Posts by Josh Dorner

Josh Dorner is a writer for the Sierra Club.

The ABCs of the House GOP's Dick Cheney Energy Plan
Posted by Josh Dorner, Sierra Club on June 15, 2009 at 4:00 PM.

They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks. It also appears that you can't teach a bunch of old-line conservatives about New Energy for America. The leadership of the increasingly embattled GOP minority in Congress continues to circle the wagons around the failed policies of the past. As the Waxman-Markey clean energy jobs plan moves toward a House floor vote as soon as 10 days from now, the House GOP leadership unveiled their "alternative." 

Unfortunately, their so-called alternative was a not-even-thinly-veiled redux of the failed Bush-Cheney energy policies of yesteryear. You know, the ones that ruined the economy, made global warming worse, and left us even more dependent on tin-pot dictators to meet our growing addiction to oil. Yeah, those.

Our friends at Media Matters for America took a little looksee at the plans put forward by Bush and Cheney and the House GOP's latest plan, the American Energy Act. The two plans looked suspiciously similar, shall we say. Almost as if a group of powerful special interests in the energy industry essentially dictated the plans behind closed doors. Not that that would ever happen… 

The Bush-Cheney plan was based on increased oil drilling on the outer continental shelf, expedited construction of more oil refineries, building more nuclear power plants, opening the Arctic Refuge to drilling, increasing the production of dirty and destructive oil shale.

And what's the House GOP's plan based on, you say? Why, on increased oil drilling on the outer continental shelf, expedited construction of more oil refineries, building more nuclear power plants, opening the Arctic Refuge to drilling, increasing the production of dirty and destructive oil shale.

To be fair, their plan isn't all recycled from the Cheney era. It also incorporates John McCain's disastrous $1 trillion (yes, trillion with a T) campaign pledge to build 100 new nuclear power plants.  

And, just in case you wondering -- no, the House GOP still does not believe in global warming. Thank. You. Very. Much.

Enough Is Enough: It's Time to Confirm Hilda Solis
Posted by Josh Dorner, Sierra Club on February 7, 2009 at 5:59 AM.

As more than 2,500 environmental and labor activists gathered this week in Washington at the Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference, the nation's chief green-jobs advocate-in-waiting, Labor Secretary-designate Hilda Solis, remains in political purgatory thanks to conservative objections to a long-overdue piece of legislation that will make it easier for workers to form unions. 

Rep. Solis, D-Calif., has not only been a champion on environmental issues, but has also been a key proponent of the Employee Free Choice Act, a vital piece of legislation that would allow workers to form a union when a majority have signed cards in support of unionization. This would help end the organized campaigns of intimidation, firings and other reprisals by management that frequently accompany National Labor Relations Board-sponsored elections.

(The bill was passed by the House last year, but died at the hands of Senate filibuster under veto threat from former (!) President George Bush. It is now at the top of organized labor's agenda, and President Obama has said he will sign it.)

The bill has become the latest delusional obsession of the right-wing, and groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are now preparing to spend more than $100 million to defeat the legislation. 

Their allies in Congress have warned of economic apocalypse if the law were to pass and have already begun a scare campaign, arguing that the law would eliminate the secret ballot for workers. (At present, it is management who chooses between "card check" and an election; the Employee Free Choice Act would do just what its name indicates -- it would give the choice to workers.)

Sierra Club members overwhelmingly support the Employee Free Choice Act because we know it's the right thing for workers, the right thing for America and simply the right thing to do. But we also know that companies that treat their workers right are much more likely to treat the environment right, too.

Conservatives are now using Solis’ confirmation fight to fire some of their first shots in the legislative battle royale to come. (Before the bill has even been formally introduced in either the House or the Senate, the U.S. Chamber revealed that it has already spent more than $10 million on its effort to defeat the measure.) They are attempting to manufacture a controversy around her role as treasurer of American Rights at Work, a pro-labor advocacy group (of which the Sierra Club is also a part). 

Solis’ position was purely honorary and did not involve lobbying or compensation, yet conservatives are now claiming that Solis violated congressional ethics rules and now must recuse herself from lobbying on the Employee Free Choice Act for two years.

Yesterday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee was finally due to vote on Solis, when unfortunate -- but in no way disqualifying -- news broke that her husband's business (of which he is the sole proprietor) had several outstanding tax liens, which he paid as soon as he learned of them. The vote was then canceled. 

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Coal Companies Spend Staggering Revenue on Advertising, Not Cleaner Technology or Safety
Posted by Josh Dorner, Sierra Club on January 13, 2009 at 11:56 AM.

If there was any remaining doubt that coal is about the farthest possible thing from clean, it was dispelled by the disastrous coal sludge spill in Tennessee that happened over the holidays.  The spill destroyed houses and has covered a swath of rural Tennessee in over a billion gallons of toxic coal sludge. It has not only exposed the oft-hidden dangers of the coal industry, but also the lax government oversight of one of our country’s dirtiest industries.

A new Center for American Progress report showed that the coal industry's infamous front group, the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, spent a staggering $45 million last year on its deceptive "America's Power" campaign touting the benefits of so-called "clean coal." In addition, the coal and electric utility industries spent a jaw-dropping $125 million in the first 9 months of last year lobbying against federal legislation promoting clean energy and a cap on global warming pollution.

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New McCain Economic Plan: More Gas Guzzlers
Posted by Josh Dorner, Sierra Club on September 19, 2008 at 6:00 PM.

In the midst of our ever-deepening economic crisis, John "the fundamentals of our economy our strong"  McCain unveiled his most ridiculous economic plan yet: sell more gas guzzlers.

McCain unveiled a new ad yesterday called "Michigan Jobs." The ad is so full of lies, deceptions, and failed approaches to our most pressing problems, it's hard to know where to even begin. His simple-minded pandering is an insult to the intelligence of Michiganders (and all Americans). I'll get to the gas guzzlers bit in a minute, but let's run through the ad's other distortions.

First, McCain trumpets his support for loans to help the auto industry. What he doesn't tell you is that he was opposed to helping the automakers until just last month when he looked at his standing in the polls start to slide.

The Sierra Club knows times are tough in Michigan and supports helping the automakers, so long as they are serious about using the loans to retool in order to make real improvements in fleet-wide fuel economy.)

McCain also trumpets his $5,000 tax credit for hybrid cars. Too bad Obama's is $7,000.

Barack Obama's plan: $150 billion investment in clean energy technologies, including giving automakers the help they need to double fuel economy and build the next generation of fuel-efficient vehicles right here in the U.S.

McCain's plan: run the economy like a game show, offering gimmicks like a $300 million prize for car batteries and a gas tax holiday ridiculed by over 230 leading economists.

Which brings us to his latest gambit: more gas guzzlers. The ad says "more offshore drilling to lower gas prices to spur truck sales." Too bad his plan won't do a thing to lower gas prices or solve Detroit's long-term problems.

This is the second McCain ad just this week to repeat the completely discredited claim that offshore drilling will lower gas prices. Even McCain himself has admitted that his drilling plan would merely offer "psychological relief."

He really needs to get his head checked if he thinks selling more gas guzzlers is the way forward. Autoworkers and auto execs alike understand that relying too heavily on gas guzzling trucks and SUVs is what got the auto industry into this mess in the first place. That's why they want help building the next generation of vehicles, not the vehicles of the 1990s.

The only thing more gas guzzlers would guarantee is higher gas bills for consumers and more oil dependence for America. This is just another sorry example of how John McCain just doesn't get it. All he has to offer is last year's solutions to today's problems.

The Best Convention Speech You Missed
Posted by Josh Dorner, Sierra Club on August 28, 2008 at 11:57 AM.

While most of the excitement last night was focused on Senator Clinton's speech, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer gave an electrifying (and highly animated) speech outlining a strong, clear vision for a new energy future.

Given his strong performance, it came as no surprise that Schweitzer was mobbed by bloggers and camera crews this morning as he strode through the Big Tent.

Here's some excerpts from his speech:

On the crises we face:

Right now, the United States imports about 70 percent of its oil from overseas. At the same time, billions of dollars that we spend on all that foreign oil seems to end up in the bank accounts of those around the world who are openly hostile to American values and our way of life. This costly reliance on fossil fuels threatens America and the world in other ways, too. CO2 emissions are increasing global temperatures, sea levels are rising and storms are getting worse.

It's not a question of either wind or clean coal, solar or hydrogen, oil or geothermal. We need them all to create a strong American energy system, a system built on American innovation.

We simply can't drill our way to energy independence, even if you drilled in all of John McCain's backyards, including the ones he can't even remember. That single-answer proposition is a dry well, and here's why. America consumes 25 percent of the world's oil, but has less than 3 percent of the reserves. You don't need a $2 calculator to figure that one out. There just isn't enough oil in America, on land or offshore, to meet America's full energy needs.

Invest $150 billion over the next 10 years in clean, renewable energy technology. This will create up to 5 million new, green jobs and fuel long-term growth and prosperity.

John McCain Gets a Zero Rating for His Environmental Record
Posted by Josh Dorner, Sierra Club on February 27, 2008 at 9:34 AM.

We were shocked -- but definitely not awed -- by Senator McCain's decision two weeks ago to dodge a crucial vote on the future of clean energy in America.

Remember, his choice to stay parked on the tarmac at Dulles (while his two planemates, Senators Lieberman and Graham, dashed to the Capitol in time to vote) doomed the measure to fail by just a single vote.

It was, however, awesome that thousands of Sierra Club e-activists took the phones and called McCain's office to register their discontent with the Arizona senator's no-show act.  In fact, so many called that his phone system was down intermittently for days.  Not awesome: McCain's office lying to our members about how he voted.

But, last week we got an even bigger reminder of John McCain's Not Awesome status when it comes to crucial votes on the environment. He received a big fat ZERO from the League of Conservation Voters on their 2007 National Environmental Scorecard.

Turns out his recent attendance problem is no exception, just merely the most recent example of a consistent pattern of refusing to stand up and be counted when the environment is on the line. In fact, out of 535 Members of Congress, John McCain is the only one who chose to miss every single key environmental vote last year.

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Global Warming Talk Canceled at Montana School
Posted by Josh Dorner, Sierra Club on January 18, 2008 at 6:56 PM.

It all started with the Scopes Monkey Trial in Tennessee way back when. Then more recently many of us have been asking "What's the matter with Kansas?" Well, today I'm wondering just what the deal is in Montana?

Seems that in the tiny hamlet of Choteau, Montana (pop. 1781) a few grumbling conservatives are enough to keep a Nobel laureate from discussing global warming at the local high school.

Dr. Steven Running, a professor of ecology at the University of Montana and one of the lead authors of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's report, was due to speak to high school students in the small agricultural town located on the plains that spread out east of the Rocky Mountains. It seems that a vocal minority objected to his talk before 130 high school students because it would be "one-sided," so the local school superintendent, Kevin St. John, canceled it.

St. John went on to lamely explain that there simply wasn't time to explain to everyone that Running was a "leading scientist" and not an "agenda-driven ideologue." (I'm guessing I'd be in that latter category. And just how long could it possibly take to explain things in a town of 1,781 anyway?) Sensing he might have some 'splainin' to do, St. John added -- rather unconvincingly methinks -- that "academic freedom is very important here, and science education is very important here."

But apparently not important enough for him to actually do his job as an educator it would seem. If Choteau's anything like the town in Wyoming where yours truly grew up -- where the closest any of us got to a Nobel laureate was a particularly exciting film strip about Marie Curie that we watched in the 3rd grade -- it's pretty stupid to pass up an opportunity like this one.

Besides general objections to reality and science, it seems that the opponents of Running's talk didn't really have too much else to say. One school board member who had opposed the talk hid behind a curt "no comment." He's probably right to keep a low profile -- the seven people who wrote letters to the editor of the local paper criticizing the school board could well represent half the electorate.

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EPA Gets Fs for Math, Attendance, and Behavior
Posted by Josh Dorner, Sierra Club on January 12, 2008 at 8:30 AM.

The Bush administration can't pretend it wasn't warned about the consequences of the latest salvo in its epic battle against the environment. This drama has all the familiar elements we've come to expect -- politics before the public interest, foot-dragging, refusing to answer to Congress, simple incompetence, and blatant dishonesty -- set against the backdrop of the global warming battle royale that began last spring with a blockbuster Supreme Court decision.

The latest dust-up began December 19th when EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson ended two years of foot-dragging and prevarication by unceremoniously denying California the waiver that would allow it and at least 17 other states to move forward with landmark global emissions standards for autos. The EPA's own staff unanimously recommended approving the waiver and the agency's legal staff warned of a loss should the agency be sued.

The retaliation was indeed swift. Just a day later, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, chaired by Sierra Club BFF Rep. Henry Waxman of California, launched an investigation into the matter.

Not to be outdone by her Southern California compadre, Sen. Barbara Boxer, chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, announced her own probe into the matter. Finally, California, 15 additional states, the Sierra Club, and other environmental groups filed suit on January 2 to overturn EPA's blatantly unlawful decision.

Boxer immediately requested that EPA turn over all relevant documents by January 7 so that committee staff could review them ahead of a field hearing on the matter that was held yesterday in Los Angeles. Boxer also requested that along with the Sierra Club's own Carl Pope and other California leaders, that Johnson himself appear at the hearing to explain a little more clearly exactly why he'd chosen to deny the waiver.

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