Hill Heat

Leading national conservation groups will hold an afternoon press conference next Wednesday, November 5th to discuss the unprecedented role of energy and global warming as issues in this year’s elections.

The groups will recap their own political programs and endorsements, outline how candidates up and down the ballot engaged on key issues, and will begin to lay out what a new administration and Congress will mean for clean energy, economic recovery and global warming.

• Gene Karpinski, President, League of Conservation Voters
• Cathy Duvall, Political Director, Sierra Club
• Anna Aurilio, Washington DC Director, Environment America
• Robert Wendelgass, National Deputy Director, Clean Water Action
• Sue Brown, Executive Director, National Wildlife Federation Action Fund

Where:

National Press Club First Amendment Lounge 529 14th St. NW 13th Floor Washington, DC

Visuals will include presentation of group and candidate ads from throughout the campaign

This month’s speaker:

• John Friedman, Vice Chair, Board of Directors at Sustainable Business Network of Washington (SB NOW)

John Friedman’s 25 year background includes both employee and external communications for Fortune 500, Global 500 and not-for-profit organizations. He is a sought after presenter, and author on CSR-related subjects. Some of his writings and thoughts on sustainability can be read on SB NOW’s blog.

Location

Tabaq Lounge @ Cafe Tabaq, 1336 U St NW

We’ll be closing the doors at 6:30 and we will begin the speaking portion of the evening shortly thereafter. Feel free to forward the EcoTuesday event information to all of your friends in the sustainable business world. Each person must RSVP for themselves. If you RSVP and find that you can’t make the event, please let us know so someone else can enjoy EcoTuesday.

Please note 6:00 start time. Additionally, we encourage public transportation.

A Unique Format:

• Quickly introduce yourself and your business or interest
• Be a part of a dynamic, interactive dialogue
• Learn about the cutting edges of sustainable business
• Network with new friends and drink tasty beverages

NRDC, Organization of American States and PODER Magazine

• José Miguel Insulza, Organization of American States Secretary General
• Alvaro Umana, UN Energy and Environment Group Leader
• Peter Lehner, NRDC Executive Director
• Maria Hinojosa, NPR Award-winning Journalist

Cocktail reception, live Latin jazz and a special dance presentation

OAS Historic Building – 17th & Constitution Avenue NW

RSVP: Richard Ackerman [email protected]

Last Saturday, September 27, tens of thousands of Americans organized nearly 700 Green Jobs Now events in all 50 states calling upon their elected officials to make an inclusive green economy a top priority. The national day of action may now be over, but our movement is just beginning! Join 1Sky Campaign Director Gillian Caldwell, Green for All President and Founder Van Jones, and We Campaign CEO Cathy Zoi for a national conference call this Friday to discuss how we can build upon the momentum from September 27.

Please RSVP here for this call. You will receive the call in number via e-mail upon completion of the form.

Have questions for the guest speakers? Email them in advance to [email protected].

The American Climate Values Survey is cutting edge, actionable research that provides important strategic guidance to leaders of the environmental movement looking to reach new audiences or be more effective with their communications efforts.

For questions, please contact Kara Davidson (202-457-1126) or [email protected].

ACVS is sponsored by NRDC, the Alliance for Climate Protection, EcoAmerica, California Conservation, and the Nature Conservancy.

The Nature Conservancy First Floor Conference Center 4245 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 100 Arlington, VA 22203-1606

On September 26, we will watch the first presidential debate of this election.

The next day, the candidates will watch us.

On Saturday, September 27, we’re launching a national mobilization to say, “I’m ready for the green economy.” We are ready to tackle the climate crisis by building a green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty.

Green Jobs Now is a National Day of Action that will empower everyday people to stage hundreds of grassroots events throughout the country. We will have a special focus on low-income communities, communities of color and indigenous people. This will send a message to our leaders that, when it comes to creating green jobs for a more sustainable economy, PEOPLE ARE READY!

Right now, there are millions of people ready to work and countless jobs to be done that will strengthen our economy at home. There are thousands of buildings that need to be weatherized, solar panels to be installed, and wind turbines to be erected. There communities that need local and sustainable food and people ready to farm the crops. There are public transit systems and smart electricity grids in need of engineers and electricians. Americans are ready to build the new economy. It’s time to invest in saving the planet and the people. It’s time for green jobs now!

The Politico’s Jeanne Cummings reports that the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity is spending $2 million at the Democratic National Convention on billboards and street teams to promote the coal industry:

The Democrats are mighty proud of the “greening” of their convention. Recycling will be celebrated, as will bicycling and a whole host of other environmentally sound practices.

Amid the glow from all that global warming warfare enters the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity. Yep, those fellows have got guts.

The coal coalition, a nemesis to many environmentalists, plans to spend $2 million on advertising in and around the Denver convention venues, promoting the virtues of clean coal.

It will also be doing “experiential advertising,” meaning the group will put people on the streets to actually talk to conventioneers about the role coal could play in future energy policy.

The street teams will also be handing out city maps with blurbs inserted about the importance of the coal-based electricity industry and ongoing research into capturing and storing carbon emissions from those plants.

“We started this conversation with policymakers and the American public in 2000,” said Joe Lucas, the coalition’s vice president of communications. “We’ve significantly turned up the volume on that conversation in the last year.”

And the coalition figured, what better place to go to continue that conversation than at the conventions?

In billboards and other ads, the coalition will argue that the coal-based electricity industry can help keep jobs at home, reduce costs for consumers and — with more research — find its own tidy spot in an environmentally cleaner energy future.

“Clean coal means the next president won’t have to choose between the economy and the environment,” concluded Lucas, adding that both Barack Obama and John McCain already see coal in the nation’s future energy industry.

This will be the coalition’s first appearance at the two political conventions. But Denver is clearly the group’s best shot at a breakthrough moment.

From the Wonk Room.

The National Wildlife Federation, which has been warning that global warming is worsening wildfires and floods, describes the triple threat of global warming-fueled tropical storms in a new report:

While Florida and Gulf Coast residents bear the brunt of Tropical Storm Fay, the latest science connecting hurricanes and global warming suggests more is yet to come: tropical storms are likely to bring higher wind speeds, more precipitation, and bigger storm surge in the coming decades.

Watch it:

As Dr. Staudt writes in the report, “Stronger hurricanes, heavier rainfall, and rising sea level: this is what global warming has in store for the U.S. Gulf and Atlantic coasts.”

A report from the Public Campaign Action Fund on 2008 spending by oil and coal industries finds that they are on track to spend about one billion dollars this year on lobbying, political contributions, and advertising. The full report amasses the following expenditures:

2008 SPENDING BY OIL AND COAL INTERESTS, BY CATEGORY
Amounts in millions	Coal/Electric Utilities	Oil/Gas	Total
Political Contributions	$16.5	$20.9	$37.4
Lobbying Expenditures	73.7	55.3	129.0
Paid Media	7.4	201.2	208.6
Other Political Spending	40.0	12.2	52.2
Total	$137.6	$289.6	$427.2

Lobbying expenditures and political contributions come from Center for Responsive Politics data compiled from public disclosures. Paid media figures are from TNS Media Intelligence, the industry standard for tracking media spending.

The “other political spending” comes from the coal industry group Americans for Balanced Energy Choices / American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ABEC/ACCCE) and from Newt Gingrich’s 527 corporation, American Solutions for Winning the Future (ASWF).

Hill Heat will be adding relevant events at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions to its listings, including The New Republic’s “Future of Environmentalism” series (interestingly only with wealthy white men) and the Rocky Mountain Roundtable’s Energy and Climate series, which features a keynote by Sir Nicholas Stern. (Times are local.)