YOUR ENVIRONMENT

By Lisa Lillelund

The outcome of the vote in the House of Representatives last Friday was a real nail biter. I watched C-Span with nervous anticipation as the debates heated up among the elected officials from around the country. I knew that no matter what the outcome, June 26, 2009, would be an historic day in the United States Congress. It represents the first time that a bill addresses the link between heat trapping, greenhouse gases and climate change resulting in legislation to reduce carbon emissions and to support clean energy. Ten months ago it was inconceivable that such a bill would be introduced. Six months ago it was doubtful that such a bill could be introduced and approved by late June 2009.

On June 26, 2009 I was pleased to see that the Waxman - Markey Clean Energy Bill, officially known as the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), was approved in the House of Representatives by a vote of 219 to 212. Representative Ed Markey (D-Mass) co-authored the bill with Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif). As residents of Massachusetts, we can be especially proud of the hard work and effort that Markey and his staff put into writing the bill, working closely with other Congressmen to get them to support the bill, and in crafting a final version that would gain majority approval but still contain enough mandates to truly reduce carbon emissions.

Weeks before the vote and even up until the final minutes before the vote, various discussions, negotiations, and compromises were made in order to gain approval of the simple majority of 218 votes needed to pass legislation in the House. Still forty-four Democrats voted against the bill and 8 Republicans voted for the bill. Most Congressmen against the bill thought it went too far by requiring companies to limit emissions which could add costs to energy bills. A few against the bill thought if did not go far enough and wanted stricter emissions standards to really make a difference in the already dangerous levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

The most ground breaking and promising part of the bill to me is the fact that we have finally acknowledged in writing that there is a link between man made pollution from greenhouse gas emissions and negative effects on our environment and on our health.

As a person inexperienced in DC politics and what it takes to get a bill passed in Congress, I was lucky to gain some insight during a Mayluncheon seminar I attended in Boston organized by E2 Environmental Entrepreneurs. E2 invited Congressman Michael Capuano (D-Mass) and Congressman Jerry McNerney (D-Calif) to give us a first hand account of how tough it would be inside the House to get many southern Democrats from coal country to approve the bill. They also warned us that many of us in the audience would be disappointed that the emissions requirements would not be stricter but that if we wanted anything to pass- we had to support the bill and be positive advocates of it even if a less bold version of the original bill came to a vote in the House. The direct and humorous tone of Congressman Capuano explained to us that horse trading is part of the game if you want to win and get something approved. At first I was shocked by his blunt comments but by early June I found myself more comfortable with accepting a less than perfect bill in return for positive momentum moving in the right direction of a clean energy future.

A few environmental organizations I was a member of were opposed to the bill stating that it did not go far enough. They may be right in that we need tougher emissions regulations but we have to start somewhere, I thought. Fortunately many excellent organizations such as the NRDC Action Fund, 1 Sky, and Repower America, worked hard to get citizens across America to contactCongressmen expressing their support of the ACES bill.

To be honest, had I not been to that E2 lecture explaining insider politics to me, I am not sure how I would have reacted to the opposing positions of the various environmental groups I receive e-mail updates from.

President Obama also worked this bill very hard and he and his staff personally called and met with several Representatives to discuss the bill. Without Obama’s support and vision for a clean energy future, this bill would likely not have passed the House and now be moving into the Senate.

Here are the key provisions contained in the final version of the ACES bill that passed in the House of Representatives on June 26, 2009:

  • Requires electric utilities to meet 20% of their electricity demand through renewable energy sources and energy efficiency by 2020. One-third of this may come from energy efficiency.
  • Reduces carbon emissions from major U.S. sources by 17% by 2020 and over 80% by compared to 2005 levels.
  • Invests $ 190 billion in new clean energy technologies and energy efficiency of which $ 90 billion are for new investments and projects by 2025; $ 60 billion for carbon capture and sequestration; $ 20 billion for electric and other advanced technology vehicles and $ 20 billion for basic scientific research and development.
  • Mandates new energy saving standards for buildings, appliances and industry.
  • Cap and trade program that requires companies to purchase permits for their emissions and rewards those companies that cut emissions.

Thank you to the 219 Congressmen who have the courage and the vision to see the importance of reducing our dependence on foreign oil and on domestic fossil fuels and to make to take the wise steps toward a clean energy economy and a brighter future. May your colleagues in the Senate find the courage and fore sight as well.

.

Lisa Lillelund is a regular columnist on the environment with the Beverly Citizen. Lisa welcomes your comments at