Thanks for the insight, Dave. So this is a post-Sandy, smoke'm out tactic to force the BAU folks to show their hand, and congress really isn't asking for solutions. "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer" - The Godfather Part II. So we can just sit back and let congress continue to perform its special magic; I'll toss that draft response I was working on. Other more productive actions we should be taking re CO2 under Obama 2.0? -Greg
________________________________ From: "Hawkins, Dave" <[email protected]> To: "<[email protected]>" <[email protected]> Cc: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> Sent: Thu, January 31, 2013 11:39:32 PM Subject: Re: [geo] Congress seeks GHG solutions Without presuming to speak for the authors, I can assure you they are well aware of the threats posed by ocean acidification. They are writing this letter not because the two of them have no clue about needs to be done but rather to promote a renewed discussion on what can be done under current law and where the law needs to be strengthened. Including known opponents of any action in the outreach makes sense, both to avoid claims of inappropriate exclusion as well as to make their responses or lack thereof available for public scrutiny. Sent from my iPad On Jan 31, 2013, at 11:07 PM, "RAU greg" <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: The US Congress (after all of the ideas submitted by scientists, NGOs, policy advisors, and a few brave congress persons, Waxman among them) openly admits that it still hasn't got a clue what to do, while reaching out for answers to some of the very entities who have actively sought to kill effective GHG policy and legislation (see below). Completely absent from the plea is any mention of ocean acidification. How this continues to elude the rationale for effective CO2 management further speaks to lawmakers' real or feigned disconnect from reality. Anyway, here's your chance to fill them in (again). Details and contacts in an info request letter here:. http://democrats.energycommerce.house.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Bicameral-Task-Force-Letter-2-Waxman-Whitehouse-2013-1-31.pdf Comments due Feb 20. -Greg CLIMATE: Waxman, Whitehouse call for ideas to tackle warming Jason Plautz, E&E reporter Published: Thursday, January 31, 2013 The leaders of a congressional task force on climate change have reached out to more than 300 businesses and organizations -- including the nation's largest oil and gas companies -- to ask for their input on how the federal government can reduce carbon dioxide pollution. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) sent letters to various groups, ranging from environmental groups to labor organizations. The co-chairmen of the Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change said they are looking for advice on what each branch of the federal government can do to tackle climate change. That input will be shared with the White House as well as members of a climate change clearinghouse hosted by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and other legislators. "Washington is gripped in a barricade of special interests on the urgent issue of climate change," said Whitehouse. "That's why we want to break the Beltway barricade and ask a broad array of businesses, nonprofit organizations and academic institutions to share their ideas about actions the federal government can take. Climate change is already affecting all of us, and we want to get all ideas on the table to address it." The list<http://democrats.energycommerce.house.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Businesses-Organizations-Receiving-Bicameral-Task-Force-Letter-2013-1-31.pdf> of recipients includes the nation's largest oil, natural gas and coal companies; electric utilities; auto manufacturers; and defense contractors. The legislators also reached out to a range of environmental groups, universities and think tanks. A sample letter<http://democrats.energycommerce.house.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Bicameral-Task-Force-Letter-2-Waxman-Whitehouse-2013-1-31.pdf> showed that the task force is asking for "a wide range of ideas" that could include legislation, new regulation or actions by smaller federal agencies. Responses were requested by Feb. 20. Waxman and Whitehouse launched the task force last week in order to raise the profile of climate change and help advise the Obama administration on how to use its existing authority to address the issue (Greenwire<http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/2013/01/24/archive/5>, Jan. 24). -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. <Bicameral-Task-Force-Letter-2-Waxman-Whitehouse-2013-1-31.pdf> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
