I was on a conference call with Chairmen Waxman and Markey about their energy bill today. The bottom line for them is: “chances like this come up once every 15 years” (meaning that we have a democratic President and a democratic majority in the congress.) They are asking for all of the grass roots organizations to stand up in support of this bill – the way it is now.
But the way it is now is not the way it was supposed to be. Scientists of the Integovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have said we need to cut emissions by 25 – 40% below 1990 levels by 2020. The way this bill is now, the reduction target for greenhouse gas emissions is set between 4 and 7 % below 1990 levels by 2020;this disturbs a lot of environmental groups.
The bill also includes carbon “offsets” that are offered to polluting industries that could be used to effectively eliminate real reductions of greenhouse gas emissions for over a decade; billions in subsidies in the form of allowances over the life of the bill will go to polluting industries; and coal-fired power plants will be supported through some $10 billion in ratepayer subsidies for carbon capture and sequestration (or CCS). And there are also provisions that actually remove the President’s existing authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under laws already on the books.
Chairman Markey reminds us that coal is still abundant in the United States. If we can create a “clean coal” then we can help China do the same. Without coming out and saying it, he implied that “clean coal” could also be something that we export to other countries.
Chairman Waxman reminded us that Global Warming is a global problem and that we have to look at the bigger picture. To be honest, he kind of lost me on where he was going with that one. Maybe because I couldn’t get over the “Take it or Leave it” attitude I was detecting. I mean, in a nutshell, he basically said the responsibility for this bill is on our heads if we don’t support it. Either way, as much as we want a stronger bill, it doesn’t look like we are going to get one.
Tomorrow is the last opportunity to get involved and have your voices be heard: “Thursday, June 11, 2009, Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives will be answering questions about the upcoming energy legislation” Click on this link to post your questions or vote on the ones that you think should be asked: Energy Bill
For my news: I am doing a series for Creative Loafing on a Q&A with our Florida Legislators in hopes of getting some insight on what happened to this past session and what might come of the next session. And since I am getting paid by the piece, I will not be stopping until I have covered the entire state.
