Climate 411

The health benefits of climate policy are explored by Kate Sheppard on Ezra Klein.  Sheppard explains that

“health savings due to improvements in air quality alone would outweigh the potential costs of cutting carbon, as one study earlier this year found.”

On Grist, David Roberts dives into how the American Power Act will help clean up old coal.

“While we’re on the subject of existing power plants, there are other measures in the bill to accelerate the transition away from dirty coal, namely “financial and regulatory incentives, including expedited proceedings” for projects that shut down, retrofit, or switch fuels in old power plants. Depending on how powerful those incentives turn out to be and how performance-standards are implemented, the American Power Act could add up to a pretty decent way of taking on old coal. That’s something enviros have been seeking for decades.”

Also on Grist, there is a nice round-up of the recent showing of support for a climate bill.

“At last, Obama brings the love.”

Treehugger asks: “Who will answer our clean energy wake up call?” Leilani Munter, an environmental activist and race car driver, describes her personal experiences in Venice, Louisiana where she was confronted with the environmental degradation caused by the BP oil tragedy.

“I just got off the phone with one of my boat captains in Louisiana and he told me he saw six dead dolphins and ten dead turtles in the past few days….The only positive thing that can possibly come from this—the largest environmental disaster in American history—is if it causes us to change the way we are living on this Earth.”

On Businessweek,  there is an 8 page excerpt from Eric Pooley’s new book: The Climate War: True Believers, Power Brokers,  and the Fight to Save the Earth. This section focuses on how Duke Energy’s Jim Rogers

“helped break down his industry’s resistance to the carbon cap…What he did, beginning in 2006, was to join nine other Fortune 500 chief executives and the leaders of four national environmental groups to create a lobbying coalition intended to break the American business community’s de facto veto power over climate legislation. The U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), as the coalition called itself, got its start early that year when two green leaders, Fred Krupp of the Environmental Defense Fund and Jonathan Lash of the World Resources Institute, recruited Jeffrey R. Immelt.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has declared June “Energy Month” yet the fate of the best option Americans have for energy reform, a comprehensive climate and energy bill, hangs in the balance.

Top senate democrats will debate their willingness to take up a comprehensive climate and energy bill on June 10th and unless constituents start declaring their support for comprehensive legislation now, Senators will be tempted to take the easy way out and postpone the issue indefinitely.

This option is not acceptable.

We have never been closer to passage of comprehensive climate legislation and unfortunately, it may be years or even decades, before we get this close again. Our economy, our energy security and our climate are at stake and we can not afford to wait.

We applaud the concerned citizens, industry members and politicians who have been stepping up to voice their support in this crucial time.

Poll after poll shows that the public is in support of comprehensive action and in the wake of the BP oil tragedy, that support for environmental protection and energy reform has only grown stronger.

Thanks to all of you for making your voices heard. Let’s keep the pressure on. Key senators and the President have already begun to take note. With a united push in this final stretch, they will also take action.

Below are just a few of the voices of a new clean energy future. We will be updating this list as pieces come to our attention. Please let us know if you spot a great opinion piece so we can add it to the list.

May 27, 2010 – Huffington Post –  “Every Day We Delay”

Pete Altman, climate campaign director, Natural Resources Defense Council

“As the Gulf Coast oil disaster shows, America has a failed national energy policy. We need a new clean energy policy to break our addiction to oil, enhance our national security, limit carbon pollution and lead us to clean American energy.”

May 28, 2010 – Northwest Herald – “Pass American Power Act”

Bruce Ratain, field associate, Environment Illinois

“While some opponents of energy reform attack transitioning to clean energy over supposed economic impact, today we clearly see that the real economic disaster is our continued dependence on fossil fuels…. We call on Congress to prevent this type of catastrophe from happening again by finally passing the American Power Act – comprehensive legislation to transition our nation to clean, renewable energy – and by strengthening the act to reduce our dependence on oil.”

May 28, 2010 – The Salon – “Will the Gulf oil disaster mark the turning point for meaningful energy legislation”

Andrew Leonard, technology reporter, Salon

“But here’s the amazing thing. With each day that BP fails to stop the leak, the job of passing energy legislation becomes a little less difficult, and little more simple common sense.”

May 28th, 2010 – CNN – “What if carbon dioxide were as black as oil?”

Christopher Reddy, associate scientist and director, Coastal Ocean Institute

“But while we have readily and rightfully committed ourselves to understanding the cause of the spill, its effects and how to help restore the affected Gulf Coast region, we still can’t seem to come to grips with a much more dangerous, far-reaching pollutant that is changing the fundamental chemistry of our entire planet: carbon dioxide.”

May 28, 2010 – Huffington Post – “The Beginning and the End of Our Oil Addiction”

Amy Davidsen, U.S. executive director, The Climate Group

“As we witness the destruction caused by the latest oil spill in the Gulf, the need to reduce our dependence on oil has never been more tangible. The good news is that we don’t need to look far for a solution…  On Thursday, both the House and the Senate introduced bi-partisan legislation to scale up the use of electric vehicles in the US.”

“The legislation introduced yesterday represents the start of this exciting process. If it’s adopted, it would mark a new era in US transportation – and a welcome beginning to the end of our oil addiction.”

June 2, 2010 – Huffington Post  – “Coming of the Green Industrial Revolution”

Stephan B. Tanda, managing board member, DSM

“We are at the beginning stages of the development of a green industrial landscape that has the power to transform our modern economy into a more sustainable economy.”