Proponents Suggest The Waxman-Markey Bill Will Make History

By Michael Combier- Talk Radio News Service

The American Clean Energy and Security Act will make history by reducing the United States' dependency on foreign oil, creating American jobs and lowering carbon emissions, said proponents of the bill at a press conference Wednesday.

Co-sponsor of the legislation, Rep. Markey, said the act is "the most important energy and environment bill in the history of the U.S...It will create a green energy revolution not only for our country but the entire world."

Markey added that this bill reflects "the will of the American people" and has defied political expectations as well as the disbelief of experts.

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), the act's other Co-sponsor, praised the support given to the bill by environmentalists, labor unions and a number of industries.

House members are expected to vote on the bill Friday.

Oil reserve challenged in House

The House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming met to discuss opening the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an effort to alleviate Americans' struggle with high gas prices. Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) told the committee that average Americans will pay $2,370 per year on gas at current rates and said the White House for opposing measures that would bring immediate relief at the pump. He said the Reserve is 97 percent full, the most it has ever been, with 706 million barrels of oil.

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) stated that she does not support releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. She said the Reserve is intended to respond to national emergencies when oil supplies are severed, nothing that a supply cut has not occurred. James May, president of the Air Transport Association, said the price of gas is an emergency for the families of 32,000 airline employees who have lost jobs due to tighter airline budgets. Markey said Democrats in Congress desire to help lower the cost of gas in ten to twenty days, contrasting this with Republican's calls for more drilling, an avenue he said would take ten to twenty years. Blackburn said Democrats have failed to develop a rational energy policy.

Kyle Simpson, policy director of Brownstein, said an announcement from the White House that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve was being opened would instantly lower prices, citing past actions taken by President George H.W. Bush, President Bill Clinton, and President George W. Bush. Joe Romm of the Center for American Progress advocated releasing a portion of the Reserve to the market incrementally. He said if prices do not to drop upon release, the failed strategy would demonstrate how "useless" is the Reserve is. According to Romm, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve's development stemmed from oil shortages caused by international conflict, saying that the modern globalized economy makes the risk of sudden oil shortages unlikely. Speaking passionately into his microphone, Romm stated that the current threat to the oil market is high prices, questioning the Reserve's purpose if current prices do not qualify for the release of oil.

Batten down the hatches: global warming is here

“Global warming is a tale of extremes” began Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) who chairs the House Energy Independence and Global Warming Committee. The committee held a hearing on global warming’s effects on extreme weather. Markey added that the US cannot afford to only treat the symptoms of global warming, but should also work to control our global warming pollution.

According to Angela Licata, deputy commissioner of the New York City Bureau of Environmental Planning and Analysis, by 2050 the city of New York will experience a 3 to 5 degree fahrenheit increase in temperature, a 2.5 to 7.5 percent increase in precipitation, and a six to 12 inch rise in sea level. Jay Golden, director of the National Center for Excellence added that increases in temperature caused by greenhouse gasses are significantly more severe in urban areas than in rural ones. He referred to this phenomenon as the ‘urban heat island' effect. Both speakers agreed that these changes require substantial national planning and adaptation in order to ensure adequate supplies of water and other resources for the region.

The ominous predictions were not unique to the East coast. Senior research associate at the Pacific Institute Heather Cooley stated that regions in the West can expect decreased snow packs with increased rain, resulting in disasterous floods and draughts.

Jimmy Adegoke, an associate professor at the University of Missouri in Kansas City added that the panel should no longer be searching for evidence of climate change because we are already in the middle of it. As such, the nation needs to make adequate policy adjustments to ensure that Americans are protected from global warming’s increasing effects.