Boxer, Kerry to Unveil Climate Bill Today
Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at 10:46 am
Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) are set to roll out long-awaited climate legislation this morning. The two senators, who chair the Senate’s Environment and Public Works and Foreign Relations committees, respectively, are releasing their cap-and-trade bill more than three months after its House counterpart passed in June.
All indications are that the bill will be slightly stronger than the House version. Kate Sheppard obtained a leaked draft (PDF) of the Senate bill that would mandate a 20-percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2020, as opposed to the 17-percent target set by the House. The long-term targets of the two bills — including an 83-percent emissions reduction by 2050 — are largely the same. The Senate bill will also address concerns over the cooperation of China and India, a sticking point in the debate thus far.
Today’s rollout will highlight the national security benefits of the legislation, as Kerry and Boxer will be joined by a retired Navy admiral and a U.S. Army Afghan war veteran. Kerry’s very presence as a lead sponsor of the bill marks a shift from the House debate, when the legislation was crafted and debated almost exclusively by members of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
But Kerry also emphasized the environmental and economic advantages of his bill in a column in Politico today. And he didn’t shy away from the game-changing nature of the legislation. “The Clean Jobs and American Power Act is aimed at no less than the reinvention of the way America produces and uses energy,” he wrote.
The Environment and Public Works Committee will now take up debate on the legislation, which will eventually be merged with an energy bill passed by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in June — a bill that left many environmentalists disappointed.
Boxer and Kerry’s draft, on the other hand, is sure to please environmental advocates, with its aggressive targets and retained authority for the Environmental Protection Agency. But given the difficulty of passing progressive health care reform in the Senate — and predictions that climate legislation will be even more contentious — few believe that a bill this strong will be able to clear the Senate floor.
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Pingback posted September 30, 2009 @ 11:04 am
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Pingback posted September 30, 2009 @ 11:48 am
[...] about Politico as of September 30, 2009 Boxer, Kerry to Unveil Climate Bill Today – washingtonindependent.com 09/30/2009 Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and John Kerry [...]
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[...] As if health care weren’t hard enough, the Senate is now tackling climate legislation. [...]
Comment posted September 30, 2009 @ 3:59 pm
“A Global Green New Deal”
1. The Need For Change In Energy Platform :
A. About two thirds of deficit in the U.S. accrue from oil import.
B. Over $1 trillion and 4,346 dead as the Iraq war is winding down. By converting this excessive military budget into a constructive foundation of 21st energy and health care, world can live in harmony for good.
C. Tremendous trade deficit with China. The most expensive premiums of health care driving buyers into Wal-Mart .
D. Provided the average temperature is getting higher, accordingly all forms of germs, viruses, and influenza etc are more likely to multiply.
Some skeptics say the warning against hazards of climate change is overstated, but judging from more frequent and widespread outbreaks of e. coli, salmonella, and bird, swine flu cases endangering human lives and economic recovery seriously, some prompt measures need to be taken, I guess.
2. The Cost Of Inaction :
As with “Inaction” cost, $9trillion over the next decade in Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, supposedly the same is of inaction on the 21st energy bill to determine war & peace, catastrophe & prosperity.
In this economy, fuel price is hovering around $65 to $75 a barrel, which underscores the actual value might be much the same as $145 per barrel of the peak price. Last year, the petrol price jumped from about $60 to $145 per barrel in quite a short period.
I think energy market also needs competition between sustainable and conventional one to bend the cost curve, otherwise, the global economy stays flat for some time and is plummeting into another great depression as the international stimulus package can't last long.
3. The Root Of Recession :
My sense is that this great recession is ascribed to excessively higher price of petrol in recent years. This price spelled about higher consumer prices and the continued hike in mortgage rates as a way to slow inflation, which wound up with crash in financial and construction markets. In an attempt to circumvent the censure of two petrol wars, the mainstream economists put focus on the both markets, and it postponed the prompt action on the long and long overdue contemporary energy needs.
Looking to worthless, painful and wasteful oil wars, to waste time bickering over meaningless things and drag feet on a defining energy bill are sure to shake the embryonic effect of stimulus package that is an interim measure for build-out of a new foundation.
As the overall oil reserve in Middle East, let alone the rest of oil-producing areas, is on the decline more than known, the region blessed with affluent sun rays also needs to lay a new groundwork, particularly in this context UAE is beginning to concentrate on future energy and Iranian EV is rolling out recently, the countries in the region will never stand still on the occupation, that means no matter what the result is, the repetitious mistake at the cost of invaluable lives and gigantic spending will end up with an irreversible tragedy later on.
4. Hope For Better Change & Job Boost :
As a major driver, IT industry stalled and stranded in a game industry for the lack of 21st energy policy over the stretch of two wars needs to expand into the all but indefinite energy, medical, and academic industry where the investors are eagerly waiting for policy-makers to act now, which I guess is why the far-reaching and long overdue health care and 21st energy bill have come into focus.
Thankfully and interestingly enough, 100s of Companies (with $13 Trillion) Are Demanding Strong Climate Deal in Copenhagen just like environmental activists, a coalition of more than 500 Global Businesses is also demanding ambitious new climate deal, and the report by Blair and the Climate Group, a London-based nonprofit organization, found a climate-change accord among all countries would spur economic growth and create as many as 10 million jobs by 2020.
Beyond the report, according to a new report published by the Global Climate Network of think tanks, “A Global Green New Deal” could create tens of millions of new jobs by agreeing to invest in low carbon technologies.
This research shows that while jobs will be lost in conventional, carbon-intensive sectors, more jobs will be created than lost provided that policies to promote sustainable industry are ambitious enough and it is one of the most effective means of handling rising unemployment.
It concludes that measures to creating markets for low carbon technologies will serve the dual purpose of creating extra jobs in renewable energy, information technology and service sectors, as well as helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
5. Funding For Hopeful Change :
A. Converting the excessive and destructive military budget into constructive financing for the 21st energy.
B. Phasing out subsidies for carbon-intensive industries, and taxing carbon emissions.
C. For the most part, the poor regions ranging from Africa to South Asia severely affected by climate change are abundant in sun rays, and the compensation by way of placement of large solar plants as well as the other measures could generate enormous effects.
D. The Congressional Budget Office released an analysis of the effects of House bill, concluding that in 2020 the bill would cost the average family only about $175 a year. This is 48 cents per day –- a little more than the cost of a postage stamp.
The budget office also predicts that real G.D.P. will be about two-and-a-half times larger in 2050 than it is today, so that G.D.P. per person will rise by about 80 percent. The cost of climate protection would barely make a dent in that growth
6. Promising And Enough Tech In The Work :
In brief, only technology and innovation can meet the challenge, and the world of science has potential enough to get past this turbulence and for all over the globe to go along in harmony. Recently, GM and Reva that achieved a fantastic innovation of “wireless electricity”/ “instant remote recharge” have joined hands to develop Electric Vehicles.
In the near term, improving energy efficiency needs some up-front investments, though, in the long term, it promises much better future, and the current tech is sure to do better enough.
Thank You !
Comment posted September 30, 2009 @ 4:40 pm
This will kill the US economy and be the largest tax increase in our Nation's history. This is just the warm up to further driving a stake in the heart of US taxpayers by selling us out at the Copenhagen Accord. Call your representatives and demand that they vote NO on cap and tax.
Come 2010 vote these idiots out of office, finish the job in 2012.
Comment posted September 30, 2009 @ 4:45 pm
There is enough oil shale in Wyoming and Montana to meet the energy needs of the US for 250 years. How much of the stimulus funds were allocated to develop technology to harvest this oil? $00.00. How about drilling offshore? $00.00. How about building new nuclear power plants? $00.00.
Instead these morons want to kill what remains of our industry on the promise that “green” jobs will replace the jobs and industry it will kill. As Bugs would say, what a bunch of maroons. Our economy continues to nose dive, we bleed jobs and all our government can do is focus on health care and cap and tax. Great.
Comment posted September 30, 2009 @ 5:23 pm
Isn't that the same argument as “there's enough oil in ANWR to last decades,” when in fact there is no such thing?
Who's going to pay for those new nuclear plants and new technology to extract the oil in shale? The people that are going to profit handsomely from it?
Comment posted September 30, 2009 @ 5:44 pm
Help to secure America’s energy future! It is crucial that we strive towards common-sense climate legislation that truly addresses the severity of global CO2 concentrations. Energy diversity is achievable especially with emerging technologies http://www.friendsoftheuschamber.com/issues/ind…
Pingback posted October 1, 2009 @ 6:49 am
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Comment posted October 1, 2009 @ 9:27 pm
It sounds like something we need right now, jobs and clean energy.
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