Climate science, policy, politics, and action
H.R. 2864 (Rep. Don Young (R-AK)): Amends the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998 to authorize appropriations to the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for FY2011-FY2012: (1) to acquire hydrographic data, provide hydrographic services, and conduct coastal change analyses necessary to ensure safe navigation, and to improve the management of coastal change in the Arctic; and (2) to acquire hydrographic data and provide hydrographic services in the Arctic necessary to delineate the U.S. extended continental shelf.
Also H.R.3805, the “Electronic Duck Stamp Extension Act of 2009”; and H.R.4973, “National Wildlife Refuge Volunteer Improvement Act of 2010.”
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
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:
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.
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
PANEL DISCUSSION
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
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
Witnesses
Panel 1
Panel 2
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