Mike Tidwell of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network explains a bold and refreshing new perspective on how to cap carbon emissions in the United States.
Also, here’s an interesting TV interview about the bill that Mike Tidwell conducted with John Passacantando, former director of Greenpeace USA. The interview is part of a cable-access show called The Coffee House that is viewed on stations nationwide.
Call Senator Webb TODAY!A couple weeks ago Senator Jim Webb introduced a bill that would subsidize the nuclear industry and could divert money away from much needed solutions to the climate crisis. We flooded his office with hundreds of emails asking him what his plan was to solve global warming. Senator Webb has raised real concerns about cap and trade — handing money over to polluters for free, complicated offsets, and Wall Street gaming among them. Just last week, Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced a bill that represents a new approach to capping carbon that avoids these pitfalls. Over the past year, in meetings with CCAN members, Sen. Webb has indicated interest in this new approach.The Cantwell-Collins “Carbon Limits and Energy for America’s Renewal” (CLEAR) Act is simple, fair and built to last. With this bill all polluters pay and there are no complicating offsets. Instead of most permits given away for free and subsidies for corporations, every American would get a check each month through a monthly carbon “dividend.” Learn more>>Call Senator Webb and ask him to co-sponsor this new approach to reducing global warming pollutionSen. Webb: (202)-224-4024Call Script>>Under the Cantwell-Collins bill, the federal government would auction off carbon shares to the nation’s 2,000 or so fuel producers such as coal and oil companies. Every two years, the shares would expire and, over the years, the U.S. government would offer fewer and fewer shares for sale as a way to reduce carbon consumption. Seventy-five percent of the money raised would be rebated directly to U.S. citizens. Cantwell’s office estimated that an average family of four would receive a total of about $1,100 a year in the form of tax-free monthly checks.The other 25 percent of the money raised would be used exclusively for clean-energy research and development, energy efficiency programs and for assistance to communities and workers transitioning to a clean energy economy.Call Senator Webb now and ask him to co-sponsor the CLEAR ActSen. Webb: (202)-224-4024Call Script>>Thanks for all you do, and happy holidays!
CALL SCRIPT Hello. My name is ____ and I live in ______.
I’m calling to let Senator Webb know about the Cantwell-Collins CLEAR Act, which was introduced last Friday.
The bill is a simple, fair and enduring way for the United States to address global warming.
Given the Senator’s desire to address climate change, and his concerns about the complexities of a cap-and-trade system, I strongly urge him co-sponsor this important bill.
Report your Call
After you’ve made your call, please email Lauren Glickman at lauren@chesapeakeclimate.org so we can keep track of how many calls are placed and to let us know how the call went!
My Op-Ed below, which previews the Copenhagen climate talks, first ran in the Baltimore Sun and on Grist. As many of you know, I will be attending the climate talks next month from December 13-18 on behalf of CCAN and Earthbeat Radio. I will personally be there to record the voices of passionate, inspiring leaders and to add my own voice to the global chorus demanding faster, better results from our world leaders. Starting December 13th, check out the daily video and audio feeds I’ll be posting to this blog.
Climate change reset needed
Let the EPA crack down on carbon emissions, and switch from ‘cap and trade’ to ‘cap and rebate’By Mike Tidwell
Baltimore Sun
November 27, 2009Tomorrow is not an option.
Those ought to be the words coming from the White House right now on global warming. Never again can we tolerate a year like 2009, when attempts to cap carbon pollution go nowhere. Already this month, President Barack Obama has confirmed two painful truths. First: Congress will not complete work on a global warming bill in 2009. And second, the corollary blow: There will be no international climate deal in Denmark next month, dashing years of international hopes.
So Mr. Obama should move quickly from explaining failure to achieving real success. He should travel to the Copenhagen climate conference in December and guarantee drastic action from the U.S. in 2010, even if it means blowing everything up in Congress and starting over. If a “cap and trade” bill won’t fly in the Senate in 2010, then let the Environmental Protection Agency explore maximum-strength carbon regulations while, legislatively, we switch back to Mr. Obama’s original presidential campaign plan: “cap and rebate.”
Apologists, of course, are rushing to defend the president, explaining away the now-official climate failures of 2009. There was never enough time, they say, to fix in a few months all the global warming harm George W. Bush created in eight long years.
Maybe so. But we can’t blame Mr. Bush forever. What’s the plan for 2010? The only strategy the Democrats seem to have is borrowed from 2009: Get the Senate to finally pass the cap and trade bill. That would be the 1,400-page bill narrowly approved by the House in June and loaded with subsidies for “clean coal” and likely big profits for Wall Street traders. It’s been stagnating in the Senate for most of the autumn.
Centrist Democrat Jim Webb of Virginia – a vitally important vote – all but condemned the cap and trade bill last week in a news conference. What if the bill simply never passes? What will Mr. Obama take to the international treaty talks in Germany in June 2010 or in Mexico next December? Continue reading
CCAN’s first annual MD Climate Champions Awards Ceremony was a resounding success. The highlight of the night may have been when House Majority Leader Kumar Barve, upon receiving his award, thanked CCAN Director Mike Tidwell by jokingly describing him as a “warm and fuzzy zealot.” Nearly 200 people turned out on a rainy Tuesday to eat, drink, celebrate Maryland’s many clean energy victories, and honor those who made those victories possible.
Betsy Taylor received the first award. Betsy has dedicated her remarkable career to promoting social justice and environmental stewardship. She founded and served as director of The Center for a New American Dream. In 2007 she founded and now serves on the board of 1Sky. She’s also an author and has worked with a wide range of philanthropies to guide resources to good causes, especially climate protection.
Jennifer Stanley accepted the next award on behalf of both her and her husband, Ted. The Stanleys have for many years been leading supporters of environmental protection – including strong action on climate change – through their philanthropy. Their foundation, the Town Creek Foundation located in Easton, Maryland, funds much of CCAN’s work, including Earthbeat Radio.
George Leventhal came next. As a Mongtomery County Councilmember, George has achieved many clean energy successes in the past six years. He pioneered the campaign to switch county 
government buildings
Check out this article by Peter Barnes on keeping debate alive and well on developing strong, fair, and lasting climate solutions.
Why Two Climate Bills Are Better Than One
By Peter Barnes
Cross posted from Grist.
The 7-minute explanation of the 50-year solution to global climate change all laid out by the director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Mike Tidwell. Video by Jay Tomlinson
For even more information, you can also read a short Op-Ed by CCAN Director Mike Tidwell about Cap and Dividend that ran in the Baltimore Sun.
CCAN sent out this email to our list yesterday…
We’ve waited years for serious climate legislation from Congress, and last week we got our wish. Two major bills were introduced – and both need your quick attention. Please, take five minutes to read more below and send quick notes. This session of Congress is one of our last chances to get it right and avoid major climate change impacts for future generations.
Climate bill #1:
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) proposes historic “cap and dividend” bill
Congressman Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland environmental champion for decades, has authored the strongest “carbon cap” bill ever proposed. HR 1862 has all the right features: It’s simple, fair, and built to last. It makes polluters pay by auctioning 100 percent of carbon permits instead of giving them away, contains no controversial “carbon offsets,” and returns all carbon revenues back to the American public as a monthly dividend. Watch this short video featuring CCAN director Mike Tidwell. And learn more at www.capanddividend.org.
Here’s what author/activist Bill McKibben said last week about the Van Hollen bill: “This is the most innovative, yet obvious, piece of climate legislation in the 20 years I’ve been following this battle. Van Hollen’s bill sets out a straightforward mechanism for reducing carbon in the atmosphere in a way that will actually be popular with voters.”
TAKE ACTION: Please show your support right now. Please ask your Congressional representative to co-sponsor the Van Hollen bill. If Van Hollen is your Congressman, please thank him for his leadership.
Climate bill #2:
Waxman/Markey bill provides landmark first step but needs to be stronger
Also last week, Representatives Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Edward Markey (D-MA) introduced a comprehensive clean energy/climate bill. The Congressmen deserve our gratitude for their years of hard work promoting climate solutions. As you would expect of a very comprehensive energy bill, there are both strong and weak provisions. The bill sets excellent statutory targets for clean energy development by increasing the requirements for renewable energy and energy efficiency. However, the bill funnels public funding into unproven carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects, allows new coal plants to be built through 2015 without proving they are CCS-compatible, and allows billions of tons of controversial carbon offsets. Read a good summary of the bill from CCAN’s Policy Director.
TAKE ACTION: Please email your Congressional representative and ask him/her to support the strong provisions in the bill and insist that the weak provisions be strengthened. With Arctic ice melting and sea level rising fast, we need a STRONG carbon cap right now.
From the Huffington Post
Which one can crash faster: the American economy or the planet’s fragile atmosphere? It almost seems like a cruel race these days. Thankfully, one Congressional response could help solve global warming while putting serious dollars in the pockets of hurting Americans. And by dollars I don’t mean distant energy-efficiency savings or the vague promise of avoided oil wars. I’m talking about actual monthly wire transfers right now to real American families while the climate heals.
Washington is awash in creativity these days when it comes to the long-ignored problem of global warming. Legislative proposals include everything from a “cap and trade” approach to a carbon tax to a regime to “cap and invest” in green energy.
But only one idea, in my view, meets the critical requirements of fairness, rapid climate results, and guaranteed voter appeal. That idea is the so-called “cap and dividend” concept. Already, the idea of giving carbon dividends to U.S. citizens is supported by a wide spectrum of leaders, including Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), New York mayor Michael Bloomberg (independent), and former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich.
Continue reading
As Congress debates climate legislation, we at CCAN believe that a ‘cap and dividend’ approach makes a lot of sense. Learn more at
http://www.capanddividend.org
And CCAN’s not the only one. Check out this letter Congressman Chris Van Hollen. sent out yesterday to his colleagues in the House of Representatives.
On Climate Change, Time for Cap and Dividend
Dear Colleague:
I have been
Just look at yourself! The average American is responsible for around 23 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year. Want to do something about it? Let’s talk about personal carbon rationing, trading, and taxes because there are movements afoot to promote all three. They basically address the individual, as opposed to or in addition to, industry.
1. Personal Carbon Rations/Limits/Caps
Personal carbon rationing involves the setting of a per person cap on carbon dioxide emissions. One such concept was developed in the UK by Mayer Hillman and Tina Fawcett in their book, “How We Can Save the Planet“. Rationing follows these principles:
There is currently a voluntary movement known as Carbon Rationing Action Groups, or CRAGs, where people set themselves emissions rations and then work to stay within the ration. This effort was started in the UK about 18 months ago. These groups are local, include around 8-10 people, meet regularly, set their per capita rations, audit their energy bills at the end of each “Carbon Year”, and sometimes penalize or reward their members for going over or under their rations. There are also individual tracking programs in the UK like CarbonDiet. Consistent protocols for tracking individual emissions are under development by groups like the “Avoiding Mass Extinctions Engine”(AMEE) applications programming interface.