CCL Update: 4.30.10
HANSEN’S PEOPLE’S CLIMATE STEWARSHIP ACT
Unveiled at Climate Rally in Washington. Leading climate scientist James Hansen spoke at the Earth Day Climate Rally at the National Mall in Washington, DC, last Sunday, proposing a “People’s Climate Stewardship Act.” Hansen’s proposal, which can be downloaded here, is nearly identical to Citizens Climate Lobby’s “Carbon Fee and Dividend Act,” which calls for a steadily-increasing fee on carbon with revenue returned to all households. You can view the press release from Hansen’s appearance here.
ON CAPITOL HILL
High drama on Kerry-Graham-Lieberman: Prospects for a climate and energy bill in the Senate were thrown into disarray over the weekend when Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) announced that he was pulling out of talks with senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT). The three senators were days away from unveiling their legislative proposal when Graham withdrew because Senate leadership had decided to place immigration reform ahead of a climate/energy bill on the Senate’s calendar. Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid announced Tuesday that the Senate would bring up the climate bill before immigration, a move that may bring Graham back on board. At the end of the week, however, it appeared Graham was still on the sidelines. Previously, the KGL proposal was expected to divide carbon emitters into three sectors – utilities, transportation and manufacturing. Utilities would come under some form of cap-and-trade. Transportation would have a fuel tax. Manufacturers would have limits placed on their emissions at a later date. Recent reports, however, indicate that Kerry may dump the fuels tax from their proposal.
TAKE ACTION
Build support for climate legislation: CCL groups are encouraged to build public support for our legislative proposal by 1) speaking before clubs and organizations and 2) soliciting support from influential people in the community. Contact CCL at ccl@citizensclimatelobby.org for support materials to reach out in your community.
Urge support in Congress for Carbon Fee and Dividend. CCL groups should arrange meetings with members of Congress ask them to support Citizens Climate Lobby’s Carbon Fee and Dividend Act.
Send CCL proposal to legislative aides: Designate three people from your Group to make the following calls: One to each Senator, and one to your Member of the House. During that call tell them you will be sending them a copy of our bill by email. Explain to them why you believe a simple, transparent solution is the best thing for our country and the climate. To make these calls you can use the U.S. Capitol Switchboard phone number (202) 224-3121 and ask to be transferred to your Senators or Members of the House. Then ask to speak with the Legislative Assistant who handles Energy & Environment. Or you can use this link http://capwiz.com/fconl/dbq/officials/ to look up the names and telephone numbers of the Legislative Assistants for each MoC.
COMING UP
CCL National Conference in Washington: Citizens Climate Lobby will hold it’s first National Conference in Washington June 20-22. Keynote speaker will be Lester Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute and author of “Plan B: 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization.” Join us in Washington to meet other climate activists from around the nation, learn the skills to be a successful climate activist and lobby on Capitol Hill for effective legislation to stop climate change. Register online now!
National conference call May 1. Our guest speaker will be James Handley, of the Carbon Tax Center, who will offer his insights on the legislative proposals floating around on Capitol Hill at the moment. James is chemical engineer and formerly an attorney with U.S. EPA. His education includes: LLM (highest honors) in environmental law, George Washington University. Juris Doctorate, University of Houston. Bachelor of Chemical Engineering (Economics minor) and Bachelor of Arts, University of Delaware. Institute for Energy Conversion, fellowship researching and developing solar and thermal energy conversion and storage systems. Saturday’s call begins at 1 p.m. East, Noon Central, 11 a.m. Mountain and 10 a.m. Pacific.
CCL MEDIA
Latest blog on Huffington Post: CCL communications director, Steve Valk, had a piece published on Huffington Post over the weekend, “KGL and the Shell Game Known as Carbon Offsets.”
Oped in Tallahassee: CCL group leader Chris Byrd had an oped published in the Tallahassee Democrate, “What to Give Tallahassee, and the World, for Earth Day.”
Oped in San Diego: CCL group leader Amy Bennett had an oped published in the North County Times, “How to Make $1,500 and Get Clean Air.”
CCL IN ACTION
Atlanta: CCL volunteers met tabled at two Earth Day events, collecting over 80 signatures on a petition to members of Congress.
Tallahassee: CCL members has a table at the State Capitol on Earth Day.
San Diego: CCL volunteers had tables at Earth Day events in Orange County and Alpine.
San Francisco: CCL volunteers tabled an Earth Day event in San Francisco and got 200 petition signatures.
Whidbey Island (Wash.): CCL volunteers had a table at an Earth Day event in the community.
ARTICLES WORTH READING
“New Study Says Oceans Chemistry Changing Rapidly” The National Research Council reports that increasing CO2 being absorbed by the oceans is making the seas more acidic and threatening life there.
“U.S. Research Paper Questions Viability of Carbon Capture and Storage.” A document from Houston University claims governments overestimated CCS value.
