Hill Heat

Waxman and Stupak Demand BP Detail Scope Of Advertising Campaign

Brad Johnson — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:03:00 -0400

In a letter to BP America CEO Lamar McKay, Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) are demanding that BP disclose its “spending on corporate advertising and marketing relating to the the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and relief, recovery, and restoration efforts in the Gulf of Mexico.” Their request follows the efforts of Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL) to get answers about BP’s massive greenwashing campaign, which includes months of full-page advertisements in national and regional newspapers, radio spots, television commercials, and Internet ads. Outside estimates of the scope of the greenwashing campaign managed by BP’s public relations firm Mediashare are in the tens of millions of dollars, the Washington Post’s Krissah Thompson reports:

After the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in April, BP went on the air with television ads and bought a series of full-page ads in The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and other papers to position itself as an imperfect but responsible corporation committed to the cleanup of the gulf. The company has spent $55.8 million on television and print advertising so far this year, according to the Nielsen Co., which tracks ad spending.

According to Media Monitors, BP’s radio spots surged to 10,684 last week, with a particular focus on Florida stations. Since mid-July, BP’s internet ads have been running on political blogs, including Talking Points Memo, the Common Sense Media network of liberal sites from FireDogLake to AmericaBlog, and a host of conservative sites, including Eagle Interactive’s network with RedState and the Salem Web Network’s Townhall.com and Hot Air.

BP seems to be working harder to protect its brand than to help the people of the Gulf Coast, argued Alabama Attorney General Troy King. He has filed suit against BP because “while BP is spending millions on print ads and airtime, it’s not spending what it should on claims.” Fortunately, BP’s control of the claims process will finally end Monday, with the launch of Kenneth Feinberg’s Gulf Coast Claims Facility.

The BP Oil Spill: Accounting for the Spilled Oil and Ensuring the Safety of Seafood from the Gulf

Brad Johnson — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 11:30:00 -0400

Witnesses

Bill Lehr, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Office of Response and Restoration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Paul Anastas, Ph.D., Assistant Administrator, Office of Research and Development, Environmental Protection Agency
Donald Kraemer, Acting Deputy Director, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration
Ian MacDonald, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Oceanography, Florida State University
Mike Voisin, Chief Executive Officer, Motivatit Seafoods, LLC
Acy Cooper, Jr., Vice President, Louisiana Shrimp Association
Dean Blanchard, President, Dean Blanchard Seafoods, Inc.
Lisa Suatoni, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Oceans Program, Natural Resources Defense Council

Greenland Ice Sheet: Global Warming’s Impacts on Arctic Region

Brad Johnson — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 09:30:00 -0400

Last week an ice sheet covering 100 square miles broke off Greenland. This dramatic sea ice event follows the warmest six months on record and is the largest piece of Arctic ice to break free since 1962.

On Tuesday, the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming will hold a briefing with scientists and experts who study the Arctic region to discuss this event and its relationship to climate change.

Witnesses

Dr. Richard B. Alley, Professor of Geosciences, and Earth and Environmental Systems, The Pennsylvania State University
Dr. Robert Bindschadler, Senior Research Scientist at University of Maryland Baltimore County, who has 30 years of service with NASA
Dr. Andreas Muenchow, Professor of Physical Ocean Science and Engineering, University of Delaware

New Green Democrats Are 'Rattling All The Cages' of the Sclerotic Senate

Wonk Room — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 08:12:00 -0400

From the Wonk Room.

Democrats recently elected to the U.S. Senate have pressed their colleagues to ambitiously address climate and energy reform, and are frustrated by the lack of action. In a series of interviews with the Wonk Room at Netroots Nation, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM), Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) described the challenges of confronting climate pollution in the sclerotic legislative body, brought to a practical standstill by minority obstruction. They each discussed how the “new class” of 22 Democratic senators elected in the 2006 and 2008 waves (with independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont) have pressed for greater “political clarity” on climate by “rattling all the cages” in the Senate, alongside senior leaders such as Sen. John Kerry (D-MA).

Questioned by the Wonk Room why Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) shied away from introducing a comprehensive climate bill for full Senate consideration as energy crises pile up during the hottest summer ever recorded, the senators noted the ability of Republicans to thwart the will of the majority through the abuse of parliamentary procedures. They recognized Reid’s decision to try for quick action with a limited package in what little time is left during this Congress. However, they relished the chance to debate the promise of a green economy before the November elections, seeing the issue as a political winner:

CARDIN: I think we need political clarity. I wasn’t so concerned about having a vote before August. But we needed the clarity of the bill.
FRANKEN: If you want to rev up people, and say Democrats believe in this – one of the gaps they’re talking about is the enthusiasm gap. So maybe, politically, that is the right way to go. I think that Harry tends to want to get half a loaf or a third of a loaf rather than no loaf at all. This bill could be considered a first step. A lot of that is strategic, in terms of positioning yourself for the election. I was sort of of the school that we should go for pricing carbon, and if we lose, we lose. But that’s not what we did.

UDALL: Our two classes – the class of 2006 and the class of 2008 – I think have a real passion for all of the things you talked about and a desire to do something. We’re rattling all the cages in the committees we’re on, doing the things that we can do. But there is kind of an institutional thing going on there that slows everything down. There’s no doubt about that.

MERKLEY: This generational factor is why, if we can create a course that at least puts us on the right track for the next six to eight years, we will have with each subsequent election more and more folks coming in—based on what I hear at the university level, and graduate school level, and based on the difference between our class and the several classes ahead of us – there is just a growing commitment and passion to fighting this fight on climate and energy.

Watch Udall, Merkley, and Franken discuss their efforts to bring new passion to the climate and energy fight:

The Democrats described by Sen. Cardin as the “new class” overwhelmingly support strong green economy legislation, unlike the older generation peppered with climate peacocks. In fact, according to Politico, every one of the 12 Democrats elected in 2008 would vote for cloture on comprehensive climate and energy reform. Of the ten Democrats elected in 2006, only Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) make polluter-friendly arguments against clean energy reform.

“This is going to be a generational battle,” Merkley explained. “We’re going to have keep working and pushing because even our most optimistic bill has fairly weak goals for 2020. We’re going to have to be a lot more aggressive between 2020 and 2050 if we’re going to address carbon dioxide.”

“We can’t give up,” Cardin said during his interview, “because the stakes are too high for our country.”

Investment In Small Hydropower: Prospects Of Expanding Low-Impact And Affordable Hydropower Generation In The West

Brad Johnson — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:00:00 -0400

Witnesses

Panel 1

Michael L. Connor, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Department of the Interior
Michael G. Ensch, SES, Chief, Operations and Regulatory Community of Practice, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Jeff Wright, Director of the Office of Energy Projects, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Sonya Baskerville, Manager, National Relations Office, Bonneville Power Administration, U.S. Department of Energy

Panel 2

Jon Lambeck, Manager of Power Resources, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Gary Esslinger, Treasurer-Manager, Elephant Butte Irrigation District
Thomas P. Graves, Executive Director, Mid-West Electric Consumers Association
Gia D. Schneider, Chairman and CEO, Natel Energy, Inc
John Prescott, President and CEO, PNGC Power
Andrew Fahlund, Senior Vice President, Conservation, American Rivers and the Hydropower Reform Coalition

Flood Preparedness and Mitigation: Map Modernization, Levee Inspection, and Levee Repairs

Brad Johnson — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:00:00 -0400

The purpose of this hearing is to evaluate preparedness and mitigation efforts among flood-prone communities and responsible federal agencies, by evaluating the accuracy of the FEMA flood map modernization process, its impact on states and localities, mechanisms for dispute resolution, and the impact of levee inspections and certifications on determinations of flood risk.

Since the epic failure of the federal levees in New Orleans in August 2005, additional levee failures occurred during the Midwest floods in 2008 and the historic spring floods earlier this year in Rhode Island and Tennessee.

On March 18, 2010, 16 Senators signed a letter to FEMA and the Corps of Engineers citing challenges in the ongoing flood map modernization process. Among the areas listed were: a lack of communication and outreach with local stakeholders; a lack of coordination between FEMA and USACE in answering questions about both flood mapping, flood insurance and flood control infrastructure repairs; a lack of recognition of locally funded flood control projects when determining flood zones; the affordability of flood insurance; inadequate time and resources to complete repairs to flood control structures before flood maps are finalized; and potential impacts new flood maps might have on economic development.

This hearing will provide an opportunity for the subcommittee to evaluate mapping methodologies and map dispute resolution mechanisms, hear suggestions for improved outreach to local residents and stakeholders, and determine options for local governments to finance levee inspections and repairs.

Witnesses

Panel 1

The Honorable Jo-Ellen Darcy, Assistant Secretary of the Army, Civil Works, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Sandra Knight, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Federal Insurance & Mitigation Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Panel 2

The Honorable Bob Mehlhoff, District 26, Montana House of Representatives
Dr. David Maidment, Director of the Center for Research in Water Resources & the Hussein M. Alharthy Centennial Chair in Civil Engineering The University of Texas at Austin
Sam Riley Medlock, JD, CFM, Policy Counsel, Association of State Floodplain Managers, Member, National Committee on Levee Safety
Robert Rash, P.E., P.L.S., Chief Executive Officer & Chief Engineer, St. Francis Levee District of Arkansas
Dr. Joseph Suhayda, Interim Director, Louisiana State University Hurricane Center

Assessing Natural Resource Damages Resulting from the BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster

Brad Johnson — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:30:00 -0400

Witnesses

Panel 1

Cynthia Dohner, Regional Director, Southeast Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Tony Penn, Deputy Chief, Assessment and Restoration Division, Office of Response and Restoration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Dr. Eva J. Pell, Under Secretary for Science, Smithsonian Institution

Panel 2

Dr. Robert B. Spies, President, Applied Marine Sciences; Former Chief Scientist, Exxon Valdez Trustee Council
Stanley Senner, Conservation Science Director, Ocean Conservancy
Dr. Erik Rifkin, Interim Executive Director, National Aquarium Conservation Center
John F. Young, Jr., Chairman, Jefferson Parish Council

Exxon Valdez to Deepwater Horizon: Protecting Victims of Major Oil Spills

Brad Johnson — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:30:00 -0400

Witnesses

Panel I

Mark Begich, United States Senator, State of Alaska

Panel II

Brian O’Neill, Partner, Faegre & Benson LLP
Joe Banta, Project Manager, Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council
Thomas G. McInerney, Lt. Gen. USAF (Ret)

Climate Change Finance: Providing Assistance for Vulnerable Countries

Brad Johnson — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:00:00 -0400

Witnesses

Panel I

Lael Brainard, Under Secretary for International Affairs, U.S. Department of the Treasury
Jonathan Pershing, Ph.D., Deputy Special Envoy for Climate Change, U.S. Department of State
Rear Admiral David W. Titley, Oceanographer and Navigator of the Navy, U.S. Department of the Navy
Maura O’Neill, Ph.D., Senior Counselor to the Administrator and Chief Innovation Officer, U.S. Agency for International Development

Panel II

Nancy E. Soderberg, President, Connect U.S. Fund (Former Alternate Representative to the United Nations)
Elliot Diringer, Vice President, International Strategies, Pew Center on Global Climate Change
Reed E. Hundt, CEO, Coalition for Green Capital (Former Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission)
Redmond Clark, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO, CBL Industrial Services

Under Threat of Republican Obstruction, Reid Abandons Climate Push

Wonk Room — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 11:13:00 -0400

From the Wonk Room.

As Washington, D.C. wilts in the global heat wave gripping the planet, the Democratic leadership in the Senate has abandoned the effort to cap global warming pollution for the foreseeable future, unwilling to test a Republican filibuster. Instead of testing the hypocrisy of climate peacocks, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) will instead attempt to pass a limited bill with new energy incentives and oil reduction policies next week. The decision was formally made at a meeting of the Senate Democratic caucus Wednesday. After the meeting, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), whose efforts to craft comprehensive climate legislation had foundered, focused on the challenge of overcoming a filibuster:

But we’ve always known from day one, that in order to pass comprehensive energy/climate legislation, you’ve got to reach 60 votes, and to reach those 60 votes, you’ve got have some Republicans. And as we stand here today, we do not have one Republican. I think that it’s possible to get there.

It is the ninth day of the latest 90-plus heat wave to hit Washington DC, part of the global heat wave caused by greenhouse gas pollution. Former vice president Al Gore responded to the announcement with a cold reminder of the realities the Senate has not confronted:

The need to solve the climate crisis and transition to clean energy has never been more clear. The oil is still washing up on the shores of the Gulf Coast and we’ve just experienced the hottest six months on record. Our troops are fighting and dying in the Middle East and our economy is still struggling to produce jobs. I continue to urge the President to provide leadership on this issue and urge the Senate to make this issue a priority for the remainder of this Congress. Ultimately – and sooner rather than later – these issues simply must be dealt with. Our national security, our economic recovery and the future of the United States of America – and indeed the future of human civilization on this Earth – depends on our country taking leadership. And that, in turn, depends on the United States Senate acting. The truth about the climate crisis—inconvenient as ever—must be faced.