LCV adds Stevens to ‘Dirty Dozen’ list to defeat

(Photo of Sen. Ted Stevens (left) after committee hearing from Flickr and U.S. Army photographer Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill)

Washington Report 3: The League of Conservation Voters has added indicted Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) to its list of targets for defeat in the coming election. Stevens has an LCV lifetime voting record of 14% on bills to protect the environment and has consistently voted for billions in breaks for oil companies, LCV said. Others on the list:
• Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), who has the worst voting record on the environment among Dems running for re-election.
• Rep. Stevan Pearce (R-N.M.), a congressman running for an open senate seat against Rep. Tom Udall (D-N.M.). Pearce’s lifetime percentage on the environment is 1%, compared with Udall’s 96%.
• Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), minority leader of the Senate who has been a roadblock to clean energy and global warming legislation.
• Former Rep. Bob Schaffer (R-Colo.), who left the House to work for an oil company and is now challenging Rep. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) for an open senate seat.
• Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), former chair of the Environment Committee, who has said global warming is a “hoax.”
• Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-Mich.), one of the biggest opponents to progress on global warming and clean energy.
The final 5 in the dozen are yet to be named . LCV helped oust two of its targets in 2006, former Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) and former House Natural Resources Chair Richard Pombo (R-Calif.) (Sources: Greenwire, LCV)

Environmental groups target 3 Senate races to elect champions to fight global warming

(Photo of Jeanne Shaheen at 2007 Step It Up rally from Flickr and Step It Up 2007.)

Washington Report: A coalition of 5 environmental groups said last week they will work together to elect 3 Senators they believe will be leaders for the environment and against global warming. The three they will support are cousin congressmen Mark Udall (D-Co) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and ex-Gov. of New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen. Working together will be the Sierra Club, League of Conservation Voters, Environment America, Clean Water Action and Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund. The Udalls are running for vacant seats and Shaheen is opposing incumbent John Sununu. All 3 seats have been held by Republicans, but the Democrats are leading in polls. The Udalls have a strong pedigree. Mark is the son of "Mo" Udall, who was in Congress 30 years and ran for president. Tom is the son of Stewart Udall, Mo's brother, who served as Interior Secretary under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. The 5 environmental groups collaborated to help oust former House Resources Committee Chair Richard Pombo (R-Calif.) in 2004.

1-minute Angst: high-speed trains

Summary for Feb. 25-29

Could high-speed trains work in the U.S. or is it too big? Railroad man Craig Burroughs says at 250 mph we could get from Chicago to LA in less than 10 hours. High-speed freight trains would take lots of heavy trucks off the roads, making highway expansion unnecessary and dramatically reducing expensive maintenance of truck-damaged roads.

House OKs renewable-energy tax credits, again, but Senate could balk at money coming from Big Oil. And White House threatens to veto. One hope: add it to budget reconciliation bill … McCain gets zero from League of Conservation Voters for 2007 non-votes.

Freight trains compete with trucks to carry Asian imports from ports, getting more investment … efficiency best way to cut energy demand, study says … nuke developers go to South despite excess capacity there.

Water supply for Southern California, in Lake Mead, could be gone by 2021, because of drought and reduced snowpack … Chile suffers worst drought in decades, while ocean water must be pumped to Andes.

For full text, see below.

House OKs renewable energy tax credits

(Photo of windfarm from Flickr and photographer Alessandro Ronchi)

Congressional Round-up: The House voted 236-182 Wednesday to approve renewable energy tax credit extensions, funding them by eliminating tax breaks for 5 big oil companies. This is the fourth time they approved such a bill in the past year. Now comes the hard part. A similar bill has failed to get the 60 votes needed in the Senate to avoid a filibuster. That is likely again, though one tactic under discussion is to try to get some of the package included in the final budget reconciliation bill. The extensions are needed because current ones expire at the end of 2008, and already investment in renewables is slowing down. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) warned that a failure to extend the credits could cost the country 116,000 jobs. The Senate could bring up the bill as soon as next week. The House bill (H.R. 5351) provides:
• A 3-year extension on investment credits for wind, geothermal and other renewables.
• An 8-year extension of incentives for commercial solar energy and 6 years for residential, doubling the top credit for homeowners to $4,000.
• Incentives for plug-in hybrids, energy efficiency and installation of pumps for fuel with 85% ethanol.
The GOP and White House object to rescinding $13.6 billion in tax cuts for integrated oil companies. They say it will thwart exploration and raise prices for consumers. Dems said with oil over $100 a barrel, the 5 companies affected are making record profits and will lose less than 2% of those profits in the next 10 years. Call your Senators to approve this bill at (202)224-3121. Also, check to see how your Rep voted. (Sources: Washington Post, E&E Daily, E&E News PM, Sierra Club)

McCain nets zero on environment from Conservation Voters
Many see Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the presumptive GOP nominee for president, as pro-environment. The League of Conservation Voters disagrees. McCain scored the lowest possible grade, a zero, on LCV’s 2007 Scorecard. Democratic contenders Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) came in at 73, and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) at 67. McCain, who introduced global warming legislation back before it was popular, has twice failed to show up for a vote on renewable tax credit extensions, where his vote could have made the difference. LCV says it’s a pattern and he missed all critical environmental votes last year. His lifetime score is 24. To see how your elected representatives scored, check the LCV scorecard. (Sources: Sierra Club, LCV)