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Congress, Get With the Program, Enact a Carbon Tax

Maria Rotunda — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:23:09 +0000

Congress- listen up; forty companies with annual revenues of $611 billion want you to take action on climate change- including GM, the world’s largest auto manufacturer. What are you waiting for?

This past month, GM joined a stellar group, including Starbucks, Adidas, L’Oréal & IKEA. These companies are urging federal lawmakers to go bold on climate while proclaiming this challenge “one of America’s greatest economic opportunities of the 21st century.”

At the Ceres Conference, General Motors became the first automaker to add it’s name to the Climate Declaration. Readers, you can also add your name as a business or individual here.

If all these companies agree, if Exxon Mobil supports a carbon tax, if conservative think tanks like the American Enterprise Institute and Energy & Enterprise Initiative concur with the economists and scientists; why are we letting climate deniers chair the House Science Subcommittee on Environment?

I’d say wake up and smell the coffee, but coffee also faces an uncertain future due to climate change. It’s time to get with the program, Congress. Quit squandering the little time we have left to hedge the worst effects of climate change and pass a comprehensive climate package that includes a carbon fee on big polluters and rebate it to the American people.

Obama All-of-the-Above Energy Policy Lacks Moral Urgency

Maria Rotunda — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 16:56:54 +0000

A lot of my friends are still on a high about Obama’s recent discovery of the words climate change. He broke his climate silence after Hurricane Sandy. And climate change took prominent place in his inaugural address. In Tuesday’s the State of the Union, he brought it up again.

“But for the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to combat climate change. Now, it’s true that no single event makes a trend. But the fact is, the 12 hottest years on record have all come in the last 15. Heat waves, droughts, wildfires, floods, all are now more frequent and more intense. We can choose to believe that Superstorm Sandy, and the most severe drought in decades, and the worst wildfires some states have ever seen were all just a freak coincidence. Or we can choose to believe in the overwhelming judgment of science and act before it’s too late.”

But Obama’s message lacked the moral fortitude and urgency that he brings to the issue of gun violence. He’s still talking about climate change as if it will affect our children in a distant future and not furiously bearing down on us now with little time to right our course. And his policy choices reflect this disconnect.

Expanded drilling for oil, fracking and coal mining on public lands have created a surplus of domestic energy, but at what cost? As US CO2 emissions, decline, they raise globally, in part due to Obama’s increased rate of coal exports to Asia.

This Sunday, thousands of people will be in DC protesting the Keystone XL Pipeline. It is anticipated that Obama may approve the Keystone XL project, a Canadian export pipeline that will transverse the US to deliver one of the dirtiest forms of fossil fuel energy to an international market. NASA’s most imminent climate scientist James Hansen has called the burning of tar sands fossil fuel “game over for the climate.”

If we continue to approve pipelines bringing in the dirtiest of fuels like tar sands he said, “there is no hope of keeping carbon concentrations below 500 p.p.m. — a level that would, as earth’s history shows, leave our children a climate system that is out of their control.”

In the State of the Union, the president did urge Congress to pursue market-based solutions.

“Now, the good news is, we can make meaningful progress on this issue while driving strong economic growth. I urge this Congress to get together, pursue a bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change, like the one John McCain and Joe Lieberman worked on together a few years ago.”

Here, we agree. If Congress ends dirty energy subsidies and places a carbon tax on fossil fuel polluters, while investing in clean energy, we can shift our power to a green energy future; one that reflects the moral urgency of what must be done.

In fact, the very next day, Senators Boxer and Sanders announced plans for “comprehensive” legislation, that will include a carbon tax.

From Sanders’s office:

“Under the legislation, a fee on carbon pollution emissions would fund historic investments in energy efficiency and sustainable energy technologies such as wind, solar, geothermal and biomass. The proposal also would provide rebates to consumers to offset any efforts by oil, coal or gas companies to raise prices.”

Get Involved:

Citizens Climate Lobby: http://www.citizensclimatelobby.org/

Forward on Climate Rally: http://act.350.org/signup/presidentsday

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Two-thirds of Americans want Obama to act on climate change, says poll

How the GOP can answer Obama’s climate challenge

Maria Rotunda — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 00:49:43 +0000

By Mark Reynolds

If you’ve been waiting with great frustration for our government to address climate change, President Obama’s second inaugural speech last week was both stunning and exhilarating.

In his most forceful language to date, the President made it clear he intends to devote much of his energy in his second term to “reduce the threat of climate change, knowing that failure to do so would betray our children and future generations.”

If legislative action is not forthcoming, it appears Obama will reach for every tool at his disposal, using executive authority to circumvent a recalcitrant Congress.

One way or another, America will respond to the threat of climate change. The question is whether that response is through expansion of government regulations or through the power of the marketplace. Republicans, who abhor the former, should embrace the latter with a revenue-neutral tax on carbon.

The President’s newfound initiative is being cheered by much of our nation, which awoke last year to the harsh reality of climate change after a series of events influenced by rising temperatures:

Horrific wildfires raged out West, where drought, heat and insects thriving in warmer winters combined to turn forests into kindling.
Devastating drought in the Plains and Midwest decimated crops, producing shortages reflected in higher food prices.
Heat waves shattered high-temperature records across the country and led to 2012 being the warmest year ever recorded in the contiguous U.S.
Superstorm Sandy slammed into the Northeast last fall and caused tens of billions of dollars in damage, from which residents are still recovering.

Sandy was the loudest of the alarms to go off, and President Obama won’t be hitting the snooze button this time around.

As quickly as Obama issued his challenge, speculation emerged about the means he’ll use to reduce greenhouse gas emissions heating up the planet. It’s likely that his Feb. 12 State of the Union address will define a course of action. The expectation in nearly every quarter is that he’ll use the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority under the Clean Air Act to ramp up regulations on carbon-dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

Is this what Republicans – the party that eschews government regulation – really want?

Rather than wage a futile battle with Obama over EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases – for which the Supreme Court has already ruled in favor – the GOP could answer the President’s climate challenge with a free-market solution embraced by a number of conservative economists: A revenue-neutral tax on carbon that gives proceeds back to consumers.

Here’s how it works: Place a steadily-rising tax on the CO2 content of coal, oil and gas at the first point of sale. Start at $15 per ton of CO2 and increase the tax $10 a ton each year. As a result, the cost of energy will go up. To prevent the tax from being a drag on the economy, return the revenue to consumers, preferably as direct payments.

This clear and predictable price on carbon, which begins to reflect society’s true cost of carbon-based energy, will motivate investors to shift away from fossil fuels and toward clean sources of energy like wind and solar. The need for government subsidies to prop up renewables will eventually disappear.

The appeal for Republicans here is a solution that does not expand the size and role of government. Instead, it utilizes the power of the free market to solve one of humanity’s greatest problems.

An argument continually made against U.S. efforts to reduce CO2 emissions is that other big emitters, like China and India, will thwart our initiatives to curb greenhouse gases. If, however, a carbon tax is coupled with border adjustments on imports from countries that lack a comparable policy, we accomplish two things:

Protecting American businesses from unfair competition.
Providing a strong incentive for other nations to follow the U.S. lead (Why enrich the U.S. Treasury when they can keep carbon tax revenues in their own countries?).

So, Republicans, is it going to be regulations or free market?

This isn’t an issue where one party has to claim victory over the other. If we succeed in saving the world, there will be plenty of credit to go around for everyone.

Mark Reynolds is the executive director of Citizens Climate Lobby.

As Obama Embarks on Second Term, He Heralds Citizens’ Obligations

Maria Rotunda — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 00:24:13 +0000

Judging from the chatter on Facebook and twitter, Obama’s inaugural rhetoric was a success. He used the words climate change. (We’ve really set the bar low in our expectations there.)

“We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. (Applause.) Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires and crippling drought and more powerful storms.

The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition, we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries, we must claim its promise. That’s how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure — our forests and waterways, our crop lands and snow-capped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God. That’s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared.”

But for me, the best part was when he talked about citizens’ obligations and duties. Obama opened with a call to action; “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Today we continue a never-ending journey to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time. For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they’ve never been self-executing; that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth. (Applause.)

And closed with a call to action. “You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country’s course. You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time — not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals. (Applause.)

Let us, each of us, now embrace with solemn duty and awesome joy what is our lasting birthright. With common effort and common purpose, with passion and dedication, let us answer the call of history and carry into an uncertain future that precious light of freedom.”

We’ve seen how government can be co-opted by special interests and money and that process aided by a media focused on infotainment. Democracy isn’t perfect or easy. And above all, democracy isn’t a spectator sport. We, in the collective sense, get the government we choose by both voting, our action and our inaction.

For this day, I’ll agree with President Obama and say, “you and I as citizen’s have the power to set this country’s course.”

Where can you start?

350.org is sponsoring a demonstration on Feb 17th in Washington DC. If 20,000 people show up, that will certainly get noticed. Click here to join 350.org in DC: act.350.org/signup/presidentsday

Join the Citizens Climate Lobby. They have an introductory call every Wednesday, 5 PM PST/ 8PM EST at 1-866-642-1665. The pass code is 440699# .

Jump in and join the movement.

2012 Hottest Year on Record in US

Maria Rotunda — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 18:13:35 +0000

Last week NOAA announced that 2012 was likely to be the hottest year on record in the continental US based on temperature readings through November. Climate Central has done the math and that chance is a 99.99999999%, based on analysis of 118 years of temperature records through December 10,2012. That should come as no news to anyone who has lived through the winter that never happened, summer hot weather in early spring, a cross-country heatwave, an epic drought, massive wildfires, and balmy fall weather.

And so far we’ve only turned up the heat less than 1˚C. According to the World Bank, we are on track to reach a 4˚C world by the end of the century.

We need to turn down the heat and the only way to do that is to take back our political system from the fossil fuel companies that now control it. That is no small task, but remember, politicians do not create political will, they respond to it.

So, I am going to give you what James Hansen believes is the most “effective step you could take” to engage in this process. That step is joining the Citizen’s Climate Lobby. With over 70 groups in North America, they probably have one near you. There is an introductory call every Wednesday evening and you can grab that info right off their website. Don’t despair. Your voice is needed. Connect to your source of power and take action.

Movie Changes Bill O’Reilly Fan/Global Warming Denier’s Life

Maria Rotunda — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 23:17:06 +0000

This is an interview with a woman exiting the movie “Chasing Ice“. The movie not only changed this woman’s mind about global warming, “it’s changed me as a person,” she said. “I believed Bill O’Reilly”. She’s now ready to “undo her damage” for her children and grandkids.

The new documentary, Chasing Ice, captures climate change on film with two-dozen time-lapse cameras placed throughout the Arctic and other areas to document the melting of the glaciers. The film chronicles photographer James Balog’s work archiving the affects of climate change and other human activities on our planet. Click here for showtimes.

The Dirty Weather Report: Reality

Maria Rotunda — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 23:33:19 +0000

24 Hours of Climate Reality- The Dirty Weather Report is being livestreamed at The Climate Reality Project. The below musical montage of the project, called The Symphony of Science, was designed by John D Boswell.

A very cool interactive new tool from the Climate Reality Project is Reality Drop. Created to combat climate denial, disinformation, myths and lies, Reality Drop uses game dynamics to counter the confusion and spread scientific truth. The site aggregates climate-related content from hundreds of online media sites. Users earn points from grabbing the content from the site and pasting it into comment boards and cooling the conversation. I’ll add it is super fun and addicting. Check it out at realitydrop.org.

Spread Truth. Destroy Denial. from Climate Reality on Vimeo.

Munich Re on Climate Change in North America: NOT IF, BUT HOW

Maria Rotunda — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 22:09:13 +0000

“Nowhere in the world is the rising number of natural catastrophes more evident than in North America. The study shows a nearly quintupled number of weather-related loss events in North America for the past three decades, compared with an increase factor of 4 in Asia, 2.5 in Africa, 2 in Europe and 1.5 in South America. Anthropogenic climate change is believed to contribute to this trend, though it influences various perils in different ways. Climate change particularly affects formation of heat-waves, droughts, intense precipitation events, and in the long run most probably also tropical cyclone intensity. “ Munich Re Insurance Press Release October 17, 2012

The 274-page study, “Severe weather in North America” draws on “the most comprehensive natural catastrophe database worldwide” indexing losses from weather-related natural disasters including hurricanes, thunderstorms, floods, wildfires, winter storms, heatwaves and droughts.

“This publication represents another contribution to the global dialogue concerning weather-related activities and their causes. What is clearly evident when the longterm data is reviewed is that losses from weather events are trending upward. To simply say that this trend is a statistical anomaly or part of a long-term cycle of activity misses the point of these efforts – we must set aside our biases and continue a meaningful dialogue in search of answers to mitigate the losses that we are experiencing.” Tony Kuczinski, CEO of Munich Reinsurance America.

To order the full publication, click here.

Leaders, Climate Change and Energy Policy are Linked

Maria Rotunda — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 15:50:49 +0000

I was horrified last night to watch President Obama and Mitt Romney try to out-dinosaur each other at the town hall debate. That brawl has no winner. It is a downward death spiral. Chris Hayes at MSNBC said after, “Discussing energy without talking about climate change is like talking about tobacco without talking about cancer.”

Yes, but even more; it can be viewed as a selfish Machiavellian play to hand the ball off to future generations. A form of intergenerational tyranny that one day will be regarded as crimes against humanity.

So why the silence? Mitt Romney has spent his entire career embracing both sides of an issue, and if that doesn’t work outright lying about it. He stands for little but desperately wants to gain the US Presidency. President Obama knows the science and what’s at stake, yet does little. And according to the New York Times, the fossil fuel industry has opened it’s wallets to defeat Obama. So why won’t Obama mention climate change?

Holding silent as the earth burns will not make it stop. We need mature leaders that can have a rational science-based dialogue. This problem has solutions but requires an immediate paradigm shift. We need to join the rest of the world and we need to do it quickly.

Take Action: Contact the White House by clicking here and ask President Obama why he is ignoring climate change.

Norway to Double Carbon Tax on Oil to Fund Climate Initiatives in Developing World

Maria Rotunda — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 19:44:48 +0000

«Deep Sea Delta», boreplattform, her i Nordsjøen (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This week, Norway announced plans to double a carbon tax on its North Sea oil industry and set up a £1 billion fund to aid the developing world in mitigating the impacts of climate change. In addition, monies fund renewable energy, food security, and the conversion to low carbon sources of energy. The fund includes pledges of about £44 million to preserve tropical forests that are crucial in storing carbon.

Norway previously financed forestry initiatives in Brazil, Ethiopia, and Indonesia.

According to the Guardian, the Oslo Government will further spend £69m on carbon credits to offset its emissions, create building regulations to make new homes carbon-neutral by 2015, and increase efforts to cut automobile emissions by switching to electric vehicles.

These initiatives throw down a political challenge to other oil producing countries. “Norway is showing how you can use oil income to fund the transition out of oil, we should be doing the same with UK oil revenues. The Scottish National Party have always been keen on the Norwegian oil fund, and now it is setting an example really worth following,” said WWF Scotland director, Richard Dixon.