Van Jones on Climate Security Act

[babylonsister]

Run time: 03:10 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYayroKAc58   Posted on YouTube: June 02, 2008 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: June 02, 2008 By DU Member: babylonsister Views on DU: 345

 
Related thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3375901&mesg_id=3375901

What you need to know about Lieberman-Warner Climate Change Bill

Just around the Warner
Lieberman-Warner climate bill hitting the Senate floor
Posted by Kate Sheppard at 12:42 AM on 02 Jun 2008


Muckraker: Grist on Politics
After months of hearings, haggling, and revision, a climate change bill will reach the floor of the Senate this week.


The showdown over the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act (CSA) marks the first time the full chamber has focused on a dedicated piece of global warming legislation since 2005, when the McCain-Lieberman climate bill was voted down for a second time.

Sen. John McCain played a starring role in that episode. But it seems if he can't be the star, he won't bother with so much as a walk-on part: On Wednesday, he said he wouldn't be returning to Washington for debate or voting on the bill, though he criticized the legislation for not including enough support for the nuclear power industry. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton may not show up either, busy as they are in the lead-up to the last two Democratic primaries on Tuesday.

That leaves center stage to the bill's two lead sponsors, Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and John Warner (R-Va.), and to Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who ushered the bill through the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that she chairs. Boxer is cosponsor of a tougher climate bill with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), but she's now thrown her weight behind the CSA because it has broader support and a better chance of passing.

Though Boxer has worked to strengthen the bill, she says it's still not as strong as she'd like. "This represents a consensus document," she said at a recent press conference. "It's not everything that Sens. Lieberman, Warner, and Boxer want. It's the best we could do." During floor debate, she plans to push for stricter emission targets and a greater percentage of auctioned emission permits, and she has threatened to pull the bill if it's weakened, as has Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

Many senators will be offering amendments, so attempts to water down the bill are sure to come, along with efforts to toughen it. Meanwhile, James Inhofe (R-Okla.), the Senate's most notorious global-warming denier, will be trying to scuttle the bill altogether.

more...