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Memo to President Obama: Climate Change Policy Recommendations

young people with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson

(Cross-posted from “It’s Getting Hot In Here”)
As a final assignment for a climate course that I am in, I had the opportunity to write a memo to president Obama outlining what his climate goal should be and what policies/strategies he would use to reach those goals.

Below is the full text. I think it does a good job of explaining where we are at with the current COP15 negotiations and where we are headed with a climate bill.
_____________________

To: President Barack Obama
From: Mr. Jeremy Blanchard
Date: 7 Dec 2009
Subject: Climate Change Policy Recommendations

As a young person in the United States, I feel an obligation to ensure a healthy, prosperous future for my children and for all future generations. Because of this, I have spent the last year organizing campuses and communities to take action on the largest challenge that our species has ever faced: global climate change. To avoid catastrophic climate change, the United States must take the lead in reducing greenhouse gas emissions while simultaneously revitalizing our economy with clean, safe energy. To achieve this goal, the country must pass ambitious climate legislation and negotiate a strong international climate treaty. Mr. President, you must lead the way to ensure that these goals are met. The strategic recommendations outlined here are meant to be ambitious yet still politically realistic.


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Senate Climate Bill Released: The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act

Senator John Kerry and Senator Barbara Boxer released the Senate version of ACES (the House climate bill) today.

You can read the summary as well as the full text on Senator John Kerry’s website: http://kerry.senate.gov/cleanenergyjobsandamericanpower/intro.cfm.

Unfortunately, CEJAPA or CEJAP doesn’t have the same ring to it that ACES did.

Greetings from the DC Action Factory tent city!


Cross posted from ActionFactoryDC.blogspot.com, post by Kalen Pruss

We are just hours into our 26 hour tent city marathon. We set-up our camp with relative ease, had a not unpleasant chat with the police, and are just now settling down for the long haul. It is quite literally starting to heat up, and despite the cops mandating that we dismantle our overhead tarps, we are doing our best to keep cool. As uncouth as it sounds, at least our project has an end date. For millions of climate refugees across the globe, drought, flooding, disease, or famine make harsh conditions a permanent reality.

It is important, then, that we stand in solidarity with these many millions, and bring their voices to the policy-makers whose decisions will ultimately shape their future. Such action is desperately needed, yet our leaders typically fail in recognizing climate refugees altogether. In high-level talks regarding climate refugees, decision-makers find themselves bogged down in determining even the basic definition of climate refugees (see Morgan’s post from last night). It appears that after so much politicking over semantics, world leaders are simply too exhausted to take real steps toward aiding these involuntary migrants.

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Rep. Waxman on the Daily Show

Jon Stewart interviewed Rep. Henry Waxman on the Daily Show on Tuesday. Waxman is the chair of the House Committee on Energy an Commerce and was the mind behind the House version of the cap and trade bill. He’s also the person pushing the health care bill through the House.

The interview ended up being mostly about the health care reform bill, but I wanted to post it here anyway.

I was a little disappointed with Waxman’s answers. His answers sounded very canned, as though he were answering questions from the press.

Jon Stewart on the Climate Bill

July 21st, 2009: John Stewart Jizz-Ams in Front of Children

Another clip and an interview with Energy Secretary Steven Chu after the fold.

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@climatebill Twitter Updates for 2009-07-20

@climatebill Twitter Updates for 2009-07-18

@climatebill Twitter Updates for 2009-07-16

  • Link roundup of responses to Sarah Palin's Washington Post op-ed on cap-and-trade: http://bit.ly/VIt3U #

Strongmen Storm the Capitol to Push for a Stronger Climate Bill

Originally posted by Rachel Young at DC Action Factory

This morning, half a dozen youth in strongmen costumes showed up to pump iron and flex their climate bill “muscles” in Dirksen 406. Why? Because the first post-ACES Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on climate legislation took place there at 10 am today.
I was surprised to see such a clever ploy espousing that Congress must pass a stronger climate bill than the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), which was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last Friday, June 26th.


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@climatebill Twitter Updates for 2009-07-05