Iowa Global Warming

The House of Representatives will vote this Friday on the American Clean Energy and Security Act, and we need your help. The bill will jumpstart our economy, reduce carbon pollution, and break our dependence on foreign oil. And the bill will create thousands of jobs here in Iowa. Honestly, it’s a no-brainer. Congressman Boswell is a key vote; please, call 202-225-3806 and take one minute to tell him to vote YES on the American Clean Energy and Security Act.

Calls are important because it’s a clear signal that there is a strong demand for action; but if you haven’t yet, you can also use this link to send an email message: http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/Iowa_ACES

This could be the most important single minute you spend this week!

Chairmen Henry A. Waxman and Edward J. Markey, co-authors of the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454) said that a new analysis of the bill by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) shows the that the net annual cost of the legislation would be approximately $175 per household in 2020.  This analysis comes on the heels of a new study that found 1.7 million jobs would be created by the clean energy legislation.

“This analysis underscores that this legislation is effective and affordable,” said Rep. Waxman. “It sets America on a course of energy independence while taking significant steps to reduce dangerous global warming pollution.”

“Americans know that building a clean energy economy has real value, and this CBO analysis proves it,” said Rep. Markey. “Low-income American families will see a $40 benefit from using more wind and solar energy and less foreign oil. And for the cost of about a postage stamp a day, all American families will see a return on their investment as our nation breaks our dependence on foreign oil, cuts dangerous carbon pollution and creates millions of new clean energy jobs that can’t be shipped overseas.”

Please read the rest of the article here.

Representative Bruce Braley held a special event in Cedar Falls last Thursday focused on the American Clean Energy & Security Act (ACES). When I got my chance I asked him this question: “How will you bring along Members of Congress from carbon-intensive districts while ensuring the bill jumpstarts the renewable energy economy and lowers emissions?”

Representative Braley responding by mentioning that the current allocations of revenue in the ACES bill are not what he would have decided, nor would they be what a Representative from West Virginia would choose. The current allocation scheme in the ACES bill is a compromise between diverse interests. That was good to hear. Then he said that he wished the renewable energy standards were stronger and the efficiency standards were better. He was adamant that this bill and this year were the best shot the nation would have for truly comprehensive energy and climate legislation.

He went on to say he doesn’t want to sell-out his children’s future by passing a bill that won’t effectively transition us off of fossil fuels and avert dangerous climate change. He finished his answer by telling the story of how committed young people in green hard hats were present in the committee room while ACES was being debated. Those young people were the tangible reminder that this bill was about their future and their quality of life. Most memorable line: “The clean energy revolution has begun and we need your help to make it a reality.”

I look forward to seeing more strong leadership from Representative Braley as the legislation moves through committees and goes to the House floor. We need each Representative from Iowa, those being Braley, Loebsack, Latham, Boswell, and King to be fighting for a stronger renewable energy standard in the final ACES bill. Voice your support for strong comprehensive energy and climate legislation by contacting your representative: http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/Iowa_ACES

Drew

The fight for a clean energy future and a planet safe from climate change has brought me home once more to work on the Iowa Global Warming Campaign. I grew up in Ames and I’ve been going to college in Washington DC at American University. Last summer I interned with the Iowa Global Warming Campaign because I wanted to get more experience with climate issues outside of the campus or the classroom. I realized dressing up in a snowman costume and playing “wheel of warming” was, in its own peculiar way, helping to build a grassroots movement for solutions here in my home state. At the time, I had no idea how important Iowa was for the future of the world. The winds of change swept from Iowa all the way to Washington in 2008, and the future the rest of the nation desires has already begun right here. More wind power, a new passenger rail line, an educated workforce hungry for green collar jobs and a citizenry energized by the caucuses all make this one of the most important frontlines to protect our common future.
I have spent the last school year heavily involved in organizing students on my campus around the issues of clean energy and climate change. The millennial generation is hungry for a brighter future where we can have good jobs and a good environment. At this point in human history we can choose between destroying our planet or protecting it for posterity. The world doesn’t need to be ravaged by climate change, but right now it is up to us whether it will or not. The world is looking to the United States for leadership in reducing emissions and building a sustainable economy, and Iowa should be leading the nation.
I encourage every one of you reading this blog to get involved by contacting our members of Congress (http://www.gov.iastate.edu/federal/delegation.html). Right now Congress is debating the American Clean Energy and Security act, or ACES. This is the first comprehensive energy plan our country has had in 30 years.
The ACES bill has a Renewable Energy Standard, which requires utilities to generate an increasing percentage of their power from clean, renewable sources over time. The higher the target for renewable energy, the more it will benefit all Iowans.
A new national market for renewable energy will benefit Iowa greatly. Iowa is already a leader in wind energy generation. Because each state would have to use more renewable electricity, we would be able to sell our clean energy to states that are lagging behind. The possibilities for new jobs in the clean energy sector are incredible.
The bill also includes a cap on the greenhouse gas emissions that are generated by burning fossil fuels. By capping and reducing emissions we will be able to stop dangerous climate change while driving innovation in American manufacturing and energy production.
One month ago this week I woke up very early and waited in line for 5 hours to get a spot in the Energy & Commerce Committee room audience for the ACES bill. Opportunities to influence the energy future of the world do not come along very often, even in DC. Young climate activists from around the area filled the committee room with green shirts to demand a sustainable future. The dirty energy lobbyists and their friends on the committee did not expect to be joined by the future leaders of America. We heard testimony from dirty industries afraid of a bright future free from climate change and fossil fuels. We also heard testimony from clean industry pioneers asking for strong legislation to help build the green economy and make the United States an innovation leader once again.
If you feel like I do, that we need national leadership in forging a new energy economy and protecting the planet from dangerous climate change, then this summer will be an exciting chance to get involved.

Drew

Congressman Bruce Braley, a Democrat from Waterloo, is defending the energy bill against claims by the state’s largest utility company that it will lead to higher electric bills. Braley was asked about MidAmerican’s claim the bill would lead to a 20% increase in electric bills.

Braley says groups that claim the energy bill will raise the cost to consumers are “flat wrong.” He says the bill is “gonna create millions of clean energy jobs, it’s gonna reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and it’s going to lower energy bills for the middle class. And despite what MidAmerican is saying, the bill won’t increase prices for consumers, nor will they pay higher taxes for the bill.”

Braley says there’s evidence in the eastern Iowa district he represents that prove MidAmerican wrong. Braley says two of MidAmerican’s customers and consumers who will be paying the most, John Deere and Alcoa are in his district and both support the bill. “And so I guess the question I would have for MidAmerican is, if two of their largest customers are supporting the bill, what is the question they’re having?,” Braley asks.

Read more here.