Green Options

The good folks at Grist put together a comprehensive analysis of the 50 Senators’ treatment of energy and climate on their interwebs pages. And the results weren’t exactly flattering.

Much has been said in opposition to the cap and trade climate legislation that is currently on the Senate’s plate. Opponents have argued repeatedly that the legislation will do nothing but increase the cost of energy, which will force companies send jobs over seas, where labor is cheaper, in order to keep up with production demands. Senator Kit Bond (R-Missouri) even went as far as to call the Waxman-Markey Bill “a pig in a poke.”

The climate bill that was passed by the House of Representatives earlier this month is getting wide support and attention. However, activist groups who have taken a closer look at the bill are wondering if it’s a climate bill addressing global climate change or a climate bill addressing the concerns of the coal and oil industry. Public Citizen, a national, non-profit, public interest organization, states that the bill “will prove a boon to the coal and oil industries, will fail to protect consumers and may very well not even curb global warming.”

According to Missouri Senator Kit Bond (R) the cap and trade Waxman-Markey Bill “is really a pig in a poke.” That’s what he told the committee on Tuesday, anyway. Given the opportunity to speak in front of a committee on the financial impacts that the climate bill would have on farmers, Senator Bond wasted no time calling the bill a hoax.

With the historic passage of climate legislation through the House of Representatives, many concerns have trickled forth. Does the climate legislation do enough? Will it even work? Does it have the right aim? With the issuance of similar concerns have come proposed solutions and substitutions. The republicans have proposed that 100 nuclear power plants be built by 2030 in place of the proposed cap-and-trade climate bill. I’ve recently written two articles on the republican “solution” to both the climate and [...]

Highly toxic by ingestion or inhalation of the dust, it can also poison a person through exposure to soluble forms, inhalation of its vapour, or eating fish contaminated with it. It’s mercury. We all know mercury for its presence in thermometers. And we all know what it means for the mercury to be rising (as is currently a major global issue). But what does it mean when mercury is falling?

Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) have sponsored the NAT GAS Act. This bill is aimed at giving natural gas the push it needs to become part of the cure for America’s oil addiction. Senator Reid (D-Nevada) is also an original co-sponsor.

“Each day, our nation consumes about 21 million barrels of oil- more than 25 percent of the world’s oil supply,” Reid said. And most of that oil comes from foreign soil. “With only 3 percent of the world’s oil reserves, we cannot produce our way to a safe and secure energy future,” Reid continued.

The new legislation would promote the use of natural gas over traditional oil by using tax credits. This legislation would, in effect, be an extension of the CLEAR Act - encouraging the growth of natural-gas infrastructures to go along with the current boom in hybrid-electric vehicles.

The recent passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACESA) through the House of representatives has sparked a number of debates. Opponents and proponents of the Waxman-Markley Bill have thrown words around, trying to gain support for their side. But it isn’t just the politicians who are talking.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved by a vote of 15 to 8 a piece of legislation that would open up huge areas of the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere for drilling of oil and natural gas. It also contains requirements for increases in renewable energy generation, and a number of other energy-related measures, but it seems a sad and regressive alternative to Waxman-Markey, which may reach a floor vote in the House by next week.

President Obama has nominated Kathleen Merrigan for deputy secretary of agriculture. Merrigan, helped develop the USDA’s rules on organic food during the Clinton era. Merrigan has been hailed by sustainable agriculture advocates; however, Senate Republicans are concerned with her organic ties.

While solar energy is often touted as a way to avoid fossil fuels, California Senator Dianne Feinstein believes some public lands solar projects in the Mojave Desert need to be reexamined for their potential environmental impact.