10 reasons why Obama is best on global warming

(Photo of Barack Obama by Peter Holderness/Medill News Service)

Weekly Angst: Saving the planet is taking a back seat to the financial crisis right now. But to many of us, climate change remains the top concern for the next president of the United States, because we’re running out of time to stop the catastrophic results of a warming planet. It’s getting so bad that Al Gore, a former vice president, is suggesting civil disobedience.

Unfortunately, when climate change does come up these days, it has morphed into talk about offshore drilling and achieving independence from foreign oil, which is the way John McCain has framed it. The maverick who championed climate change legislation with his buddy Joe Lieberman in 2003 and 2005 has, in this campaign, shifted from concern about greenhouse gases to concern about high gas prices and getting off foreign oil. That means American oil is just fine with him. In fact, the more the better.

The League of Conservation Voters, Sierra Club and Environment America, the three major environmental organizations that endorse candidates, all jumped on the Barack Obama bandwagon early on, because he so clearly will lead the nation to a better place on global warming. As Environment America said, McCain is not the right president to reverse 8 years of the anti-environment Bush Administration.

Talking points
Here are 10 top reasons why Obama is the better candidate on global warming:

1. Obama favors cutting greenhouse gases as much as scientists say we should. His goal is an 80% reduction (from 1990 levels) by 2050. He doesn’t try to second-guess science. McCain’s goal is 60%.
2. Obama has a much better voting record. On the League of Conservation Voters scorecard, Obama’s lifetime record is 86%. McCain’s is 24. During the last 2 years, McCain has missed every important environmental vote, including 2 on renewable energy where a yea vote from him could have made the difference. He deliberately missed all 8 tries to extend the renewable energy tax credits.
3. Obama favors an RES and subsidies for renewable energy. He has called for a renewable electricity standard of 25% by 2025 and for investing $150 billion in renewable energy. McCain opposes RES, as well as subsidies to alternative energies like solar and wind, preferring to let the market work unfettered. Though he seems to favor incentives for nuclear power.
4. Obama is much more cautious about nuclear power. He says it may need to be part of the mix, but safety and waste storage problems must be resolved first. McCain, on the other hand, makes nuclear power a major part of his energy portfolio, calling for 45 new nuclear plants by 2030, and 100 eventually.
5. Obama wants all credits in a cap-and-trade system to be auctioned. In other words, polluters must pay for their allowances. McCain says permits would eventually be auctioned, but should mostly be given free at first, and he favors polluters being able to bank or borrow credits based on the economy.
6. Obama wants to double the fuel efficiency of autos in 18 years. McCain, who missed the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) vote of 2007, says he would enforce the new standard of 35 mpg by 2020 but isn’t looking to increase it. Obama voted for the CAFE bill.
7. Obama says offshore drilling will do little to help gasoline prices and was for the ban. He’s since softened his stance, saying he might accept some offshore drilling if it would help get other things he wants, like RES. McCain strongly favors drilling offshore, saying it will help solve the problems of high gas prices and dependence on foreign oil. After McCain announced this new position favoring offshore drilling, and became a cheerleader for the cause, campaign donations from oil and gas went up more than double, or by more than a million dollars.
8. Obama took a stand against a summer repeal of the gas tax, when McCain and Hillary Clinton called for one. Obama called it a gimmick that would not help lower prices.
9. Obama favors a windfall profits tax on big oil companies. He would like to see that money go to people who are struggling to pay for gas. McCain is against a windfall profits tax.
10. Obama picked Sen. Joe Biden as is running mate. Biden has an 83% lifetime score with LCV and proposed a bill in 1986 to deal with global warming. McCain picked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has expressed doubt about the human role in causing climate change, filed suit to de-list the polar bear as endangered, and favors drilling in ANWR.
For more on the candidates' environmental views, go to News21 Politics and the Environment, and click on Charging Up the Elections. News 21 is a summer project of Carnegie-Knight fellows at Northwestern University. (In the interest of full disclosure, I was one of the faculty members on the project.)

(Sources: League of Conservation Voters, Sierra Club, Environment America, barackobama.com, johnmccain.com, news21project.org, New York Times, salon.com)

House, Senate both extend renewable energy tax credits, but are still at odds

Washington Report: At long last, both House and Senate have extended the renewable energy tax credits due to expire at years’ end. The House passed its bill Friday, the Senate its earlier in the week. But they passed different versions and now have to reconcile them, which seems to be a problem. At issue are:
*The addition of tax credits for oil shale and tar sands refineries and coal-to-liquid in the Senate bill.
*Failure to pay for all credits in the broader Senate bill, which goes beyond energy credits with other business and individual tax credits.
House Dems and environmentalists strongly object to the introduction of credits for fossil fuels. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) called oil shale “enormously environmentally damaging.” So are tar sands and coal-to-liquid fuel. On the second point, Blue Dog (conservative) Democrats in the House don’t want to see anything passed that isn’t 100% paid for. The White House favors the Senate bill, despite some taxes on oil, and says it would veto a final bill that looks like the House version. So now the two chambers have to resolve the conflict. Inslee said he thinks that is possible, since a large majority favors the extensions. The Senate Bill passed 93-2. House Dems have passed renewable tax credit extensions without fossil fuels 8 times. (Sources: E&E Daily, E&E News PM)

House approves energy bill with off-shore drilling, tax credit extensions for renewables, RES

(Photo of Capitol Building from Flickr and photographer seansie/Sean Hayford O'Leary)

Washington Report: The House on Tuesday voted 236-89 to pass a comprehensive energy package that allowed for more off-shore drilling but at the same time rolled back oil tax breaks to fund renewable energy and efficiency. HR 6899 would:
• Allow drilling more than 100 miles of both coasts and, if states said OK, drilling 50 miles off their shore; maintained the ban on drilling within 125 of the west coast of Florida; protected Georges Bank fishing grounds off New England from drilling.
• Create a renewable electricity standard (RES) mandating 15% of electric power come from renewable sources by 2020, though one-fourth of the mandate could be met with efficiency.
• Roll back $18 billion in oil tax breaks to fund renewable energy and conservation.
• Extend investment tax credits for solar energy 8 years, production tax credits for wind 1 year, and other renewables like geothermal and wave energy 3 years.
• Make $1 billion in tax credits available for coal plants that use carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.
• Lift a moratorium on oil shale leasing in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, though the states must pass laws to permit it.

The politics behind the bill
Environmental groups, while liking the renewable provisions, objected to the bill’s offshore drilling, oil shale and CCS provisions. Democrats said they backed down on offshore drilling because public opinion favors it and they wanted to give cover to moderate Dems in tough re-election fights. They also noted the offshore drilling ban expires at the end of September, which would permit drilling as close as 3 miles offshore if Congress doesn’t act. They added CCS and oil shale at the last minute to garner more support. GOP leaders, who wanted much broader offshore drilling, complained they had no input into the bill and said it would not add to domestic oil production because states would have no financial incentive to allow drilling off their shores. The White House threatened to veto the bill, based on the rollback of oil tax breaks and the RES. (Sources: Congressional Quarterly, E&E Daily,
thedailygreen.com)

'Gang of 10' Senate proposal gets Obama backing

(Photo of offshore drilling from Flickr and photographer absolutwade/Beau Wade)

Washington Report 1: The Senate “Gang of 10” drew support from Barack Obama Friday for a bipartisan compromise energy package that would relax restrictions on some offshore drilling, while repealing some tax breaks on the oil industry and funding renewable energy and conservation. Obama had previously opposed more offshore drilling but said he favored some of the other provisions in the bill and compromise was needed to get anything passed. The proposal, led by Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) was the result of many meetings to craft a bill that would satisfy voters upset over high gas prices and reduce dependence of foreign oil. It will likely come to the floor after the August break. It would:
• Reduce the no-drilling area in the eastern Gulf of Mexico to 50 miles off the Florida coast from 150 miles offshore (both Florida senators strongly objected).
• Allow drilling offshore from four Southeastern states -- Virginia, Georgia, North and South Carolina -- if the states agree, and share some revenue with the states.
• Repeal tax breaks worth $30 billion for oil companies, which made record profits this quarter (see below).
• Extend renewable energy tax credits, due to expire this year, until 2012, to encourage development of wind, solar and other renewable sources.
• Give incentives to coal-to-liquid plants that can capture and store carbon.
• Fund R&D on advanced batteries and help automakers retool.
• Develop and demonstrate next-generation biofuels.
• Give tax credits for highly efficient cars and those that use non-petroleum fuels. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) gave the proposal luke-warm praise as a starting point for some agreement on energy. The American Petroleum Institute opposed the repeal of some oil tax credits (calling it "tax increases), saying it would discourage domestic drilling. (Source: Greenwire)

Senate may try again next week to extend renewable energy tax credits

(Photo of solar panels on Florida beach house from Flickr and photographer John Tracy)

Washington Report 2: Senate Finance Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) is likely to try one more time next week to get renewable energy tax incentives extended beyond December. In an effort to win a few more GOP votes, he has added some sweeteners to the tax package (which contains more than renewable credits). Additions include money for the highway trust fund, disaster relief and mental health parity, and an alternative minimum tax fix. Extending the credits for wind, solar, biomass, geothermal and efficiency are not at issue. Rather there is disagreement about how to pay for them. Congress leaves soon for its August break and Dem leaders would like to see the credits extended before then, to provide stability for clean energy businesses. (Source: E&E Daily)

Windfall profits tax on oil, tax incentives for renewable energy both fail in Senate this week

(Photo of oil rig in Catalina Channel from Flickr and photographer arbyreed)


Washington Report 1: The repeal of $17 billion in tax breaks for major oil companies and “price gouging” penalties for unseemly oil profits garnered only 51 of the 60 votes needed to get to a vote Tuesday in the Senate. Also going down to defeat was yet another bill to extend tax credits due to expire this year on renewable energy and efficiency. On the first bill, GOP Sens. Collins and Snowe from Maine, Coleman from Minn., Smith from Ore., Grassley from Iowa and Warner from Va. voted with the Democrats. Mary Landrieu from La. was the lone Dem against. On the second bill, Republicans Snowe, Smith and Bob Corker of Tenn. voted with the majority, but that made only 50 votes. Key Democrats Obama, Clinton, Kennedy and Byrd were absent, as was Republican John McCain. Both bills faced a veto from the White House. However, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said he intends to revive the renewable tax credit bill, which passed the House last fall in a different form. Both parties seem to favor extending the credits, needed to maintain growth in renewable energy, but there’s a dispute about how and whether to pay for it with other taxes. (Sources: Greenwire, E&E News,
AP/Washington Post)

Ten key Dem Senators had problems with global warming bill -- what happens next?

(Photo of Capitol Building from Flickr and photographer Gawnesco/Scott Gawne.)

Weekly Angst: Following a 48-36 vote (60 were needed) to end debate on the Climate Security Act Friday, 10 keys Dems, 9 of whom voted with the leadership, said they had problems with the bill that would have kept them from ultimately voting for it.

In a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Environment Chair Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), the 10 said their states would be the most adversely affected by the bill, as written. Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin (Mich.), Jay Rockefeller (W.Va.), Jim Webb (Va.), Evan Bayh (Ind.), Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor (Ark.), Ben Nelson (Neb.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.), and Sherrod Brown (Ohio) said they favored a cap-and-trade bill but it must “ensure consumers and workers in all regions of the U.S. are protected from undue hardship.” The following issues need to be addressed, they said:
* Make sure there’s a short-term cushion to ensure technologies will be there to help meet early emissions targets.
* Fold state laws into the federal system.
* Expand agriculture and forestry offsets.
Advocates are now looking to a new President and new Congress to get a cap-and-trade bill passed. With Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) retiring, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said he is looking for a new partner to continue working on the Climate Security Act.

Next on the Senate agenda
While the global warming bill may be dead for now, Senate leadership is moving on to other energy bills: the unfinished business of passing an extension of renewable tax credits (approved by the House) and a “windfall profits” bill to tax major oil companies and address “price gouging.”

The renewable tax credit extentions (HR6049) would continue wind farm production credits 1 year and solar energy investment credits 6 years, as well as continue credits for other renewable energy sources and efficiency. The credits are due to expire the end of this year and without them renewable projects face an uncertain future.

The windfall profits bill (S3044) will probably come up first and is intended to address high oil and gasoline prices. In addition to a new tax and the repeal of tax breaks for major oil companies, the bill has a price-gouging provision and also allows the Justice Department to bring anti-trust actions against OPEC. This one is unlikely to get the 60 votes needed to avoid a filibuster and President Bush has threatened a veto.

And across the way in the House
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) rejected a GOP challenge to debate global warming on the floor of the House before the 4th of July and said any activity this year will be in Energy Chair John Dingell (D-Mich.)’s committee. She indicated chances for passing a strong bill will be much better next year.

Dingell has announced his subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality, headed by Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.), will hold hearings on the bill that just died in the Senate, as well as the two strong bill introduced in the House by Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) Waxman’s bill calls for an emissions cut of 80% by 2050, with 100% of the credits auctioned, and Markey mandates an 85% reduction, with 94% of credits auctioned. Dingell and Boucher are expected to produce their own bill at some point.
(Sources: E&E Daily, E&E News PM)

Don't get discouraged, get active

(Photo of StepItUp demonstration in Santa Monica, Calif., Earth Day 2007 from Flickr and Step It Up 2007)

(Author’s note: I know many of my readers work on this issue every day of their lives. For some it’s a job. Others are volunteers. This isn’t targeted at you, but rather the many, many people who are concerned about global warming but feel helpless to do much about it. This is a pep talk for them.)

Weekly angst: A relative told me she no longer reads my blog on a regular basis because “I get too discouraged.” That wasn’t the point, but maybe others feel the same way. The point was to help you all:
* get informed,
* get motivated,
* get involved.
Perhaps I've fallen short helping you with the last item.

Just as the civil rights and anti-Vietnam war movements bubbled up from the people, so too must the global warming movement, if we are to accomplish what we need to in … well, a couple of years ago we were told we had just a decade to make big changes and avoid disaster.

What you can do
There are endless opportunities for individuals to get involved and help push the movement forward (quickly!).
* You can lobby your elected reps and you can vote.
* You can join forces with one or more environmental groups (see partial list in right column).
* You can reduce your own carbon footprint.

The League of Conservation Voters and Sierra Club are both very active in promoting global warming legislation and in endorsing candidates. The upcoming election is especially important at the national level. We need a president in the White House who will lead and reps in the House and Senate who will vote for cutting greenhouse gases sharply and quickly. LCV is also developing a “dirty dozen” list of those who need to be defeated.

Join and sign up for action alerts from those two and other environmental groups, so you can sign petitions, make phone calls and send e-mails about important votes. For example, extension of tax credits for renewable energy sources, like wind and solar, keeps falling one vote short of the 60 it needs in the Senate. (Yo, John McCain) Those extensions are needed to keep the alternative energy business healthy and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

States and cities matter
The states are important too, because that’s where much of the trail-blazing is happening in the absence of federal action. So find out who your state reps are (if you don’t know now) and who is running in November. Work for the “good guys,” donate to their campaigns, lobby them in their district offices when they are home. Their vote or sponsorship of a clean-car or global warming bill could be critical. The local chapters of either LCV or Sierra Club can tell you what you need to know. Environment Illinois is also active in Illinois and the Environmental Law and Policy Center in the Midwest.

At the city level, urge your mayor and city council (or village board and president) to sign on to be a “cool city” with the 800 others across the country, and cut back on greenhouse emissions to meet Kyoto Protocol goals. Sierra Club has active volunteers working in their own communities to do just that.

With Earth Day coming up, there will be plenty of activities you can join this spring. One is Earth Hour, where businesses and individuals pledge to turn out their lights from 8-9 p.m. (regardless of time zone) on March 29. This is a worldwide event, with Chicago, San Francisco, Phoenix and Atlanta among the leading cities in the U.S. Learn more from a video at Earth Hour and sign up. (Thanks for the tip, Cara W.)

This is only one of many events you can participate in. I’ll do more to keep you informed of others.

Reduce your carbon footprint
At home, you can get rid of incandescent light bulbs, switching to CFLs or LEDs; bike, walk or take mass transit much more instead of driving; stop using plastic bags and water bottles; turn down the heat or air conditioning; and recycle. Check out “One Easy Thing” on The Daily Green for a lot more tips, or buy “The Low-Carbon Diet,” which I plan to review next month.

Many of you are already doing some of these things. But we need you to do more, to join forces with others to make things happen big and happen soon. You can make a difference. We're all part of the problem -- because of the way we live. We need to be part of the solution.

Fate of renewables lies with Senate

Congressional Round-up: Under pressure from more than 100 businesses, trade groups and environmentalists, the Senate continues to look for a way to extend tax credits for renewable energy and efficiency. The House has twice passed a bill extending the credits, due to expire at the end of the year, but both time the Senate fell 1 vote short of the 60 needed to avert a filibuster. Some GOP senators and the White House don’t so much object to extending the credits as they dislike the means of paying for them – rolling back tax incentives for oil companies. Senators were looking at the budget reconciliation bill as a way to extend the credits with the money coming from somewhere else, but that fell through this week. Options left include getting that extra vote (how about you, Sen. McCain?) or finding some other way to pay for it. GE and BP both added their voices to the call for extension. Both have investments in wind energy. Advocates say the extensions would create new jobs and help lower the cost of energy. Without them alternative energy projects are at risk, and investment is already slowing down. (Source: E&E Daily)

Two reps unveil bill to force EPA to grant tailpipe waiver
Reps. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) were to introduce a bill Thursday to force the EPA to grant a waiver that would give California and 12 others states authority to implement their tailpipe emissions bills. The EPA’s denial of the waiver “defied science, defied the states, and defied common sense,” Welch said. Called the Right to Clean Vehicles Act, the bill had 42 co-sponsors Wednesday, most of them Democrats. Call and ask your Congressman to add his/her name (202-224-3121). Senate Environment Committee Chair Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) introduced an identical bill (S. 2555) in the Senate more than a month ago and has said she will subpoena communications between the EPA and White House on the matter, to see if there was undue influence. The EPA director clearly ignored his staff’s opinion in refusing the waiver. Meanwhile 15 states have filed suit to have the EPA decision overturned. (Source: E&E News PM)

Dingell issues white paper on pre-emption of state auto rules
Two leaders of the House Energy Committee have raised a concern about state and local global warming laws, acknowledging they have led the way, but saying a federal law may have to pre-empt them. Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), Energy Committee chair, and Rick Boucher (D-Va.), say that a patchwork of global warming laws could cause job loss in states that don’t have them, especially in the auto industry, which Dingell champions. The “patchwork” includes a tailpipe emissions law passed by California and 12 other states (currently blocked by the EPA), global warming emissions laws by California, Hawaii, Maine, Minn., N.J. and Ohio, emissions trading by regional groups involving 39 states, and several governors who have set emissions targets. In addition, more than 800 cities and villages have committed to meeting the Kyoto requirements of cutting GHG 7% below 1990 levels by 2012. The states, the two say, will probably need to do the monitoring, pass building codes and plan for land-use. The white paper, one of several related to global warming, is meant to stir debate of the issue and doesn’t offer specific answers, the authors said. (Source: Greenwire)