.14.11

Public Comment How-to for EPA’s Proposed Mercury Rule, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy April 2011

How My Mercury Level Hit Double the Safety Limit, Time Magazine Article 4.12.11

Don’t forget the Clean Air Act fan page on Facebook.

USCAN’s Clean Air Act Pages include a compilation of member materials.

Climate Action Hotline, 3.21.11

USCAN — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 19:06:37 +0000

Peter Bahouth, Executive Director

March 21, 2011

Climate Action Hotline

Under the guise of protecting small businesses, higher gas prices and continued high unemployment numbers, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) pushed to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from moving forward on new pollution regulations, but failed to get to a vote Thursday, after days of enigmatic maneuvering that made it appear the measure was close to being voted on several times. The amendment to bar EPA ability to set standards for carbon pollution came on the heels of the House passage of Rep. Upton’s (R-MI) Dirty Air Act.

The White House came out strong against the GOP amendment to nullify the EPA’s power to set standards for carbon pollution. Many feel that the White House decision to weigh in directly on the amendment signifies the ever-escalating stakes of the Republican-led effort to obliterate what is seen as the Obama leftist agenda. “This amendment rolls back the Clean Air Act and harms Americans’ health by taking away our ability to decrease air pollution,” said Clark Stevens, a White House spokesman.

While McConnell’s amendment faces major hurdles to passage, but it remains a tough vote for politically vulnerable centrist Democrats and moderate Republicans. Yet another new EPA-specific measure added to the mix by Montana Sen. Max Baucus (D) would ensure that agriculture sources would be exempt from climate rules, while preventing the agency from regulating large stationary sources that do not exceed other pollutant limits. In addition, Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) offered his bill that is a 2-year stop work order on any EPA plans to set standards for carbon pollution.

Rockefeller’s bill, cloaked in a shroud of a “middle path” approach, is just another means to an end: an end that ignores the science, health and environment of Americans. All three initiatives were introduced as amendments to a pending small business bill, creating what Rockefeller referred to as a “swirl” of options for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to navigate.

In response to Japan’s ongoing nuclear reactor crisis, President Obama asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to make a comprehensive safety review of U.S. nuclear plants with specific focus on their ability to withstand natural calamities. NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko continues to reinforce that the commission considers the 104 active U.S. nuclear plants to be secure, but the evidence from Japan’s devastating reactor damage would be the basis for a new review. “But I want to emphasize and stress that we have a very robust program where we look at the safety and the security of our nuclear facilities on a minute-by-minute basis. ” In related news, a new USA Today/Gallup poll shows a dramatic decline of support for nuclear power in the wake of the ongoing Japanese earthquake-tsunami one-two punch: 70% say they’ve grown more concerned about the industry’s safety based on the crisis unfolding at reactors in Japan. Americans oppose building more nuclear plants by 47%-44%, the poll finds. Support for using nuclear energy was at 57% when Gallup asked a similar question about a week before Friday’s earthquake and tsunami left Japan struggling to avert catastrophic meltdowns and fires at three damaged nuclear plants.

On Wednesday, the EPA issued a new proposed rule that would reduce emissions of toxic air pollutants from power plants including mercury, arsenic, chromium, nickel, chloride (HCl) and hydrogen fluoride (HF). The proposal would reduce emissions from new and existing coal- and oil-fired electric utility steam generating units (EGUs). The rules would replace President Bush’s Clean Air Mercury Rule, a cap-and-trade program that would have forced power plants to cut their mercury emissions by 70 percent. In 2008, a federal court ordered EPA to go back to the drawing board. The target of this proposed rule includes toxics suspected of causing cancer and other serious health effects. Power plants are the largest source of mercury emissions to the air. Mercury and other power plant emissions also damage ecosystems and destroy the health of lakes, streams and fish. Other toxic metals emitted from power plants, such as arsenic, chromium and nickel can cause cancer. A side benefit of the rule is that it will reduce power plant particulate pollution, preventing thousands of premature deaths, tens of thousands of heart attacks, bronchitis cases and asthma episodes.

Georgia Power, the largest subsidiary of Southern Company, announced plans to close two coal-fired power plants units in central Georgia, saying the cost is too high to equip them to meet current and pending environmental regulations. The two units in Putnam County have a capacity of 569 megawatts. The announcement comes as renewed attention is focusing on Georgia Power’s nuclear plants because of the continuing crisis in Japan. Georgia Power has four nuclear reactors and is one of two U.S. utilities building new ones. The company has advocated for nuclear power as regulations tighten on coal. The company had hinted last year that it might close some of its coal plants because of regulations on air emissions, water treatment and the disposal of ash coal waste.

Kellyn Eberhardt, Southeast Regional Coordinator

Tell Congress to Let EPA Do Its Job and Protect Public Health

Representative Fred Upton (R-MI), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, introduced a bill that would permanently block the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from limiting dangerous carbon pollution.

This Dirty Air Act is moving through the House legislative process quickly– in part because the sponsors want to hide the devastating health impacts. Just this past week, the bill was passed out of the Energy and Commerce Committee and now it will move to the House floor, where it will likely be loaded down by amendments that will further compromise the air we breathe.

Meanwhile, a handful of Senators are responsible for a sneak attack on the Clean Air Act. Minority Leader McConnell (R-KY) has proposed amending a small business bill with Upton’s Dirty Air Act, as introduced by Senator Inhofe (R-OK). Like the House bill, his amendment would permanently repeal the Clean Air Act’s authority to set limits on carbon pollution. Senator Rockefeller (D-WV) has an amendment that would delay the EPA’s ability to control green house gases. As history has shown, delays like these are often impossible to repeal.

We all rely on the Environmental Protection Agency to protect our public health by regulating the nation’s biggest polluters. Send a message now urging your Senators and Representative to vote against these attacks on the Clean Air Act, or any measure that would block EPA’s ability to clean up our air. See NRDC’s sample action alert or contact Jamie Consuegra jconsuegra@nrdc.org for more information.

Carol Werner, Executive Director

March 21, 2011

News

McConnell Files Anti-EPA Amendment to Small Business Bill
House Committee Passes Bill to Block EPA’s GHG Authority
New York, Others Prepare for Supreme Court to Hear GHG Public Nuisance Lawsuit
Virginia Supreme Court to Hear State Attorney General’s Appeal in Climate Fraud Case
Carbon Credits Rise as Germany Prepares to Close Older Reactors for Safety Review
EU Sets Auction Amount for 2013 Emissions Allowances
Automobile Emissions in UK Drop 3.5 Percent in 2010
Study Reveals Pre-Historic Global Warming More Common Than Previously Thought
Researchers Show New More Accurate Carbon-Mapping Technique
Plasticity of Plants Helps Them Adapt to Climate Change
NASA Study Finds Relationship between Earth’s Core and Climate Change
Septic Tank Emissions Found to be Half of Previous Estimates
Northern Peatlands Contributed Less Methane at End of Ice Age than Thought
Other Headlines

Events

April 6: Hydropower in America: Energy Generation and Job Potential

McConnell Files Anti-EPA Amendment to Small Business Bill

McConnell Files Anti-EPA Amendment to Small Business Bill

On March 15, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) introduced an amendment to a small business bill to block the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to control greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The McConnell amendment closely resembled the bill H.R. 910, now under consideration in the House. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) indicated he would schedule a vote for the Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) Reauthorization Act of 2011 (S. 493), despite the inclusion of the amendment, but the date has yet to be determined. Authored by Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), the bill mirrors the McConnell amendment, has the support of 42 Republicans and one Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV).

For additional information see: Wall Street Journal, The Hill, Politico, SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Bill

House Committee Passes Bill to Block EPA’s GHG Authority

On March 15, the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed H.R. 910, a bill intended to strip the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of its authority to regulate greenhouse gases (GHG). Co-authored by Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) and Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), the bill cleared its second legislative hurdle on a 34-19 vote, after the Energy and Power Subcommittee approved passage days earlier on a voice vote. Three Democrats, Rep. John Barrow (D-GA), Jim Matheson (D-UT), and Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR), joined a unanimous Republican voting bloc. Specifically, the bill would repeal the EPA’s 2009 “endangerment finding” that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are a threat to human health, and bar the agency from implementing rules to control them. A floor vote on H.R. 910 is expected later this Spring.

In related news, several Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee introduced amendments to the Inhofe/Upton bill intended to put Congress on record as either supporting or denying the science of climate change. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) introduced an amendment to H.R. 910 that Congress accept the EPA’s finding that global warming is unequivocal, which failed on a party-line vote 31-20. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) offered an amendment that stated Congress accepts the EPA’s finding that “the scientific evidence is compelling” that man-made emissions “are the root cause of recently observed climate change.” That measure also failed by the same margin. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA) also offered an amendment that Congress accept EPA’s finding that climate change threatens human health. It was defeated 31-21. The three Democrats who voted in favor of H.R. 910, Reps. Ross, Matheson, and Barrow, voted in favor of all three amendments.

For additional information on the Bill passage see: LA Times, NY Times, H.R. 910

For additional information on the Democratic amendments see: Politico, LA Times, Politico

New York, Others Prepare for Supreme Court to Hear GHG Public Nuisance Lawsuit

On March 14, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of six states and New York City in a public nuisance lawsuit against five utilities over their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Filed in 2004, the lawsuit considers whether states and other entities have the right to sue major utilities because their power stations are causing a public nuisance with their GHG emissions. The states named in the lawsuit are New York, California, Connecticut, Iowa, Rhode Island, Vermont, plus New York City. The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the states’ right to bring the suit, American Electric Power Co. Inc. v. Connecticut in 2009. However, the electric companies, American Electric Power, the Southern Company, Xcel Energy, the Cinergy Corporation and the Tennessee Valley Authority, appealed and the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments next month and decide on the case in July.

In related news, on March 11, New Jersey Attorney General Paula Dow informed the U.S. Supreme Court that her state will withdraw from the public nuisance lawsuit. In a statement to the Associated Press, Dow’s spokesperson said, “Considering the Supreme Court’s ruling and the Obama Administration’s subsequent position that the EPA must determine an appropriate plan of action, it does not make sense to incur further taxpayer expense on an unnecessary lawsuit.” Wisconsin withdrew from the lawsuit in February.

For additional information see: Business Green, Environmental Leader, NY Attorney General’s Brief, NJ.com

Virginia Supreme Court to Hear State Attorney General’s Appeal in Climate Fraud Case

On March 4, the Supreme Court of Virginia agreed to hear the appeal of Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli on the case against the climatologist, Dr. Michael Mann, whom he accused of fraud. In April 2010, Mr. Cuccinelli demanded that the University of Virginia supply him vast numbers of academic documents regarding Dr. Mann’s work, including emails, computer programs and data, and others. Mr. Cuccinelli has accused Dr. Mann, now a professor at Penn State, with defrauding the state of hundreds of thousands of dollars by providing false information and records in his research grant applications. Last August a state judge ruled against Mr. Cuccinelli, because he had failed to provide any evidence. Mr. Cuccinelli appealed the decision, and now the Virginia Supreme Court will hear the case.

For additional information see: NY Times, Virginia Supreme Court

Carbon Credits Rise as Germany Prepares to Close Older Reactors for Safety Review

On March 15, carbon credits rose to 17 euros after German Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed that several older reactors in Germany will shut down temporarily for a three month moratorium. Merkel ordered seven reactors, all brought online before 1980, to close to conduct a sweeping safety review in the midst of the growing crises at several Japanese reactors following the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami on March 11. The carbon price spike was fueled by carbon traders who speculated that coal and natural gas will meet most of the unmet demand. According to industry analysts, energy and industrial firms currently hold a surplus of emissions allowances as a result of the economic recession, but a lengthier nuclear shutdown could eat into the surplus.

For additional information see: Reuters, Business Green

EU Sets Auction Amount for 2013 Emissions Allowances

On March 15, the European Commission Director General for Climate, Jos Debelke, announced plans to auction 120 million carbon allowances for the next phase of the European Union’s cap and trade program. “Stakeholders have expressed a strong preference to have the early auction volume fixed now as this gives market actors time to adapt to the chosen level,” Jos Delbeke acknowledged. Set to begin in 2013, the European emissions trading scheme will enter its third phase and begin to ratchet down the number of emission allowances it distributes to 11,000 installations for free. Instead, companies subject to the program will have to purchase more allowances at auction to cover their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In addition to the 120 million allowances, the European Investment Bank intends to sell 300 million allowances by the end of 2012 as part of its NER300 demonstration program to raise funds for low carbon projects./p>

For additional information see: Business Green, European Commission

Automobile Emissions in UK Drop 3.5 Percent in 2010

On March 16, a report released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) found that the 2010 average carbon emissions for new cars in the United Kingdom fell 3.5 percent as compared to carbon emissions in 2009. The “New Car CO2 Report” also found that 40 percent of new cars average emissions below 130g/km, the 2015 targeted EU fuel efficiency standards for new vehicles. “New technology has delivered impressive reductions in CO2 emissions, but coordinated action, to support research and development, new infrastructure and consumer incentives, is critical to securing significant future advances.” said SMMT’s chief executive Paul Everitt. The report stated that 56 percent of new cars have a CO2 emission level of 140g/km or less, compared to 10 years ago, when the average new car in the United Kingdom was well over the 140g/km CO2 emissions level.

For additional information see: Business Green, Report

Study Reveals Pre-Historic Global Warming More Common Than Previously Thought

On March 17, a study published in the journal Nature found that rapid climate change occurred on Earth much more frequently than previously thought, with limited biological impact at the time. A team led by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography analyzed sea floor sediments to see how climate change affected marine ecosystems during four short periods of intense warming in the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum–a transition period between two geologic epochs 65 to 33 million years ago, in which global temperatures rose 7.2-12.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Researchers attributed the rapid global warming events to different feedback mechanisms, such as a substantial release of carbon from the ocean. Scripps geologist and study co-author Richard Norris noted that the research discovered more periods of intense warming and, that despite significant global change, biological effects seemed modest. While Norris pointed out there were differences between then and now, indicating that the earth’s surface has been massively restructured, making it harder for species to relocate en masse, reaction to the findings in the scientific community included several remarks about comparisons to human-induced climate change. Current ecosystems, including human beings, were not around back then, noted Gavin Schmidt, of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies. “So, while interesting from an intellectual standpoint, this new information is not going to change how ‘scientists’ think about climate change.”

For additional information see: Science Daily, San Diego Union-Tribune, Abstract

Researchers Show New More Accurate Carbon-Mapping Technique

On March 15, a study published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment reported a new method to more accurately assess carbon stored in Hawaii’s forests. A team from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Carnegie Institution for Science’s Department of Global Ecology developed a 30-meter resolution map of the above ground carbon density of the island of Hawaii, spanning 40 vegetation types, by combining field measurements, airborne Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR)-based observations, and satellite-based imagery. The estimated total of 28.3 million tons of carbon was 56 percent lower than the estimate of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. However, the latter assessment was not intended to resolve carbon variation on so fine a scale. Researchers noted that the new approach represented a fourfold decrease in the regional costs of carbon management over using field samples only. “We are very excited about the prospects of applying this new approach to other regions of the world to facilitate faster and more accurate forest carbon assessments. It is a true leap forward in understanding the state and dynamics of the world’s forests,” said Dr. R. Flint Hughes, an ecologist and co-author of the study.

For additional information see: Science Daily, Press Release, Study

Plasticity of Plants Helps Them Adapt to Climate Change

On March 17, an international study published in Trends in Plant Science found that the phenotypic plasticity of plants enables them to adapt to climate change. Researchers reviewed plants’ molecular and genetic mechanisms which showed that plants have “the capacity to adapt to a changing environment without requiring any evolutionary changes,” according to Fernando Valladares, co-author of the paper. Scientists used various indicators to study the plasticity of the plants, including pigmentation, root length, and leaf mass. Valladares stated that “various studies suggest that species from more heterogeneous and changing environments have greater degrees of plasticity. For example, plants from these environments have great root plasticity in order to be able to take better advantage of fertile and damp areas and to avoid sterile, dry ones”. He continues, “The differences in plasticity and its mechanisms allow us to better understand why various plant species grow where they do. This will enable us to project their most likely ranges in climate change scenarios.”

For additional information see: Science Daily, EurekAlert, Abstract

NASA Study Finds Relationship between Earth’s Core and Climate Change

On March 11, a study published in The Journal of Climate found new evidence of the relationship between movements in the Earth’s core, rotation, and atmospheric temperature change. According to researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the link between the three variables and the effect each has on the length of Earth’s day has been established for some time. In addition to finding a correlation between long-term variations in temperature to long-term variations in the length of day, researchers also found how much core variations affect the length of day over various time periods. Scientists used two sets of global surface temperature data from NASA’s Goddard Institute and the UK’s Met Office since the 1880’s and compared it to existing models of the fluid movements of the Earth’s core and recorded changes to the length of day. They then subtracted human-produced temperature changes to create a “corrected” temperature record and found that the Earth’s core effect on climate is substantially smaller than human effects. Data showed that since 1930, global temperature began to rise without corresponding changes to other variables. “It’s just a wiggle on top of what ever else is going on,” said JPL’s Steve Marcus, a co-author of the study. “It’s just an added variability on top of these larger trends we’ve observed in climate over the last century or so, when human global warming has certainly been kicking in.”

For additional information see: Science Daily, Pasadena Star News, Abstract

Septic Tank Emissions Found to be Half of Previous Estimates

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have determined the greenhouse gas emissions of septic tanks to be approximately half as high as previously estimated. The waste sent to septic tanks is broken down by microorganisms that then produce methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide – all of which contribute to the warming of the atmosphere. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that an average septic tank emits 0.23 metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent per tank per year, but this new research indicates that annual per-tank emissions are between 0.10 and 0.12 metric tons. Approximately 20 percent of the U.S. population uses septic tanks in their homes.

For additional information see: Chemical and Engineering News, Abstract

Northern Peatlands Contributed Less Methane at End of Ice Age than Thought

Northern peatlands did not play as large a role as previously thought in the warming of the atmosphere at the end of the last ice age, according to research conducted by PhD students at the University of Alberta and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Northern peatlands, the largest of which occur in subarctic regions of Canada and Russia, are a boggy mixture of dead organic material and water. Covering more than four million square kilometers, they sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they grow and emit methane – a greenhouse gas many times more powerful than carbon dioxide – as old peat is buried and decomposes. Scientists had previously believed that northern peatlands were a principal source of the increase in atmospheric methane 10,000 years ago, but a comparison of radiocarbon dates of ancient peatlands with ice-core records showed that peatlands did not colonize the north until 500-1000 years after the dramatic increase in methane. These results imply that tropical wetlands were instead the likely cause of the initial rises in methane levels at the end of the last ice age.

For additional information see: Science Daily, Press Release, Abstract

Other Headlines

Can Mexico Lead the Way in Proving Carbon Cuts?

The Refugees of Climate Change

EU May Need Tighter Supply to Avoid CO2 Price Slump

Montreal to Get $1.8 Million for Climate Change

Wheels Up for NASA Mission’s Most Extensive Arctic Ice Survey

Intervention Offers ‘Best Chance’ to Save Species Endangered by Climate Change, Expert Argues

April 6: Hydropower in America: Energy Generation and Job Potential

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing on hydropower. The event will be held from 3:00-4:30 p.m., April 6, at the Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2322. It is free and open to the public. For more information contact Laura Parsons at lparsons[at]eesi.org or 202-662-1884.

Writers: Matthew Johnson, Alison Alford, Laura Parsons

Please distribute Climate Change News to your colleagues. Permission for reproduction of this newsletter is granted provided that the Environmental and Energy Study Institute is properly acknowledged as the source. Past issues are available here. Free email subscriptions are available here. We welcome your suggestions, comments, and questions.

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) is a non-profit organization founded in 1984 by a bipartisan Congressional caucus dedicated to finding innovative environmental and energy solutions. EESI works to protect the climate and ensure a healthy, secure, and sustainable future for America through policymaker education, coalition building, and policy development in the areas of energy efficiency, renewable energy, agriculture, forestry, transportation, buildings, and urban planning.

EESI’s work, including this free newsletter, is made possible by financial support from people like you. Please help us continue to make it available by making a secure, online donation today by clicking here or mailing a check to Environmental and Energy Study Institute; 1112 16th St NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20036. Please contact Susan Williams at (202) 662-1887 (202) 662-1887 or see www.eesi.org/donate to find out more. Thank you for your support!

Climate Action Hotline is the new weekly update by the US Climate Action Network. Let us know what you think.

Oil Spill Reported Near Deepwater Drilling Site in Gulf

What Have They Done to the Rain?

Google Launches New Media Climate Campaign

With U.S. Nuclear Plants Under Scrutiny, Too, a Report Raises Safety Concerns

New Senate Bill Contains 25 Percent Renewable Energy Standard

Pair of Bills From GOP, Democrats Seek to Spur Oil and Gas Drilling

Wind Power Cheaper Than Nuclear, Says EU Climate Chief

Climate Change, Food Safety Linked

Africa: Anxious Eyes on Green Climate Fund

Can Mexico Lead the Way in Proving Carbon Cuts?

“Dirty air makes children sick. That’s the long and short of it. If you think it’s an expensive process to put a scrubber on a smokestack, you should see how much it costs over a lifetime to treat a child with a preventable birth defect.”

– Marian Burton, President of the American Academy of Pediatrics

Clean Air Act Digest, 2.23.11

USCAN — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 20:27:15 +0000

UPDATES

1. House Spending Bill:

On February 19 the House of Representatives passed their FY11 spending bill (H.R. 1) by a vote of 235-189. Upon introduction the bill blocked the EPA’s ability to address dangerous carbon pollution and included budget cuts that would cripple critical programs to protect public health. Additionally, several amendments were passed which prevent the EPA from carrying out its mission to protect the air we breathe:

Amendment #165 sponsored by Rep. Carter (R-TX) would prevent the EPA from enforcing new standards to cut air pollution from cement plants. The amendment passed 250-177. As a consequence, the EPA would not be able to protect the public from mercury – 16,000 pounds a year of it – and other toxic emissions out of the air we breathe. Sadly, this would lead to 1,500 heart attacks, 17,000 cases of aggravated asthma and 2,500 premature deaths every year.

Amendment #466 offered by Rep. Poe (R-TX), passed 249-177, would prevent the EPA from setting any limits on emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons, or perfluorocarbons.

Amendment #84 offered by Rep. Pompeo (R-KS), to shutdown the EPA greenhouse gas registry, passed 239-185. This amendment would prevent EPA from collecting basic data from large emitters on how much carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping pollutants are being released into the air.

2. New Air Toxics Standards:

Today the Environmental Protection Agency released new health standard for industrial air toxics. These long overdue safeguards will reduce a myriad of pollutants that have threatened our public health for too long, including mercury, benzene, heavy metals, and acid gas. The EPA’s actions will save thousands of lives each year in addition to preventing thousands of heart attacks and tens of thousands of trips to the hospital for aggravated asthma and bronchitis. Please click here for more detailed talking points.

ACTION ALERTS

Updated Action Alert: Hold Congress Accountable for Vote to Strip Public Health Protections

Early Saturday morning the Republican controlled House of Representatives passed their FY11 spending bill (H.R. 1) by a vote of 235-189. Upon introduction the bill blocked the EPA’s ability to address carbon pollution and included budget cuts that would cripple critical programs to protect public health. During the floor debate last week the bill was loaded down by additional policy earmarks that would further put out air and water at risk. If signed into law, it would recklessly cut $100 billion in government spending by October 1, rollback bedrock environmental laws, and inflict grave harm to our economy and to our health. This legislation would mean more life-threatening air and water pollution, more global warming and less clean energy.

These attacks on our air, water, and land are unacceptable. House Members that voted for H.R. 1 must be held accountable. Instead of sending a letter directly to your Representative, consider sending a letter to the Editor of your local newspaper. This is an opportunity to share the devastating and broad reaching implications of this legislation with other concerned constituents. It is time for the Senate to assemble their own budget package and it will be critical to hold Senators responsible for their actions. See the updated sample letters from NRDC or contact Jamie Consuegra at jconsuegra@nrdc.org for more information.

IMPORTANT DEADLINES

EPA NSPS Listening Sessions: Comment Deadline

Listening sessions on greenhouse gas standards for fossil fuel fired power plants and petroleum refineries have been underway since February 4th, 2011. EPA will accept written comments on the planned rulemakings until March 18, 2011. Click here for information on submitting comments. Please note that there will be an official comment period on the rules once proposed.

UPCOMING EVENTS

EPA NSPS Listening Sessions:

Session 5: Petroleum Refinery Industry Representatives

Date: Mar. 4, 2011

Time: 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., public comments from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. EST

Location: Washington D.C.

EPA Ariel Rios East Building

1201 Constitution Avenue, NW

Room 1153

Washington, DC, 20460

Directions: Click here

Click here for EPA Green House Gas Listening Session No. 2 Webcast, Atlanta, GA. 2.15.11.

NEW MATERIALS

Strong Opposition Nationally and in Key Districts to House Votes to Block Public Health Protections, Pete Altman’s Blog (NRDC) 2.23.11

EPA Issues Final Standard to Protect Americans from Boilers’ Toxic Air Pollution, Sierra Club and Earthjustice Press Release 2.23.11

Getting Warmer: US CO2 Emissions from Power Plant Emissions Rise 5.6% in 2010, Environmental Integrity Project Report 2.18.11

Clean Air Act: Key to a Clean Energy Economy and Job Creation Letter, Small Business Majority 2.17.11

Survey Says: Bipartisan Voters Nationwide Support the Clean Air Act, Oppose Congressional Interference, American Lung Association 2.16.11

USCAN’s Clean Air Act Pages include a compilation of member materials.

Narrow Energy Bills Introduced in House and Senate

Keith Schneider — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:31:41 +0000

Goals: Make Deep Ocean Drilling Safer;

Improve Energy Efficiency

House and Senate Democrats on Tuesday introduced separate energy proposals that are principally concerned with limiting the hazards of deep ocean energy exploration and production, and also contain modest additional measures to strengthen energy efficiency programs and expand the use of natural gas as a fuel in heavy vehicles.

Both proposals were unveiled five days after Senate Democrats pulled provisions to respond to rising carbon emissions out of their comprehensive climate and energy proposal. That decision prompted a chorus of condemnation from many of the nation’s influential editorial pages and leaders of major American environmental organizations.

The criticism continued this week. A group of 350 green organizations, among them the US Climate Action Network, said they would press the fight in the Senate to gain historic provisions to limit carbon emissions.

“There’s no doubt that big oil, big coal, their army of lobbyists and their partners in Congress are cheering the obstruction that blocked Senate action on clean energy and climate legislation,” the groups wrote in a joint statement. “As we look forward, one thing is clear: the Senate’s job is not done. They must use every opportunity available to address clean energy and climate reform by working to limit carbon pollution and invest in new clean energy sources that are made in America.”

We’re Still Here
“It is important to recognize before people say that the message that didn’t work that the majority supports it and the minority is using procedural tactics,” added Peter Lehner, executive director of the Natural Resources Defense Council, in a news conference. “This isn’t a time to think those messages aren’t fundamentally correct. “Those arguments are going to get stronger, and those who are playing politics will have less support and will find it harder to continue.”

Both the House and Senate proposals call for reorganizing the Department of Interior’s division that regulates offshore drilling. The Senate proposes to rename the unit the Department of Ocean Energy; the House would name the regulatory unit the Bureau of Energy and Resource Management. Both proposals also call tougher oversight of offshore operations, more assertive environmental monitoring and new fees on oil companies to help pay for compliance.

The 238-page House bill is a compilation of measures from three separate bills passed since the April 20 blowout and fire on the Deepwater Horizon, The bill includes a provision to bar companies that were exempted from paying federal royalties under leases issued between 1996 and 2000 from bidding on any new leases unless they renegotiated those old leases. Those no-fee and no-royalty leases were meant to encourage expensive deepwater exploration at a time of low oil prices. The House measure also includes a so-called bad actor provision that would deny drilling rights to any company that has had more than 10 deaths offshore or at land-based oil operations over the previous seven years. The only company the rule currently applies to is BP, said federal officials.

Oil Industry Opposes
Jack N. Gerard, the president of the American Petroleum Institute, objected to those ideas and argued that that they would raise the cost of production, fence off large areas of the outer continental shelf to drilling, and drive small and midsize companies out of business. “We remain concerned about what we’re hearing,” Gerard told the New York Times. “I would encourage the House and Senate to protect American jobs as they consider appropriate responses to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.”

The Senate bill, sponsored by Majority Leader Harry Reid, and titled the Clean Energy Jobs and Oil Spill Accountability Plan, principally advances the clean energy and energy efficiency provisions of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which contained over $100 billion in clean energy, efficiency, and transit investment. The Senate measure proposes to spend $3.8 billion to promote natural gas as a fuel for light and heavy trucks, grants to developers of natural gas fueling infrastructure, and up to $2 billion in loan guarantees to develop natural gas-fueled vehicles. The proposal calls for new investment for development of electric vehicles. And the proposal calls for investing $5 billion on energy efficiency programs aimed principally at the housing sector.

Obama Supports
The last major provision of the Senate bill authorizes reliable funding to the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the public account that invests in resource and land protection and is funded by revenue from permit fees and royalty income from natural gas and oil development on federal lands.

“Our plan will lower energy costs for homeowners and create at least 150,000 jobs,” said Sen. Reid in a statement. “Our plan will lessen our dependence on oil by promoting the manufacturing and deployment of clean vehicles that use natural gas and electricity. Our plan will help protect environmentally important and vulnerable areas by fully funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund for the next 5 years for the first time. And our plan will hold BP and all the oil companies involved in the Gulf Coast oil spill fully accountable for the true costs of the damages they caused.”

President Obama, in a brief appearance on Tuesday, endorsed the Senate and House Democratic packages.

“That legislation is an important step in the right direction,” the president said. “But I want to emphasize it’s only the first step. And I intend to keep pushing for broader reform, including climate legislation because if we’ve learned anything from the tragedy in the gulf, it’s that our current energy policy is unsustainable.”

Keith Schneider, a journalist and multi-media producer, is senior writer at the US Climate Action Network. Reach him at kschneider@climatenetwork.org

Call Your Senator for the Climate’s Sake

Suzanne Bopp — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 17:12:50 +0000

The environmental group 1Sky is asking supporters of strong climate legislation to make next Tuesday, January 12^th, a national call-in day for the climate.

Callers are encouraged to ask their Senators to take action on a climate bill and also to vote “no” on limiting the EPA’s power to regulate greenhouse gases under the proposed Murkowski amendment. The Senate will soon be voting on increasing the statutory limit on the public debt and as part of that, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) will be allowed to offer an amendment that would limit EPA’s authority to curb emissions, which 1Sky calls a giveaway to the coal industry.

1Sky is asking supporters to sign up for the Jan. 12 effort on their Web site.

“Our path forward in 2010 is very clear — we must show the U.S. Senate that public support exists to pass climate legislation for green jobs, the climate, and our future,” 1Sky said on its Web site. “Senate action is critical to ensuring that the global community can move forward.”

1Sky describes itself as a collaboration of “hundreds of national environmental groups, state and local organizations, business, religious, health, social justice and military leaders, scientists, economists, elected officials, donors, celebrities and citizens nationwide.”

Bill Seeks to Spur Renewable Energy Development on Private Land

Suzanne Bopp — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 08:27:17 +0000

On Thursday, Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) introduced the Renewable Incentive Act (S 2899) to expand a grant program that was the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 aimed at keeping the renewable energy section strong through the economic crisis.

That program, set to expire in 2010, helps renewable energy developers get financing for projects. Thursday’s legislation would extend the program for two additional years, expand it to include public power companies (currently excluded) and create a tax credit for solar projects on private lands that have already been developed. That’s intended to draw energy companies away from seeking to build on fragile public land, such as the Mojave Desert. The bill is being praised by some environmental groups, including Defenders of Wildlife.

- Suzanne Bopp

“Immediate Operational Effect”: Climate Action Hotline, Dec. 1

USCAN — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 10:25:05 +0000

December 2, 2009

The countdown to Copenhagen began in earnest over the last week as the U.S., China, and India announced new emissions targets and other actions in a coordinated campaign to heighten expectations about reaching a global climate agreement that, in President Obama’s words, have “immediate operational effect.”

Meanwhile, opponents to climate action coordinated the release of a stolen cache of private email messages from a prominent climate science research unit in England. The perpetrators of the break-in have not been identified, nor is it known precisely when the hack job occurred. But the public release of the email conversations by scientists, designed to draw attention prior to the start of the Copenhagen climate conference, has attracted global cherry pickers who’ve taken snips of thoughts, strung them together, and sought to raise questions about the validity of the scientific consensus about the causes of a warming planet.

It’s an old axiom in public interest campaigning that you know you’re winning by how irresponsibly your opponents behave. The world is steadily marching to a logical conclusion to melting glaciers, drying global food bowls, intensifying storms, rising sea levels that are chasing islanders from their homes, and weather weirdness of every sort. Leaders of nations as diverse as China and India, Australia and the United States, Brazil and Spain, and more than 180 others are in agreement that significant measures must be taken to cool the planet and heat up the global economy. The decision by the Obama administration last week to announce formal U.S. emissions reductions targets, followed by equally significant measures taken by China and India are evidence of how seriously the world views the warming threat. That is why delegates from 192 nations, heads of state from 65 countries, and tens of thousands of climate activists from all over the world are on their way to Copenhagen.

The hacked emails, which follow last summer’s fraudulent letters to Congress, are powerful evidence of the understandable fear in the fossil fuel industry, and the allies they handsomely finance in government and the media, of the clean energy transition that is now unfolding worldwide. Deceit is now the global brand of those who oppose climate action.

Transition is the narrative of our time. Arguably no story of change is more important than the work to scrub the skies of climate changing pollution. In the struggle between grievance and hope, hope is winning.

For those of you on the way to Copenhagen, and also for those not going, check out our Copenhagen Climate Negotiations: The Briefing Book, a compendium of what you need to know and expect at the COP-15.

Until next week, take care, Keith Schneider

Hold Big Polluters Accountable

The EPA recently proposed a draft rule which would require the largest industrial facilities covering 70% of the country’s global warming pollution to obtain clean air permits. By generating a large number of grassroots comments into the docket in support of this rule we can strengthen the Administration’s hand in regulating greenhouse gases through the EPA and we can show Congress that Americans support action on clean energy and climate. The docket closes December 28.
Check out Sierra Club’s action alert.

For more information, contact jkurz@climatenetwork.org.

Obama Announces Emissions Target and Plan to Attend Talks

In a statement last week, the White House announced that President Obama will travel to Copenhagen on December 9 for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, along with a host of Cabinet secretaries. President Obama is also prepared to commit the U.S. to an emissions reduction target “in the range of 17% below 2005 levels” by 2020, in line with proposals in both houses of Congress.

A Scientific Hack Job That Won’t Cripple Climate Talks

Last week, the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in Britain was the victim of hackers who made public thousands of electronic files and e-mails dating back to the 1990s. Climate change skeptics have tried to stir controversy, claiming the e-mails reveal plots to manipulate and misrepresent climate data, while CRU researchers have responded by saying their comments have been misunderstood and taken out of context.

China Sets Emissions Target

The world’s two largest emitters now have mitigation targets on the table, as China announced that it will reduce its carbon intensity 40 to 45 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. Premier Wen Jiabao will also attend the negotiations next month in Copenhagen.

Senate Stepping Up Climate Debate Ahead of Copenhagen

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will meet with Senate committee leaders to discuss domestic climate and energy legislation pre-Copenhagen, while Senators John Kerry (D-MA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) are drafting an outline of their bipartisan legislative proposal.

India and U.S. Announce Climate Initiatives

During a three-day trip to Washington, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Obama pledged, “to take strong national mitigation actions” in working toward a “successful and substantive outcome” to negotiations in Copenhagen. The two countries also agreed to launch a Clean Energy and Climate Change Initiative, which includes cooperation in developing and improving access to clean technologies and energy efficiency measures.

Inhofe on Going to Copenhagen

In an interview with the New York Times, Senator James Inhofe discussed the reasons he plans to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. In particular, Inhofe suggests he will go to Copenhagen to act as “a one-man truth squad,” to tell negotiators that the Senate will not pass a cap-and-trade bill.

Kerry Urges Clinton to Increase Global Climate Aid

Senator John Kerry (D-MA) wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today urging increased global aid to support international climate change priorities.

Fuel Efficiency Increases for 2008 Model Year

The EPA reported that the fleet-wide fuel economy for 2008 model year cars and trucks totaled 21 miles per gallon, continuing a five-year trend in falling emissions and rising efficiency that began in 2005. However, the EPA report finds Detroit’s Big Three automakers – General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler – last in average fuel economy out of the nine major automakers, with Honda leading the category for the past three years.

Major Investors Seek Disclosure of Climate Risks

A petition for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Committee to require disclosure of climate-related financial risks now includes signatories of major institutional investors with over $1 trillion in assets, along with six top state financial officers, and other labor groups. The investors argue numerous climate-related issues affect long-term corporate finances and should therefore be accounted for in investment decisions.

Climate Action Hotline is the new weekly update by the US Climate Action Network. Let us know what you think.

“It’s essential that all countries do what is necessary to reach a strong operational agreement that will confront the threat of climate change while serving as a stepping-stone to a legally binding treaty.”

-Barack Obama

Climate Action » senate

Clean Air Act Digest, 7.15.11

Clean Air Act Digest, 5.13.11

Clean Air Act Digest, 4.15.11

Climate Action Hotline, 3.21.11

Carol Werner, Executive Director March 21, 2011

News

Events

Clean Air Act Digest, 2.23.11

Narrow Energy Bills Introduced in House and Senate

Goals: Make Deep Ocean Drilling Safer;

Improve Energy Efficiency

Call Your Senator for the Climate’s Sake

Bill Seeks to Spur Renewable Energy Development on Private Land

“Immediate Operational Effect”: Climate Action Hotline, Dec. 1

Carol Werner, Executive Director

March 21, 2011