Ten Senators to Watch on Global Warming
| Ten Senators to Watch on Global Warming The Senate is scheduled to debate and vote on landmark global warming legislation during the first week of June.Will the Senate seize this historic opportunity and begin to solve the global warming crisis?These ten Senators reflect the debate that’s playing out right now.Some are swing votes. Others are leaders whose management skills will be put to the test.Their work with Senate colleagues over the next month could make the difference in our efforts to pass meaningful global warming legislation this year.  Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) – Has introduced legislation in the past that would limit global warming pollution from power plants; as a member of the Senate Republican leadership the question will be - does he help the Republican caucus move to a more responsible position?  Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) – A moderate Democrat with good environmental ratings from the League of Conservation Voters; represents state with one of the largest per-capita manufacturing industries in the country; he will look to balance economic and manufacturing interests in the bill.  Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) – Chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee; has his own competing global warming legislation with Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA); is looked to by many moderate Democrats, particularly those with coal mining interests, as a leader on issue.  Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) – Senior Senator from South Carolina, a state vulnerable to hurricanes and coastal flooding; is one of Senator John McCain’s strongest allies in the Senate; supports nuclear power and will try to boost support for nuclear energy in the bill.  Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) – Freshman Senator from a state that is a traditional political bellwether for the country; has said that global warming is a serious threat and has promoted investments in alternative energy; her senior Senator, Kit Bond, is one of the Senate leading opponents against action to reduce global warming emissions; will look for ways to best balance her state’s rural and low-income interests in the bill.  Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) – As Senate Majority Leader, he has scheduled floor time in early June to debate the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act; his leadership will be critical in bridging the differences between members.  Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO) – First-term Senator from a state vulnerable to droughts and wildfires that could be made far worse by global warming; Colorado has abundant solar and wind energy resources, but also large coal and other fossil fuel reserves; Salazar has praised Colorado Governor Bill Ritter’s Climate Action Plan, which adopts aggressive greenhouse reduction goals; will be looking at various technology incentives and opportunities for agriculture in the bill to make sure that they work for Colorado.  Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) – Second-term Senator from a state renowned for its natural beauty and diverse geography; Oregon is part of the Western Climate Initiative to establish a regional approach to reducing global warming pollution; he continues to question the science behind global warming. Will he decide to represent the citizens of his state and join the call for real action?  Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) – Fifth-term moderate Republican Senator from a political swing state with manufacturing and coal interests; has his own global warming legislation with Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM); if Senator Bingaman and Senator Specter will both work with constructively with Senators Lieberman and Warner on key areas of interest, it will send a strong signal to other undecided votes.  Senator John Sununu (R-NH) – First-term Senator from a state with big outdoor recreation and skiing industries that could be vulnerable to global warming; in 2005, New Hampshire joined the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative of nine Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states to limit global warming pollution; while Senator Sununu has supported a bill that would limit emissions from powerplants, he voted no on a comprehensive cap-and-trade bill in 2003; despite strong support for addressing climate change in the state, he has yet to endorse the Climate Security Act. Take Action »Forward this list »Leave a Comment » |
| Press Release: First Nationwide Climate Change Survey of Public Health Departments Shows Lack of Resources for Dealing with Health Challenge For Immediate Release
Jennifer Dickson, Environmental Defense Fund, (202) 572-3401 or (202) 520-1221
Becky Wexler, National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), (301) 652-1558
Tara Laskowski, George Mason University, (703) 993-8815
(Washington, D.C. - April 24, 2008) Climate change is a concern to most local public health directors but few have resources to tackle the problem, according to a national survey conducted by National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and George Mason University. The survey, included in the report Are We Ready? Preparing for the Public Health Challenges of Climate Change, is the first national one of its kind that assesses the perceptions and activities of local public health directors regarding climate change and public health. More than half of the surveyed directors are concerned about the health effects of climate change on their jurisdictions, though only a small group has been able to make adaptation or prevention a priority.
“Local health departments recognize that climate change imperils the health of their communities. It is essential that they gain the new knowledge and sustained resources needed to help them prepare for the increased severity of health-threatening problems that we can expect, from long-term heat waves to increased populations of disease-bearing mosquitoes,” said Patrick Libbey, Executive Director of NACCHO.
The majority of health directors said they perceived a lack of knowledge about climate change both within their health department and among other key stakeholders in their communities; a lack of adaptation and mitigation planning expertise in the public health community at large; and significant financial and human resource limitations on their ability to respond to climate change. Of the directors surveyed:
“These findings show that while public health officials recognize the need to be prepared for adverse health impacts from climate change, there are serious gaps in the U.S. public health system’s ability to meet that need,” said Dr. John Balbus, Environmental Defense Fund’s Chief Health Scientist and lead author of the report. “With public health departments already stretched thin by increasing demands and decreasing federal assistance, the additional challenges posed by climate change threaten to put more people in harm’s way.”
Recommendations from the report focus on protecting preventing climate-related health dangers by ensuring the responsiveness and efficiency of the public health system; preventing climate-related disease as much as possible by reducing greenhouse gas emissions to levels required to avoid climate change’s most severe effects; and enhancing public health by aligning desirable goals like reductions in greenhouse gasses with critical public health goals.
“As Congress debates climate change solutions, we hope they too will see the importance of ensuring that communities have the resources available to deal with the health impacts,” said Balbus. “We must be ready on the local level to handle climate change implications.”
Are We Ready? Preparing for the Public Health Challenges of Climate Change is the first nationally representative survey to assess the perceptions and activities of local public health directors regarding climate change and public health. One hundred and thirty-three local health department directors from across the country answered a series of questions meant to assess their perceptions of climate change and its potential public health effects; their communities’ level of preparedness for the health impacts of climate change; their current activities to prevent or mitigate climate change; and their opinions on necessary resources to best address climate change.
“Our research identified practical steps that can be taken to help local health departments protect the public’s health from climate change,” said Ed Maibach, professor and director of George Mason University’s Center of Excellence in Climate Change Communication Research and co-author of the report. “With the necessary resources, health departments have a significantly better chance at keeping their communities healthy, both now and as climate change progresses in the near future.”
The full report is available for download at edf.org/areweready.
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NACCHO is the national organization representing the nation’s nearly 3,000 local health departments. These agencies work every day on the front lines to protect and promote the health of their communities. NACCHO develops resources and programs and promotes national policies that support effective local public health practice.
A leading national nonprofit organization, Environmental Defense Fund represents more than 500,000 members. Since 1967, Environmental Defense Fund has linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems. For more information, visit www.edf.org.
George Mason University, located in the heart of Northern Virginia’s technology corridor near Washington, D.C., is an innovative, entrepreneurial institution with national distinction in a range of academic fields. With strong undergraduate and graduate degree programs in engineering, information technology, biotechnology and health care, Mason prepares its students to succeed in the work force and meet the needs of the region and the world.
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| Nissan To Build Electric Cars Nissan Motor Co. announced Tuesday it will mass produce electric cars within the next five years, according to NPR.Zero-emission electric cars will be available in two years for government fleets in the U.S. and Japan, Nissan Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn told NPR. By 2012, the cars will be in mass production. |
| Fuel cells: distant dream, but burning with promise Some day, fuel cells may power your car and exhaust only water and perhaps carbon dioxide. More efficient and cleaner than an internal combustion engine, their emissions will be much lower. They may also run your home without the energy loss of power lines, or even power your laptop or cell phone. But not today or even tomorrow. |
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