taosplaza.com

Chances for climate change legislation for the next couple of years are next to nil. Chances for a decent energy bill for the next couple of years are slim to none. But Sen. Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, who won't seek a sixth term next year, is determined, Elizabeth MacGowan reports, "not to exit Washington empty-handed":

In his usual diplomatic and straightforward fashion, the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee joined with Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the top Republican on the panel, this week to solicit ideas from one and all about how to fashion a clean energy standard.

"The purpose of this document is to lay out some of the key questions and potential design elements of a CES,"Bingaman and Murkowski wrote, "and to ascertain whether or not consensus can be achieved."

Contributors have until April 11 to submit proposals via forms available on the committee's website.

While purists who don't want Bingaman to stray from his roots of supporting solely a renewable energy standard (RES) are perhaps disappointed, centrists are elated at the opportunity for forward movement this year before the next election season paralyzes policymaking in both the House and the Senate.

The issues involved with a CES are large. If clean coal and natural gas are part of the mix, it will be a tough sell among many environmental advocates. Nuclear may be easier to swallow, because some well-known environmentalists (although no major environmental organizations) have decided it's crucial in any effort to get control over greenhouse gas emissions. Whether environmental advocates consider a CES to be a step in the right direction, even if not a big one, may well depend on whether it would supersede the renewable energy standards already being implemented in 27 states and the District of Columbia. If the final proposal does, we'll likely see an eco-alliance in opposition.

As MacGowan has pointed out in the past, getting united support from environmental organizations would also require that it not be paired with legislation chopping the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to regulate greenhouse gases, that the level of renewables in the CES be such that it would generate substantial amounts of growth and jobs, and that it bring rural electric cooperatives and municipal utilities on board.

   

Green Diary Rescue appears every Saturday afternoon. Inclusion of a particular diary does not indicate my agreement with it. The rescue begins below and continues in the jump:

In an on-going series, Phoenix Rising wrote Things to Know Before You Come to Olympic National Park: "The forests and mountains of Olympic National Park in Washington State have been protected in some manner by the Federal government since Grover Cleveland declared much of the region a National Forest Reserve in 1897. Teddy Roosevelt declared a smaller portion of the Reserve as the Mount Olympus National Monument in 1909, and FDR signed the act of Congress declaring Olympic a National Park in 1938. A long 72-mile portion of the Pacific coastline was added to the park in 1953, completing the current boundaries of this remarkably diverse set of ecosystems now recognized as both an International Biosphere Preserve and World Heritage Site. In recognition of the value of the land, in 1988 Congress designated more than 95% of the entire park as protected Wilderness."

HoundDog reported that Markey Calls For Removal Of $36 Billion For Nuclear Industry From Obama's Budget: "Representative Ed Markey, D-MA, called on Congress to reject President Obama's request for $36 billion in loan guarentees for the US nuclear industry in an oversight hearing last week. Markey also said Congress should reject the $36 billion in loan guarantees for more nuclear construction President Obama has asked for in this year's budget, calling them just as 'toxic' as the billions in bailouts the government provided banks amid the economic crisis. If a catastrophic event took place in the U.S. like Japan is experiencing, Markey said, 'industry would be okay, but the taxpayer would end up picking up the tab.'"