Government Resources

This is the resources page for the Government Group.

Link to the Group’s page with information about the Government group.

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Clean Energy Jobs Bill 2018-2019

Jordan Cove Terminal/Pacific Connector Pipeline

The 2018 Green New Deal

This was developed by, and is being promoted largely by a youth organization called the Sunrise Movement.  Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (AOC) is a leading proponent but many others have also endorsed it.  Ocasio Cortez and Senator Ed Markey have developed a Green New Deal Resolution that is being introduced into the federal House ans Senate.

The notion of a Green New Deal that combines environmental / climate consciousness with social justice seems very attractive – even exciting.  However, what the initial Select Committee proposal was tremendously naive (a naivete shared by many who should know better) regarding climate science.  That initial proposal focused on carbon, decarbonization, and a carbon-free economy as though carbon (dioxide) is the only problem.  We contacted them through several means to point out that the focus must be on greenhouse gases NOT carbon unless they want to promote natural gas and methane leakage.  The problem with a focus on carbon is that it ignores the non-carbon greenhouse gas Nitrous oxide, and undervalues the impact of other greenhouse gases (methane and the fluorocarbons with much greater global warming potential than carbon dioxide) thus promoting conversion by utilities and vehicles from coal/oil to natural gas.  This would promote the relatively large leakage of methane that results from fracking, processing and transmitting fossil (natural) gas. Then, after a few weeks, we learned that they had revised their proposal exactly as suggested.  We don’t know if it was just us or others commenting also, but I was pleased by the adjustment.  The text of the updated proposal for a Select Committee, though now moot, can be found here.

Since then, references to the GND  suggest again that its focus is on carbon.  We don’t know if this is because not everyone associated with the GND actually got (or understood) the message, or if it’s just reporters being out-of-date in their reporting, or being so locked into carbon in their minds that they don’t see the adjustment.
Anyway, while tentatively enthusiastic, we await confirmation that they really understand the since.  So, until our confidence grows in their understanding of this issue, we remain a little guarded. However, the text of their strategy is very promising.