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In Washington, we’ve been on the edge of our seats!  After the House passed a stimulus package last week, the Senate has been working all week on their version, amidst much partisan tension and political pressure.  The stimulus, which may be over $900 billion, will hopefully include billions of dollars towards investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and green jobs.  Here’s an update: 

This week, as part of the National Teach-In on Global Warming Solutions, campuses all over the country held talks about climate change and the bold solutions that are necessary and achievable in the first 100 days of Obama's administration.

7.6%

That's the number you'll see all over the news today--the unemployment rate announced today by the Labor Department. The economy is hemorraging jobs at a faster rate than anyone anticipated:

Recession-battered employers eliminated 598,000 jobs in January, the most since the end of 1974, and catapulted the unemployment rate to 7.6 percent. The grim figures were further proof that the nation's job climate is deteriorating at an alarming clip with no end in sight.

Those 2 million jobs that the green investments in the stimulus bill would create sure look pretty good right now. Let's make it happen: call your senators today and tell them to keep the stimulus green!

In case you missed the live 1Sky Twitter updates, here are some of my notes from the lecture of John Fyfe, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scientist.

7:35 PM— John Fyfe, senior research scientist for the Canadian Centre for Climate Modeling and Analysis, presenting the “The Science of Global Climate Change" at Whitman College.

President Barack Obama is in full media blitz mode, hitting the airwaves and the Internet to rally support for his economic stimulus package. By now you probably read his op-ed in the Washington Post. But did you notice how much ink (or pixels) he devoted to green priorities? Some excerpts:

This plan is more than a prescription for short-term spending -- it's a strategy for America's long-term growth and opportunity in areas such as renewable energy, health care and education.

Last week, the House passed an economic recovery bill containing over $100 billion for green projects--thanks to activists like you who took the time to write, call, and visit Congress. That's the largest investment in green projects we've ever seen, and it could create over 2 million jobs that this country needs urgently. But now the action moves to the Senate, where those green projects are in grave danger of being axed from the stimulus bill. Please call your senators today and tell them to keep the economic recovery package green.

Just how involved should scientists be in shaping policy?

This question recently popped up in the blogosphere after the American Meteorological Society (AMS) awarded its highest honor, the Carl Gustaf Rossby Research Medal to James Hansen of NASA's Goddar Institute for Space Studies. Hansen is one of the country's most respected climate scientists, as well as one of the most visible figures pushing for greenhouse gas reductions, so his award was rather controversial.

Senator Barbara Boxer's climate change principles, which she announced in a press conference last Tuesday, are a solid basis for action to tackle the climate crisis. Senator Boxer is the Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and will be a key player on any legislation to stem global warming. (You can watch a replay of the press conference on the committee's website.)

The following comes to us from Lauren Shuster, a 1Sky organizer in NY. -- Luis

My name is Lauren Schuster and I am the 1Sky organizer and environmental campaign coordinator with the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG). NYPIRG is New York State’s largest social justice organization with offices at 21 college campuses across the state. We have a long history of working on environmental issues at the City and State level and we’re very excited to partner with 1Sky and join the fight against global warming on the federal level.

Last week I blogged about the ongoing saga of Coal River Mountain. Today, residents of Coal River Valley took their anti-mountaintop removal struggle one step further:

Residents of the Coal River Valley, accompanied by supporters from across Appalachia, took a stand this morning against the impending destruction of their mountain in the name of coal. Five activists with Climate Ground Zero and Mountain Justice chained themselves to an excavator and a bulldozer at the Massey operation near Pettus, West Virginia.