Weekly angst: The victory in Congress didn’t last very long. A comprehensive energy bill to curb Global Warming passed the House on a 235-181 vote Thursday afternoon. But by Friday morning, opponents had defeated a cloture motion in the Senate, and negotiations were under way to strip the bill of some of its main provisions in order to get the 60 votes needed for passage and have a prayer of getting the president’s signature.
Likely to survive are the 35 mpg corporate fuel economy (CAFE) standards and the biofuels section (though that may be changed). Most likely to go are the requirement for private power plants to get 15% (actually just 11%) of their power from renewable sources like wind, solar and biomass by 2022 and the shift of $21 billion in tax breaks from oil and gas to renewable energy development and efficiency.
But without those provisions, how the devil will we make the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy quickly enough to prevent catastrophic warming? Big oil, coal and power plants won this round and we lost. The fossil fuel economy is barely dented.
The cloture vote, which showed the votes aren't there to prevent a filibuster, put most Democrats on the right side of the issue and most Republicans on the side of fossil fuels. There were some exceptions. GOP Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins (Maine), Norm Coleman (Minn.), Arlen Spector (Pa.), Gordon Smith (Ore.) and John Thune (S.D.) voted with the good guys. (Collins, Coleman and Smith have tough re-election campaigns against Democrats next year). And Dems Evan Bayh (Ind.), Mary Landrieu (La.) and Richard Byrd (W.Va.) voted with the bad guys. If you live in any of their states, let them hear from you.
What was in the House billIn addition to the 35 mpg CAFE standard for cars and light trucks combined in 2020, and the 15% RES for large investor-owned electric power plants (4 percentage points of which could come from buying offsets) the same year, the bill included:
• A nearly 5-fold increase in biofuels, to 36 billion gallons in 2022, with 21 billion from “advanced” (mostly cellulosic) fuels that cut GHG 50-60% (as opposed to corn, which cuts very little).
• A $21 billion tax package with $13 in new taxes (or eliminated tax breaks) for oil and gas, and incentives for energy efficiency in buildings, appliances, furnaces and lighting, renewable energy sources and plug-in hybrid cars.
• Increased testing of carbon capture and sequestration, the main hope for “clean” coal.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was credited with tough negotiations (mainly with fellow Democrats) to get such a strong bill approved.
The importance of CAFEThe 35 mpg CAFE standard would cut oil consumption by 1.1 million barrels a day in 2020, or the equivalent of taking 28 million cars off the road. This is the first move to raise mileage standards since the oil crisis of the 1970s. In fact, by 1988, with the crisis behind us, the auto companies were building larger cars again and were allowed to meet a 27.5 mpg standard, not the scheduled 28.5. That, of course, didn’t include SUVs, which are classified as light trucks and have a 22 mpg standard. Why is CAFE politically acceptable this year? We can probably thank the lofty price of oil. People are ready to save money at the pump. And the auto industry and UAW were won over by concessions granted to their champion, House Energy Chair John Dingell (D -Mich.), in the form of flex-fuel credits and money to retool.
Efforts to salvage renewables and taxesSen. Energy Chair Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said Friday they would negotiate through the weekend in an effort to find some middle ground and salvage the RES and tax portions of the bill – at least partially. They need an additional 7 votes. While 20 states already have their own renewable electricity standards, the Southeast and some Midwest states are concerned they don’t have enough wind to meet the standard. One GOP Senator suggested a much smaller tax package might be OK’d. A chief opponent, the retiring and ill Sen. Pete Domenici (N.M.), ranking member of the Energy Committee, wants nuclear loan guarantees in the bill and reportedly prevailed on fellow Republicans to oppose the bill passed by the House.
Bush veto threatA final concern, of course, is a presidential veto. Bush doesn’t like the $13 billion in oil and gas taxes or the renewable fuels provision. He wants to include coal-based transportation fuels (which release more CO2 than gasoline) and to pre-empt state laws on alternative fuels. Many in Congress would like to see CAFE standards and energy efficiency, at least, signed into law.
Next stepThe aim is to come up with a bill that can pass the Senate with at least 60 votes, and has some chance of getting the president’s signature. Once passed by the Senate, it will have to go back to the House for a vote. Leadership wants to accomplish this before the planned Congressional recess on Dec. 22.
(Sources: PlanetArk, Greenwire, E&E News PM,
The End of Nature by Bill McKibben)
Congressional round-up
Lieberman-Warner bill passed out of Boxer's committeeIn another milestone this week, the Senate passed its first mandatory cap-and-trade bill out of Sen. Barbara Boxer’s (D-Calif.) Environment and Public Works Committee by an 11-8 vote. The compromise bill, which most environmentalists think is too weak, and opponents think is too strong, will now go to the floor for what promises to be a lively debate, though no one is saying when. The bill covers 80% of the economy, mandating 70% in GHG cuts by 2050. The vast majority of allowances would be given to industries that will be affected, with only a small portion auctioned. Fee credits will be phased out by 2031.
News in brief
Green economy will result in more jobs, studies sayThe move from a fossil-fuel to a “green” economy will have a net worldwide job gain, according to a new UN report. In addition to “green collar” jobs, there will be construction, transportation, engineering, manufacturing and sustainable agriculture and forestry jobs, the report said. In Brazil, the ethanol business has created a half-million jobs, and in China 150,000 are employed in solar heating. The jobs will more than make up for layoffs in old fossil-fuel industries, showing a small net gain, the report said. A second study, by the American Solar Energy Society, estimates that in the U.S., policies favoring renewable energy sources and energy efficiency could produce 40 million new jobs and $4.5 trillion in new revenue by 2030. Most of the jobs, 32 million, would be in efficiency measures such as retrofitting buildings, while 8 million would be in the renewables sector, with solar, wind, ethanol and hydrogen cells seeing the most growth. (Source: Greenwire)
Tropical zones expanding as the Earth gets warmerTropical regions are pushing north and south toward the poles at a rate much faster than expected. In the past 25 years, they have moved 2.5 degrees latitude, or 140-330 miles, according to a study in the journal Nature Geoscience last week. Climate models had predicted it would take 100 years to move just 2 degrees. The expansion brings with it a shift in high-altitude wind and rain patterns, and affects agricultural zones and water availability. (Source: Greenwire)
Skiers, marchers, bikers protest against climate changeProtestors called attention to Global Warming Sunday in 50 cities around the world. In Berlin, a sculptor carved a polar bear in ice at the Brandenburg Gate. In Auckland, 350 formed “Climate SOS” by lying in the grass at a park. In Taipei, 1,500 marched with signs saying “No carbon dioxide.” In Manila, hundreds rallied with windmills on their heads. In Helsinki, 50 skied on asphalt streets saying, “Give us our snowy winters back.” And here in the U.S., 50 took a polar bear plunge into Walden Pond. (Source: Associated Press)
News from Bali
Climate scientists lose patience, plead for radical actionMore than 215 leading climate scientists, some of whom have taken no stance up to now, petitioned the delegates at the Bali UN climate conference to halve global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The petitioners come from more than 2 dozen countries. “The science community is basically fed up,” one signer from Canada told the Associated Press.
Other headlines this first week of the Dec. 3-14 190-nation conference:
* Saving rainforests is a high priority but one about which there is disagreement. The conference is likely to launch pilot projects trying two approaches – trading on the carbon market and using a fund to compensate countries for stopping slash-and-born. Deforestation was not in the Kyoto Protocol but causes 20% of GHG worldwide. Many want it in the next international treaty.
* Carbon capture is not on the Bali agenda. The technology is still unproven and would cost about $1 billion per plant, though ultimately it may be the answer to low- or no-carbon use of coal. Perhaps carbon capture and storage will be part of future talks, Yvo de Boer, top UN climate official, told Reuters.
* The U.S. delegation continues to oppose mandatory cuts of GHG, and made light of the passage of the first cap-and-trade bill from committee onto the Senate floor last week. The National Environmental Trust blasted U.S. greed and waste, saying the country is responsible for 27.8% of cumulative Global Warming.
* Host country Indonesia planted millions of trees to offset the estimated 47,000 tons of carbon dioxide caused by the 12-day conference. The estimate includes air transport to and from Bali. Hosts also eliminated cars from the conference site and provided 200 bicycles for ministers to use if they didn’t want to walk. (Sources: PlanetArk, AP, India Times)
Xtreme weather watch
Rainfall and snowstorms are now more severe. Since 1948, the number of intense storms has increased between 22-26% in the U.S., a new report from Environment America shows. New England and the mid-Atlantic states have been hit the worst. Mass., R.I., Vt., N.Y. and La. have all seen an increase of more than 50%. Climate scientists say this is consistent with Global Warming because warm air holds more moisture. For more, see
http://environmentAmerica.org. (New York Times)
Did a cyclone just hit the Northwest? Heavy rain and hurricane-force winds of up to 129 mph hit Oregon and Washington in back-to-back storms last Sunday and Monday. In Bremerton, Wash., rainfall was recorded at 11.78 inches. The storms, which washed out roads, caused mudslides, and resulted in at least 5 deaths, were among the worst in memory. More than 100,000 people were without electricity. One Portland resident noted, “This was really a hurricane – or cyclone – and we never get those here.” (AP)
The cyclone that swamped low-lying Bangladesh last month left a huge humanitarian crisis, the UN said last week. Some 2 million residents need immediate help to save their lives. They need food, shelter, drinking water and sanitation. A total of 8.5 million were affected, more than a half-million homes were completely destroyed and 1.5 million livestock were wiped out. Cyclone Sidr hit with 155 mph winds and a 5-foot storm surge Nov. 15. International aid so far tops $143 million. (PlanetArk)
Take Action
In this season of packages and bags and wrapping paper, think green. Carry one or more canvas or reusable bags with you to put your purchases in. Tell store clerks to keep their paper and plastic bags. Use recycled wrapping paper. And when possible re-use packaging that comes to you from online or catalog items.
Make a year-end donation to environmental groups that do research and fight the good fight for all of us – in Congress, statehouses, elections and courts. They include the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, League of Conservation Voters, Environmental Defense, World Wildlife Federation and Union of Concerned Scientists. And that doesn’t exhaust the list, if you have another favorite. Without them, there would be little, if any, progress.
