Shedding additional light on the letter Senators Begich and Rockefeller engineered last week, from 8 Democrats to EPA administrator Jackson, Senator Begich has issued the following press release:

BegichPressRelease2-19-2010 –

WaPo’s Post Carbon:

Sen. John D. Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and several other coal-state Democrats sent a bluntly worded letter to Environment Protection Agency administrator Lisa P. Jackson Friday night challenging the agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases from power plants and other industrial sources.

The Rockefeller letter–which was also signed by Democratic senators Mark Begich (Alaska), Robert C. Byrd (W.Va.), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Pat Casey (Pa.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Carl Levin (Mich.), and Max Baucus (Mont.)–poses a serious challenge for the Obama administration. While the administration is still pushing for Congress to pass a climate bill this year, it has not ruled out controlling greenhouse gases through regulation.

Here is the letter:

Letter to Lisa Jackson 2-19-10 –

Via Western Citizen, American Farmland Trust lays out what this legislation aims to do:

1) Ensure agriculture is not subject to an emissions cap;

2) Ensure USDA promulgates the rules and administers any agricultural offset program;

3) Create clear authority so projects partially-funded with government money are eligible for credits, and ensures stackable environmental credits from projects are recognized;

4) Create clearer mechanisms to recognize producers and systems already in place in voluntary carbon markets;

5) Clarify various technical requirements for carbon sequestration projects;

6) Create a comprehensive and well-funded government carbon conservation program for producers who are ineligible or unable to participate in a carbon offset market; and

7) Provide supplemental funding for various programs to jumpstart renewable energy projects.

Original cosponsors included Senators Baucus, Klobuchar, Brown, Harkin, and Begich.

Here is the text of the bill:

Here is a section-by-section summary:

Here is a one-pager:

Greenwire:

“Any Senate energy and climate bill should provide statutory guidance to harness this important resource and stimulate and support even more activity in this sector of our nation’s diverse energy portfolio,” states the letter from Sens. Michael Bennett (D-Colo.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Mark Udall (D-Colo.), Arlen Specter (D-Pa.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), David Vitter (R-La.), Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and Mark Begich (D-Alaska).

Natural gas provides a fifth of U.S. electric power and also powers some vehicles, such as municipal buses. Its lower carbon emissions — along with new U.S. supplies available through increased shale gas development — are prompting calls to expand the fuel’s role in climate policy.

Here is the letter the nine Senators sent to Chairwoman Boxer:

document_gw_02 –

KTVA:

U.S. Senator Mark Begich will host four other U.S. senators as part of a Climate Change tour of Alaska. The senators will get the opportunity to see first-hand the impacts of climate change on Alaska as well as new energy technology being used in the state.

Here is the press release from Senator Begich’s office:

09 182 Visiting Senators –

Update: This trip has been postponed so the Senators can attend Ted Kennedy’s funeral.