The Budget Buzz

So what’s the deal with Obama’s budget? Why does everyone seem to care about it so much? Well, besides that whole part where the whole world is worried about money, Obama’s budget includes some pretty awesome provisions that we want to make sure stay in there. The key one: $646 billion in revenue from 100% allowance auctionsin a cap and trade system (i.e. making polluters pay for carbon emissions). Even if the targets in there aren’t as strong as we might hope, including the revenue will be a great leverage point for passing a strong carbon cap in 2009.

It should come as no surprise to any regular on the climate blogosphere that special interests (King Coal, to name just one) are not at all happy about this, and are lobbying to get this provision out.

To build the buzz around the budget, please take a minute to call your Senator. This is especially important for all you folks in MD and VA, as Senator Ben Cardin (MD) and Senator Mark Warner (VA) are both on the Senate Budget Committee, and are probably anxiously waiting by their phones just waiting for a constituent like you to call and tell them to do the right thing.

Call now!

Warner’s Office: 202-224-2023

Cardin’s Office: 202-224-4524

The message is simple: Tell your Senator to pass Obama’s budget without stripping the crucial provisions that make sure polluters and other special interests pay their fair share.

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Your vote = $200,000 for bold climate action

We just brought 12,000 people to Capitol Hill to demand bold federal climate and energy policy at Power Shift ’09, and now we have something even bigger up our sleeve.

Between now and the end of the year, we are about to take Power Shift ’09 home with one of the most comprehensive no-district-left-behind grassroots efforts for bold action on climate that’s ever been launched.

In order to pull it off in the biggest way possible (the only way to do things in our book), we’re going to need some serious resources.

And right now, there’s a very quick action you can take (without having to give a dime) to help us bring in $200,000.

http://www.justmeans.com/competitionidea/10404/promoteidea.html

Just click on the link and click “Support it!”
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LTE Opportunity: Time for federal action

Like me, I know that you are probably thinking about more than just green beer this St. Patrick’s Day. With global warming being one of the three main priorities laid out by President Obama, the state is set for action this year. But with the recession on everyone’s minds, we need to make sure that every member of Congress knows that America is ready for bold action on climate change in 2009.

That’s where you all come in. One of the most effective tools of advocacy is the letter to the editor – you get your message out to hundreds of readers, including citizens, newspaper editors, and politicians. The next two months are going to be crucial in ensuring that Congress gets the message, so I’m asking you to make a commitment now to submit 3 letters by Memorial Day. Why Memorial Day? Because Congressman Henry Waxman, head of the Energy and Commerce Committee, has pledged that he will get a carbon cap out of committee by Memorial Day, and he needs our support!

The first thing to make clear? The urgency of taking climate action!

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Who wants a green job?

The real question is: who doesn’t want a green job?

Right now, we have a really amazing window of opportunity to bring green jobs home. In the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ie Stimulus Package), there was a whopping $87 billion of investments in awesome green stuff, including investments in clean energy, energy efficiency, and green jobs training.

This is sort of old news, though, so why am I bringing this up now? Right now, states, cities, and counties across the nation are deciding how this money will be spent. And you can bet that corporations and the folks who are used to business-as-usual are in City Halls and State Houses across the nation lobbying to be the ones who get those investments to create “green jobs” – that help their bottom line, of course.

What do we want? We want green jobs to really be for everyone. And there’s a very small window to make sure that this happens – localities are setting up programs as I’m typing this post, and the window of opportunity will end in the next month. So Green For All is working with citizens across the nation on setting up actions so that we make sure that all voices are heard as local governments are making these important investments. Want to get involved? Sign up for an action, learn more about the green recovery, and bring those green jobs to everyone in your hometown.

Take Action: Investments in Efficiency Targeted for Cuts

A couple years ago, the Maryland legislature passed this sweet bill called the Healthy Air Act to clean up our dirty electricity generation. Part of what made the bill so excellent was that it mandated that MD join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (fondly known as RGGI, and pronounced ReGGIe, like the name), the first ever carbon cap program in the United States.

Now that the pollution permit auctions are starting to happen, and the dollars are rolling in, we’re running into some trouble. Last year, the MD General Assembly passed a law stating that the revenues from RGGI would be divided between energy efficiency programs and low-income ratepayer relief. Now that there are budget shortfalls left and right, the RGGI funds – specifically the part that has been set aside for investments in energy-efficiency programs – are being raided. Most of the money is being transferred into additional rate-relief programs.

So why are we worried? With electricity bills on the rise, the threat of global warming, and the economic crisis we’re dealing with, energy efficiency is the clear solution to helping us use less energy, lower our bills, AND do good for the environment at the same time. Funding efficiency programs will lower bills for ratepayers. Permanently.

Oh, and this will also create green jobs – doing things like this:

We can help people pay their bills and lower their bills at the same time, but only if we stick to the plan set forth by the general assembly last year.

Want to take action? If your Senator serves on the Budget Committee, or your Delegate serves on the Appropriations committee, they need to hear from you TODAY. The committees will take up this question in the budget early next week, so it’s important that they hear from as many of their constituents as possible telling them not to steal $70 million from energy efficiency, so take a minute to take action. (don’t know who your Senator/Delegate is? find out here!) Seriously. Take action now!