On E2, an environmental coalition asks the White House to step up its support for clean energy and climate legislation. Here is an excerpt:
“Mr. President, we ask you to urgently convene all stakeholders and lead the effort to craft a comprehensive clean energy and climate policy that will be enacted this year and will move America toward energy independence built on clean American power.” The coalition includes the World Wildlife Fund, the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Pew Environment Group and others.
On Grist, Scott Luthcke, a NASA climate scientist, explains how he has spent the last 6 years weighing Greenland. And she has been losing a lot of weight – an average of 183 gigatons, per year, for the last six years – due to ice melt.
Dave Roberts of Grist makes the case for supporting the American Power Act.
“So is it worth doing? Is the bill worth fighting for with the kind of passion that was brought to health care or even the presidential election? I believe the answer to that question is an absolute, unqualified, overwhelming yes. However flawed and inadequate, Kerry’s bill would represent a sea change in American life. It would lend desperately needed momentum to the global fight against climate change. Failure would be a tragedy and passage a huge, vital victory.”
Grist also tackles the pressing issue of how the American Power Act will affect farmers.
“Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency predicted that such a program could provide annual net benefits to farmers as high as $18 billion — an amount that could fundamentally change the way America farms.”
On Green we learn that the United Nations has chosen a new head of the climate secretariat: Christina Figueres of Costa Rica.
Climate Progress highlights new NASA data showing that 2010 has had the hottest January to April temperatures on record. A new NOAA report with similar findings is highlighted here on E2.
Ezra Klein explains the implications of the proposal currently being discussed in the Senate which would limit EPA’s ability to regulate carbon.
“Murkowski’s bill would disagree with the EPA’s finding that carbon is a danger and needs to be regulated.”