Climate 411

This post is by Carol Andress, Economic Development Specialist at Environmental Defense.

Climate Vote 2007

This post is part of a series on the work of the Environmental Defense Action Fund to enact an effective climate law. You can help by writing to Congress.

Last night’s committee passage of the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act (CSA) means that the bill now can be considered by the full Senate – an important step towards enacting national climate legislation. But for a bill to become law in this country it has to be passed by both the House and Senate, and the House is lagging behind. (See our previous post for more on the legislative process.)

So while we celebrate last night’s Senate victory, we still have our work cut out for us in the House. The House Energy Commerce Committee has been tied up with the energy bill, and has not yet circulated a proposal on climate legislation. Now that a vote on the energy bill is imminent, it’s time for House leaders to turn their attention.

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This post is by Mark MacLeod, Director of Special Projects, Climate and Air Program, Environmental Defense.

Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2007 (CSA) is the most promising climate change legislation we’ve seen yet. You may have heard that it’s "out of subcommittee" and "scheduled for mark-up on December 5^th". But what does that mean?

The legislative process is complicated, but here is a basic overview of the process this bill is following, known as "regular order".

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This post is by Sheryl Canter, an Online Writer and Editorial Manager at Environmental Defense.

Yesterday, Environmental Defense President Fred Krupp testified before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works about America’s Climate Security Act (ACSA). "There is no more important legislation that this Committee will ever consider than comprehensive climate change policy," said Krupp in his written remarks [PDF].

Krupp focused on four main points:

1. Time is of the essence; we must not delay.
2. This bill has all the essential elements needed to tackle climate change.
3. We have the technology we need to get started.
4. The bill’s system of carrots and sticks will prompt international action.

He also recommended some improvements the Senate can make going forward, and alerted Senators to amendments that we would oppose. The bill is scheduled for “mark-up” on December 5 (more on the legislative process in upcoming posts).

This post is by Tony Kreindler, Media Director, National Climate Campaign, Environmental Defense.

Environmental Defense commissioned the Republican polling firm Ayres, McHenry & Associates – who no one could accuse of a left-wing bias – to survey voters in 49 swing congressional districts about their views on climate change (view full survey results [PDF]).

Notably, independent voters – who could have a big say in which party controls the Congress after the next election – think that Congress should stop bickering and pass legislation that requires cuts in carbon emissions.

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This post is by Mark MacLeod, Director of Special Projects, Climate and Air Program, Environmental Defense.

Climate Vote 2007

Part of a series on the work of the Environmental Defense Action Fund to enact an effective climate law. You can help by writing to Congress.

For those who don’t live and breathe the legislative process, the political maneuverings on Capitol Hill can be very confusing. Politicians often introduce bills for no other reason than to carve out space in the political debate. These marker bills set the parameters of debate and give politicians space to define their positions.

Eventually, ideas from many of these marker bills may be pieced together in a single legislative vehicle around which the legislative process begins to coalesce. There are clear signs that we have reached this stage with the Lieberman-Warner America’s Climate Security Act (ACSA).

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This post is by Bill Petty, National Field Director at Environmental Defense.

Climate Vote 2007

Part of a series on the work of the Environmental Defense Action Fund to enact an effective climate law. You can help by writing to Congress.

Environmental Defense works hard to educate members of Congress about global warming, and motivate them to take action. The House is a particular challenge because, unlike the Senate, the House has never voted on global warming legislation. So to build a grassroots field campaign to win a majority in the House, we had to start from scratch.

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