Today CCAN Director Mike Tidwell was a guest blogger for Climate Progress. Here is his post:
After a decade as a full-time climate activist, I’ve come to depend on two potent forces to keep me going. One is the blogging of Joe Romm. It keeps me informed
“In 1979, President Jimmy Carter put solar panels on the White House. In 1986, President Reagan removed them and they were never replaced. Years later, Unity College in Maine adopted the panels where they have lived ever since. Until now.” Bill McKibben, the founder of 350.org has organized a solar road trip from Unity College down to Washington, DC to ask President Obama to re-install solar panels on the White House roof as part of the 10.10.10 Global Work Party events.
“Nothing replaces legislation that really cuts carbon,” said McKibben. “But one way to build support for those changes is to show how easy it is to start to work. It’s time for President Obama to roll up his sleeves and get to work at his own home and in Congress.”
The movement to get solar back on the White House is spreading rapidly and CCAN’s Mike Tidwell weighed in on the efforts. “President Obama’s stimulus package included many incentives for Americans to ‘go green’ in their daily lives,” said
Some Thoughts on the Democratic Party’s Failure to Fight on Climate
“I am firmly convinced that the passionate will for justice and truth has done more to improve (the human condition) than calculating political shrewdness which in the long run only breeds general mistrust.”
Albert Einstein, “Moral Decay,” 1937
1)—Harry Reid’s statement yesterday about why he would not be putting forward legislation on the climate crisis blamed the Congressional Republicans. It’s true that, with a few exceptions, Senator Susan Collins of Maine being at the top of the list, the Republican Party deserves withering criticism for their joined-at-the-hip allegiance to Big Oil and Dirty Coal.
If in the wake of the president’s flaccid oval office speech there is still any doubt lingering in anyone’s mind about whether the administration is planning to use the spill as a chance to unleash a game-changing energy policy strategy, a recent DNC oil-spill messaging briefing should put them to rest.The report, compiled by pollster Joel Benenson and the League of Conservation voters, shows an unequivocal voter tilt in favor of policies and politicians that support a shift towards clean energy and outlines an energy-messaging strategy the authors claim will help those policies and politicians win votes in the coming months. The “pillars” of that strategy, along with their “key dimensions” are:FRAME THE OPPOSITION– Big Oil and corporate polluters who have blocked energy reform for decades- Politicians protecting the special interests that fund their campaigns
ILLUSTRATE THE COST OF OUR DEPENDENCE
– Our dependence on oil hurts our economy, helps our enemies, puts our security at risk:- $1 billion a day on foreign oil, oil spill destroying jobs and livelihoods
TAP INTO DEEPLY HELD VALUES
– Put America back in control of our energy situation- Cut foreign oil spending in half- Invest in energy that’s made in America and creates millions of jobs for Americans
If, as Politico’s Mike Allen suggests, this briefing is the kind of thing the White House is using to shape its energy strategy, it’s no surprise that we were underwhelmed by the president’s speech the other night. While the oil spill may represent a potential turning point in US energy policy, the Benenson approach certainly doesn’t represent anything close to a potential turning point on energy policy messaging. Except for the bit about the “oil spill destroying lives and livelihoods” there is absolutely nothing in this messaging that politicians haven’t been saying for years. We’ve heard all about those big oil baddies and their buddies in Congress who have “blocked energy reform for decades” and kept us all dangerously dependent upon fossil fuels. And yet here we are with a stalled Senate clean-energy bill, a quickly changing climate and a Gulf full of oil.
Of course where this messaging really fails big time is on the “deeply held values” front. To win a policy debate it’s not enough to tap into values unless you tap into them in a way that gives you a rhetorical advantage over your opponent. But it’s hard to see how Benenson’s effort to tap values like independence or patriotism differs noticeably from the GOP approach. Sure, switching to clean energy would “put Americans back in control of our energy situation” and “cut foreign oil spending”; but according to Republicans so would expanded off shore drilling and mountain-top-removal mining. So where’s the rhetorical advantage?It’s no surprise though that the value pillar should be the weakest of the three. The tendency to put far too much trust in the polls and far too little trust in their core progressive values, has always been the Achilles heel of progressive leaders like the President. This kind maddening political calculus is undoubtedly what informed the decision to turn the president’s speech into a hollow piece of rhetorical posturing, and it’s exactly the kind of political calculus that will prevent the president and his allies in Congress from passing any really meaningful climate and clean energy policies. Only by turning away from the pollsters and back to his core progressive values like empathy, as George Lakoff brilliantly argued recently, will the President find the political and moral strength he needs to successfully lead the country out of the oil- spill and climate crises and into a clean energy future.
We have been shocked, outraged and deeply saddened by the events since the April 20th oil rig explosion in the Gulf.
Mike has been using every opportunity to spread the word that at this volume of operation, human error guarantees that BP-type spills will happen again. No new regulations will tame this beast. The only thing that will tame it is a reduction in the use of oil itself. If we don’t like massive, economy-wrecking spills, we must begin to transition rapidly to an economy where there’s just a lot less oil to spill.
In the past week, Mike’s been interviewed by Katie Couric, Diane Rehm, and syndicated columnist Clarence Page.
We’re also making sure Va. Governor Bob McDonnell knows that Virginians want Wind, Not Oil (Have you signed the “Wind Not Oil” petition yet?)!
Now we need to make sure the Obama administration hears our concerns and acts upon them.
On Saturday, 350.org supporters in New Orleans will attend a rally where they will call on President Obama to ban offshore drilling and invest in clean energy. They will sign a banner that reads PRESIDENT OBAMA: THIS IS YOUR CRUDE AWAKENING. That banner will be brought to Washington DC, where CCAN will join with 350.org to deliver it at a rally in front of the White House.
Can you join us on Tuesday from 12:30-1:30pm to march from the Interior Department to the White House and deliver the message to President Obama?
RSVP here or visit the Facebook Event Page for more details!
WHAT: Crude Awakening March to the White House
WHEN: Tuesday, May 11 12:30-1:30pm
WHERE: Meet in Triangle Park, across from the Interior Department at 18th & C St. NW
* We will depart Triangle Park at 12:45 sharp! *
This is a unique moment, and we have the opportunity to shape the national story around this terrible disaster. Do we want to just stop any new offshore drilling, or do we want to take one step farther and begin the wholesale transformation to clean, safe energy? How about some of the old “yes, we can,” spirit?
Please join us next Tuesday, and thank you for your commitment and your action.
Just because you read it in the paper doesn’t mean it’s true. I’m tired of the papers pretending to represent the views of all Virginians when, in fact, they’re filled with global warming skepticism and a drill-baby-drill mentality. That is why I’m happy to introduce CCAN’s newest feature, “Virginia Climate Clips,” bringing you recent climate news compiled from papers all across Virginia. I’m contacting concerned climate activists weekly to get our voices heard! There’s a big hole in the news right now. Every day I read about how how climate change isn’t real, wind farms are the next Armageddon and, if you picked up today’s paper, EVEN President Obama’s misguided decision to open up our shores to offshore drilling sounds like a good idea
These papers aren’t reporting the whole story and it’s time to get our voices heard. I will send out “Climate Clips” every Thursday, which will include tips, a sample letter, and articles to respond to. Hopefully these stories will inspire you to submit a letter to the editor reacting to any of the articles I’ve pasted in these emails.
Feel free to circulate this far and wide.
If you are interested in not getting these emails please just reply and I will remove you from this hand selected list of Climate Activists. If you are receiving this as a forward and would like to subscribe please email Lauren@chesapeakeclimate.org with Climate Clips in the subject.
PS- If you want an extra set of eyes to look over your letter please don’t hesitate to call me (804) 335-0915 or send it my way. Also if you could forward me any letters you do submit so I can keep track that would be great!
CLIMATE CLIPS: Issue 1: April 1, 2010
1. Tips on Submitting Letters
2. Sample Letter
3. This week’s “Climate Clips”
Today President Obama announced a proposal to open vast expanses of water along the Atlantic coastline, including Virginia, to oil and natural gas drilling
This blog was written by Caroline Selle, a student at St Mary’s College of Maryland
I just read the transcript of the State of the Union Address and don’t really know what to say. So here goes.
I’m running on empty. I’m exhausted. School plus my job plus the all of the environmental organizations I’m involved with equals something that’s probably not sustainable. But I’m going to keep working. Along with all of the rest of you amazing people, I’m going to keep making sure that my voice is heard.
Some (okay, many) of the things in the President’s address were disappointing. Coal and nuclear will never be clean sources of energy. But the fact that the President spoke about clean energy at all gives me hope. In his own words, he called for, “a comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America.”
I’m going to go ahead and call that one a success.
The White House is listening. We knew that before this speech, when they set up a meeting with youth environmentalists, three Cabinet secretaries and the head of the EPA. We knew that when Obama finally decided to go to Copenhagen. And know we now because the President addressed the nation on the issue of climate change.
The President is listening, so let’s keep getting louder. Let’s call for a clean energy revolution. Let’s build coalitions within our communities. Let’s work from the ground up to “Define Our Decade” and each ask our leaders to “Show Me Democracy.” Let’s reach out to each other. Let’s be an all inclusive movement, because the issues we’re facing don’t discriminate. Our President responded to our asks, so let’s keep asking.
I was exhausted before; I’m energized now. And I know that I’m going to keep working. I’m going to keep protesting and calling and petitioning and organizing and inviting and recruiting. Because now I am certain that my voice is being heard.
Who’s with me? Let’s start a non-violent, all inclusive clean energy revolution. We know we have power. The last election had the largest youth voter turnout, ever. (And ever is a pretty long time). Our government is listening, and we need to tell them what we want.
Let’s call for clean energy. Now.
One year ago, Barack Obama was inaugurated as President. Hopes were high among progressive-minded people, including climate activists. Finally, we had a President who got it on the need for action to address the deepening climate crisis.
But here we are a year later and things look very different. The United States, including Obama, played a generally problematic role up to and at the Copenhagen climate conference, dismissing the widespread call by a big majority of the world’s countries for emissions reductions consistent with the climate science. The Obama administration played this role despite the bad-weather impacts and sea level rise already being seen and felt in Africa, small island nations and elsewhere.
As far as the U.S. Congress, Obama has certainly not made it a priority so far to advance efforts to enact climate legislation in this session. It’s looking very possible, even likely, that no comprehensive climate legislation will be passed in 2010. Continue reading