1Sky Policy Update 8/16/2010 - August shadowing events kick off

By 1Sky policy fellow Gabe Elsner. -- Ines

1Sky and our allies kicked off a summer of "shadowing" elected officials at events all over the country to express our outrage that the Senate failed to address our climate crisis and our dangerous addiction to fossil fuels. So far we have had a successful presence at events in AR, CO, FL, and MO, with many more to come.

Several national media outlets covered the series of actions happening around the country. New York Times/Greenwire reported on the thousands of supporters that will be flooding into town halls, debates, and other campaign events. SolveClimate wrote a piece on the actions, quoting 1Sky's Adi Nochur: "The recess is a critical opportunity to let the Senate know that inaction is inexcusable." Politico's Morning Energy highlighted a large coalition, including 1Sky, 350.org, BlueGreen Alliance and Clean Energy Works, working to keep the pressure on legislators over the August recess.

1Sky and our allies are showing up at senators' events across the country during the August congressional recess to emphasize the urgency of the climate crisis and call for a clean energy economy. We need to show our senators that delay on climate legislation is unacceptable. For more info, check out these sign-up pages:

• 1Sky
• Energy Action Coalition
• 350

Congressional Recess Timeline:

• 7/31-9/12: House on Recess
• 8/7-9/12: Senate on Recess

U.S. steps backwards, others surge ahead on clean energy

The House of Representatives returned from recess briefly last week to pass a $26 billion aid package for states struggling with budget problems. The legislation was signed into law on Tuesday by President Obama. The legislation will save 300,000 teaching jobs from being cut by state and local governments due to budget shortfalls. In order to provide some of the funds needed to pay for that $26 billion package, the House voted to transfer $1.5 billion from the DOE's renewable-energy and loan-guarantee program used to support solar, wind and other alternative energy companies. The renewable energy industry protested the decision in a letter to Speaker Pelosi. Speaker Pelosi declared that the Obama Administration has committed to "restore" the loan guarantee funding. 1Sky Intern Amy Plovnick blogged on the need to restore funding for the clean energy industry.

Meanwhile, China's National Development and Reform Commission announced it would unveil a $739 billion "new energy" plan to develop the country's energy industry. Although the plan includes dirty energy, like nuclear and coal with carbon capture and sequestration, the massive investment eclipses U.S. investment in clean energy. 1Sky blogged that China is shooting for the moon while the U.S. is lagging behind. China is also cracking down on over 2,000 energy-intensive factories to improve the country's energy efficiency. The most inefficient steel mills, cement works, and other energy-intensive factories are being forced to close by September 30. Portugal is surging towards a clean energy future. Portugal expanded aggressive national policies to increase their renewable energy use from 17% to 45% in only five years and is on track to produce 60% of its electricity from domestic, renewable energy sources by 2020.

Lame duck session remains a possibility

On Meet the Press last Sunday, White House Energy Czar Carol Browner said a climate bill could potentially be approved during the lame-duck session and expressed that the administration is still holding out hope for a bill this year. Senator Bingaman (D-NM), chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said he thinks "it's going to be difficult for the Senate to pass any kind of cap-and-trade legislation." In addition, Senator Bingaman said he doubts Congress will pass any major legislation before Election Day, including a pared-back energy bill focused on the BP Gulf Oil Disaster. Representative Tom Price (R-GA) unveiled a bill to prevent Democrats from addressing any legislation during the "lame duck" session after the November elections. On Tuesday, House lawmakers quashed the resolution 236-163 in a procedural vote, leaving the window open for climate change and/or energy legislation after the midterm elections.

Clean Air Act Attacked

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed a suit Friday to appeal the EPA's rejection of a petition to reconsider the endangerment finding. The endangerment finding was a result of extensive scientific research by the EPA into the effects of global warming pollution on human health. The EPA found that greenhouse gas emissions harm human health and therefore the agency can utilize the Clean Air Act to reduce the dangerous pollution. The Chamber of Commerce used emails from "Climategate" to argue that global warming is not a harm to human health. All of the scientists involved in the "climategate" emails were exonerated by three independent panels showing that they were simply discussing how to effectively relay their research to the public. 1Sky continues to generate public support for the Obama Administration's efforts to cut dangerous global warming pollution via the Clean Air Act.

Signals of Climate Change

A chunk of ice four times the size of Manhattan, or 100 square miles, broke off of Greenland Tuesday. The giant ice island may be carried south by ocean currents and could potentially threaten oil rigs and shipping routes off Newfoundland. While experts warn against blaming one event to climate change, they say the unusual event coincides with worrisome signs of warming in the Arctic, which has risen more than 4.5 degrees since 1970.

Extreme floods in Pakistan and unprecedented fires in Russia match predictions of extremes caused by global warming according to scientists.

Russia's top meteorological official said "No similar heat wave has been observed neither by ourselves nor by our ancestors," in over 1,000 years of records from Russia. "This is a completely unique phenomenon."

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon traveling in Pakistan said "the world has never seen such a disaster." The flooding in Pakistan has made over 20 million people homeless.

The National Wildlife Federation released a report on heat waves, saying the summer of 2010 might be considered mild compared to typical summers in the future if we continue to spew greenhouse gas pollution into the atmosphere.

BP Oil Spill Update: Day 119

BP Gulf Disaster lawsuits will be consolidated in a New Orleans Federal court under Judge Carl Barbier. Gulf oil spill victims were pleased with the decision, saying New Orleans will be the most convenient venue to the majority of those harmed by the disaster. With the oil disappearing from the surface of the Gulf and the front page of newspapers, residents of the disaster region worry that with the oil out of sight, they will be forgotten. In a Washington Post editorial, the author warned that the most visible damages occur shortly after oil spills, but it takes much more time for the full effects to be known. Mother Jones published an in-depth article about "The BP Cover-Up" highlighting dramatic new science that reveals that the worst effects of the BP Gulf disaster may be yet to come.

Prepared by Gabe Elsner from the 1Sky Policy Team. Please direct questions or comments to gabe@1sky.org