Climate policy: A view from the Hill
[1]Just when I started getting into the new routine of my summer internship everything suddenly changed. No, it wasn’t the fact that I was wearing a suit and tie, although that did feel a little odd; it was the fact that five climate bills were on the table at today’s House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality hearing [2] on Capitol Hill.
Just weeks after the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act failed on the Senate floor [3], stronger bills are emerging calling for bolder climate action. Our representatives are finally hearing our voices and are beginning to act on our behalf, but not without strong opposition from the other side.
Today’s hearing, lead by Rick Boucher (D-VA), focused on the current bills working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as Ed Markey’s iCAP Bill [4] (H.R. 6186) and Henry Waxman’s Safe Climate Act [5] (H.R. 1590). Despite waiting in line for over an hour, I spent the first half of the hearing in the overflow room watching it on closed circuit television. But after a brief recess, my fellow interns and I found seats on the floor of the hearing -- just three rows behind the panel of witnesses.
To our surprise, the first panel of witnesses was dominated heavily by industry groups such as the National Mining Association, the Nuclear Energy Institute, and the Fertilizer Institute, which overpowered the witnesses from the National Resource Defense Council and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. All the industry groups were calling for the subcommittee to recognize our current energy dependency on coal, nuclear and natural gas claiming that any change to the system will disrupt our economy and further increase energy costs.
I strongly believe that greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced without destroying the economic prosperity of the American people. I respectfully disagree with Kraig Naasz from the National Mining Association who claimed that "dramatic shifts away from coal will be dangerous" to the U.S. economy. Global warming is arguably the most pressing issue of our time. Ever since the beginning of my internship with 1Sky I have laid awake at night thinking and worrying about the future of our climate. I am scared. If we are going to solve our climate crisis, dramatic steps are imperative and shifting away from a coal dependent society is the first step.
And no, "clean coal [6]" is not the answer. Despite what industry witnesses said today, I wholeheartedly believe that there are viable solutions to our fossil fuel dependent society -- solutions that will cut emissions, improve the health of the world we live in and provide opportunities for businesses and the American people to prosper. But the time for Congress to act is now!
We need to tell Congress to stop spending money on the research and development of clean coal and start investing in renewable energy sources and green jobs. The overall message today was pessimistic. The first witness panel kept driving home the fact that reducing our greenhouse gas emissions will only destroy our economy, pushing more Americans further into debt. But this is not the case. There are alternatives to America’s fossil fuel addiction that will provide clean and sustainable employment for millions of Americans [7]. These are the facts that Congress must address.
