From Reuters:
Aides to Kerry, Graham and Lieberman toiled over legislative details of their climate bill during a two-week recess that ends on Monday.
A compromise on perhaps one of the most important pieces of environmental legislation we've seen in decades will be released soon. This is the time for a sustained grassroots effort. We have to try to get the best bill we possibly can.
Without our voices, polluters will have their way:
Kerry is being hit with an array of other competing concerns: Industry wants the federal legislation to pre-empt state climate control efforts and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulation, an idea many state officials oppose.
Industry wants to gut the climate bill and make it impossible to plug any holes with EPA regulations. They abhor the thought of progressive states pushing beyond an insufficient federal emissions cap. And if you think that Senate dems won't listen give in to the fossil fuel lobby, I invite you to take a look at the top donations to Senators from the oil and natural gas sector during the 2010 election cycle:
Candidate | Amount |
---|
Lincoln, Blanche (D-AR) | $255,650 |
Vitter, David (R-LA) | $200,900 |
Murkowski, Lisa (R-AK) | $188,376 |
Bennett, Robert F (R-UT) | $129,150 |
Specter, Arlen (D-PA) | $125,300 |
Cornyn, John (R-TX) | $122,625 |
Dorgan, Byron L (D-ND) | $95,450 |
Coburn, Tom (R-OK) | $93,800 |
Thune, John (R-SD) | $79,440 |
DeMint, James W (R-SC) | $77,350 |
Burr, Richard (R-NC) | $65,450 |
Bayh, Evan (D-IN) | $65,150 |
Nelson, Ben (D-NE) | $62,450 |
Bennet, Michael F (D-CO) | $62,195 |
Grassley, Chuck (R-IA) | $57,000 |
Landrieu, Mary L (D-LA) | $56,850 |
Begich, Mark (D-AK) | $50,600 |
Brown, Scott P (R-MA) | $47,400 |
Schumer, Charles E (D-NY) | $46,450 |
Isakson, Johnny (R-GA) | $46,400 |
Reid, Harry (D-NV) | $39,150 |
Crapo, Mike (R-ID) | $38,500 |
Conrad, Kent (D-ND) | $34,850 |
Gillibrand, Kirsten (D-NY) | $31,600 |
Wicker, Roger (R-MS) | $28,000 |
Pryor, Mark (D-AR) | $26,400 |
Shelby, Richard C (R-AL) | $22,900 |
Johnson, Tim (D-SD) | $21,500 |
Udall, Mark (D-CO) | $18,750 |
Webb, James (D-VA) | $16,100 |
Bingaman, Jeff (D-NM) | $13,100 |
McCain, John (R-AZ) | $12,150 |
Wyden, Ron (D-OR) | $11,864 |
Barrasso, John A (R-WY) | $11,750 |
Bunning, Jim (R-KY) | $10,000 |
Udall, Tom (D-NM) | $10,000 |
Boxer, Barbara (D-CA) | $9,400 |
Baucus, Max (D-MT) | $9,000 |
Corker, Bob (R-TN) | $9,000 |
Murray, Patty (D-WA) | $8,900 |
Alexander, Lamar (R-TN) | $7,500 |
McConnell, Mitch (R-KY) | $7,500 |
Nelson, Bill (D-FL) | $7,000 |
Inhofe, James M (R-OK) | $6,800 |
Stabenow, Debbie (D-MI) | $6,800 |
Inouye, Daniel K (D-HI) | $6,000 |
Casey, Bob (D-PA) | $5,900 |
Carper, Tom (D-DE) | $5,870 |
Feinstein, Dianne (D-CA) | $5,800 |
Franken, Al (D-MN) | $5,300 |
Tester, Jon (D-MT) | $5,300 |
Risch, James E (R-ID) | $4,750 |
Klobuchar, Amy (D-MN) | $4,500 |
Cardin, Ben (D-MD) | $3,000 |
Dodd, Chris (D-CT) | $3,000 |
Whitehouse, Sheldon (D-RI) | $3,000 |
Warner, Mark (D-VA) | $2,500 |
Clinton, Hillary (D-NY) | $2,450 |
Feingold, Russ (D-WI) | $2,200 |
Chambliss, Saxby (R-GA) | $2,000 |
Cochran, Thad (R-MS) | $2,000 |
Harkin, Tom (D-IA) | $2,000 |
Hatch, Orrin G (R-UT) | $2,000 |
Roberts, Pat (R-KS) | $2,000 |
Rockefeller, Jay (D-WV) | $2,000 |
Snowe, Olympia J (R-ME) | $2,000 |
Brown, Sherrod (D-OH) | $1,500 |
I spot quite a few Ds.
Are we going to let corporations that can barely see past next fiscal quarter determine our course on a long-haul issue like climate change?
After ACES passed the House last year, Nate Silver of 538 assessed the state of affairs in the Senate. He pointed at Democrats Bayh, Lincoln, Pryor, Landrieu, Dorgan, Byrd, Rockefeller, Conrad, and Nelson as being problematic votes. Anybody notice a relationship between Nate's list and campaign contributions? (To be fair to Byrd, it seems as though he may have relaxed his previously steadfast opposition.)
Nelson in particular isn't shy about his concern:
"It takes so many votes to get something through and I think there's more unity on energy than there is on climate change when it comes to this body," said Democrat Ben Nelson from Nebraska.
Nelson doesn't come right out and say that global warming is a Nazi-Commie hoax, but at the same time opposes any rules that might actually solve the problem.
On his website, Nelson says:
“Carbon emissions should be reduced, but not through costly and complicated EPA regulations or a disadvantageous cap and trade proposal in Congress. They should be reduced through a comprehensive energy bill that promotes efficiencies and renewable energy through innovation and new technology that will help our state’s economy as we clean up the air.”
Sound familiar?
For me, the fight boils down to this:
We can't hope to reduce GHG emissions quickly enough unless we put a price on carbon.
Any legislation that does not recognize this fact is unacceptable. ACES, while certainly flawed, would establish a precedent of pricing CO2 emissions. This legislation would help the US negotiate an international framework in good faith.
In the spirit of WarrenS, here is a letter that I will send to Ben Nelson:
Dear Senator,
I write to you not as constituent, but as a concerned citizen. I have read that you do not support the American Clean Energy and Security Act in its present form. From your press releases, I infer that you oppose any legislative measure that includes cap and trade or a carbon tax, in favor of incentives for innovation and infrastructure development.
The best incentive to lower greenhouse gas emissions is to price carbon according to the actual costs: like the tens of thousands of premature deaths caused each year by coal pollution, the poisoning of our nation's waterways from extraction, and the denial of our children's right to inherit a hospitable planet. We are committing generational theft: burning through our energy resources and pushing Earth's climate to a point of no return. I'll save you the calculation: there isn't any tax high enough to recover these costs. Business-as-usual becomes even less appealing once you accept that increased conservation and the transition to green energy will not destroy our standard of living. If we start now, we may still have a chance to avoid both economic and environmental catastrophe.
I hope that you change your mind on this issue. A vote for any bill without a price on carbon is on the wrong side of science, the wrong side of economics, and the wrong side of history.
Sincerely,
patrickz
Send a letter or pick up the phone. WarrenS has even given us permission to copy and paste from his epic letter-writing campaign, so you don't even have to come up with original content! What are you waiting for?
The compromise is coming next week, so there is no time to lose. Here is a contact list for some of our most recalcitrant Democratic Senators:
Evan Bayh
Address: 131 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-5623
Web Form
Blanche Lincoln
Address: 355 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-4843
Web Form
Byron Dorgan
Address: 322 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-2551
Web Form
John D. Rockefeller, IV (stuck on 'clean' coal)
Address: 531 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-6472
Web Form
Kent Conrad
Address: 530 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-2043
Web Form
Mary Landrieu
Address: 328 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-5824
Web Form
Ben Nelson
Address: 720 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-6551
Web Form
Be sure to check in on the latest DK Greenroots diaries!