Md. Climate Bill Sends Urgent Message to Congress: ACT NOW!

This morning, Governor O’Malley signed into law legislation to combat global warming and create green jobs in Maryland. The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Act, SB 278/HB 315, mandates the strongest economy-wide reduction in global warming pollution of any climate bill in the country.

“This is a landmark moment for Maryland and sends an urgent message to the federal government,” said Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. “Maryland has done all it can do, now it’s time for Congress to enact a nationwide cap on carbon.”

The bill requires the state to cut greenhouse gas emissions 25% below 2006 levels by 2020 and directs the Maryland Department of the Environment to craft a plan and a timeline to achieve that goal. With this bill, Maryland joins six states in enacting a legally binding goal for emissions reductions. Maryland’s short term target is the strongest of all the states with legislative commitments to reduce pollution.

Governor O’Malley’s signing of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Act today was the culmination of years of sustained efforts from dedicated citizens, business leaders, environmental groups, and religious and health organizations.

The diverse coalition that formed to raise awareness of Maryland’s climate bill — called the Alliance for Global Warming Solutions — included the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Environment Maryland, the Maryland Student Climate Coalition, the Chesapeake Sustainable Business Alliance, Physicians for Social Responsibility, the Lutheran Office on Public Policy, Maryland League of Conservation Voters, the Maryland chapter of the Sierra Club, and other groups.

The bill signed today is similar to last year’s Global Warming Solutions Act, which did not make it out of the 2008 General Assembly session. The bill that eventually passed was a result of a series of facilitated talks between stakeholders. Leaders within the Maryland climate movement spent several months participating in talks to work out an effective, fair agreement with union and business leaders.

ACES Update – Polluters want a free pass

I’m sure this doesn’t come as a shock, but the biggest climate bill out there, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, is under attack in a major way. Surprise! Polluters – utilities, coal companies, heavy industry, oil companies… – all want to get permits to continue to spew global warming pollution into the air for FREE! This is all in the name of “cost containment,” which is not at all the same thing as pocketbook protection.

Now, I know that this is a bad idea. If you read the CCAN blog, you probably know that this is a bad idea.

Column: Need for Climate Bill

Before the clock strikes midnight
Before the clock strikes midnight

Here is my column today on why now is the perfect time to pass a climate change bill to help the economy. Enjoy!

Cross-Posted from: here

Clean energy: Make the case before it’s too late

MATT DERNOGA

Issue date: 5/5/09 Section: Opinion

I’ve found over the years that timing is not the strong suit of environmentalists. There’s a joke that whenever there’s a global warming rally, it’s probably going to snow. Just a couple of weeks ago, Earth Day became rain day. The earth has been playing coy, saying, “If you want to save me, you’re going to have to work for it.”

When it comes to clean energy, the economy has been dragging its feet as well. Right when we get a Congress and president capable of passing a strong climate change bill, the economy is jumping off a cliff with a bungee cord made of defaulted bank notes. You can always depend on detractors of regulating carbon emissions, such as the oil, coal, gas and utility companies, to insist this just isn’t the right time. We can’t be burdened by job losses and higher energy prices during a severe recession. By sheer coincidence, I’m sure, opponents use the same argument when the economy is thriving.

This is interesting, considering our policy of not putting a price on pollution in the name of saving manufacturing. From 2000-2008, the U.S. workforce saw a loss of over 4 million manufacturing jobs. Auto companies kicked and screamed at fuel-economy standards for decades, only to witness Japanese carmakers with more fuel-efficient cars come in and take their jobs. Electricity prices rose sharply in many parts of the country without carbon regulation. Oil companies benefited from billions of dollars in tax breaks while claiming regulation would hurt American families at the pump – kind of like what happened last summer with obscene gas prices and no viable substitutes.

We would do well to observe these trends and recognize there needs to be a different way of producing energy in this country. Our economy needs to be transformed and retooled for the global markets of the 21st century. Energy needs to be affordable, abundant and clean. The green provisions of the stimulus bill were a nice spark. We need a lightning bolt. We need a strong climate bill to rescue the economy, and now is the perfect time.

Manufacturing has caught on to this opportunity. Turns out wind turbines are made of steel. Labor groups, such as the United Steelworkers and the Communications Workers of America have teamed up with environmental groups to form the Blue Green Alliance. By investing $100 billion generated from a climate bill into retrofitting buildings, mass transit, a smart eletric grid, wind and solar power and advanced biofuels, 2 million jobs can be created in the next two years.

The reality is the only burden special interest groups are concerned about is their own balance sheets. The question isn’t whether we can afford to pass a climate bill. It’s whether we can afford not to. The truth is, regulating carbon will put our fast-emerging industries at an advantage over foreign competitors.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) is coming to the campus May 11 at 6:30 p.m. in the Baltimore Room in Stamp Student Union for a Clean Energy Town Hall Meeting. There’s a climate bill with a serious chance of passing, which will start getting marked up in the Energy and Commerce Committee the same day. How’s that for timing? This is your chance to weigh in. Don’t miss it for the world.

Matt Dernoga is a junior government and politics major and the political liason for UMD for Clean Energy, one of the groups hosting Rep. Hoyer. He can be reached at mdernoga@umd.edu.


Is a Coal Plant in Surry County a Bad Idea? CCAN Asks Terry McAuliffe

terry_rallyThis morning the Chesapeake Climate Action Network successfully caught the attention of Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe at a rally he hosted at the 17th Street Farmer’s Market in Richmond, Virginia. Richmond Town Councilman Marty Jewel kicked off the morning, and former President Bill Clinton introduced Mr. McAuliffe. The theme of the rally was “New Energy for New Jobs,” and the candidate’s speech centered repowering the commonwealth and creating new jobs for Virginians. CCAN wanted to ask Mr. McAuliffe about his position on a recently proposed coal fired power plant for Surry County, a Hampton Roads community. Well, we got his attention!

Continue reading

Obama Should Play Hardball

Cross-Posted from HERE

I’ve been blogging consistently about the climate bill written by Congressmen Markey and Waxman which is being considered by the Energy and Commerce Committee. Right now, the bill is in sub-committee and about to be marked up and negotiated on. Although the short term target of 20% by 2025 is not strong enough, moderate and conservative Democrats on the committee are looking to weaken the bill. Right now the main compromise looks as though it’s going to be on emissions targets and permit allocations. Excerpt below..

“The talks suggest that utilities that distribute electricity from coal-fired plants are making progress in their efforts to get free access to 40 percent of the emissions permits, underscoring the challenge lawmakers face in seeking strict limits on carbon dioxide and other contributors to warming.”

Of course, allocating permits to polluters for free really defeats the purpose, which is to make the polluters pay for polluting. The risk of selling permits for free is that utilities raise prices anyways on consumers, but the government has not sold enough permits to offset this increased cost by spending the revenue on energy relief. In otherwards, people are not going to fare any better under 40% permits sold for free than 100% sold for a price. In fact, they may fare worse. It also means it will be harder to hit reductions targets.

However, Congressman John Dingel has predicted a bill will pass in some form because of the fact that the EPA has deemed greenhouse emissions a health hazard, and can exercise the authority to regulate them if Congress does not. In otherwards, if the EPA wanted to right now, they could set their own rules for polluters with their own targets without needing the Congress. Here is what was said regarding this in the article I posted last week…

“EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson cautioned that regulations are not imminent and made clear that the Obama administration would prefer that Congress address the climate issue through a broader “cap-and-trade” program that would limit heat-trapping pollution. But she said it was clear from the EPA analysis “that greenhouse gas pollution is a serious problem now and for future generations” and steps are needed to curtail the impact. Even if actual regulations are not imminent, the EPA action was seen as likely to encourage action on Capitol Hill. It’s “a wake-up call for Congress”

The Cap Challenge

Who knew that running a photo petition could be so much fun? Over the past few weeks, CCAN staff and volunteers (and organizational allies, like GWIPL! You rock, GWIPL!) have been hitting the streets and the Earth Day festivals to spread the love for a science-based cap on carbon.

The results have been amazing. I’ve done my share of street canvassing, and the response to this action has blown me away. Perhaps because the mood is ready to do something real about global warming. Perhaps because wearing caps to cap carbon is just fun. Several hundred photos have already been taken – but in order to ensure that Congress hears our message loud and clear, we need to get thousands of pictures taken, as well as thousands of comments in to Congress to keep climate legislation strong!

So here’s your Cap Challenge:

First of all, if you haven’t submitted a picture yet, take a picture of you wearing a hat RIGHT NOW, and email it to capcarbon2009@gmail.com.

Step 2: Tell your friends to do the same.

The real cap challenge, though, is to hit the street and take some pictures. Set yourself a goal, like to take 30 pictures of people with hats. Or, try for the big fish, and get a picture of your Member of Congress, like Allison of GWIPL got of Congressman John Sarbanes, of MD’s 3rd. Can you top that?

Start taking pictures and see what you get! Here’s a handy dandy how-to guide to download to get you started.

The best climate solution

The Baltimore Sun

By Mike Tidwell and Michael Noble

Now that the president and most Americans want national action on global warming, how do we pick the best legislation for reducing carbon pollution? There are three critical tests. First, is the climate policy simple? Second, is it fair? And third, is it built to last?

Continue reading

Catholics and Climate

Cross-Posted from: here

Ordinarily, we don’t think of religion and global warming solutions mixing all that well. However, I’ve noticed in recent years more and more of a voice from the religious community regarding the moral imperative to stopping catastrophic warming. I personally just had a meeting with some members of the Saint Andrews Episcopalian Church in College Park last Monday, where we discussed the issue, and them attending the town hall meeting with Congressman and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer which I’m helping to organize. I’ve also seen in the news recently about how evangelicals, especially younger ones, consider climate change to be an important issue.

Today, I’m focusing on Catholics. There is a website called the Catholic Climate Covenant, which is run by the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change. The CCCC “was launched with the support of both the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Religious Partnership for the Environment. The Catholic Coalition on Climate Change supports and complements USCCB’s Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development (formerly, the Department of Social Development and World Peace) and the bishops’ Environmental Justice Program. The Coalition is a membership organization consisting of twelve national Catholic organizations that offers advice and assistance in implementing its programs.”

The Coalition sends regular updates to its growing database of interested Catholics and others of goodwill to keep them informed of its activities and current events. Find the recent and previous updates from CCCC atwww.catholicsandclimatechange.org.

They had an Ad in the New York Times a couple days ago about the need for climage change solutions. On top of this, the pope mentioned in his Easter message the danger of runaway cliamte change. On top of all this, they made the video below on their website about the need for adaptation and mitigation funding for the poor who will be disproportionately affected. This is the explanation on the youtube video’s page…

“After decades of steady progress in reclaiming and advancing the Catholic Churchs efforts to embrace an ethic of environmental stewardship, the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change is ready to launch an unprecedented and historical campaign to take responsibility for our contribution to climate change and do what we do best: be advocates for those who will be left out of the public policy debate on climate change.”

Amen

Catholic Climate Video