Lobbying in Washington DC to Protect the CAA

     When The Sierra Club asked me if I would like to go to Capital Hill to lobby for the Clean Air Act, I could hardly contain myself from the excitement of a once-in-a-lifetime-kind-of-opportunity. Rallying, blogging, working with OSEC, and getting UC students organized to move our campus beyond coal has drawn a little attention from some folks at Sierra Club (thanks for noticing, MacKenzie Bailey!). Folks across the midwest were chosen to fly-in to DC at a very strategic moment to meet with their congress persons about the Clean Air Act.

An incredible team of lobbyers from across the midwest. In front, Lyndsay Mosely of the Sierra Club.

     It was certainly a diverse crew. Lance Weyeneth, a fisherman from Michigan, was there to express his concern of mercury from coal-fired power plants getting into his fish. Roni Kampmeyer is forced to live close to a coal slurry impoundment called little blue. Misti Wright Furr is a park ranger in Virginia who has had to fight coal plants from being built in her own backyard. Every one of these folks had an incredible story, and I was lucky to be among them.

     A video by the great folks over at Ohio Student Environmental Coalition about this issue.

   
     Here's a video from the Sierra Club office in DC, urging fellow students to call Brown and watch the video above:

     We targeted people on that "damned fence" about the issue of whether or not the Environmental Protection Agency should be allowed to protect our very own clean air from greenhouse gases, mercury, and other toxins. It is really a shame that this was even necessary. I found myself lobbying Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, who was previously a champion of climate justice, but recently has caved to public pressure and the unpopularity of the EPA among corporate constituents.

Holding the Ohio flag in front of Steve Chabot's office. I delivered a "stickerback" pellet (manufactured by an Ohio company, which UC hopes to use as an immediate coal replacement) to Mr. Chabot, and left the message that energy alternatives can provide new opportunities to small business. This was aside from my main goal, but couldn't miss the opportunity.

     Mary-Ann Hitt, deputy director of the Sierra Club's National Coal Campaign, gives the full story.

     The trip itself had several things noteworthy in my mind. Flying in, I could see toxic slurry impoundments from the plane. In DC, I was impressed by the sustainable transportation services, such as the DC Metro and Capital BikeShare. I saw solar panels over a parking lot within five minutes of being on the ground in DC. The folks in DC have a high sense of urgency. Lyndsay Mosely is one of the most impressive folks I have ever met. I'll never forget all of the amazing cherry blossoms that were in bloom while I was there.

Cherry Blossoms at the Jefferson Memorial

     I think the moral of this story is that there is a lot of work to do to protect the environment. If you are considering being an organizer or advocate in this field, we need you. There are plenty of jobs and a lot of organizations working on this. As far as my love for DC, well, I'll be there again in just a few days for the largest environmental conference in the world- Powershift 2011.


     Update on the Clean Air Act attacks which we were lobbing to protect: On April 6th, Harry Reid claimed that the 5 bills which attacked EPA funding of greenhouse gases (one of which was co-sponsored by Brown himself, released just days after I left DC) would not come to a vote. Later that day, President Obama made an official statement that not only would he veto any bill attempting to remove EPA's ability to protect clean air, but that he would veto any attacks on the Clean Water Act. This was most likely an acknowledgement to all of the great folks that were lobbing to end mountaintop removal that week. On April 7th, contrary to the statement by Reid, the Senate voted on all 5 bills regarding EPA funding for the CAA. To the delight of many, and if I may so so myself- the folks standing with me in the photo above, ALL 5 BILLS WERE VOTED DOWN. I was already proud to take my concerns to Capital Hill, but am speechless in regards to my feelings that I have when I consider that I was able to have a direct role in protecting the air of our future generations. 

Keeping Brown Clean and Green

              

     Ohio is a not just a swing state, its a battleground. When Ohio votes one way, it tends to name a winner.

     Cincinnati, Ohio has one of the floppiest histories of policy you'll ever see. An attraction here is the underground ruins of a half-built subway which had its funding pulled mid-construction because our elected city council wanted it and ... then, they didn't.

     Sherrod Brown suddenly seems to personify this Ohio-ism and is stumbling in his support of the Clean Air Act. Monday morning, he wrote to President Obama asking him to consider the economic implications of regulating the CAA.

     Monday, Cincinnati went to Mr. Brown's local office to ask him to consider all of the implications of regulating the CAA.

     University of Cincinnati students, educators, public workers, Greenpeace, Ohio Student Environmental Coalition, 1sky, local business owners, urban farmers, and techies made up the crowd that rallied Monday. The message was clear: we can't afford to lose our clean air. The crowd speculated about which special interest has Brown suddenly backing the corporate polluters.

     "What do we want? Clean Air. When do we want it? NOW!" 

     At the end of the rally, a group dropped in to the office. They were able to meet with one of Brown's employees, and discuss the implications of his vote. A letter, signed during the rally, was given to her to be delivered to Mr. Brown just before he votes this week. The message of the letter was clear.

     Since Mr. Brown mentioned it in his letter to the President, lets start with the economics. This EPA study shows that the CAA will save $2 trillion dollars. Not regulating polluters might make coal plants a dollar today, but it will cost taxpayers at least two tomorrow, when some 22.4 million school and work days are missed from asthma or other air quality related reasons. Consider that, Mr. Brown. Mr. Obama?

     Oh, and by the way, there's a climate change going on. The costs of repairing the effects of the extreme excess of ambient carbon dioxide have only begun to be speculated- and that's given that we haven't crossed the "tipping point". Early numbers are unfathomable- far beyond the net global deficit.

     Where's the alternative? Let's build some windmills instead. That will create jobs and income while protecting our health and environment. The technology is ready to go. The workers are ready. The subsidies, however, are instead going to big coal. In this economy, we can't afford poor leadership.

     When we voted for Brown, we thought he knew all of this. Maybe its not the voters that don't make up their minds, it's the elected officials in Ohio who don't stand behind their promises.