CCL Update 9.6.10

ANOTHER CCL GROUP

Miami Nice. Please welcome our newest Citizens Climate Lobby chapter in Miami. The group leader there is Karina Villalba, a Phd candidate at Florida International University.

ON CAPITOL HILL

No climate bill likely this year. Congress adjourned for its August recess after the Senate tabled any consideration of climate and energy legislation. Since last fall, when Sen. John Kerry announced his cap-and-trade proposal, the scope of the legislation had gotten narrower and narrower in the hopes of passing even a weak bill. The last attempt would have capped CO2 in the utilities sector only, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, unable to come up with the 60 votes needed to bring the bill to the floor, pulled the plug on Kerry’s proposal. Reid was then hopeful of bringing up a bill on offshore drilling with modest renewable energy standards, but even that measure failed to break the 60-vote threshold. Though there was talk of action after the recess or in the post-election lame duck session, most observers doubt climate legislation will be considered this year. The demise of climate legislation in the Senate could also spell the end of end of cap-and-trade.

Congress eyes efforts to handcuff EPA. With the death of climate legislation this year, hope was left that the Environmental Protection Agency would move to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources. The EPA may not get that chance, however, if Congress passes legislation to limit EPA’s authority to regulate CO2.

COMING UP

September national conference call. This month’s guest will be Dr. Fabian Walter, a  researcher at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography of the University of California at San Diego. His research is focused on seismic studies related to glacial bodies. Currently, Dr. Walter is investigating glacier calving using seismic measurements and analysis techniques.

McKibben on October call. Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, will be our guest on CCL’s Oct. 2 national conference call. McKibben’s 350.org is organizing thousands of events worldwide on Oct. 10 to call attention to the need for action on climate change.

Million Letter March. On the Oct. 2 national call, Citizens Climate Lobby will help launch the Million Letter March, a campaign to generate a million personal letters to members of Congress asking them to enact effective climate legislation. CCL members will have the opportunity to post copies of the first letters in this campaign to the Million Letter March Web site, which is scheduled to launch Oct. 1. A video introduction to the campaign is being produced that will feature Dr. James Hansen, Earth Policy Institute’s Lester Brown, Bill McKibben and CCL founder Marshall Saunders.

TAKE ACTION

Invite to launch of Million Letter March. The October conference call will be a tremendous outreach opportunity, with Bill McKibben featured as our guest speaker and also the launch of the Million Letter March campaign. Following the October call, groups will be writing letters for the Million Letter March. Start inviting now to ensure a big turnout for this exciting meeting.

Work with 350.org  on10.10.10 events. The 10.10.10 events being organized by 350.org represent another opportunity for outreach. Suggested action is to find an event in your community (go to 350.org to find an event) and find out if you can have a CCL table at the event and organize letters to members of Congress in support of the Million Letter March campaign. If there is no event planned in your community, consider organizing one with 350.org.

CCL IN ACTION

San Diego: CCL volunteers met with Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) and legislative assistant Elizabeth Mortenson on Aug. 17.  The meeting went well, and Rep. Bono Mack likes our proposal and wants to continue a relationship with CCL.  Volunteers also followed up with Rep. Issa (R-CA).

Riverside, California: CCL Executive Director Mark Reynolds and group leader Matt Cappiello gave a presentation to the local Sierra Club.

Santa Clara, California: CCL volunteers met with Christine Padilla, aide to Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), the week of Aug. 22. Volunteers are also working with 350.org organizers on a 10.10.10 event. Group leader Sudhanshu Jain gave a presentation on "Jainism and Climate Change" at the Jain Temple in Milpitas on Aug. 8th and has been invited to give a slightly different version of his presentation to the Muslim Community at the mosque in Milpitas on Oct. 3rd.

Marin, California: CCL volunteers met face-to-face with Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA). Group leader Rachel Ginis attended a screening of “Climate Refugees” and met the director, who has expressed interest in working with CCL and the Million Letter March.

Anchorage, Alaska: CCL volunteers met face-to-face with Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK) and two of his staffers. Agreed we have a problem that needs to be addressed.

Tallahassee, Florida: CCL chapter is making plans with 350.org organizers for 10.10.10 events.

Atlanta: CCL volunteers met with aides to Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) on Aug. 24th and with aides to Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) on Aug. 6th.  Volunteers also met fact-to-face with Rep. Tom Graves (R-GA) on Aug. 19th. CCL in Atlanta is also working with 350.org coalition for an interfaith service on 10.10.10 that will include writing letters to members of Congress.

Seattle: CCL volunteers met with the Tom Young, deputy director for Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA). Also, climate advocate Joe Schroeder, after talking to 10,000 voters in his run for Congress, was in a runoff with Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA).

Alexandria, Minnesota: CCL volunteer Jeanne Johnson talked to Rep. Colin Peterson (D-MN) at a town hall meeting and followed up with a call to a local aide. Johnson also hosted a viewing of the environmental film “Home,” which was attended by 25 people.

Salt Lake City: CCL volunteers met face-to-face with Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT) and met with aides of Sen. Orin Hatch (R-UT). CCL group leader Bill Barron met with a BYU professor to talk about setting up a CCL chapter at BYU. Bill also was at a meeting with the CEO of Kennecott, a mining company, and asked him to support carbon fee and dividend.

CCL MEDIA

In Phildelphia: Marshall Saunder’s oped, “Floods, fire, and fiddling: Extreme weather abounds while Congress dithers on climate change,” was published Aug. 23 in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

In Salt Lake City: Bill Barron’s oped, “Time for fresh approach on climate change,” was published in the Salt Lake Tribune on Aug. 1.

In San Diego: John Reaves oped, “Don’t push climate change past the tipping point,” was published in the San Diego Union-Tribune on Aug. 2.

In Seattle: Andrea Faste had a letter to the editor, “Debate over global warming heats up,” published in the Seattle Times on Aug. 8.

ARTICLES WORTH READING

NY Times: Cap-and-Trade is Beginning to Raise Some Concerns
Critics have warned for years that this form of offsetting would encourage profiteering, with little or no value in efforts to curb climate change.

Yahoo News: Noted Anti-Global Warming Scientist Reverses Course
Bjorn Lomborg, author of the influential tract "The Skeptical Environmentalist," has reversed course on the urgency of global warming, and is now calling for action on "a challenge humanity must confront."