Hill Heat

A public hearing for the joint investigation will be held May 11-12, 2010 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (CDT) at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 2829 Williams Blvd., Kenner, La.

The purpose of this joint investigation is to develop conclusions and recommendations as they relate to the Deepwater Horizon MODU explosion and loss of life on April 20, 2010. The facts collected at this hearing, along with the lead investigators’ conclusions and recommendations will be forwarded to Coast Guard Headquarters and MMS for approval. Once approved, the final investigative report will be made available to the public and the media. No analysis or conclusions will be presented during the hearing.

Witnesses

• Kevin Robb – Coast Guard Eighth District Search and Rescue Specialist
• Alwin Landry – Master M/V DAMON B. BANKSTON
• Anthony Gervaso – Engineer M/V DAMON B. BANKSTON
• Paul Erickson – Chief Mate M/V DAMON B. BANKSTON
• Frank Patton – MMS Permitting
• Eric Neal – MMS Inspector
• Bob Neal – MMS Inspector

Streaming on http://live.cnn.com

H.R. 2864 (Rep. Don Young (R-AK)): Amends the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998 to authorize appropriations to the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for FY2011-FY2012: (1) to acquire hydrographic data, provide hydrographic services, and conduct coastal change analyses necessary to ensure safe navigation, and to improve the management of coastal change in the Arctic; and (2) to acquire hydrographic data and provide hydrographic services in the Arctic necessary to delineate the U.S. extended continental shelf.

Also H.R.3805, the “Electronic Duck Stamp Extension Act of 2009”; and H.R.4973, “National Wildlife Refuge Volunteer Improvement Act of 2010.”

Even after months of personal attacks against climate scientists stemming from a manufactured scandal over stolen emails, the underlying science behind the need to stem the tide of heat-trapping emissions remains solid. To explain what we know about climate change, and why and how we know it, Chairman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming will host top-level American climate scientists at a congressional hearing this Thursday, May 6, 2010.

The scientists will address the claims of deniers head-on. Thursday’s panel features a member of the investigative panel convened by the University of East Anglia and led by Lord Ron Oxburgh to review the stolen emails from that school’s Climactic Research Unit. The “Oxburgh Inquiry” exonerated the scientists who were attacked following the emails, saying they “saw no evidence of any deliberate scientific malpractice in any of the work.”

The hearing also includes three scientists involved in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports, which have also been attacked by climate science deniers.

Witnesses

• Dr. Lisa Graumlich, Director, School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, and member of the “Oxburgh Inquiry” panel
• Dr. Chris Field, Director, Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution of Washington, and co-chair of “Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability” portion of new IPCC report due in 2014
• Dr. James McCarthy, Professor of Biological Oceanography, Harvard University, past President and Chair of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, co-chair of “Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability” portion of IPCC report published in 2001
• Dr. James Hurrell, Senior Scientist, National Center for Atmospheric Research, contributor to IPCC reports
• Christopher Monckton, Chief Policy Adviser, Science and Public Policy Institute

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing to examine the potential effects of pending energy and climate legislation on the transportation sector and U.S. dependence on oil. Policies that create a sustained, stable, and predictable price on carbon for transportation fuels have the potential to promote fuel-efficient vehicles, low-carbon fuels, and more energy-efficient transportation decisions by businesses and consumers. However, how such a price is determined, how it is applied, and how generated revenues are used can greatly influence the benefits and costs of such a policy. This briefing will focus on the economic and environmental implications of alternative ways to reduce oil use and greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector and how key stakeholders are likely to respond. Speakers for this event include:

• Dr. David Montgomery, Vice-President, Charles River Associates
• Dr. Chad Stone, Chief Economist, Center for Budget and Policy Priorities
• Dr. Adele Morris, Policy Director for Energy and Climate Economics, Brookings Institution
• Dr. David Austin, Senior Economist, Congressional Budget Office
• Jack Basso, Director of Program Finance and Management, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
• James Corless, Director, Transportation for America
• Patrick O’Connor, Legislative Counsel, NAFA Fleet Management Association

Fuel use in the transportation sector is widely regarded to be less sensitive to changes in price, relative to electricity and other sectors of the economy, due in part to limited availability of transportation options and substitutes for petroleum fuels. Recent swings in fuel prices, corresponding demand responses, and other research suggest, however, that modest price signals - especially sustained price signals - can spur investments in clean transportation and create significant benefits for the transportation sector. Options to create a carbon price through a fee on transportation fuels can be designed to be as effective and predictable as other policy options based on tradable allowances. Any revenues generated through such policies can be returned to consumers and businesses, reinvested in transportation infrastructure and advanced vehicle and fuel technology, or directed to a combination of public uses.

This briefing is free and open to the public. No RSVP required. For more information, please contact Jan Mueller at jmueller@eesi.org or (202) 662-1883.

The effects of climate change and the way we use energy are significant U.S. national security challenges. Addressing them will be increasingly important for our nation’s defense. The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) invites you to attend an event that will examine these critical issues, featuring a keynote address by Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change.

A roundtable discussion among national security experts will follow the keynote address. Experts will address questions including: How will energy and water challenges in Pakistan and Afghanistan affect current operations in the region and U.S. military bases around the globe? How will competition for energy, strategic minerals, food, and water affect countries and regions of strategic importance – from Afghanistan to the Arctic, China to Yemen?

This event marks the launch of the groundbreaking CNAS report Broadening Horizons: Climate Change and the U.S. Armed Forces, which examines the dual pressures of climate change and energy on each U.S. military service and regional combatant command. Authors Christine Parthemore; Commander Herb Carmen, USN; and Will Rogers map a road ahead to improve the country’s ability to promote national security in the face of a changing climate.

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

• Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change

PANEL DISCUSSION

• Dr. David Kilcullen, President and CEO of Caerus
• Rear Admiral Philip Hart Cullom, USN Head of the Navy’s Task Force Energy Director, Fleet Readiness Division on the Navy Staff
• Robert Kaplan, Senior Fellow, CNAS Correspondent, The Atlantic Monthly
• Christine Parthemore, Bacevich Fellow, CNAS

2:30-3:00 p.m.: Check-in and registration
3:00-5:30 p.m.: Event
5:30-7:00 p.m.: Cocktail reception

Location:
The Willard InterContinental Hotel
1401 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will make a major announcement concerning the Cape Wind project. Credentialed media are invited to attend.

Massachusetts State House
Governor’s Press Room
Room 157
Beacon Hill
Boston

Witnesses

Panel 1

• Steven Chu, Secretary, Department of Energy

Panel 2

• Philip R. Sharp, President, Resources for the Future
• Robert W. Fri, Past President and Visiting Scholar, Resources for the Future
• Dr. Eric P. Loewen, Chief Consulting Engineer, Advanced Plants, Technology, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy