Two More Senate Dems Back Plan to Devote Climate Money to Transit
This week has brought news of a brewing compromise on the Senate climate change bill, introduced last month amid signals that the upper chamber would give only a bit more to clean transportation than the House’s meager 1 percent set-aside of revenue from cap-and-trade carbon regulations.
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) (Photo: Sun-Sentinel)
The stirrings of a Senate climate deal, first reported by ClimateWire, focus on expanding the bill’s nuclear incentives and offshore drilling provisions to win over conservative Democrats and moderate Republicans.
Brad Plumer at The New Republic offers a good rundown on why such a compromise wouldn’t be as bad as it might sound to some progressives. But even if it still sounds bad, there’s more heartening climate news to relay: Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) this week have signed onto legislation that would require transit and other clean transport to get 10 percent of the money raised by regulating carbon.
The measure in question, often referred to as "CLEAN TEA," has already won over half the Democrats on the Senate environment committee. Nelson would be its second sponsor on the Finance Committee, which will play a major role in determining how to distribute the valuable emissions "allocations" that would be created by the climate bill’s cap-and-trade system.
One percent of those "allocations" were set aside for clean transport in the House climate bill. Although few on the Hill currently expect the Senate to reach the 10-percent mark set by "CLEAN TEA," the more sponsors the bill attracts, the better chance its chief sponsors — Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE) and Arlen Specter (D-PA) have of amending the climate bill to give more to transit.
“A Global Green New Deal”
1. The Need For Change In Energy Platform :
A. About two thirds of deficit in the U.S. accrue from oil import.
B. Over $1 trillion and 4,346 dead as the Iraq war is winding down. By converting this excessive military budget into a constructive foundation of 21st energy and health care, world can live in harmony for good.
C. Tremendous trade deficit with China. The most expensive premiums of health care driving buyers into Wal-Mart .
D. Just to think of the sky in Beijing, human-made climate change might need no further evidence. Polluting toxic chemicals is comparable to the smoking habit that is detrimental to human health. And the numerous intractable diseases are almost certainly due to the toxic chemicals.
E. Provided the average temperature is getting higher, accordingly all forms of germs, viruses, and influenza etc are more likely to multiply.
Some skeptics say the warning against hazards of climate change is overstated, but judging from more frequent and widespread outbreaks of e. coli, salmonella, and bird, swine flu cases endangering human lives and economic recovery seriously, some prompt measures need to be taken, I guess.
2. The Cost Of Inaction :
As with “Inaction” cost, $9trillion over the next decade in Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, supposedly the same is of inaction on the 21st energy bill to determine war & peace, catastrophe & prosperity.
In this economy, fuel price is hovering around $65 to $75 a barrel, which underscores the actual value might be much the same as $145 per barrel of the peak price. Last year, the petrol price jumped from about $60 to $145 per barrel in quite a short period.
I think energy market also needs competition between sustainable and conventional one to bend the cost curve, otherwise, the global economy stays flat for some time and is plummeting into another great depression as the international stimulus package can’t last long.
3. The Root Of Recession :
My sense is that this great recession is ascribed to excessively higher price of petrol in recent years. This price spelled about higher consumer prices and the continued hike in mortgage rates as a way to slow inflation, which wound up with crash in financial and construction markets. In an attempt to circumvent the censure of two petrol wars, the mainstream economists put focus on the both markets, and it postponed the prompt action on the long and long overdue contemporary energy needs.
Looking to worthless, painful and wasteful oil wars, to waste time bickering over meaningless things and drag feet on a defining energy bill are sure to shake the embryonic effect of stimulus package that is an interim measure for build-out of a new foundation.
As the overall oil reserve in Middle East, let alone the rest of oil-producing areas, is on the decline more than known, the region blessed with affluent sun rays also needs to lay a new groundwork, particularly in this context UAE is beginning to concentrate on future energy and Iranian EV is rolling out recently, the countries in the region will never stand still on the occupation, that means no matter what the result is, the repetitious mistake at the cost of invaluable lives and gigantic spending will end up with an irreversible tragedy later on.
4. Hope For Better Change & Job Boost :
As a major driver, IT industry stalled and stranded in a game industry for the lack of 21st energy policy over the stretch of two wars needs to evolve into the all but indefinite energy, medical, and academic industry where the investors are eagerly waiting for policy-makers to act now, which I guess is why the far-reaching and long overdue health care and 21st energy bill have come into focus.
Thankfully and interestingly enough, 100s of Companies (with $13 Trillion) Are Demanding Strong Climate Deal in Copenhagen just like environmental activists, a coalition of more than 500 Global Businesses is also demanding ambitious new climate deal, and the report by Blair and the Climate Group, a London-based nonprofit organization, found a climate-change accord among all countries would spur economic growth and create as many as 10 million jobs by 2020.
Beyond the report, according to a new report published by the Global Climate Network of think tanks, “A Global Green New Deal” could create tens of millions of new jobs by agreeing to invest in low carbon technologies.
This research shows that while jobs will be lost in conventional, carbon-intensive sectors, more jobs will be created than lost provided that policies to promote sustainable industry are ambitious enough and it is one of the most effective means of handling rising unemployment.
It concludes that measures to creating markets for low carbon technologies will serve the dual purpose of creating extra jobs in renewable energy, information technology and service sectors, as well as helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Those who say this is the wrong time to act because of the economic recession are wrong. Businesses and investors need certainty, and this is a road map to transform America into the world’s leader in clean energy manufacturing, creating new industry and jobs.
5. Funding For Hopeful Change :
A. Converting the excessive and destructive military budget into constructive financing for the 21st energy.
B. Phasing out subsidies for carbon-intensive industries, and taxing carbon emissions.
C. For the most part, the poor regions ranging from Africa to South Asia severely affected by climate change are abundant in sun rays, and the compensation by way of placement of large solar plants as well as the other measures could generate enormous effects.
D. The Congressional Budget Office released an analysis of the effects of House bill, concluding that in 2020 the bill would cost the average family only about $175 a year. This is 48 cents per day –- a little more than the cost of a postage stamp.
The budget office also predicts that real G.D.P. will be about two-and-a-half times larger in 2050 than it is today, so that G.D.P. per person will rise by about 80 percent. The cost of climate protection would barely make a dent in that growth.
6. Promising And Excess Tech In The Work :
In brief, only technology and innovation can meet the challenge, and the world of science has potential enough to get past this turbulence and for all over the globe to go along in harmony. Recently, GM and Reva that achieved a fantastic innovation of “wireless electricity”/ “instant remote recharge” have joined hands to develop Electric Vehicles.
In the near term, improving energy efficiency needs some up-front investments, though, in the long term, it promises much better future, and the current tech is sure to do better enough.
Thank You !