Media Matters takes a close look at the GOP’s energy plan — and surprise! — it is nearly identical to George W. Bush’s policies. While Republicans are no longer held down electorally by the dead weight of Bush’s name on the ballot, it appears as if they continue to be held down by the dead weight of Bush’s (read: Cheney’s) completely backwards ideas on energy policy. I’m not sure what is more disturbing, the GOP’s inability to adopt sensible energy policies or the fact that a Democratic President is bending over backwards to make the GOP’s energy policies seem sensible. Both bode poorly for the future of United States energy policy.

Joseph Romm has the news:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) will hold a press conference today to discuss the Senate’s progress on comprehensive climate change and energy independence legislation.

Melanie Sloan:

World leaders, scientists and activists have gathered in Copenhagen this week to discuss global efforts to address the challenges posed by climate change. Hopes are high that these decision-makers will leave the conference with concrete ideas that will encourage substantive debate back in their respective countries.

Here in America, however, the public debate could be trumped by the behind-the-scenes maneuvering of the energy industry. These powerful oil, gas and mining companies have hired well-connected lobbyists to try to derail climate change legislation. According to a new CREW report, Smoke Screen: How Bush Insiders Distorted – And Still Influence – America’s Debate Over Climate Change, many of these lobbyists are former Bush administration staffers and political appointees.

Here is the report:

20091207 – SmokeScreen Final –

Think Progress:

Today, Exelon CEO John Rowe announced that his company — the largest electric utility company in the United States — would not renew its membership in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce because of its opposition to global warming action. In his keynote address to the annual conference of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), the nation’s largest association of energy efficiency experts, Rowe said that the Chamber’s multi-million-dollar campaign against clean energy legislation is incompatible with Exelon’s commitment to climate change leadership.

Here is Exelon’s full statement (h/t Pete Altman an NRDC):

Rowe ACEE _Chamber Announcement_ Speech –

Jimmy Carter 32 Years Ago:

Jimmy Carter testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday:

Carter reminded the lawmakers that more than 30 years ago, his administration pushed successfully for legislation to penalize gas-guzzling cars, force utilities to encourage energy conservation and mandated better-insulated buildings and more efficient electric motors and appliances. All of which are efforts duplicated by the Obama administration more recently.

Didn’t see this one coming:

“Our nation needs a comprehensive energy plan that promotes conservation, renewable energy development, and access to our own natural resources. We need energy legislation that will create jobs and ensure long-term energy security for our country. This can be achieved without dumping our nation’s nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain. The fact that we can bring together different factions of the Republican conference to agreement on this provision should take the partisanship out of the Yucca Mountain debate,” said Heller.

The American Energy Innovation Act was developed jointly with the Western Caucus and the Republican Study Committee. The exclusion of the Yucca Mountain Project in the Republican energy bill is a significant victory for the State of Nevada. Yucca provision as included in the American Energy Innovation Act is below.

SEC. 3214. LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS
None of the funds authorized by this Act may be used
to improve or build any temporary storage or spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste disposal facility in a State previously recommended for repository development under Public Law 97–425 as amended.

This guy has some nerve:

Republican Study Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-GA) issued the following statement as President Obama and fellow Democrats continue to push their disastrous National Energy Tax (“cap-and-trade”) policy through Congress.

“It seems there is no problem for which President Obama, Nancy Pelosi and their friends in Congress don’t have a massive new tax,” said Chairman Price. “American families are struggling to make ends meet, yet Democrat leaders in Washington want to tax them for using the only energy sources available to them. Simply put, if you flip on a light switch, you will have to give more money to Washington. With thousands of dollars in new taxes for every family, this fatally-flawed scheme will only deepen our economic troubles. Consumers and businesses alike will feel the pain, but predictably Washington will see a big pay day. While it’s fantasy to think ‘cap-and-tax’ will end climate change, the stark reality is that it will devastate our economy.

“A healthy environment and a healthy economy go hand-in-hand: American prosperity and wealth makes ‘green’ possible. Instead of penalizing American families with new taxes, we must pursue a 21st century energy solution that focuses on conservation, innovation and responsible production of American-made energy. Creating new clean renewable energy sources is the key to a sustainable environment and a stable economy. By setting in motion the genius and ingenuity of the American people, we can create a thriving new American energy economy that encourages growth instead of punishing everyday life.”

With leadership like this who needs an opposition party?

“This may surprise some people but I think healthcare reform is easier than all this global warming stuff,” Reid said Friday.

As a result, Reid said, the Senate will likely tackle healthcare reform before global warming. Combating global warming is the highest priority of environmentalists allied with the Democratic Party.

“Across America, healthcare is a problem for everybody, but that’s not the way it is for the carbon situation,” said Reid, who made his remarks at a forum sponsored by The National Journal Group.

Reid said that blue states “down the middle of this country,” such as Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Indiana, rely on coal.

These states either consume or mine large quantities of coal and all are represented by Democrats in the Senate.

Reid said that he has been told that coal-fired power meets 98 percent of Indiana’s energy needs.

The Democratic leader knows he has the power to bring a comprehensive energy bill addressing global warming to the floor but he is uncertain how many Democratic colleagues would side with him. Instead, Democrats from coal states may join Republicans to kill an effort to tax or otherwise restrict carbon emissions.

“I can bring the bill to the floor but I just hope we can get it done,” said Reid.

When asked what issue he foresaw as giving him the most headaches over the next two years, Reid said: “global warming.”

Majority Leader Reid’s incompetence is becoming increasingly clear to folks who favor progressive policy solutions for the difficult problems this country faces. Senator Reid is a centrist, more interested in maintaining power than solving problems. It will be a glorious day when Democrats in the Senate act on this realization and replace Senator Reid with someone deserving of the title “Majority Leader.”

Time Magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world hit newsstands the other day. Out of 100 individuals named, 11 have a direct connection to energy, sustainability or environmentalism. Here is a list of the 11, with an excerpt from each piece and a link to their full entry in the Time 100.

T. Boone Pickens, by Ted Turner:

Boone and I have a lot in common. We’ve both made a lot of money, and we’ve also given a lot of it away. For all his accomplishments, I respect Boone most for his vision, generosity and can-do attitude. He recognizes that investing in renewable energy isn’t just the right thing to do for the environment; it’s the smartest and most prudent financial investment we can make in these times. It’s a win-win opportunity, and when we’re talking about our kids’ and grandkids’ future, I’m listening to the man with the plan.

Ted Turner, by T. Boone Pickens:

Ted is America’s largest private landowner: 2 million acres from coast to coast. And that’s not including his properties in Argentina. He’s an environmental poster child for people who dream about pristine prairies and use terms like self-sustaining and zero carbon footprint. Just as important, his landholdings are profitmakers that generate income from ecotourism, forestry, ranching, farming and oil and gas leases.

Alexander Medvedev, by Dmitri Trenin:

If Alexei Miller, Gazprom’s CEO, is the company’s public face and conduit to the Russian political leadership, Alexander Medvedev, head of Gazprom Export, is its link to the outside world. One-third of the gas consumed in Europe passes through Medvedev’s hands, and 60% of Gazprom’s total revenues come from exports.

Robin Chase, by Craig Newmark:

The culture of the internet, at its best, involves people working together to make life better. Sometimes called cooperative capitalism or social entrepreneurship, it is practiced every day by millions of individuals and a small but growing number of for-profit companies. For years, Robin Chase, a co-founder of Zipcar, has run such a business, in which people share a community-based pool of vehicles. Customers use Zipcar, which rents cars by the day or hour (when public transportation won’t quite do the job) and makes smart use of technology like GPS to connect people with autos and trucks that are parked near them.

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If a Senator changes parties for political expediency, and he still doesn’t vote with the party he is joining, should anyone care? Here is what some green bloggers and environmental organizations are saying about Specter’s switch.

Kate Sheppard at Grist:

Specter has been a hard senator to peg when it comes to environmental policy. While he acknowledges the problem of global warming and believes legislative action should be taken, he’s favored industry-friendly approaches to a cap-and-trade system that fall short of what most scientists and environmentalists argue is needed.

Brad Johnson at The Wonk Room:

Ideologically, Specter is in line with Democrats like Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN), who worries that Obama’s clean economy proposal may “suck money” from his state, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), who is “against forcing petrochemical companies” to “bear the brunt of new costs,” and Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), who worries cap and trade “could have a negative impact on our economy.”

Specter, whose top donors include the electric utilities Exelon Corporation and PPL Corporation, has told Pennsylvania students that “his main platform in running for re-election is global warming.” There’s still time for him — and the Democrats he’s joining — to build that platform, but more change will have to come.

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