Archive - May 6, 2009

Remember that march to the Capitol Power Plant organized by Capitol Climate Action? Here's the kind of victory that well-organized and passionate action can achieve:

The 99-year-old Capitol Power Plant, which provides steam for heat and hot water in congressional buildings, is ending its distinction of being the only coal-burning facility in the District of Columbia.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Friday that the switch to natural gas as the sole fuel source used at the plant was part of their efforts to reduce the carbon pollution impact of Congress on the nation's capital.

"The Congress of the United States should not only be a model for the nation, but also a good neighbor," Pelosi said.

In today’s Washington Post, economist Kristen Sheeran and Ceres’ Mindy Lubber, highlight a key point in the economic argument for a change from a fossil fuel dependent economy to an economy that runs on clean energy. They make a compelling case in The Cost of Climate Inaction that economic analyses of energy legislation must consider the costs of inaction:

The real cost of carbon emissions is far from zero. Each new scientific report brings proof of a changing climate that promises to disrupt agricultural patterns, set off a scramble for dwindling resources, raise sea levels, propel population shifts and require massive emergency spending as we try to react to the growing crises. These are the costs of inaction.”

The whole thing is a must-read, and worth passing on.

The latest on the Waxman-Markey clean energy jobs bill from the subscripton-only Environment & Energy Daily:

House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) said today that he will bypass regular order on a major climate change and energy bill and mark up the legislation before the entire 59-member panel.

The change in plans means the Energy and Environment Subcommittee will not mark up the bill as previously scheduled. Waxman and subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey (D-Mass.) planned to hold a subcommittee markup beginning last week, but ongoing intra-party negotiations have yet to produce a new draft bill.

The full committee markup will not begin until next week at the earliest, Waxman told reporters this afternoon. The lawmaker plans to report the bill by the Memorial Day recess.

So if your representative is part of this committee, why not start calling now?