What is the 1000 Megawatt Challenge?

What can clean energy activists learn from the world of physics?

For starters, they might consider a well known precept called the law of the conservation of energy. Simply put, it states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; it’s forever undergoing conversion from one state to another. For instance, for much of the past 200 years we’ve been converting the chemical energy in fossil fuels into the mechanical and electrical energy we need to power our cars and homes.

Of course, by now we know that CO2 pollution from these energy conversions has started to result in the conversion of the sun’s energy into some not so useful forms like hurricanes and wildfires. In addition to electricity, we’ve generated climate change and to make things right we need to quickly accelerate a different type of conversion: the switch from a dirty energy economy to one powered by clean sources like wind and solar. Continue reading

Cap and Dividend Policy Update #21

From the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Mike Tidwell, director

Compiled and edited by Ted Glick, CCAN Policy Director

December 6, 2010

The Chesapeake Climate Action Network produces and distributes this periodic policy update on efforts to advance “cap and dividend” legislation in the U.S. Congress. The fight for this climate policy is currently being led on Capitol Hill by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Susan Collins (R-ME). Last December these Senators introduced the Carbon Limits and Energy for America’s Renewal Act, or CLEAR Act, S-2877. Learn more at http://www.supportclearact.org.

In This Issue:
#1  Should Carbon Pricing Advocates Support the Cap-and-Dividend Bill?, by James Handley
#2  Tax Pollution, Not People, by Robert Malin
#3  Clean Coal: Climate Solution or Oxymoron?, by Marc Gunther
#4  Global Warming Coming on Rapidly, Scientists Say, by Sherwood Ross
#5  From Politico Morning Energy, November 18th
#6  Quakers Present Cantwell with Peace Award
#7  Cap and Giveaway, by Cosmo Garvin

#1  Should Carbon Pricing Advocates Support the Cap-and-Dividend Bill, by James Handley:  “The [Carbon Pricing] Conference has sparked a flurry of substantive and strategic discussions. For example, cap-and-dividend advocate Peter Barnes is imploring us to align the Carbon Tax Center with the CLEAR cap-and-dividend bill introduced in December 2009 by Senators Cantwell (D-WA) and Collins (R-ME). Their cap-and-dividend concept is certainly a quantum improvement over the cap/trade/offset model that some of the mainstream environmental groups rode to defeat (again) in 2009-2010. Yet both the concept and the particulars of the CLEAR bill fall far short of what we at CTC believe is required in carbon-pricing legislation.”

http://www.carbontax.org/blogarchives/2010/12/02/should-carbon-pricing-advocates-support-the-cap-and-dividend-bill/

#2  Tax Pollution, Not People, by Robert Malin:     “It is clear we need a response that is equal to the real conditions on the ground both in terms of preserving our biosphere for life on the planet and politically where it is mired in the swamp of the US Senate. Taking this ‘back to basics’ direction are Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Susan Collins (R-ME) with the Carbon Limits and Energy for America’s Renewal (CLEAR) Act.  However their bill needs improvement– the mandatory greenhouse gas limits are insufficient to set us on an emissions path which would reduce carbon concentrations to 350 ppm, a level that scientists say is needed to prevent the worst effects of climate change.”

For the full article go to:  http://rifuture.org/tax-pollution-not-people.html

#3  Clean Coal: Climate Solution or Oxymoron?, by Marc Gunther:     “The truth is banal but worth remembering: that no one can confidently predict the energy future. This would argue for an energy policy that avoids betting on any particular technology, but provides a broad incentive–i.e., a carbon tax or simple cap-and-dividend scheme–to drive investment in a low-carbon future.”

For the full article go to:  http://theenergycollective.com/marcgunther/47280/clean-coal-climate-solution-or-oxymoron?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=The+Energy+Collective+%28all+posts%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

#4  Global Warming Coming on Rapidly, Scientists Say, by Sherwood Ross:  “McKibben said the Congress has not yet taken any meaningful action on global warming, adding that it will come ‘the day we attach a price to carbon. So far we haven’t done that.’ He goes on to say, ‘I think the most likely plan is now what we’re calling Cap and Dividend, which in effect puts a tax on carbon and then takes that money and funnels it directly back to consumers. Basically, it lets them own the sky instead of Exxon-Mobil. That’s a good plan and it has some political legs, maybe, (anyway) we’ll see.’”

For the full article go to:  http://www.americanpendulum.com/2010/11/global-warming-coming-on-rapidly-scientists-say-by-sherwood-ross/

#5  From Politico Morning Energy, November 18th:      FUTURE DIVIDENDS – Sen. Maria Cantwell told POLITICO yesterday there might be room for the cap-and-dividend bill she co-sponsored with Susan Collins to make a comeback now that cap-and-trade has collapsed. “We just talked today on the floor about it and we’re going to get together and see,” she said. “I think we’re going to get to a point where people are going to say ‘Wow, the EPA is moving ahead, companies are being regulated in my state, geez is there a better way to do this?’ I don’t know what that will lead to but I know we’re going to get to that discussion.”

#6  Quakers Present Cantwell with Peace Award:  “The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) (sometimes referred to as the Quakers) honored U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) with the organization’s highest legislative award for her work advancing comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation. In presenting the award, the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) identified Cantwell’s bipartisan Carbon Limits and Energy for America’s Renewal (CLEAR) Act as ‘a pathway to environmental balance and the peaceful prevention of deadly conflict.’”

For the full article go to:  http://politicalnews.me/?id=6638&keys=Senator-Maria-Cantwell-CleanEnergy

#7  Cap and Giveaway, by Cosmo Garvin: “A CARB-assembled panel of economists and other experts earlier this year said exactly that: the system would work best if the state auctioned carbon allowances instead of giving them away. In fact, the committee even suggested a sort of ‘cap and dividend’ system by which taxpayers would get money from the fees collected, as part of their tax refunds. At the time, the state estimated it could collect more than $2 billion a year in revenue from the fees.”

For the full article go to:  http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/content?oid=1873113

CCAN encourages readers of the Cap and Dividend Policy Update to distribute it to others who might be interested. We welcome input on the contents of this publication and ideas for what could be included. Send to Ted Glick at ted@chesapeakeclimate.org. To find out more about CCAN go to http://www.chesapeakeclimate.org.

Cap and Dividend Policy Update #19

From the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Mike Tidwell, director

Compiled and edited by Ted Glick, CCAN Policy Director

October 19, 2010

The Chesapeake Climate Action Network produces and distributes this periodic policy update on efforts to advance “cap and dividend” legislation in the U.S. Congress. The fight for this climate policy is currently being led on Capitol Hill by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Susan Collins (R-ME). Last December these Senators introduced the Carbon Limits and Energy for America’s Renewal Act, or CLEAR Act, S-2877. Learn more at http://www.supportclearact.org.

To view past Cap and Dividend Policy Updates go to: http://www.chesapeakeclimate.org/template/page.cfm?id=548

In This Issue

Common Dreams:  “Notes on Environmental Communication,” by George Lakoff:  “Support the Cantwell-Collins CLEAR ACT now. Every adult citizen gets a significant financial dividend as the carbon pollution is cleaned up. There are only a couple of thousand distribution points for carbon fuels in America, and they are already monitored. To sell polluting fuels, each company would have to buy dumping permits for the pollution to be dumped into the air. The number of permits would be reduced each year, cleaning the air and producing a market in permits. The permit money would go, three-quarters to adult citizens equally, and one-quarter to alternative fuel development and repairing previous environmental destruction. Most people will make money, even if fuel prices go up. That money will be spent and will create jobs all over the nation. The bill is 39 pages long. Read it.”

For the full article go to: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/09/28

Yes! Magazine: “A Climate Bill That Can Pass,” by Peter Barnes:  “The CLEAR Act, a.k.a. cap and dividend, has the potential to attract Republicans because it’s the opposite of a tax¬¬—it makes most Americans financially better off. Moreover, it’s entirely market-based: it raises carbon prices but keeps government out of the dicey and costly role of picking winners. Best of all, its cap-and-cash-back mechanism can be easily understood by skeptical American voters.”   

For the full article go to: http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/a-resilient-community/clear-act-a-climate-bill-that-can-pass

Huffington Post: “Climate Solutions from Climate Deniers?,” by Keith Harrington:   “Hopefully, this time around, lawmakers won’t waste any more precious time promoting their dead-end climate prescriptions. Instead, maybe they’ll wake up to the real post-partisan solutions — solutions like Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Susan Collins’ (R-Maine) cap-and-dividend bill, the CLEAR Act, which even in the current political climate has a much better chance at passing, and certainly has a much better chance to put the brakes on climate change than the AEI-Brookings blueprint.”

For the full article go to:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/keith-harrington/postpartisan-bunk-climate_b_765471.html

The New Yorker: “As the World Burns,” by Ryan Lizza:  “Another prospect was Susan Collins, the other Republican from Maine. She was the co-sponsor of a separate climate bill, with Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington. Their bill, known as “cap-and-dividend”—the government would cap carbon emissions and use revenue from polluters to compensate taxpayers for energy-rate hikes—gained some environmental support. Kerry, Graham, and Lieberman believed that the bill was unworkable and was stealing valuable attention from their effort. They spent months trying to figure out how to kill it and win over Collins. Eventually, Graham and Lieberman’s offices devised a ruse: they would adopt a crucial part of the Cantwell-Collins bill on market regulation in the official bill. Then they would quietly swap it out as the legislation made its way to the Senate floor. Collins, however, never budged.”  

For the full article go to: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/11/101011fa_fact_lizza?printable=true

CCAN encourages readers of the Cap and Dividend Policy Update to distribute it to others who might be interested. We welcome input on the contents of this publication and ideas for what could be included. Send to Ted Glick at ted@chesapeakeclimate.org. To find out more about CCAN go to http://www.chesapeakeclimate.org.

WIND VISION 2010: An Informative Success

This post was written by Ben Rivers, Freshman environmental science and policy major at the University of Maryland.

I came to Wind Vision 2010 to learn about wind power and Maryland’s wind industry. To my delight, everything from why Maryland should install offshore wind to the political battles being fought was presented, and consequently I feel as if I can speak knowledgeably about how this renewable source will be utilized.

The best speakers not only informed the audience, but also channeled the room’s considerable energy; Senator Paul Pinsky’s speech was motivational and Lester Brown’s closing remarks heartfelt. Together, their presentations called audience members to action and gave working to advance renewable energies a new validity. Mike Tidwell’s and Robert Mitchell’s remarks were possibly the most valuable, as they helped me understand basic information about the Mid-Atlantic Bight and Maryland’s wind resources. Continue reading

Renewable Energy and the Tax Cut Battle

As the Senate, the House, the White House, the Republicans and the Democrats hash it out over what to do about the expiring tax cuts, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, co-author of the CLEAR Act, is leading an effort to extend an also-expiring program that has played an important role over the last couple of years to build the renewable energy industry.

Unfortunately, in the compromise framework for a deal between the White House and Republicans, this program was not included. It should be, in whatever is finally voted on.

Senator Cantwell’s initiative is supported by Maryland Senator Ben Cardin and 25 other Senators. It has to do with the extension of the “Section 1603 Treasury Grant Program.” See the link here for more info: http://cantwell.senate.gov/news/record.cfm?id=328729

This program will expire at the end of this year. If it is not extended, it will be a “hit” on the renewable energy industry. In the words of a statement signed by the 26 U.S. Senators in support of extending this program, “Absent an extension of the TGP, the anticipated total financing available for renewables is expected to decrease by 56 percent in 2011.”

I’ve heard that Harry Reid has indicated support for trying to make this happen.

If you agree that this as an important issue, a possible win during the lame duck session, please reach out to U.S. Senators about this, as soon as you can.

New Era of U.S. Climate Leadership Starts Saturday

Years from now when historians look back for a turning point in America’s efforts to address the global climate crisis, they could very well point to 2011 as the year when it happened. This might seem counterintuitive after an election which saw a wave of climate-change deniers sweep into Congress, but that’s only if you’re looking for the leadership to come from Washington. If you consider the plans that are afoot right here in Maryland, it’s a different story altogether.

Without a doubt, a climate-denier controlled Congress likely closes the door on a federal climate bill for the next two years, but it certainly does not close the door on state legislation that could spur national-level action. A lack of federal leadership on climate change is hardly something new Continue reading

350 eARTh takes art to a new height

This week, 350.org takes on its latest endeavor — the first-ever art installation viewable from space! This project is also the world’s first global climate art project. At more than a dozen sites across the globe, citizens and artists will join forces to to create massive public art displays to show how climate change is already impacting our world as well as offer visions of how we can solve the crisis. Each art installation will be large enough to be seen from space and documented by satellites generously provided by DigitalGlobe.

350 EARTH will be the first-ever global scale group show on the front line of climate change

2,011 Mid-Atlantic Students to Power Shift!

Watch out Capitol Hill. A little over four months from now thousands of youth from across the country will once again descend on DC for POWER SHIFT!

Power Shift 2007 and 2009 were huge successes and life changing for the attendees. Thousands of students left the conference empowered and inspired. We made headlines with the largest lobby day on a single issue in history. We showed that our generation cares about clean energy, healthy communities, and creating good green jobs. After the mid-term elections it is clear we still have work to do. We’re angry about corporate power, about climate deniers being in office, about our future being put at risk. Together we’ll create a Power Shift by coming together behind new campaigns, training one another, supporting community projects, and making our voices heard in Washington, DC at Power Shift 2011!

You heard it here first: the Mid-Atlantic region is bringing 2011 youth to Power Shift! Last night a dozen youth leaders converged over the phone for the first of many discussions on how to make that happen. Want to join the team? Sign up here.