Hill Heat

On Wednesday, February 4 the youth-led Energy Action Coalition is hosting a national teleconference for student reporters about the crucial role of young people in the fight for bold federal energy and climate legislation.

From February 27 to March 2, 2009, 10,000 young leaders from across the country will convene for Power Shift ‘09 in Washington, D.C. to demand that the President and Congress pass bold climate and energy policy that prioritizes renewable energy, green job creation, and an aggressive reduction of carbon emissions.

Call-in number: (866) 501-6174, participant code, 231000#

• Jessy Tolkan, Executive Director, Energy Action Coalition
• Dominique Hazzard, Power Shift ‘09 organizer and freshman at Wellesley College, Executive Committee Sierra Student Coalition
• Jason Walsh, Policy Director, Green for All
• Dave Hamilton, Director, Global Warming and Energy Program, Sierra Club

The speakers on the call will be able to answer questions about Power Shift ‘09 and the role of young people in shaping federal energy and climate policy.

From February 27 to March 2, 10,000 young leaders from around the world will kick off a historic year for climate action by convening in Washington, D.C. for Power Shift ‘09. Young people will demand that the President and Congress rebuild the economy and reclaim the future by passing bold climate and energy policy. Participants will share ideas and success stories, learn new skills, build connections, hear from leading experts and change-makers and come together to deliver a unified message to the nation’s leaders. On March 2, Power Shift ‘09 will culminate with a massive lobby and rally day on Capitol Hill.

Witness List

• Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.)

• Gary Bass, Ph.D., Executive Director, OMB Watch
• Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Chairman, Waterkeeper Alliance
• Lynn Rhinehart, Associate General Counsel, AFL-CIO
• Veronique de Rugy, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center at George Mason University
• Michael Abramowicz, George Washington University Law School
• Curtis Copeland, Ph.D., Specialist in American National Government – Government and Finance Division, Congressional Research Service

Ahead of the next round of ambitious United Nations climate talks, Chairman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming will convene a hearing to explore the challenges facing both the United States and the international community in creating an effective international response to climate change.

The conference next month in Bonn, Germany takes up where the conferees left off last December in Poznan, Poland during the latest round of U.N. Climate Change talks. The deadline for updating the world’s approach to battling climate change is December 2009, when nearly 200 countries will meet at a pivotal climate conference in Copenhagan, Denmark. At the same time, Rep. Markey’s Energy and Environment Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee is developing ambitious climate legislation to tackle global warming and energy independence.

A panel of diplomatic and climate expert witnesses will inform the Select Committee on what must be accomplished prior to the Copenhagen meeting, what to expect with regard to the ongoing negotiation processes, and the challenges for success post-Copenhagen. Appearing before the Committee will be John Bruton, the European Commission’s ambassador to the United States, and two veteran observers to the international climate talks: Elliot Diringer of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change and Rob Bradley from the World Resources Institute.

• John Bruton, Delegation of the European Commission and Ambassador to the U.S.
• Elliot Diringer, Vice President of International Strategies at the Pew Center on Global Climate Change
• Rob Bradley, Director of the International Climate Policy Initiative at the World Resources Institute
• Karen Alderman Harbert, President and CEO, Institute for 21st Century Energy

On Wednesday, February 4, 2008, at 10:00 a.m., in room 2167 of the Rayburn House Office building, the Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment will receive testimony to gather information regarding various technologies and approaches for sustainable infrastructure in wastewater treatment facilities.

Full summary

• G. Tracy Mehan, III, Principal, The Cadums Group, Inc.
• Brian McLean, Director, Office of Atmospheric Programs, Office of Air and Radiaion, EPA
• Caterina Hatcher, National Manager, Energy Star, Public Sector, Office of Air and Radiation, EPA
• Rich Brown, Environmental Scientist, Environmental Energy Technologies Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• Jeanette A. Brown, Executive Director, Stamford Water Pollution Control Authority, Water Environment Federation
• Alan Zelenka, Consultant, Kennedy Jenks Consultants, Oregon Association of Clean Water Agencies
• Andrew Fahlund, Vice President for Conservation, American Rivers

Transforming the economy through environmental solutions — creating good jobs and exploring green technologies that reduce global warming and increase energy independence — is key to our future.

Solving global warming can now be centered on reinvigorating disadvantaged communities. The economy can be focused on buildups rather than bailouts. And the focus of energy independence will shift to clean energy and new technologies.

Connect with 2,000 government leaders and decision-makers, as well as business, labor and environmental organizations at the Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference for three days of exceptional educational programs, renowned speakers and extensive networking opportunities.

The 2009 Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference will alternate between plenary sessions and workshops. The plenary sessions will provide a stage for prominent national experts while the workshops will allow participants to explore new ideas and exchange best practices. The conference will focus on how solutions to environmental challenges can be used to drive economic development and create successful and profitable businesses.

• 7:30 a.m. Registration
• 9:00 a.m. Welcome
• 9:30 a.m. Morning Keynote
• 10:15 a.m. Plenary Panels
• 12:00 p.m. (noon) Lunch
• 1:00-6:00 p.m. Advocacy Day – Capitol Hill / Breakout sessions for those not participating in Advocacy Day

Location: Marriott Wardman Park

Wal-Mart, in partnership with the Wal-Mart Green Jobs Council (W-GJC), will host a briefing for Members of Congress, their staff, Congressional Committees, and the public on Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009 from 2:00 – 3:00 P.M. EST in the Cannon House Office Building Room 340 to discuss success stories in creating green jobs. The interactive panel will be moderated by Wal-Mart’s SVP for Sustainability, Matt Kistler, and will include:

• Chris Sultemeier, Senior Vice President Fleet and Transportation, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
• Kim Saylors-Laster, Vice President Energy, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
• Dan Lashof, PhD Director of the Climate Center, Natural Resources Defense Council
• Jackie Prince Roberts, Director of Sustainable Technologies, Environmental Defense Fund
• Susan Herndon, Vice President, Lennox Industries
• Chris Spain, Chairman of the Board and Chief Strategy Officer, Hydropoint Data Systems

The panel will build on the key findings of an October 2008 meeting of the Wal-Mart Green Jobs Council at which top companies identified the key catalysts and barriers to green job creation. Many other Wal-Mart executives will be available for discussion after the briefing, as well as several of the Wal-Mart Green Jobs Council participants representing leading suppliers in the fields of renewable energy, energy efficiency, transportation, waste reduction, and water efficiency.

RSVP by 12 P.M. on February 2 to Terrence Bogans at [email protected]

Senate Finance Committee member Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and House Energy and Commerce Committee member Jay Inslee, D-Wash., will join Laborers’ International Union general president Terence O’Sullivan, Sierra Club political director Cathy Duvall, and clean energy business leaders and workers for a news conference on Tuesday, February 3 at 11 a.m. ET at the United States Capitol to urge Congressional leaders to take bold action to create a new Green American Dream for working people by making sure the newly created green jobs are good jobs that can sustain families and fuel economic recovery.

Speakers will release a new report analyzing the varied quality of existing green jobs (some paying as little as $8.25 an hour), and urge Congress to take bold action to ensure that the major public investments in Congress’ economic recovery and reinvestment plan create a green economy that rebuilds the middle class and renews the American Dream for America’s workers.

The report release comes a day before hundreds of labor, environmental and business advocates go to Capitol Hill — on Wednesday, February 4 — for Green Jobs Advocacy Day to educate lawmakers about the job-creating opportunities that exist in the green economy.

• Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.
• Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash.
• Terence O’Sullivan, general pres., LIUNA
• Cathy Duvall, political dir., Sierra Club
• Michael Peck, dir. Human Resources, Gamesa
• Dennis Wilde, Gerding Edlen Development
• David Foster, exec. dir., Blue Green Alliance
• Perrette Hopkins, trainee, Garden State Alliance for a New Economy

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, will hold a press conference to release her principles for global warming legislation.

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing to discuss the opportunities for green jobs in the United States and the policies needed to support them. Amidst the growing global recession, debate among American policymakers is centering on the need to create well-paying, secure jobs and stimulate the national economy. At the same time, there is a call to reduce our dependence on foreign energy and our climate change-inducing greenhouse gas emissions. The renewable energy and energy efficiency industries can meet these needs, if bolstered by federal policy that accounts for these positive externalities and levels the playing field with long-established energy industries.

This briefing will focus on a recently released green jobs report by the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) and Management Information Services, Inc (MISI). The report provides a sector-by-sector analysis of opportunities in the rapidly changing renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) industries as well as a case study of the development of the RE industry in Colorado. A key finding of this report is that the RE and EE industries provide more than 9 million jobs and more than $1 trillion in revenue in the United States (as of 2007) and could generate another 37 million jobs by 2030. Speakers will also discuss policy options such as a national renewable portfolio standard, long-term extension of the production tax credit, effective net metering policies, and policies that improve access to electric transmission infrastructure, and their potential impact on the development of a green-collar workforce. Furthermore, the panel will explore the success of Germany’s renewable sector – a global leader which already generates $240 billion in annual revenue, employs 250,000 people, and is expected to provide more jobs than the country’s auto industry by 2020.

Speakers for this event include:

• Brad Collins, Executive Director, American Solar Energy Society (ASES) and Publisher, SOLAR TODAY magazine
• Roger Bezdek, President, Management Information Strategies, Inc.
• Mario Soos, Counselor on Environment and Energy, German Embassy in Washington, DC

This briefing is free and open to the public. No RSVP required. For more information, please contact Amy Sauer at [email protected] or (202) 662-1892.