Hill Heat

• Daily Kos thread

Witnesses

• Former Vice President Al Gore
• Global warming skeptic Bjorn Lomborg

• Grist precis of legislative recommendations:

1. An immediate “carbon freeze” that would cap U.S. CO2 emissions at current levels, followed by a program to generate 90% reductions by 2050.
2. Start a long-term tax shift to reduce payroll taxes and increase taxes on CO2 emissions.
3. Put aside a portion of carbon tax revenues to help low-income people make the transition.
4. Create a strong international treaty by working toward “de facto compliance with Kyoto” and moving up the start date for Kyoto’s successor from 2012 to 2010.
5. Implement a moratorium on construction of new coal-fired power plants that are not compatible with carbon capture and sequestration.
6. Create an “ELECTRANET”—a smart electricity grid that allows individuals and businesses to feed power back in at prevailing market rates.
7. Raise CAFE standards.
8. Set a date for a ban on incandescent light bulbs.
9. Create “Connie Mae,” a carbon-neutral mortgage association, to help defray the upfront costs of energy-efficient building.
10. Have the SEC require disclosure of carbon emissions in corporate reporting, as a relevant “material risk.”

The House Natural Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, led by Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA), will hold an oversight hearing, “Toward a Clean Energy Future: Energy Policy and Climate Change on Public Lands,” to review the effects of global climate change on public lands and resources as a result of federal energy policies and actions. Witnesses: Panel 1 Dr. Mark Myers, Director, United States Geological Survey

Panel 2 Ms. Deborah Williams, President, Alaska Conservation Solutions; Former Special Assistant to the Department of the Interior, Alaska Dr. Anthony Westerling, Associate Professor, Sierra Nevada Research Institute, University of California, Merced Mr. Auden Schendler, Executive Director, Community and Environmental Responsibility, Aspen Skiing Company Mr. Noah Matson, Director, Federal Lands Program, Defenders of Wildlife Dr. Timothy F. Ball, Chair, Natural Resources Stewardship Project Mr. Robert E. Murray, Chairman, Murray Energy Corporation

On Monday, March 19, 2007, the Committee held a second oversight hearing on allegations of political interference with government climate change science. Witnesses at the hearing included the former Chief of Staff of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), the current Chairman of CEQ, the Director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and a former NASA public affairs officer. At the hearing, the Committee examined evidence of White House efforts to minimize the significance of climate change.

Witnesses

Panel I

• Philip Cooney, former Chief of Staff, White House Council on Environmental Quality
• Dr. James Hansen, Director, Goddard Institute for Space Studies, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• George Deutsch, former public affairs officer, National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Panel II

• James Connaughton, Chairman, White House Council on Environmental Quality

Panel III

• Dr. Roy Spencer, University of Alabama in Huntsville

Transcript

• transcript

The House Natural Resources Committee, Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, led by Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), will hold will hold a legislative hearing on the following bills: H.R. 713 (Slaughter), the Niagara Falls National Heritage Area Act, to establish the Niagara Falls National Area in the State of New York, and for other purposes. H.R. 754 (Cubin), to designate the National Museum of Wildlife Art, located at 2820 Rungius Road, Jackson, Wyoming, as the National Museum of Wildlife Art of the United States. H.R. 929 (Costello), the Land Between the Rivers Southern Illinois National Heritage Area Act of 2007, to establish the Land Between the Rivers National Heritage Area in the State of Illinois, and for other purposes.

Witnesses: Panel 1 Congresswoman Louise McIntosh Slaughter, NY-28 Congresswoman Barbara Cubin, WY-At Large

Panel 2 Janet Snyder Matthews, Associate Director, Cultural Resources, National Park Service

Panel 3 Robert Swenson, Associate Professor, SIUC School of Architecture, Southern Illinois University Carbondale Bob Emerson, Executive Director, Old Fort Niagara Howell Breedlove, Board Member, National Museum of Wildlife Art

Subcommittee hearing.

Witnesses:

• Dr. George Gray, Assistant Administrator for Research and Development, Environmental Protection Agency
• Dr. M. Granger Morgan, Chair, Environmental Protection Agency Science Advisory Board Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University
• Dr. Jennifer Sass, Senior Scientist Health and Environment Program Natural Resource Defense Council
• Dr. Bruce C. Coull, Carolina Distinguished Professor (Emeritus) Dean (Emeritus), School of Environment, University of South Carolina

Subcommittee meeting.

Witness:

• Michael D. Griffin, Administrator, NASA

The House Natural Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans, led by Del. Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-GU), will hold a legislative hearing on: —H.R. 50, the Multinational Species Conservation Funds Reauthorization Act of 2000, to reauthorize the African Elephant Conservation Act and the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 1994. —H.R. 465, the Asian Elephant Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2007, to reauthorize the Asian Elephant Conservation Act of 1997.

Witnesses: Mr. Kenneth Stansell, Acting Deputy Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Dr. Michael Fay, National Geographic Society Dr. Sybille Klenzendorf, Director, Species Conservation, World Wildlife Fund Mr. John Berry, Director, Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park Mr. Josh Ginsberg, Vice President and Chief of Conservation Operations, Wildlife Conservation Society

The House Natural Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans, led by Del. Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-GU), will hold an oversight hearing on the Fiscal Year 2008 budget request for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Witnesses: Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., U.S. Navy (Ret.), Undersecretary for Oceans and Atmosphere/Administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce Honorable H. Dale Hall, Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior

USCAP is a group of businesses (Alcoa, BP, Dupont, etc.) and environmental organizations (Environmental Defense, NRDC, Pew Center, etc.) that have come together to call on the federal government to quickly enact strong national legislation to require significant reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. Their report: A Call for Action.

The report advocates a cap-and-trade system plus R&D support with the following targets for GHG emissions:

• 100-105% of today’s levels within 5 years of enactment
• 90-100% of today’s levels within 10 years
• 70-90% of today’s levels within 15 years

Witnesses

• Chad Holliday Chairman and CEO , Dupont
• Fred L. Smith Jr. President, Competitive Enterprise Institute
• Jonathon Lash President, World Resources Institute
• Kevin Book Senior Analyst/Vice President, Friedman Billings Ramsey & Company, Inc
• Peter Darbee Chairman, CEO, and President, PG&E Corporation
• Harold G. Hamm Chairman and CEO, Continental Resources, Inc.
• Steve Elbert Vice Chair, BP America