Climate Capsule Week of February 2

Highlight of the Week
Climate Action On Capitol Hill

Last week, the House of Representatives passed an economic recovery package with $100 billion in funding for clean energy, electric cars, developing a next-generation national electric grid, and efficiency upgrades for homes, businesses, and government buildings.

Looking ahead, the Senate will now vote on its version of a recovery package. Like the House bill, it contains investment in clean energy and efficient technologies. However, the Senate has added funding for an Energy Department loan guarantee program for dirty, expensive, high-polluting coal-to-liquid fuel plants. The Senate should take its cue from the House and drop the coal-to-liquid provision to focus its efforts entirely on shovel-ready projects.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) says she intends to schedule a vote on a climate bill before December 2009, when world leaders will meet in Copenhagen for the UN Climate Conference to reach a global agreement on how to deal with climate change.

Speaking to reporters last week, Pelosi said she intends to have a climate bill passed before the UN-sponsored summit in December.

"We can't fix it all overnight," Pelosi told the San Francisco Chronicle, "but we have to begin."

Henry Waxman (D-CA), whose Energy and Commerce Committee is likely to lead House action on climate legislation, said last week that he intends to have a climate bill ready by Memorial Day.

Sportsmen, Conservationists Rally Behind Efforts To Safeguard Wildlife

More than 340 hunting, fishing and conservation groups from across the country have signed a letter to rally support for helping wildlife survive global warming.

From sport fishing groups to guide services to traditional conservation organizations, groups across the country are thanking President Obama for his commitment to safeguard America’s wildlife and natural resources from the impacts of global warming.

President Obama has already signaled his support for protecting wildlife and natural resources threatened by global warming. As part of an energy plan outlined during his campaign, Obama called for a cap-and-invest program to “provide new funding to state and federal land and wildlife managers to restore habitat, create wildlife migration corridors, and assist fish and wildlife to adapt to the effects of a warming climate.”

Outdoor recreation, which is based on our nation's natural environment, contributes a total of $730 billion annually to the economy, supporting 6.5 million jobs (1 of every 20 jobs in the U.S.), and stimulates 8% of all consumer spending, according to The Outdoor Foundation.

Given the grave threats posed by global warming, investing in our natural resources today will provide huge economic benefits for generations.

To view a copy of the letter, visit http://www.targetglobalwarming.org/

Quote:

“As the President and Secretary Clinton have made clear, climate change poses a profound threat to our future. If our deepest obligation in life is to care for our children and leave a better world for them and those who follow, then we must confront climate change now with an entirely new level of commitment, energy, and focus.”

—Todd Stern, the State Department’s new special envoy for climate change, as selected by Secretary Hillary Clinton

Economic Message of the Week

Wind Now Employs More Than Coal In U.S.

The wind industry now employs more people than coal mining in the United States. Wind industry jobs jumped 70 percent in 2008 from the previous year, according to a new report by the American Wind Energy Association.

The wind energy sector now employs 85,000 people in the country, up from 50,000 one year ago.  Wind sector jobs are varied and include turbine component manufacturing, construction and installation of wind turbines, wind turbine operations and maintenance, legal and marketing services, and more.

In contrast, coal mining employs about 81,000 workers, according to a 2007 U.S. Department of Energy report.

The new wind projects completed in 2008 account for 42 percent of new power-producing capacity added nationally last year, and will avoid nearly 44 million tons of carbon emissions, the equivalent of taking over 7 million cars off of the road.    

White House: Green Jobs A Pathway To A Strong Middle Class

The White House Task Force on Middle Class Working Families holds its first meeting on February 27 in Philadelphia to discuss the urgency to create green jobs to save the middle class.

According to a task force statement, green jobs provide products and services that use renewable resources, reduce pollution, conserve energy and natural resources, and reconstitute waste.

What do green jobs mean for the middle class? Green jobs mean more jobs.  The White House press statement points out that at this time when good jobs at good wages are increasingly difficult to come by, it is critical to find new and innovative ways to create more such jobs..

Building a new power grid, manufacturing solar panels, weatherizing homes and office buildings, and renovating schools are just a few examples of ways to create new, quality green jobs. These jobs will simultaneously help strengthen the economic foundation of the United States.

More green jobs mean more money in your pocket at the end of each month, according to the White House blog. Creating jobs that reduce energy costs, like electric and home heating bills, means more disposable income for other necessities.

The White House Middle Class Task Force supports the creation of more green jobs. This new foundation “helps the economy as a whole; it helps our environment; and it will save you money,” according to the statement.

Happening This Week

Tuesday, February 3: Press Conference - Senator Boxer to Discuss Global Warming Principles, 10 a.m., 406 Dirksen, Senate Office Building. Boxer, Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, will hold a press conference to release her principles for global warming legislation.

Thursday, February 5: Low-Hanging Fruit - The Economics of Energy Efficiency, 1:00 - 2:30 p.m., 2168 Rayburn House Office Building (Gold Room)

From Rhetoric to Reality - U.S. and Global Energy Security, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m., Johns Hopkins University, The Bernstein-Office Building, 1717 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Room 500

Saturday, February 7: "Cool Capital" Youth Task Force Planning Meeting, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., Josephine Butler Parks Center, 2437 15th Street NW