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The Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming Clean Energy Update
Welcome to the Clean Energy Update, your resource for news, facts and useful points on energy, environment, and climate issues. Congress is moving to pass historic clean energy jobs legislation that will retool the American economy, help consumers and businesses, and end our dependence on foreign oil.
6.5.09 • Focus: Editorials - support from diverse regions of the country for congressional Clean Energy Jobs Plan
INDIANAPOLIS STAR: Lighten up on carbon reduction
Gov. Mitch Daniels and U.S. Reps. Mike Pence and Steve Buyer have some significant non-allies in their vehement opposition to the carbon reduction legislation now moving through Congress.
Among them are most of the Midwest's governors, who already have signed a regional cap-and-trade agreement; and Indiana's largest electric utility, whose boss accepts the need for congressional action and insists it will benefit rather than punish this coal-dependent region -- if the region's leadership pulls up to the table.
HOUSTON CHRONICLE: Cap-and-trade off: Compromise bill to cap greenhouse gas emissions spreads the cost
The compromise legislation crafted by committee chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Edward Markey, D-Mass., preserves the original intent of the Obama administration to begin addressing the causes of climate change, while insulating emissions-producing industries and consumers from economic damage.
The legislation has attracted an unusual coalition of supporters, including Duke Energy, Alcoa and the Environmental Defense Fund. Former Vice President Al Gore, whose film An Inconvenient Truth helped raise public awareness of global warming, plans to campaign for its passage.
THE TENNESSEAN: Economy no excuse to ignore global warming
Markey has said a climate change bill would "create jobs by the millions, save money by the billions and unleash energy investments by the trillions." While critics may react to such statements as hyperbole, look no further than what is happening right now in Tennessee. This state has chosen to be a leader in renewable energy technology. The state has attracted huge recent investments in solar power, from Hemlock Semiconductor for a site near Clarksville and one by Wacker Chemie AG in southeast Tennessee. Together, those investments involve more than $2 trillion. That's real money.
Gov. Phil Bredesen has called for establishing a solar institute in the state. The quest for new energy sources is not just a dream. It's real. It's happening. The only question is the level of commitment others will have to develop new energy sources. Tennessee is positioned to be a global leader. That didn't happen by making excuses.
NEW YORK TIMES: Leadership Long Delayed
For anyone eager to see the United States take a serious leadership role on the issue of global warming, this week was enormously encouraging.
It began with the White House’s announcement that it will impose the first-ever limits on greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks. It ended with a House committee approving a comprehensive energy and global warming bill — an important first step on legislation that seeks to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil, reverse emissions of carbon dioxide and create millions of clean energy jobs.
