Even after months of personal attacks against climate scientists
stemming from a manufactured scandal over stolen emails, the underlying
science behind the need to stem the tide of heat-trapping emissions
remains solid. To explain what we know about climate change, and why and
how we know it, Chairman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and the Select
Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming will host top-level
American climate scientists at a congressional hearing this Thursday,
May 6, 2010.
The scientists will address the claims of deniers head-on. Thursday’s
panel features a member of the investigative panel convened by the
University of East Anglia and led by Lord Ron Oxburgh to review the
stolen emails from that school’s Climactic Research Unit. The “Oxburgh
Inquiry” exonerated the scientists who were attacked following the
emails, saying they “saw no evidence of any deliberate scientific
malpractice in any of the work.”
The hearing also includes three scientists involved in the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports, which have also been
attacked by climate science deniers.
Witnesses
- Dr. Lisa Graumlich, Director, School of Natural Resources and the
Environment, University of Arizona, and member of the “Oxburgh
Inquiry” panel
- Dr. Chris Field, Director, Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie
Institution of Washington, and co-chair of “Impacts, Adaptation and
Vulnerability” portion of new IPCC report
due in 2014
- Dr. James McCarthy, Professor of Biological Oceanography, Harvard
University, past President and Chair of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science, co-chair of “Impacts, Adaptation and
Vulnerability” portion of IPCC report
published in 2001
- Dr. James Hurrell, Senior Scientist, National Center for Atmospheric
Research, contributor to IPCC reports
- Christopher Monckton, Chief Policy Adviser, Science and Public Policy
Institute
House Energy Independence and Global Warming Committee
2237 Rayburn
05/06/2010 at 09:30AM
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a
briefing to examine the potential effects of pending energy and climate
legislation on the transportation sector and U.S. dependence on oil.
Policies that create a sustained, stable, and predictable price on
carbon for transportation fuels have the potential to promote
fuel-efficient vehicles, low-carbon fuels, and more energy-efficient
transportation decisions by businesses and consumers. However, how such
a price is determined, how it is applied, and how generated revenues are
used can greatly influence the benefits and costs of such a policy. This
briefing will focus on the economic and environmental implications of
alternative ways to reduce oil use and greenhouse gas emissions in the
transportation sector and how key stakeholders are likely to respond.
Speakers for this event include:
- Dr. David Montgomery, Vice-President, Charles River Associates
- Dr. Chad Stone, Chief Economist, Center for Budget and Policy
Priorities
- Dr. Adele Morris, Policy Director for Energy and Climate Economics,
Brookings Institution
- Dr. David Austin, Senior Economist, Congressional Budget Office
- Jack Basso, Director of Program Finance and Management, American
Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
- James Corless, Director, Transportation for America
- Patrick O’Connor, Legislative Counsel, NAFA
Fleet Management Association
Fuel use in the transportation sector is widely regarded to be less
sensitive to changes in price, relative to electricity and other sectors
of the economy, due in part to limited availability of transportation
options and substitutes for petroleum fuels. Recent swings in fuel
prices, corresponding demand responses, and other research suggest,
however, that modest price signals - especially sustained price
signals - can spur investments in clean transportation and create
significant benefits for the transportation sector. Options to create a
carbon price through a fee on transportation fuels can be designed to be
as effective and predictable as other policy options based on tradable
allowances. Any revenues generated through such policies can be returned
to consumers and businesses, reinvested in transportation infrastructure
and advanced vehicle and fuel technology, or directed to a combination
of public uses.
This briefing is free and open to the public. No
RSVP required. For more information, please
contact Jan Mueller at [email protected] or (202) 662-1883.
Environmental and Energy Study Institute
253 Russell
04/29/2010 at 03:00PM
The effects of climate change and the way we use energy are significant
U.S. national security challenges. Addressing them will be increasingly
important for our nation’s defense. The Center for a New American
Security (CNAS) invites you to attend an event that will examine these
critical issues, featuring a keynote address by Carol Browner, Assistant
to the President for Energy and Climate Change.
A roundtable discussion among national security experts will follow the
keynote address. Experts will address questions including: How will
energy and water challenges in Pakistan and Afghanistan affect current
operations in the region and U.S. military bases around the globe? How
will competition for energy, strategic minerals, food, and water affect
countries and regions of strategic importance – from Afghanistan to the
Arctic, China to Yemen?
This event marks the launch of the groundbreaking
CNAS report Broadening Horizons: Climate
Change and the U.S. Armed Forces, which
examines the dual pressures of climate change and energy on each U.S.
military service and regional combatant command. Authors Christine
Parthemore; Commander Herb Carmen, USN; and
Will Rogers map a road ahead to improve the country’s ability to promote
national security in the face of a changing climate.
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
- Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate
Change
PANEL DISCUSSION
- Dr. David Kilcullen, President and CEO of
Caerus
- Rear Admiral Philip Hart Cullom, USN Head of
the Navy’s Task Force Energy Director, Fleet Readiness Division on the
Navy Staff
- Robert Kaplan, Senior Fellow, CNAS
Correspondent, The Atlantic Monthly
- Christine Parthemore, Bacevich Fellow, CNAS
2:30-3:00 p.m.: Check-in and registration
3:00-5:30 p.m.: Event
5:30-7:00 p.m.: Cocktail reception
Location:
The Willard InterContinental Hotel
1401 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Center for a New American Security
District of Columbia
04/28/2010 at 03:00PM
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will make a major announcement
concerning the Cape Wind project. Credentialed media are invited to
attend.
Massachusetts State House
Governor’s Press Room
Room 157
Beacon Hill
Boston
Department of the Interior
Massachusetts
04/28/2010 at 12:00PM
The hearing will examine the impact of oil dependence on our economy and
national security, and how recent Environmental Protection Agency
regulation and future policies can reduce that dependence.
Witnesses
- Lisa Jackson, Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency
- Fred Smith, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, FedEx
Corporation
- Jason Wolf, Vice President of North America, Better Place
- Robert Diamond, Former Lieutenant, U.S. Navy, Security Fellow, Truman
National Security Project
- Charles T. Drevna, President, National Petrochemical and Refiners
Association
House Energy and Commerce Committee
Energy and Environment Subcommittee
2123 Rayburn
04/28/2010 at 09:30AM
The “green” technology boom is being heralded as the next technological
revolution, able to lower greenhouse gas emissions, promote economic
growth and create millions of new jobs. A number of new policies are
being adopted at both the national and local levels to foster the growth
and adoption of the new green technologies—including production tax
credits for solar, wind and geothermal; renewable portfolio standards;
and feed-in tariffs, to name a few. Solar energy has benefitted from
increased private investment and public subsidies in recent years but
seems to remain ever on the edge of breakthrough.
On April 28, the Energy Security Initiative at Brookings will host the
first in a series of events that will examine the prospects for these
potentially game-changing energy technologies to make the shift from
alternative to mainstream. Experts from many sectors will discuss the
key political and economical barriers and opportunities for
utility-scale solar energy. Two panel discussions will explore a wide
range of questions, including: What will it take to grow a viable solar
industry in the United States? What policies could move solar energy
into more widespread use and achieve grid parity? What are the job
implications for the United States if other countries take the lead in
developing the technology? And what role is public awareness or a lack
thereof playing in solar energy adoption?
After the program, panelists will take audience questions.
Introduction
Charles Ebinger, Senior Fellow and Director, Energy Security Initiative,
The Brookings Institution
Keynote Remarks
Stephanie Burns, CEO, Dow Corning
Panel 1: Policy and Economics
- Moderator: Charles Ebinger, Senior Fellow and Director, Energy
Security Initiative, The Brookings Institution
- Richard Kauffman, CEO, Good Energies
- Dr. Lola Infante, Director, Generation Fuels and Market Analysis,
Edison Electric Institute
- Charles Hemmeline, Market Transformation, Solar Energies, Technology
Program, U.S. Department of Energy
Panel 2: Technology, Market Deployment and Job Development
- Moderator: John Banks, Nonresident Fellow, Brookings Institution
- Robert Boehm, Director, Energy Research Center, University of Nevada,
Las Vegas
- Steve Kalland, Director, North Carolina Solar Center, North Carolina
State University
The Brookings Institution
Falk Auditorium
1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
RSVP
Brookings Institution
District of Columbia
04/28/2010 at 09:00AM
Witnesses Panel I
- Joe Main, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health
Panel II
- Cecil Roberts , President, United Mine Workers
- Jeff Harris, Mine Worker
- Wes Addington, Deputy Director, Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center
- Bruce Watzman, Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, National
Mining Association
Panel III
- David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety
and Health
Panel IV
- Peg Seminario, Director of Safety and Health,
AFL-CIO
- Holly Shaw
- Dr. Michael Brandt, Board President (2010-2011), American Industrial
Hygiene Association
- Kelli Heflin, Coordinator of Regulatory Compliance and Safety Manager,
Scott’s Liquid Gold
Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee
430 Dirksen
04/27/2010 at 02:00PM