Blog & news round-up June 19th: Climate report, energy week, and light rails

This week all eyes have been focused on the upcoming House vote on the clean energy and climate bill and, as is to be expected, there were a sizeable number of news-worthy happenings.

The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) released a new report, "Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States," which

focuses on climate change impacts in different regions of the U.S. and on various aspects of society and the economy such as energy, water, agriculture, and health. It’s also a report written in plain language, with the goal of better informing public and private decision making at all levels.

The report, which the AP referrers to as “dire”, offers definitive proof of what environmental groups, the scientific community, and concerned citizens have been saying: yes, climate change is really happening, it is our fault, and we need to act now to find a solution:

"There are in some cases already serious consequences," report co-author Anthony Janetos of the University of Maryland told The Associated Press. "This is not a theoretical thing that will happen 50 years from now. Things are happening now."

"The observed climate changes that we report are not opinions to be debated. They are facts to be dealt with," said one of the report's chief authors, Jerry Melillo of Marine Biological Lab in Woods Hole, Mass. "We can act now to avoid the worst impacts."

With that in mind, let us now turn to the ACES bill. Politico reports:

Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman is engaging in intense negotiations with rural and fiscally conservative Democrats, who have raised a series of problems with the legislation.

“We’re very close to an agreement,” Waxman said Wednesday. “I want us to see if we can get it on the floor next week.”

We are still looking to next week for floor debate to begin, and a vote before the July 4th recess. A new, edited version of the bill is tentatively expected to be released by Waxman today.

The push to move this bill along is definitely in full swing, with both the White House and Speaker Nancy Pelosi getting involved. While Waxman is dealing with the conservative Democrats, Pelosi is reaching out to moderate Republicans still undecided about the bill (read: potential supporters). According to Politico, she has invited them to her office to discuss the legislation.

For its part, the White House has designated next week as "Energy Week." So Far, all we know is that

The White House plans to dispatch Cabinet officials to push the administration’s energy agenda and urge Congress to pass climate legislation currently under siege from skeptical Democrats in the House.

As for the Senate, the Energy and Natural Resources Committee has passed a climate change bill of sorts. It would allow drilling along the east coast of Florida, provide a high-carbon fuels exemption for Canadian tar sands, and, according to the New York Times:

does not include any mandatory reductions in emissions of heat-trapping gases…”

Regarding the bill, Gillian says:

Unfortunately, we cannot support the current Senate bill at this time, but we look forward to working with Senators to strengthen it.

Working with 13 close allies, 1Sky sent a letter stating our objections to the bill, and ways in which it needs to be strengthened. One such way would do much to support green jobs.

The Clean Energy Deployment Administration (CEDA) provisions of the bill would provide much needed federal financial support for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Such support would help jump-start a robust private sector financing market for these projects.

A new analysis released from the Center for American Progress finds that about 1.7 million new jobs would be created by investing $150 billion in clean energy projects.

Specifically, we need to gauge our success in curbing CO2 emissions alongside the broader effects on the U.S. economy, particularly on employment opportunities, economic growth and people’s incomes.

Some cities are already moving forward with green projects, and the investment is paying off. In Phoenix, a 20 mile light rail opened in December, bringing in lots of jobs, and taking plenty of cars off the road with 40,000 riders daily. Beating the original projection of 25,000 riders per day, this demonstrates, hopefully to investors and policymakers, that projects like light rail help both the environment and the economy. In addition, Denver, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, Cleveland and others are adding light rails, hybrid busses, and other mass-transit systems.

A note to our supporters in Australia: Power Shift is being held in Sydney from July 11-13th. This is Australia’s first National Youth Climate Summit and it’s packed with interesting speakers and panels. Registration is still open, so sign up!

Interested in solar efficiency, alternative fuel/power cars, and the relationship between nanotechnology and green energy? Get your green blog fix by checking out Climate Guru: A Review of Cool Climate-Saving Technology. It’s got some neat, science based information you’re unlikely to read elsewhere.

Lastly, we just got word that Al Gore will be holding a special briefing! In partnership with Repower America, he will be discussing the climate change legislation in Congress this Tuesday, June 23, at 8pm EDT. They recommend you register before 11:59pm EDT Monday, June 22nd.

Let us know if we missed anything!