CCL Update: 4.16.10

CELEBRATING EARTH DAY

CCL at Earth Day Events. The 40^th anniversary of Earth Day is April 22, and events to celebrate this milestone are being held in cities across the U.S. beginning this weekend. Citizen Climate Lobby groups will present information at events in Atlanta, San Diego, St. Louis, Key Biscayne, FL, Tallahassee, Alpine, CA, San Luis Obispo, CA, Whidbey Island, WA.

ON CAPITOL HILL

Still waiting on Kerry-Graham-Lieberman: Back from Easter recess, senators John Kerry, Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman are putting the final touches on proposed climate legislation. They had hoped to release their bill in conjunction with Earth Day, but the New York Times is reporting that their draft will be released on April 26. Senate Leader Harry Reid is hopeful a climate bill could reach the Senate floor for debate before the August recess. Once their bill is introduced, however, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Congressional Budget Office will need to weigh in with studies on cost and effectiveness, which might take up to six weeks. The KGL proposal is 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.

Gore breaks with Obama on drilling: President Obama announced late last month that his administration would approve new leases for offshore oil drilling, a move that has been roundly criticized by environmental organizations. The announcement puzzled Capitol Hill observer James Handley, who wondered why the administration would give up a bargaining chip on climate legislation without getting anything in return. The move also drew the ire of Al Gore’s environmental group, the Alliance for Climate Protection, which said the plan “continues our reliance on dirty fossil fuels.” Read more on their reaction in this report from The Hill.

TAKE ACTION

Urge support in Congress for Carbon Fee and Dividend. CCL groups should arrange meetings with members of Congress to 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.

Earth Day letters to the editor: Be checking your newspapers for stories and commentary about Earth Day, which provide an excellent opportunity for letters to the editor about effective climate change solutions. For tips on writing and messaging, contact CCL’s communications director, Steve Valk, as valkano@comcast.net. 

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!

CCL MEDIA

Blog on Huffington Post: CCL communications director, Steve Valk, had a piece published on Huffington Post last week, “A Climate Bill That’s Good for the Earth as Well as the American People.”

CCL IN ACTION

Atlanta: CCL volunteers met with the district aide for Rep. John Lewis to ask for support for our Carbon Fee and Dividend Act.

Tallahassee: CCL volunteer Chris Bird had a call with an aide to Rep. Allen Boyd to talk about the Carbon Fee and Dividend Act.

Santa Clara (CA): CCL volunteers attended a “thank you” event for Rep. Michael Honda, spoke to the congressman for a few minutes and gave a copy of the Carbon Fee and Dividend proposal to his aide.

Seattle: CCL volunteers met with Rep. Jim McDermott and had good discussion about a carbon tax. CCL volunteers also met with the deputy director for Sen. Patty Murray, educating him on climate science and CCL’s legislative proposal.

Whidbey Island (WA): CCL volunteers met with Rep. Rick Larson and talked about climate legislation. Larson said he’s looking for strong constituent backing before he sticks his neck out on climate legislation.

San Diego: CCL group leader Amy Bennett followed up on a meeting with Rep. Brian Bilbray, speaking to an aide and finding areas of agreement on climate legislation.

ARTICLES WORTH READING

“Tax Day Prompts Rethinking on Climate Policy.”  Economist Rob Shapiro, our guest on last month’s conference call offers this suggestion on Huffington Post for a revenue-neutral carbon tax.

“7,500 due for alternate climate conference in Bolivia.” Developing nations feel they were excluded in the process at the Copenhagen climate conference. A “people’s conference” opens in Bolivia on April 20 and concludes on April 22 (Earth Day).