Iowa Global Warming

Washington, D.C. — The wind power industry’s growth will slow sharply from last year’s levels under the usage mandates for renewable power being considered in Congress, industry officials say.

A bill approved by a House committee last month and another under consideration in the Senate would require utilities to get a certain percentage of their power from renewable sources starting in 2012, but the targets are well below what the wind power industry wanted.

The Senate version would start at 3 percent in 2012 while the House bill would begin at 6 percent, and both could be lowered through energy efficiency measures.

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver joined industry representatives Thursday in meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to urge them to enact higher mandates. “The number does matter,” Culver said later.

Check out the rest of the DM Register story here.

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.

Forget rose-colored glasses. U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack is viewing the world through green-tinted lenses.

The Democratic congressman has been wearing the hued goggles since he first introduced his green schools initiative during last Congress. The bill stalled in the Senate at the time.

The reintroduced legislation passed the House 275-155, with 24 Republicans on board, Thursday afternoon.

Loebsack, a member of the House Education and Labor Committee, said he is working with Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, a fellow Democrat, to get the bill passed there. The congressman said he modeled the legislation on a grants program Harkin put in place to help schools modernize.

To read more, go here.

In Obama’s highly anticipated speech to congress last night, the President reiterated his desire to drive economic recovery by investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency policies. Furthermore, quelling worries over what his specific approach to greenhouse gas emissions would be, he asked congress to deliver a long-awaited “market based carbon cap.”

Though the speech focused more broadly on three differing areas of Obama’s campaign platform, the environment regularly took precedence over health care and education, giving yet another sign that this administration’s approach will focus much more specifically on issues of clean energy and energy efficiency.

The affirmation of Obama’s continued commitment to the environment was perhaps most notably apparent in his request for a national carbon cap. Many have been wondering in recent weeks what form the administration’s greenhouse gas emission policy would take; the two most obvious choices being either a carbon-cap system or a carbon tax. Last night, however, speculation was cast aside as Obama clearly requested a cap-and-trade system.

“I ask this Congress to send me legislation that places a market-based cap on carbon pollution and drives the production of more renewable energy in America,” he said. “That’s what we need.”

Read more here

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 13, 2009

Recovery Act Invests $9.3 Billion to Expand High-Speed Rail in America

The final version of the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act now before Congress includes an unprecedented $8 billion investment in high-speed rail. In addition, Amtrak will receive $1.3 billion to rebuild trains and improve its capacity.

“We commend President Obama and Congress for helping to get America moving again with modern trains,” said Howard Learner, Executive Director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center. “Investing in high-speed rail projects will put people to work quickly, create new economic opportunities, increase mobility and reduce traffic congestion and pollution.”

The $8 billion made available through the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be awarded competitively to states to improve passenger rail service, primarily on those corridors where 110 mph service is proposed. Funds can also be used on conventional rail projects that relieve congestion. The Midwest is very well positioned, with federally designated high-speed rail corridors radiating out in a hub-and-spoke network from Chicago to St. Louis, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, Madison and the Twin Cities.

“The Environmental Law & Policy Center has long called for the development of a Midwest high-speed rail network. Governors and state Departments of Transportation have embraced high-speed rail as modern, fast, comfortable and convenient. We have done the homework and prep work. These projects are now ready to build,” said Learner. “We look forward to working with the states to meet Congress’s challenge to rebuild America with cleaner transportation.”

“Congress has moved on the right track toward economic recovery,” said Learner. “Investing in modern, high-speed rail is an important down payment on America’s transportation future.”

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NOTE: Due to very high web traffic, the bill itself is difficult to download from Congress’s
website. ELPC has made the documents available on its website at: http://elpc.org/american-recovery-and-reinvestment-information

The Environmental Law and Policy Center is the Midwest’s leading public interest environmental legal advocacy and eco-business innovation organization.

www.elpc.org

Republican governors, battling climate change in their states and fed up with the GOP’s inability to organize in Washington, are urging their congressional colleagues to start the new Congress with unprecedented dedication to addressing global warming.

“It’s been enormously frustrating,” said Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, a Republican who recently signed up his state for the Western Climate Initiative, a bloc of states committed to reducing greenhouse gases 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.

“We would not need the Western Climate Initiative if it were not for the foot-dragging nature of Congress,” Huntsman said. “If Republicans had identified this problem earlier and tackled it aggressively, we would all be working together.”

The resounding defeat for the GOP at the polls in November made it painfully obvious that voters also were tired of the party’s division and, in some cases, dismissal of man-made global warming. Even Republican political guru Karl Rove warned party leaders in a post-election Newsweek column to “avoid mindless opposition.”

“Voters ages 18 to 29 voted Democratic by a 2-to-1 margin,” he wrote. “A market-oriented ‘green’ agenda that’s true to our principles would help win them back.”

Heeding that warning, a handful of Republicans are preparing to jump-start the climate debate this year by offering alternatives to Democratic proposals for carbon emissions reduction and renewable energy investment, some of which could be included in the new economic stimulus package being assembled at the urging of President-elect Barack Obama.

“Obama is attractive to young people, but that doesn’t mean Republicans can’t still get in the game,” said Republican pollster Whit Ayres. “You don’t have to dominate on this issue, but you need to have a more compelling message. Most Americans believe that mankind is contributing to the problem, so denying the existence of climate change is a losing position.”

Read the full story here

Congress cannot wait for the economy to recover to enact reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, according to an Iowa congressman positioned to play a significant role in addressing the issue.

“We have ignored this problem for far too long,” said Rep. Bruce Braley, a Democrat who was recently awarded a seat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “It’s time to start working.”

Business groups warn that imposing limits on emissions will drive up energy costs at a time when manufacturers already are shedding jobs by the thousands because of the global economic downturn. Manufacturers in Iowa and nationwide also worry that they’ll be put at a disadvantage to competitors in China and other countries that are building new coal-fired power plants.

“We need to have a grown-up conversation about what we can do and in the time frame that we need to do it without an undue disruption of the economy,” said Hank Cox, a spokesman for the National Association of Manufacturers. Its members include firms that are based in Iowa or have major operations there, including Vermeer Corp., Terra Industries Inc., Whirlpool Corp., and Bunge North America.

However, two growing sectors of Iowa’s economy, ethanol and wind energy, would benefit from increasing the cost of gasoline andcoal-generated electricity.

President-elect Barack Obama has made clear through a series of key appointments that the issue is going to be a top priority for his administration. Democratic congressional leaders have delivered the same message as well.

Read the full article here

Welcome to the new Iowa Global Warming Campaign website. The US has elected a new president and Congress, Iowa has chosen new state leaders, and we’ve got a new site to share all of the developments with you as they happen. Take a minute to get familiar with the layout, check out new features like the improved event calendar and watch our new series of short videos. A lot of things are changing, and we’re working to stay ahead of the times.

The past few weeks have been really, really exciting. Obviously, there’s that whole ‘election thing’, which is especially interesting to us here at IGW. We’ve been working on strengthening candidate positions from the very beginning of the process, way back in spring 2007. That work paid off in a big way, with the early candidates taking increasingly strong positions – the ‘finalists’ being the ones that had shown the most leadership on our climate. With the inauguration of Sen. Obama, we have come full circle with the goals of our primary campaign.

So, we’re finished with the beginning – Iowa Global Warming has (almost) completed its first two years. 2009 marks the start of a whole new era, as we work with a new administration, new Congress and new legislature to pass meaningful legislation to reduce emissions and invigorate our economy. I hope you’ll join us – together we’re going to accomplish great things.

Andrew

Well, former President Bill Clinton just said it on the Late Show with Letterman – individuals can’t solve global warming alone, we also have to have leadership from our government. Honestly, I’m not ‘happy’, as much as it’s good to hear (I’m getting used to hearing nice things from companies that burn a lot of coal, too) because this is a situation that needs real action, and needs it now. Speaking the truth, even when you ARE power, doesn’t get it done. We need help to make this happen. There are a lot of things going on right now – energy legislation in Congress, legal motions and advisory committees on the state level – please, help us make a better future happen by getting involved. You can do so by clicking a link on this site, or by sending an email to asnow@iowaglobalwarming.org.