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Christian Coalition Visits Hill for Energy Discussion
Sarah Abruzzese, Greenwire, New York Times
The Christian Coalition of America came to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, not to proselytize or discuss issues like abortion or gay marriage, but to talk about the United States’ energy policy and the need to end the country’s dependence on foreign oil.
… The group founded by the Rev. Pat Robertson has traditionally focused on social issues but has broadened its reach in recent years to include the environment and related topics.
Announcing the event, the coalition said in a statement, “We believe that there needs to be a conservative discussion on a national energy policy that speaks to the values of energy independence, national security, prosperity, family and stewardship. That is why we are sponsoring this discussion.”
… Other speakers [included] Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md)
… Bartlett said the country reached peak oil production in 2006 and that the United States is now supplementing it with unconventional oil like tar sands from Canada.
“We have got to move to renewables,” Bartlett said. “The solution to this problem is not ‘Drill, baby, drill’ — it is conservation.”
(16 March 2011)
I haven’t seen Rep. Bartlett in the news for a while. Good to see he’s still spreading the world. -BA
Generation Why project spreads ideas with ‘informed optimism’ approach
Tamsyn Burgmann, The Canadian Press
VANCOUVER – When David Suzuki sluices out the slimy, sticky consequences of Big Oil and the Alberta tarsands in a recent documentary, he rubs a raw nerve in Tara Mahoney.
She absorbs the renowned scientist’s harsh facts, certain he is right. But the 27-year-old takes umbrage at his death knell that the world is worse off now than ever before.
“It’s also gotten a lot better,” she says. “There’s a lot of positive things you can focus on and progress has been made. I think it’s important to remind people of that.”
They’ve come of age imperilled by climate change, planes diving into buildings and superpowers sniping civilians, but Mahoney and 25-year-old Fiona Rayher aren’t hiding under the bed.
The tenacious Vancouver collaborators have recently launched the Generation Why Media Project, aiming to galvanize peers rather than let them give up. They’re using media, public art, workshops and events to spread their concept, and have already been tapped as “thought leaders” by the idea-sharing forum TED.
… Underlying the multi-faceted project, which costs them loads of time but not too much cash, is the theory that every four-part cycle of births throughout American history includes a “hero generation.” In the concept, developed by social historians William Strauss and Neil Howe, that group turns upside down the social structures set up by the previous dominant generation, because they’re no longer working.
(17 March 2011)
Rockefeller Bill Would Gut the EPA
Peter Rothberg, The Nation
This morning the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed the Upton-Inhofe bill (H.R. 910) on a largely party line vote of 34 to 19. The legislation attempts to overturn the EPA’s scientific finding that carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases endanger public health and welfare and thus require regulation. The NRDC’s Pete Altman live blogged most of the markup. It will go to a full House vote some time in the next few weeks, where it is expected to pass easily. Meanwhile Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell offered the same bill as an amendment to an unrelated small business bill.
Now Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller has an alternate proposal which would delay EPA regulations for two years.The problem: his bill would have the same result as Inhofe’s: it would kill EPA climate rules, as the eminent climate blogger Dave Roberts detailed at Grist.
(16 March 2011)
Climate activist Tim DeChristopher talks about his guilty verdict
Umbra Fisk, Grist
I had the good fortune of sitting down to chat by phone with climate activist Tim DeChristopher the other day. I wanted to hear how he’s doing and how he’s feeling about being sent to the clink.
Ever joyous in his resolve to stand up for what he believes in, Tim said, “I’m feeling surprisingly good for being a newly convicted felon.”
For those of you new to this story, Tim DeChristopher is one of my all-time heroes because of the creative, articulate actions he has taken to fight the political and economic forces behind climate change. He puts himself on the line for his beliefs.
He went to trial last week in Salt Lake City, Utah, for a unique direct action where he acted as a bidder at an oil and gas auction held at the end of the Bush administration.
Though the auction was later found to be fraudulent, DeChristopher was still held accountable. He was found guilty by a jury last week. He awaits sentencing by a judge, which will take place on June 23. DeChristopher now faces up to 10 years in prison. As Bill McKibben has so eloquently pointed out — and I’m paraphrasing here — why are we putting this guy in jail when all of these crooks from big banks are flying high with their bonuses and dancing around in their socks in private jets?
In our conversation, Tim talked about how he’s been feeling since the verdict, what upset him and what kept him positive during his trial, and how he plans to spend his “free” time until the June sentencing. He also talks about how you can stand up for climate justice yourself.
(10 March 2011)
Germany’s future is Green
Cem Özdemir, Guardian
The German Green party has moved beyond the Birkenstock generation to prove itself on the biggest stage
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Conservatives have tradition, social democrats the welfare state and liberals boundless individualism. But the Greens have little to offer besides dialogue, strain and responsibility. So what is going on in Germany? In 2009’s national elections, the Greens reached an all-time high with 10.7%, and are currently getting ratings of between 15% and 25% in the polls. This minority coalition partner is now competing for top spot in such completely different states as Berlin, the traditionally leftist (and bankrupt) capital in the north-east, and the conservative economic powerhouse Baden-Württemberg in the south-west.
The threat of nuclear disaster in Japan has moved the issue of nuclear power right back to the top of the agenda.
… But the Greens’ success is the result of a wider shift in the German mentality. The country has begun to shed its fear of change: gone is the belief that in the end the Deutsche mark, Helmut Kohl and the church do it best. Confidence in political parties and democratic institutions is diminishing, and turnout at elections, though high in comparison to other democracies, is shrinking.
This does not mean people are ignorant. On the contrary, they want to get involved. They demand direct participation, especially when it comes to huge infrastructure projects such as Stuttgart 21, the city’s old railway station going underground at a cost of €8bn. People give the Greens credit for bottom-up politics, transparency and an immunity to cronyism, and research shows the party has won over many non-voters.
(14 March 2011)
