Presentations: Our Damaged Democracy - Can We Fix It?

Our Damaged Democracy: 

Can We Fix It?

Join us for what is certain to be a lively discussion, inspired by Our Damaged Democracy: We the People Must Act, the recent book by Joseph A. Califano, Jr. 

Featured panelists and their presentations are:
James E. Campbell, PhD, UB Distinguished Professor of Political Science, SUNY University at Buffalo, on polarization in American political life, plus the role and impact of the president
Jamie P. Pimlott, PhD, Associate Professor of Political Science, Niagara University, on the role of Congress, plus women in politics or the lack thereof
Peter Yacobucci, PhD, Associate Professor of Political Science, SUNY Buffalo State, on the role of the Supreme Court, current issues, plus ideas for conflict resolution

Monday, October 1 - 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site
641 Delaware Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14202 

The TR Site is easily reached via public transportation. Parking is free in the lot behind the building and is accessible from Delaware Avenue or Franklin Street (between Allen and North Streets. Note: Franklin Street is one-way northbound). 

Special thanks to our co-sponsors: The Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site and The Association for a Buffalo Presidential Center

 

Refreshments will be served. This event is free and open to the public. Please let us know you'll attend by making a reservation by calling the League office at 716-986-4898.

Senators Pull All-Nighter to Wake Up Congress on Climate Change

Is the Senate's climate change all-nighter more than a one-night stand? 

The effort by 28 Democratic senators [Monday night] was launched in part by Rhode Island's Sheldon Whitehouse, who credits warming oceans for the state's disappearing idyllic and populated coastline.

Whitehouse has spoken about the issue every week the Senate has been in session for the past two years, culminating in 60 speeches that have gone largely unnoticed by the public.

He and fellow Democratic members of the climate change caucus hope their all-night session propels the issue back into the spotlight since it has been on the back burner for several years.

When Democrats tried to pass legislation that would have capped carbon emissions, skepticism around climate change reached an all-time high. Opponents, led by organizations and businesses involved in the fossil fuel industry, successfully turned public opinion and stopped any efforts in its tracks.

"It is unfortunate," Whitehouse said. "History will look back at the propaganda effort of the carbon polluters as one of the most sophisticated and complex propaganda efforts that human kind had to withstand."

The Koch Brothers, billionaire businessmen who made their fortune in the oil and gas industry, have spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to defeat Democrats. Cap and trade would have cut into Koch industries' revenue, which is estimated to hover around $100 billion per year.

Tim Phillips, the President of Americans for Prosperity, the political organization backed by the Kochs, said that killing climate change legislation in a Democratic-controlled Washington was his organization's major accomplishment.

Wealthy former hedge fund manager Tom Steyer is willing to spend Koch-like money to push the issue of climate change and defeat skeptics in the 2014 midterms.

Whitehouse, who has known Steyer since college, said if he can make good on his pledge to infuse the effort with $100 million, he would "help to neutralize an incredibly one-sided spending."

The above contains excerpts. The full report is at CNN.com

Notes from the Editor: To see Senator Whitehouse's evidence-based approach to understanding climate change in his 50th speech, click here. His 48th speech was on the anniversary of superstorm Sandy, and he was joined by New York Senator Schumer.

Senator Schatz Urges Bipartisanship on Climate Change

U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i) led 30 Senators in taking over the floor to call for action on climate change from 6:30 p.m. on Monday, March 11, 2014 till 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 12, 2014. In addition to the 30 senators, more than 100,000 people participated in the #up4climate all night event by signing petitions calling on Congress to act. Watch the video:

Name Extreme Storms after Climate Deniers

CLIMATE NAME CHANGE: A satirical proposal to name extreme storms after politicians who deny human-caused global warming and obstruct climate policy.

This video, published by ClimateNameChange.org on Aug 26, 2013, has gone Viral. It has received over 2 Million hits!

Since 1954, the World Meteorological Organization has been naming extreme storms after people. But ClimateNameChange.org thinks it's time for a new naming system. If you agree with their proposal, endorse this CLIMATE NAME CHANGE plan by clicking here.

On Wednesday, there was a hearing of a subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee about the impact of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan. Republicans argued against doing anything about carbon pollution. To see their five craziest arguments, and the rebuttals of those arguments, click here.

TAKE ACTION: Stand Up for Clean, Renewable, Wind Power

December 13, 2012

The renewable energy production tax credit (PTC) – the business incentive that has reinvigorated American manufacturing, diversified our electricity portfolio, driven down electricity costs for consumers, and stimulated much-needed rural economic development – is set to expire in just 18 days. Congress has yet to come to an agreement on legislation to extend this provision, nor to address the broader fiscal cliff issues that are up for debate.

Legislators are expected to adjourn this session of Congress at the end of next week.  They have not yet publicly announced any agreement on a legislative package.

Please take a few minutes to call your legislators today.

It’s very simple – just follow these steps:

Dial 1-888-496-5061 or click here to be connected.  You will be connected to the Senator’s office whose zip code corresponds to your phone’s area code.  Please redial to be connected to your second Senator’s office.

Relay this message:
“I urge the legislator to work with colleagues to pass a fiscal cliff bill that includes an extension of the renewable energy production tax credit (PTC) before adjourning.”

After you speak to your Senators’ offices, please dial 1-866-899-9078 (or click here) to be connected to your Representative.  Please relay that same message to your Representative’s office.

Thank you very much for taking action at this key time.  We will keep you up to speed on any developments that we hear about in DC.

Sincerely,

Peter Kelley
Vice President, Public Affairs
American Wind Energy Association

P.S. If you can’t make calls today, please be sure to take a moment to email your legislators instead.

TAKE ACTION: Petition for Clean, Renewable, Wind Power

With Congress expected to vote on the renewable energy production tax credit (PTC) extension during the “lame duck” session following the elections, now is the time for our industry and our allies to emphasize to our elected officials that wind power serves in the country’s strategic interest.

We ask you to take a moment to sign our petition to Congress that does just that – urges a PTC extension as a strategic move for the U.S.

The PTC is an effective tool to encourage development of proven renewable energy projects.  Equipped with the PTC, the wind industry has driven over $15 billion of private investments into the U.S. economy in each of the past five years, and has grown the U.S. manufacturing sector to include nearly 500 wind-related facilities.  With the PTC set to expire on December 31st, 37,000 wind industry jobs and over $10 billion of related private investments are at risk.

Let's power our homes and businesses with more of this plentiful homegrown energy.

Please encourage your colleagues, friends, and family to sign this petition as well.  We’re looking to gather an impressive number of signatures by November 12th, and release this petition just as our legislators are returning to D.C.

Your support will help to keep this issue on the front burner!  Many thanks for your support!

Sincerely,
Peter Kelley, Vice President, Public Affairs
American Wind Energy Association

Fracking NEWS

Protect Our Water and Air

Water Withdrawal Regulations - Farmers and Enviros Unite
The business of farmers is threatened by a loss of groundwater to the gas drilling industry, which withdrawals several million gallons of water for each of up to a dozen horizontal fracking wells per vertical drilling pad. For dairy and vegetable farmers, water can be more valuable than natural gas. Farmers are joining environmentalists to support a bill that gives the NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation the power to regulate water withdrawals. See the report New H20 regulations on tap.

What do you do with huge volumes of Fracking Wastewater?
What will be done with the millions of gallons of fracking wastewater, which contains toxic chemicals, radioactivity and brine? Accepting the wastewater from the natural gas industry could be a major revenue generator for local sewage treatment plants, but upgrading plants to treat it would be expensive and the composition of the fluid could be problematic. See the report Most N.Y. treatment plants not equipped to handle hydrofracking wastewater.

Fracking Wastewater -- Dumping for Profit
A Pennsylvania hauler is charged with 175 criminal counts of dumping waste, including Marcellus Shale drilling wastewater, in parts of six counties. The PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) ordered the wastewater hauling business and a wastewater treatment facility to shut down immediately, after a grand jury recommended the criminal charges against the owner and one of the businesses for illegally dumping millions of gallons of gas well drilling water and municipal sludge. The liquid waste was dumped on the ground or into streams, sometimes after dark or during heavy rain storms to mask the illegal activity. See the report DEP shuts two firms in dumping case.

Another Local Ban on Fracking in NY
Buffalo was the first city in NY to ban fracking as well as the disposal and transportation of the wastewater. Recently, Ulster County legislators voted unanimously to prohibit the leasing of any county-owned lands for natural gas extraction by high-volume hydraulic fracturing. Their only questions was ‘why limit it to county lands’? Read more and see the text of the resolution here: Ulster County legislature bans fracking on county lands.

Both Chambers of Congress get back in the FRAC Act
The Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act would close Bush-era oil and gas industry loopholes in the Safe Drinking Water Act and require disclosure of chemicals used during hydraulic fracturing. The bill is being reintroduced, and if it becomes law, the EPA would regain the ability to regulate hydraulic fracturing and oil and gas companies would once again be required under federal law to report the chemicals they are shooting into the ground. Read Members of Congress Fight to Protect Drinking Water From Gas Drilling Pollution.

It's not just about the Water -- Gas Drilling Pollutes the Air -- BREATHE Act
Wyoming recently saw several major gas drilling companies temporarily shut down operations because of ozone alerts. U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-CO, joined with Reps. Maurice Hinchey, D-NY, whose district is in the midst of a major natural gas boom, and Rush Holt, D-NJ, to introduce the BREATHE (Bringing Reductions to Energy’s Airborne Toxic Health Effects) Act. The Act would remove two exemptions for gas drilling under the Clean Air Act. See the report Polis follows up FRAC Act with BREATHE Act to strip clean air exemptions for gas drilling.

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See also a recent post, Radioactive Fracking Waste Threatens Drinking Water, and earlier posts about Fracking.

In the NEWS

The Buffalo News endorsed Senate passage and Obama signing of a climate change bill, stating that the House bill which passed is not perfect, the Senate version could be improved, and the version that the president signs could be better still. See the Editorial below.

Action on climate change -- 7/02/2009
House passage of an emissions bill starts nation toward global solutions
"This time, we’re all going to the moon. The climate change bill that narrowly passed the House of Representatives Friday recalls nothing so much as President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 call for the United States to send a man to the moon within a decade."
"But we need a bill passed and signed, or we will never get this mission launched." Read the full Editorial in The Buffalo News.

Video interview on the climate change bill - 7/01/2009
Buffalo native Jason Kowalski, Policy Analyst at 1Sky.org in Washington DC, favored strengthening the recently-passed House climate change bill in support of renewable energy, green jobs and a global emissions agreement in a TV news interview.

Obama pressures Senate to pass climate change bill -- 6/28/2009
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hailing the House, President Obama put pressure on senators Saturday to follow its lead and pass legislation to limit greenhouse gas emissions, helping usher the U. S. into a new age of energy efficiency.
“Now my call to every senator, as well as to every American, is this: We cannot be afraid of the future. And we must not be prisoners of the past,” the president said in his weekly radio and Internet address. “Don’t believe the misinformation out there that suggests there is somehow a contradiction between investing in clean energy and economic growth. It’s just not true.” Read the full Associated Press report in The Buffalo News.

White House says global warming is already here and getting worse -- 6/17/2009 WASHINGTON (AP) — Rising sea levels, sweltering temperatures, longer droughts and heavier downpours — global warming’s serious effects are already here and getting worse, the Obama administration warned Tuesday in the grimmest, most urgent language on climate change ever to come out of any White House.
But scientists and government officials seemed to go out of their way to soften the message. It is still not too late to prevent some of the worst consequences, they said, by acting aggressively to reduce world emissions of heat-trapping gases, primarily carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels. Read the full Associated Press report in The Buffalo News.

Hurray, Yahoo! -- 7/03/2009
Hope for boost to ‘new economy’ helps justify costly incentives
Yahoo! is coming to Western NY. The NY Power Authority, urged by Gov. Paterson, is selling Yahoo! discounted hydropower, a subsidy of $33,000 to $54,000 per job, per year, for jobs that pay $65,000 to $75,000 plus benefits. That's more than four times the average annual per-job power discount of $12,446. Read the full Editorial in The Buffalo News.

Solar panel maker gets low-cost electricity -- 7/01/2009
Sunworks pledges to create 175 jobs
"The state Power Authority has awarded a large block of low-cost hydropower to a fledgling California company that plans to build a plant in Western New York to manufacture solar panels."
"Sunworks Solar plans to spend $200 million to build a plant that would employ 175. The New York Power Authority on Tuesday agreed to allocate five megawatts of hydropower, which it will sell to the San Francisco-based company for about one-quarter the market rate." Read the full report by James Heaney in The Buffalo News.

Clean Energy and Climate Bill Passes House

The House of Representatives passed key legislation on Friday to move the nation towards a clean energy economy that will put Americans back to work, protect our environment and help preserve national security. The bill is a landmark first step by Congress to curb climate change by limiting emissions of the heat-trapping gases which cause global warming.

The "American Clean Energy and Security Act" passed by a simple majority, 219-212 (3 members did not vote). Western New York Congress members Higgins (D-Buffalo, NY-27) and Slaughter (D-Fairport, NY-28) voted for passage, while Lee (R-Clarence, NY-26) and Massa (D-Corning, NY-29) voted against the bill.

The bill proposes to save billions of dollars in energy costs, cutting waste for consumers and businesses through investment in energy efficiency for vehicles, buildings, appliances and industrial processes. Consumer rebates allow the majority of Americans to achieve energy cost savings, and clean energy investments will reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Incentives for clean energy technology will spur innovation, create new jobs and ultimately reduce carbon emissions.

The bill proposes a cap-and-trade system to limit emissions of global warming pollution and allows the emitting industries to trade pollution permits. The emission cap would be lowered over time, increasing the cost and moving industries towards clean energy sources or new technology.

Opposition to the bill focused on fear of the possibilities that it would lead to higher energy prices for consumers as well as loss of jobs. However, independent studies from the Pew Charitable Trust and the Union of Concerned Scientists showed that the clean energy proposal would result in cost savings and job growth. Also another analysis from the Congressional Budget Office showed that the bill would reduce budget deficits, or increase future surpluses, by about $24 billion over the 2010-2019 period.

President Obama also expressed a very different view from that of the opposition. He said, "Instead of increasing the deficit, it is paid for by the polluters who currently emit dangerous carbon emissions. It provides assistance to businesses and families as they make the gradual transition to clean energy technologies. It gives rural communities and farmers the opportunity to participate in climate solutions and generate new income. And above all, it will protect consumers from the costs of this transition, so that in a decade, the price to the average American will be just about a postage stamp a day."

A video of the President's address on the bill's passage, a link to the transcript, and a U.S. map showing how Congress members voted are here.

Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope said, "This bill sets the stage for the dawn of the clean energy future. While imperfect, it sets forth a set of goals America must achieve—and exceed”.

Next, the bill will move on to the Senate for further consideration.

Climate bill survives with narrow passage - 06/27/09
House accepts plan to limit emissions
WASHINGTON — For the first time ever, the House on Friday passed a plan to combat climate change, a top priority of President Obama’s that Rep. Brian Higgins said could rescue the Western New York economy. Read the full article by Jerry Zremski, News Washington Bureau Chief, in The Buffalo News.

UB Students take Green Agenda to DC

A group of University at Buffalo students traveled to Washington, DC last weekend to learn more about clean energy and green jobs, and to lobby area members of Congress for their causes. Student members of the UB Environmental Network joined 12,000 other students from every State in the nation and from other countries attending the PowerShift 2009 conference held at the DC Convention Center.

Keynote speakers, including the new director of the EPA, talked about the environment, renewable energy, green jobs and political activism. Some members of Congressional committees on energy and environment also spoke. At the end of each night, there was music and entertainment. Names of some speakers and entertainers are here.

Below is a video that gives a brief overview of PowerShift 2009:

Buffalo native, Jason Kowalski, Policy Fellow with 1Sky in DC, led a training session of 1400 students at PowerShift on lobbying Congress about legislation on climate change, clean energy and green jobs. See video, below:

Video courtesy of Brighter Planet

A photo of some of the UB students taken during a lobbying session in the office of Congress member Louise Slaughter is shown below.

[click photo to enlarge]

UB students in the photo include Steven Fleck, Michael Mason, Libby Dahl, Kristina Blank, Jordan Gerow, Tyler Manley, Danielle Peters, Esther Dsouza, and Jason Mazurowski, who provided the photo. The students also lobbied at the office of Rep. Chris Lee. Buffalo is proud of these fine young citizens and members of the UB Environmental Network !

The PowerShift Rally at the Capitol West Lawn on Lobby Day is shown in the photo below.

[photo by Carolyn Barnwell]

More information on PowerShift Lobby Day is here, including the list of over 350 Congressional meetings coordinated by the Energy Action Coalition.

UPDATES on PowerShift 2009

• TIME Magazine article: Environmentalism, Millennial-Style
• Keynote address at Power Shift by Billy Parish [video]
• What the Press Didn't Tell You, by Jesse Jenkins
• Shifting Demographics of the Climate Movement, Ben Jervey
• Global Warming 101 for Congress?, by Rachel Barge
• Rolling Stone: Jessy Tolkan, Agent of Change