Democratic superstars rally to save planet

On Monday morning Al Gore said that it is an “objective fact” that the U.S. is the only nation which can lead the world when a severe crisis looms on the horizon, and that we as a responsibility to future generations to act. Gore spoke at a forum held by The Center for American Progress Action Fund, which discussed how a green approach to infrastructure and energy production can both create jobs and provide for long lasting stability in supply. Gore’s emphasis was on addressing the issue of global warming.

Among the panelists in the forum were Democratic heavyweights from past and present, including Former President Bill Clinton, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Gore emphasized the importance of reducing gas emissions and dependence on foreign oil, but also spoke on energy infrastructure, a topic which turned out to be the backbone of the forum.

Energy infrastructure refers to the methods whereby energy generated in one location is transported to the rest of the nation. For instance, if the Southwest generates a certain amount of energy in solar power, but doesn’t use all of that energy locally, the rest of it can be distributed to other areas in the nation.
The panelists placed great importance on sound energy infrastructure in the form of a nationwide grid. Pelosi said it was an “essential” element, and without it renewable energy would mean very little to the general national welfare. Pelosi went on to liken it to the interstate highway system, in that it is a program which the federal government should undertake in a uniform way for the expanded welfare of the country. Harry Reid spoke to similar effect.

Robert Kennedy, Jr., Chairman of the Waterkeeper Alliance, said that once the infrastructure is in place, the “energy is free forever”. On that topic, Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) said that somewhere in the United States the sun is always shining or the wind is always blowing, and that this method for appropriating energy was truly sustainable. Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar also voiced support of a unified energy grid.

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico - Talk Radio News Service

Automakers must "transform" energy, efficiency

Chairman of the House Select Energy and Global Warming Committee Edward Markey (D-Mass.) said that U.S. automobile companies are in trouble because of "their inability to move from Car 1.0 to Car 2.0 over the past half century. A business model premised on bigger cars, wider highways, and more oil is a failed equation."

At a hearing to discuss the potential automobile bailout's effect on energy independence, Markey said that these car companies should "use this moment as an opportunity to transform." He felt that "innovation and technological change over the long term" must be made a priority in the future for these companies.

The automobile industry is a "very cornerstone industry" in the U.S. said Rep. Candace Miller (R-Mich.). If they went bankrupt, Miller said it would have "a catastrophic effect on our economy." Miller praised the automobile industry as a lynchpin for creating the U.S. middle class.

Joan Claybrook, President of Public Citizen, felt that laws must be put in place to demand technological and energy-efficient improvements to ensure that auto industries sufficiently attempt these initiatives. She stated that the fuel efficiency required of 35 mpg by 2020 is a "meager provision."

"We're going to have these vehicles one way or the other," said Peter Morici, Professor of International Business at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, referring to more energy-efficient and higher gas mileage automobiles. He felt that the only question is whether these improved vehicles are going to be made in the U.S. or not. Morici thinks that these companies should be bailed out only if they agree to share their patents with their competitors for a small price.

Christopher Horner: the fallacy that is global warming

“Catastrophe sells,” said Christopher Horner, author of "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming (and Environmentalism).” At a Heritage Foundation event, Horner said the recent wave of “global warming enthusiasts” are encouraged by “a multi-million dollar global warming industry adding new urgency to the ritual shriek of ‘we must act now,’ as they scramble to impose a costly regime that imposes mandates, subsidies and energy taxes both direct and regulatory to pay for them.”

Horner said, “90 percent of our official United States government measuring stations don’t meet the requirements for citing. For example, why are so many of our official thermometers now on asphalt parking lots, black tar roofs, airport tarmacs and placed directly above exhaust fans and even in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, over a barbeque grill?”

Horner said scientists who come out against the idea of global warming are refused their voice, and that global warming is appealing to public figures like Newt Gingrich because it offers them the “ultimate intellectual challenge.”

“After all, there is a reason the media don’t report on the global warming industries; admitted objectives, extreme statements, and their tactics,” said Horner. “How can we predict the weather ten decades away if we can’t predict 10 days from now?” As a result, Horner believes, “environmental alarmists have become like car alarms that no one listens to anymore.”

Global warming: Could be a measuring error

Expert scientists disagreed on the key contributor to global warming at a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing addressing the science and implications behind climate change.

There were fundamental differences between Roy W. Spencer, former NASA scientist during the Clinton Administration, and Dr. Kevin E. Trenberth, senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Spencer attributes the majority of global warming contributions to errors in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) measurement due to natural causes, while Dr. Trenberth argues that climate change is a result of carbon emissions from human activity. Spencer cited evidence of natural cloud variability from satellite footage that has contributed to inaccuracies in the IPCC measurements. Forty experts saw this evidence and had no objections, Spencer said.

Spencer claimed that the Clinton Administration told him what he could and could not say to Congress about global warming and greenhouse emissions. Since Spencer is skeptical of climate change, he believes the administration was protecting Vice President Al Gore’s political agenda by censoring him.

Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) cited Spencer’s blog, where he admits that the Clinton Administration never told him what was and was not permissible to say to Congress. Dr. Trenberth warned that global warming is a problem that exists today and is accelerating. Jason Burnett, former Associate Deputy Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said that the climate change issue is not a matter of opinion, but about the facts, which undoubtedly show that it is happening.

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.