In Massachusetts, Being "Green" Is About More than Words

In a debate on Tuesday, Massachusetts’ Republican Senate candidate Gabrial Gomez claimed to be a “green Republican” who looks down on those in his own party who “deny science.” Unfortunately, his claims are based in a denial of reality.

While Gomez touted his supposed “green” credentials, he declared his undying support for the dirty and dangerous Keystone XL pipeline in the same breath. That’s a position that’s totally out of line with any desire to protect the air we breath, the water we drink, and the planet we love for generations to come.

The facts about Keystone XL are simple: it would create no new Massachusetts jobs, it would threaten the water supply for millions of Americans, and it would dump more climate-disrupting carbon pollution into our atmosphere than if you put 37 million more cars on the road or built 51 new coal plants.

If Gomez thinks that’s “green,” he must be colorblind. And if Gomez has a problem with those who “deny science,” maybe he should look at the company he keeps.

While Gomez may be trying to tell voters that he is a different kind of Republican politician, he’s taking the same position of those in the Senate like Mitch McConnell who been pushing fossil fuel boondoggles like Keystone XL while denying climate disruption and causing disarray in Washington. But Gomez isn’t just taking McConnell’s lead on Keystone XL - he’s taking his money, too.

In fact, Mitch McConnell’s been trying to funnel campaign cash straight to Gomez, sending out a fundraising plea declaring Gomez as a crucial part of “a Republican majority in the Senate.” Minority Leader McConnell even said he would match three times any donation to as much as $32,000!

If Gomez has a problem with people in his party like McConnell denying science, maybe he should stop taking their money.  

Massachusetts deserves a Senator who will stand up for a better, cleaner future - not play politics with our air, our water, and the future of our planet. Luckily, there is a real “green” candidate on the ballot who has been championing clean energy and climate action for decades - Congressman Ed Markey.

Markey’s name was on the most significant piece of climate legislation to ever pass the U.S. House. His name was on the bill to end the tax handouts the nation’s largest oil companies rake in every year. He co-sponsored energy-efficiency legislation that would create more than 100,000 new American jobs and save families thousands of dollars on their electricity bills. He has supported life-saving protections from toxic mercury pollution that will prevent up to 11,000 premature deaths and 130,000 asthma attacks every year, and has voted to turn back assaults on the Clean Air Act and curb the emission of neurotoxins and other poisons from coal-fired power plants to help prevent tens of thousands of premature deaths every year.

The list goes on - and the best news is that Markey is making it a centerpiece of his campaign. In fact, the National Journal called Markey the “first real climate candidate.”

The difference in Massachusetts seems to be between rhetoric and reality. While Gabriel Gomez may be trying to convince voters he’s something he is not, Ed Markey has already proven what he is - an environmental hero.

--Sierra Club Media Team Intern Lauren Lantry

Paid for by the Sierra Club Political Committee, www.sierraclub.org, and authorized by The Markey Committee.

 

 

A Sweetheart Deal for Big Coal is a Slap in the Face to American Families

Imagine your neighbor was the only person allowed to go shopping at the local grocery store. What's more, she negotiated a special arrangement with the store manager, where she can name her own price for everything they sell. After paying pennies for milk, eggs and bread, she then takes those groceries home and sells them to you and your neighbors for a staggering profit. A system like that wouldn't be sustainable to the grocery store - who is losing money every time your neighbor walks through the door - and it wouldn't be fair to you and the rest of your friends who are effectively subsidizing the neighbor's profits.

But that is exactly the system the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has set up for coal companies in Montana and Wyoming's Powder River Basin (part of which is pictured above). This week a highly-critical report (PDF) from the Department of Interior's Inspector General (IG) detailed a litany of flaws in the BLM's coal leasing program. The report found that big coal companies are essentially dictating their own prices to mine the coal under public land in Wyoming and Montana, then turning around and selling it at a huge premium. Taxpayers are losing out on billions of dollars, and the coal companies are reaping the profits.

The report identified numerous ways that BLM fails to accurately calculate the fair market value of its coal leases: it doesn’t include the potential for exporting coal in developing fair market value appraisals, it only allows one person in each BLM office to calculate the fair market value (which the report concluded could lead to a higher risk of fraud or undetected errors), and it regularly violates an Interior Secretary Order by failing to use the Interior's Office of Valuation Services to conduct independent fair market value appraisals.

Big Polluter Politics at Their Worst in Virginia

Virginia Attorney General and Gubernatorial Candidate Ken Cuccinelli

There are plenty of examples of politicians across the country doing or saying anything to push the agenda of their big polluting buddies, but rarely has the evidence been so clear and so outrageous as with what is happening in Virginia.

The office of Virginia Attorney General - and gubernatorial candidate - Ken Cuccinelli did more than just bend over backwards to help Big Coal and Big Gas executives in their legal battle with Virginia residents. In fact, a federal judge said she was shocked by the extent to which Cuccinelli’s office had been aiding and abetting Big Coal in its fight not to pay landowners for the gas it has taken from them.

So what happened?

In Virginia, the Gas and Oil Act lets natural gas companies extract methane gas without landowners’ permission as long as they pay for what they take. Even landowners who have sold the rights to coal on their land are still due compensation for gas, according to this law. But the Big Coal companies taking both haven’t been paying what they owe.

To get their rightful compensation from Big Coal, landowners were forced to go to court. Years of litigation have since ensued in which individual cash-strapped landowners are engaged in a class-action legal battle with Big Coal’s army of attorneys - an army that a federal judge learned was staffed with Generals straight from Ken Cuccinelli’s office.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Pamela Meade Sargent found emails that show Cuccinelli’s Assistant Attorney General Sharon Pigeon was helping coal giant Consol Energy (CNX) and gas driller EQT with their legal defense against Virginia landowners - and Judge Sargent was not happy.

Sargent wrote: “Shockingly, these emails show that the Board, or at least Pigeon, has been actively involved in assisting EQT and CNX with the defense of these cases, including offering advice on and providing information for use on the Motions before the court.”

While Cuccinelli’s lieutenants have been fighting side by side with Big Coal, the Attorney General himself has been raking in contributions from the very same polluters who’ve been benefiting from the assistance. This year alone, Cuccinelli has received $86,000 in campaign cash from Consol - a party directly involved in this suit.

This is not the first time Cuccinelli’s office has done the bidding of polluters, either. A candidate for Virginia Governor this year, Cuccinelli has received $50,000 in campaign money from the Koch Brothers, notorious big oil barons who've thrown political cash to their closest allies all across the country and the Commonwealth. The Koch's have even personally hosted a high-dollar fundraiser for Cuccinelli. And its no wonder - his reckless agenda is in lockstep with their own.

“Almost from the first day he was elected, Attorney General Cuccinelli has abused his office on behalf of fossil fuel polluters.  Hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars have been spent in unnecessary litigation costs as Cuccinelli pursued frivolous suits against the Environmental Protection Agency and even the University of Virginia, all in the name of publicity, climate denial and political gamesmanship,” said Virginia Sierra Club Director Glen Besa.

Now, prominent Virginians like State Senator Phillip Puckett are demanding an investigation into Cuccinelli’s office for putting taxpayer resources to use in a legal battle against those very same taxpayers.

“Cuccinelli should be on the right side of the people that he serves, not his campaign contributors,” said Senator Puckett.

Besa went further, adding “One has to wonder, whose interests are Attorney General Cuccinelli representing? The people of Virginia or the fossil fuel industry?”

--Sierra Club Intern Lauren Lantry

Rejecting Keystone Means Less Tar Sands Extraction, Less Carbon Pollution

The U.S. State Department has stated multiple times that tar sands oil will find a way to reach global markets even without the Keystone XL Pipeline. That argument was based on the State Department's assumption that other options for transporting the heavy tar sands, including rail, will take the place of the pipeline if Keystone were rejected. They assumed that the increased cost of rail transport would not impact the rate of tar sands extraction. This has been the argument that environmentalists have continuously faced throughout the fight against Keystone. But that argument is no longer valid thanks to Goldman Sachs!
 
On June 2nd, Goldman Sachs published a research report, titled "Getting Oil Out of Canada: Heavy Oil Diffs Expected to Stay Wide and Volatile," stating that without Keystone XL, tar sands expansion, and therefore the carbon pollution that comes with it, would be dramatically reduced.

The report goes on to detail why rail is not a feasible alternative to pipelines for transporting tar sands. They define the specific aspects of rail transport that make it significantly more costly than the State Department assumed, including: the high cost of specially-made rail cars, increased time needed to unload heavy crude oil, and a diminished ability to transport the same number of barrels at one time.
 
Without the Keystone XL pipeline, many tar sands developments would be put on hold, along with the significant harm they would cause to our environment and climate.
 
Last week, the new provincial government of British Columbia rejected the Northern Gateway tar sands pipeline proposal, even further limiting Canada's options for tar sands export routes. This further exposes the Canadian tar sands industry's dependence on Keystone XL.
 
So for everyone fighting the Keystone XL pipeline today, know that our case against Keystone is building every day! Goldman Sachs stated that the longer the pipeline is delayed, the less likely it is that oil will be extracted from Canadian tar sands. So let's once more rally around the rejection of Keystone XL, and call upon President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry to protect our climate and reject the pipeline once and for all!

-- Bo Ra Kim, Sierra Student Coalition ExComm Member

NYC Releases Plan to Keep the Lights On In the Face of the Next Climate Disaster

As climate-related extreme weather becomes more violent, officials across the country, including in New York City, are preparing for climate change and the next Superstorm. NOAA is already predicting more severe superstorms this season: their Hurricane Season Outlook says there is a 70 percent likelihood of seven to 11, including three to six major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5; winds of 111 mph or higher). These ranges are well above the seasonal average of six hurricanes and three major hurricanes or superstorms.

Then yesterday the Bloomberg administration issued new warnings about New York City's vulnerability to climate change, offering updated data to encourage people to better prepare against hotter weather, fiercer storms, and increased rainfall.

Today the Bloomberg administration took their warnings a step further, by releasing a new plan that works to transform New York City into a lower-carbon, more resilient city. This plan, called "A Stronger, More Resilient New York," describes how the city can better prepare for major weather events, including superstorms. In a speech at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the Mayor unveiled the plan, which was developed in coordination with an array of city agencies, technical experts, representatives of Sandy-impacted communities, and community-based and non-governmental organizations citywide. The Mayor's plan provides a clear path to protecting New York's infrastructure, buildings, and communities from the impacts of climate change.

Patriot Bankruptcy Puts Retired Miners in Life and Death Struggle

In my many years in Appalachia, I've worked, traveled, prayed, broken bread, and raised a glass with a good many retired coal miners. I know that, in retirement, they are still paying heavily for their decades of work in the mines - you can hear it in their shortness of breath, you can see it as they struggle with painful backs and knees and other legacies of long-ago injuries, and you can feel it when they tell you how grateful they are for this time in the fresh air with their families, homes and the simple pleasures of a well-deserved retirement.

Now, many of these retired miners, who sacrificed so much to provide for their families and power the homes of millions, are facing the unthinkable - the retirement and health benefits that they rely on are in jeopardy, due to the bankruptcy of Patriot Coal. This is a life and death struggle for these miners, and is a fight with implications for workers far beyond the Appalachian coalfields.

Patriot declared bankruptcy last year, and is now trying rid itself of one of its most important responsibilities: ensuring that the companies retirees have are provided with pensions and healthcare. Patriot was created five years ago as a new company, spun off from coal giant Peabody. In what now, in hindsight, was clearly a brazen act of corporate greed, Peabody left Patriot holding the bag for two of its biggest legacy responsibilities - its unionized workforce, and mountaintop removal coal mines.

Last week, a federal bankruptcy judge in Missouri gave Patriot permission to eliminate the collective bargaining agreements that generations of coal miners fought and died for, and to cut off miner retirees' health care.

Mr. Froman: Let's Make the U.S. Trade Agenda Truly Fair

Michael Froman's confirmation hearing for United States Trade Representative before the Senate Finance Committee. (Photo: Dan Byrnes, Sierra Club)

At his confirmation hearing last week, Michael Froman, President Obama's nominee for United States Trade Representative (USTR), said “. . . and let me be clear, my view is that it is better to accept no [trade] agreement than a bad agreement.”

Later, Mr. Froman said, “Trade policy can only work, however, if it is fair.”

The Sierra Club has had a Responsible Trade program for more than a decade, and we completely agree with both of these statements. In the context of the current model of “free trade” that the USTR is advancing through the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and has advanced in recent free trade agreements, however, these statements must be read with an inquisitive eye. What, to Mr. Froman, constitutes a “bad agreement?” And what, to Mr. Froman, is “fair” trade?

To the Sierra Club, the answers to these questions are quite clear.

Fair or responsible trade, for example, lifts up communities; raises the standards of worker rights and environmental protection; ensures that governments have the flexibility to put in place policies that protect the climate, our economy, jobs, our air and water, the safety of our food; and reins in the power of corporations.

Victory in California: Troubled San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant Will Close

San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant, as seen from the north from San Onofre State Beach (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

 

Last Friday, Southern California Edison announced that it will permanently close its San Onofre nuclear plant, located right above a popular surfing and recreation area between Los Angeles and San Diego.

A broad coalition of community groups, including San Clemente Green, San Onofre Safety, Women’s Energy Matters, Mothers for Peace, and national groups, Friends of the Earth and the Sierra Club, have been working tirelessly to shut down this old and dysfunctional plant for some time.

The coalition pressed local governments across the area to pass resolutions calling for the closure of San Onofre.  They educated residents on the risks associated with San Onofre and nuclear energy and conducted studies on the effect that closing the plant would have on the surrounding area’s energy supply. All of these activities were vital in securing the closure of this plant. This is a huge victory!

Standing Up for Clean Air in Delaware

The Delaware City Refinery

I am not an American. I have never been to Delaware before. I do not own a car. Whether the Delaware City Refinery is granted its Title V air permit or not has very little effect on my life. Why, then, did I go to the hearing for the Title V air permit application by the Delaware City Refinery? Because my future and the future of every person on this planet depends on struggles like this one. Because I believe in a world where people can have safe jobs that promote healthy communities. Because I believe no one should be subjected to depend on a corporation that makes its profit on the back of future generations.

I went to Delaware to tell the refinery owners that we will not stand aside and watch as they endanger the health and future of everyone in that community to save a few dollars.

Keystone XL: The Iconic Climate Battle

In February 50,000 people marched on the freezing Washington Mall to tell President Obama that he must reject Keystone XL and move forward on climate. Since then, Sierra Club activists and our partners have met President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and Secretary of State John Kerry at more than 20 events around the nation to repeat the message. Hundreds of people demonstrating the escalating public opposition to Keystone XL – from 200 in Chicago, to 500 in New York City, and 1,000-plus in San Francisco. Just last week hundreds more met President Obama in Palo Alto and Santa Monica, California, and the size and momentum of these events only continues to grow as the decision on the pipeline looms closer.

It’s no accident, certainly no mistake that the fight to stop the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline has become the iconic climate issue.

And the attention and controversy we’ve generated in this fight has led to a common question, “Why Keystone XL, what’s the big deal?” Some climate activists who came late to the battle argue that it’s the wrong target. Not so. For those of us who were there at the start of the tar sands campaign seven years ago, Keystone is a brilliant target and a battle that win or lose, we win. Here are ten reasons why this has become a critical battle in the war on climate.

1. Massive. Tar sands are the third largest proven oil reserve in the world behind Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. If we’re going to avoid a climate disaster, we need to leave three quarters of the proven reserves of oil in the ground. We have to block development of the tar sands along with most of the rest of the proven reserves in the world or we’re cooked.