By Larry Schweiger

I posted the following response on the National Journal blog today in response to a reply from Bill Kovacs with the U.S Chamber of Commerce. The reply is in response to a question on whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should be required to defend its finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare, as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce contends.

You need a secret decoder ring to unravel Bill Kovacs' illogical pretzel in his National Journal blog, as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce launches the most ambitious effort in years to undermine scientific progress on climate change while simultaneously claiming to be a believer in that same science. Here's the secret to understanding the two different faces of the Chamber on global warming: Mr. Kovacs and the Chamber leadership will do anything to stop legislation and regulations that are aimed to rein in runaway greenhouse gas emissions, and they have resorted to an anti-science agenda that is not supported by most of the Chamber’s own business members. How else do you explain Mr. Kovacs' debate with himself? On the one hand, the Chamber is trying to force the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ignore the years of careful scientific work by the agency and other scientists that take us to the threshold of real action to begin reducing emissions. They want EPA to stage a "trial" on climate science. As Mr. Kovacs told the Los Angeles Times last week: "It would be evolution versus creationism. It would be the science of climate change on trial." On the other hand, Mr. Kovacs maintains in today's blog that the "Chamber supports sensible and ambitious congressional and international action on global climate change." So which Chamber are we really dealing with today? The official Chamber whose members want "ambitious" action on global warming, or the Chamber run by Mr. Kovacs and other obstructionists who want EPA to pretend that global warming doesn't threaten public health, welfare and the environment?

Mr. Kovacs wants EPA to put the science of global warming on trial. But the real trial today should be for the Chamber’s business members to demand more accountability from the Chamber’s staff as they spend millions of dollars to derail clean energy initiatives and drag today’s debate on climate change solutions back into yesterday’s debate on climate science. Companies including Wegmans Foods, Nike, IBM, 3M, Eastman Kodak, FedEx, UPS, Charles Schwab, Xerox, Anheuser-Busch, CVS, Entergy, Duke Energy, Dow Chemical, Siemens, State Farm, USAirways, Pfizer, Harrah's, Kimberly-Clark, New York Life Insurance Company, and Alcoa have executive staff who sit on the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce. Many of these companies have taken steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and join the fight against global warming, and some advocate for the type of legislation that the Chamber is trying to kill. It's time for these companies to weigh in with the Chamber and stop this anti-science, anti-action nonsense. The customers of many of these companies would be surprised, and no doubt alarmed, to find that a portion of the money they spend might be sent on to support the Chamber of Commerce, which has disclosed $17 million in lobbying for the first half of this year alone. Last week, a Washington Post poll found that the public supports the efforts of President Obama and Congress on energy by a two-to-one margin (57% to 29%). When asked specifically about the American Clean Energy and Security Act passed in June by the House, but opposed by the Chamber, 71% of the public support the measure, according to another recent national poll by Zogby.

It's disappointing, but not surprising, that the Chamber refuses to disclose who its other business members are beyond its Board of Directors. More than 10,000 small businesses, including 650 members of the Chamber, recently sent letters to the Chamber asking them to stop lobbying against the clean energy jobs plans moving through Congress. More businesses, of every size, should follow.

By Larry Schweiger

By Larry Schweiger

The Akron Beacon Journal published this editorial Climate of Opportunity about my recent presentation to 500 business people at the Akron Roundtable.

My thanks go to Fran Buchholzer, a longtime Akron resident and member of National Wildlife Federation’s President’s Advisory Council, who graciously worked with the Akron Roundtable to provide this opportunity.

Once thought of as an "old carbon economy" state due to its dependence on coal, Ohio is now a state poised to realize significant economic opportunity from the clean energy economy. Clean energy jobs grew in the state by 7.3% compared to a 2.2% decline for other jobs between 1998 and 2007. Additional investments in a clean energy economy would mean a net increase of 67,000 jobs.

I was encouraged by the commitment of the Akron business community to seize this moment and make the investments needed to create a clean energy economy for their community and the planet.

By Larry Schweiger

On Thursday, the Obama Administration approved the Fishery Management Plan for the fish resources of the Arctic. The plan prevents the expansion of commercial fishing into large areas of the sea where the ice has melted due to rising temperatures until more information is available to support sustainable fisheries management. About 150,000 square nautical miles will be closed.

This is one example of the changes we’ll see and the steps we’ll need to take in order to safeguard wildlife in a warming world.

What changes are you seeing where you live? I’d like to hear your story. Share what's happening in your own backyard at http://www.nwf.org/wildlifeandglobalwarming/quilt.cfm.

By Larry Schweiger

National Wildlife Federation released the following memo today to editorial and opinion writers about the State Department’s approval of a multi billion dollar pipeline to import oil from Canadian tar sands in to the United States. These dirty fuels produce three times as much greenhouse gas emissions as conventional oil.

I’m going to Canada next week to see the environmental and social impacts of these fuels firsthand. I’ll be joined by several colleagues who share my concerns about these fuels.

State Dept. Pollution Pipeline Undermines Obama's Climate Goals

NWF Memo to Editorial and Opinion Writers

The Washington Post and several Canadian news sources are reporting the U.S. State Department has approved the construction of a multibillion-dollar pipeline from Canadian oil sands to refineries in the United States( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/20/AR2009082004008.html). The State Department-approved Alberta pollution pipeline will not just move fuel, but it will move one of the dirtiest fuels on the planet -- tar sands oil.

Turning tar sands into oil requires massive amounts of energy and results in as much as 3 times as much greenhouse gas emissions to produce as conventional oil, studies show. The full lifecycle emissions from the tar sands oil from this Alberta Pollution Pipeline (including production and tailpipe emissions) could be more than 3 billion tons of heat-trapping gases pumped into the atmosphere (yes, that is "Billion" with a "B," not a typo) thru the year 2050.

Meanwhile, President Obama has called for the U.S. and other developed nations, including Canada, to cut emissions by more than 80% during this same time period. Building this pipeline while trying to shift to cleaner energy sources is like going on a diet while buying a lifetime supply of Twinkies.

A better solution for our oil dependency is for the Senate to act swiftly to pass a clean energy and climate bill such as the bill approved by the House in June. The bill creates incentives for homegrown renewable energy technologies like wind and solar and electric vehicles and will create millions of jobs in the process. According to recent analysis by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the America Clean Energy and Security Act would reduce oil imports by 590,000 barrels per day by 2020 -- more than we will get from this pipeline project, and as much oil as we currently import from Iraq. The American Clean Energy and Security Act will save $650 billion from being spent on foreign oil over the next 20 years. Among many oil saving measures, the American Clean Energy and Security Act includes a strong investment in battery technologies and a smarter grid that can help get renewable energy sources like solar and wind to our homes to charge up our automobiles with electricity.

The State Department's position ( http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2009/aug/128164.htm) on greenhouse gases from the "Alberta Clipper" line: "The administration believes the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions are best addressed through each country's robust domestic policies and a strong international agreement." President Obama and the State Department deserve credit for actively pursuing this global agreement as well as domestic clean energy legislation. All the more reason to avoid locking in highly polluting energy infrastructure like this pipeline that will make little economic sense when we commit to homegrown renewable energy sources and put a price on carbon pollution.

The State Department decision threatens to get the Obama administration off course on its winning energy strategy to simultaneously deal with three inter-related opportunities at the same time: limit carbon pollution in order to promote clean energy and clean energy jobs, increase energy security, and protect our planet. To date, these efforts have gotten high marks from the public. A recent Zogby poll found that 71% of likely voters support the American Clean Energy and Security Act( http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.cfm?ID=1730).

NWF urges you to write in favor of the President's and Congress' efforts to pass the American Clean Energy and Security Act, and against this pipeline that undermines a cleaner energy future.

By Larry Schweiger

I had the privilege of honoring National Wildlife Federation’s Volunteer of the Year, Kathy Lewis, in Akron, Ohio last night.

Kathy has been a dedicated wildlife educator and an advocate for backyard wildlife habitats and getting kids outside. Her passion for wildlife has led her to educate thousands of Ohio citizens about the serious threats to Ohio’s wildlife and the environment.

As President of the Beaver Creek Wildlife Education Center, Kathy has also given dozens of presentations to thousands of visitors about Ohio’s natural resources. Kathy has also taken an active role in educating her legislators about what they need to do to safeguard Ohio’s natural resources for future generations.

Kathy said that "the most gratifying aspect of her career is getting to meet and know Ohio political figures and having them feel as strongly as she does about wildlife."

Kathy embodies what Margaret Mead once said: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has."

Jim Kerr accepted Kathy’s award on her behalf.

Isn’t it inspiring the difference that one person can make?

By Larry Schweiger

In my travels and conversations this summer I continue to hear from Americans who want a real change in our country’s energy direction. Over and over again I’m hearing what was also found in a recent Zogby survey - that folks are ready for a new energy plan that creates jobs and enhances America’s energy independence.

The American Clean Energy and Security Act recently passed by Congress combines a clean energy plan, an energy efficiency plan and a global warming plan that will set America on a path of global warming action, create millions of new clean energy jobs and enhance America’s energy independence.

Download NWF ACES Toolbox Final 8-14-09

National Wildlife Federation developed a Toolbox Assessment of the American Clean Energy and Security Act. This Toolbox is an excellent framework to track this legislation as it moves forward and keep America on track to create millions of clean energy jobs. Isn’t it time to get on with it?

By Larry J. Schweiger

Many of you wrote letters and placed phone calls to your members of Congress in support of the American Clean Energy and Security Act to protect wildlife from global warming, create clean-energy jobs and improve the nation’s energy security. As a result, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill on the eve of the 4th of July weekend. It was a close fight, and every letter and call counted.

While letters were pouring in from real voters like you who want a new energy future, a surprising number of calls and faxes were being sent to undecided lawmakers from phone numbers outside of their districts urging a vote against the bill. Virginia Congressman Tom Perriello received a letter that supposedly was sent from a local chapter of the NAACP, asking him to oppose the measure. On further investigation, Perriello discovered that this letter along with five others purportedly sent from different organizations were all forgeries. It was a fraud that corrupted the very heart of America’s democracy—the connection between members of Congress and their constituents.

In reality, the NAACP recently joined in partnership with the National Wildlife Federation to support passage of the legislation. During their Centennial Convention in July, NAACP delegates recognized the economic opportunities that will flow from global warming solutions, stating in a resolution that "solving the climate crisis can create 5 million ‘green’ jobs that will be in places where they are needed most."

The fake NAACP letter and other phony messages sent to lawmakers were products of outright deception created by companies such as Bonner & Associates, a lobbying group known to create "strategic grassroots"—an artificial version of grassroots lobbying known in Washington, D.C., as "Astroturf."

In recent years, large corporate interests have successfully deceived Congress and the public by paying for such Astroturf campaigns. Here is how it’s done: Corporations hire firms like Bonner & Associates, which in turn make up fake organizational names or borrow real organizations’ letterheads, hire professional callers who improperly identify themselves with made-up groups and urge unsuspecting residents to call their members of Congress to oppose important reform legislation that they misrepresent as bad. Bonner & Associates refused to reveal its corporate clients that funded their deception, but the firm has represented a number of big energy companies in the past. Congress is now investigating their activities.

This is merely the latest fraud by the major energy companies to mislead the public. On a recent visit to Prince William Sound in Alaska, I saw scientifically-collected samples that demonstrate much of the oil from the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill remains where it went when it was washed off the surface of the rocks. It continues to damage fish and wildlife habitat and contaminate our food chain. The oiled sound is no longer the pristine place it once was and most of the canneries in the town of Cordova are gone.

When the pipeline and port in Prince William Sound were built, the oil industry promised President Nixon they would have a response team, oil booms and other equipment ready to address any spill that might occur. They didn’t.

In the days after the accident, as the oil spread more than 800 miles through the sound and along the Alaska Coast, Exxon promised to clean it up and make the 30,000 people living in the region’s fishing villages "whole." They did neither. Instead, Exxon cheated innocent people of their livelihoods. For the next 20 years, the company fought bankrupt fishermen, cannery owners and other innocent victims all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In the end, Exxon paid only pennies on the dollars lost. Many of the original victims died waiting; others lost everything dear to them.

There is an often-repeated quote, first attributed to President Abraham Lincoln, that says, "You may fool all of the people some of the time, you can even fool some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time." Well, the executives of big oil along with the dirty coal industry believe they can fool all Americans all the time.

Oil companies will do everything they can to stop the clean energy and climate legislation passed in the House from advancing in the Senate. Once again, we expect a close vote. Call your two U.S. Senators, tell them that you are a real constituent and urge them to pass the bill to protect our world, create millions of new jobs and restore a strong economy built on a domestic energy future. Let’s work together to prove President Lincoln right.