Blog & News Round-Up: advocacy, ACES, green jobs, ACES, and Burger King

This has definitely been one busy week! With the House vote quickly approaching (hopefully) everything and everyone is focused on the bill. Unless, of course, you have been without internet, newspapers, or the like, in which case you are in luck, as this post is chock-full of ACES (that’s the American Clean Energy and Security Act) information. In fact, check out this guide to everything ACES. If you are up-to-date with the ACES happenings, there has been a lot going on this week, so, you’ll still find this informative.

1Sky has definitely been hard at work pushing for a stronger bill. On Wednesday, 1Sky, along with a few of our allies, hosted a one-hour national conference call with Henry Waxman and Edward Markey. There were people listening in on 600 phone lines, and we received more than 200 questions for the call! It’s Getting Hot In Here has a great review of the call:

On June 10th a national conference call involving hundreds of people listening was held. It was moderated by Gillian Caldwell, director of 1Sky, and featured Henry Waxman and Ed Markey. After they got off the call staff of the Energy and Commerce Committee continued answering questions. These were what I considered to be the most notable of the comments made by this overall group.”

That very same day 1Sky and 16 other organizations went to Capitol Hill to meet with representatives in pursuit of support for a strengthened climate bill. Check out a previous post for more about our day on the Hill.

Also this week, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a now ubiquitous report on the cost of the ACES bill. Catching everyone’s attention are statements about the revenue generated by the legislation, and the cost of electricity for consumers. It’s being called a deficit reducer, while opponents see it as a tax increase.

AP reports:

…low-income families could initially receive $161-$359 in credits or rebates, if the bill becomes law. That amount could rise to $282-$628 by 2019, depending on the family's size. The money would come from the government auctioning off pollution permits to companies that release climate-altering gases. The amount of permits that will be sold will increase over time and they will become more expensive, generating $846 billion from 2010-2019, the analysis says.

Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., who is sponsoring the bill along with Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., called it a win-win Monday, pointing out that it could actually reduce the federal deficit by a total of $24 billion over the next 10 years.”

One of the most important components of a stronger bill is the dedication to creating more green jobs. Some states are already moving in the right direction. The Huffington Post reports:

The nation's electricity industry is in for an overhaul. Power lines spread across the country are finally moving into the digital age with smart grids that provide instant information on energy consumption.

Boulder, CO: Boulder is aiming to become the world's first smart grid city by the end of 2009…

Worcester, MA: National Grid will be building a smart grid pilot in Worcester. The pilot, believed to be the largest in New England, will work towards creating a highly reliable modern grid that can provide customers with energy use information, automation, and the ability to control how they use energy.”

Miami, FL Austin, TX, and Chicago, IL have plans to implement a smarter more efficient energy system as well. PEW also released a report on the economic benefit of green jobs.

On the Senate side, longtime environmental champion and Chairwoman of the Environment and Public Works Committee Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) is expressing her expectations for the bill. Politico writes that she:

expects to mark up climate and energy legislation before the August recess, with hopes of a bill reaching the full Senate in the fall.

The Senate legislation will be based on the bill currently making its way through the House but is likely to include tougher short-term targets for capping carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.

“You might see a little bit of a stronger bill come out of our committee,” said Boxer.

The tight timeline could help the bill gain support in the House, where Democrats from rural and conservative states have raised concerns about casting a tough vote for climate and energy legislation without any promise that the Senate will act on the bill.”

We’re looking forward to seeing what happens in the Senate, but we still have to see what happens in the House. So call, write, and visit your representatives and encourage them to strengthen the climate bill!

Finally, here’s a little something from DailyKos. I’m sure many of you have seen it already, but it’s funny, albeit absurd, just the same.

Thankfully, Burger King's HQ distanced itself from this baloney:

This statement ["Global Warming is baloney"] does not reflect a Burger King Corp. (BKC) opinion or view. The two restaurants where these signs appeared are independently owned and operated and were not authorized to display this statement. The signs have since been removed. BKC believes in operating as a socially responsible company and is committed to making a positive impact in the communities where it lives and works.

Did we miss anything? Share it in the comments!