Cross-posted from The Huffington Post

The Weekly Standard ran a cover story this week called, “In Denial: The Meltdown of the Climate Campaign.” Despite the cute play on words about who is denying what, the article got it all wrong. Climate change legislation is not dead–not as long as publications like this keep putting it on its cover.  

As one experienced senator recently told an NRDC trustee: “I have never seen an important piece of legislation get passed that wasn’t declared dead several times before.”

All the big bills flirt with death. Why? Because it is really, really hard to move legislation through Congress. I have seen the most straightforward bills–like the ones to name post offices–get slowed to a halt while hand wringing and horse trading goes on.

I have even seen the bills that uphold the status quo get bogged down. I worked on a bill to phase out the exportation of dangerous mercury. The federal government had already started phasing it out, private industry had done the same, and the House of Representatives passed the bill with ease. Yet still it sat on life support in the Senate for months. Everyone thought it was a goner–until it wasn’t. It passed in 2008.

Clean energy and climate legislation will be much more transformative than the mercury bill was, and as a result, its birthing process will be even more tortured. But I am not calling it stillborn, and here is why.

1. Senators Continue to Propose New Climate Bills

Whether you like these bills or hate them, Senators are continuing to look for a path forward. Senators Cantwell and Collins recently drafted a climate bill, and Senators Kerry, Graham, and Lieberman are about to release their version. Senators don’t write legislation about dead issues.

2. The Press Keeps Covering Climate

A mantra among elected officials used to be “There is No Such Thing As Bad Press.”  In the modern day of the internet and ethics fiascos, we now know this saying is nothing if not exaggerated. However, every Washington insider knows that an issue is alive as long as it is talked about in the media. Climate bills are getting a lot of coverage, from editorial pages calling for action to major dailies reporting on the political maneuverings. Even the National Standard put Al Gore and climate action on its cover this week. It may not be all positive press but climate is big news.

3. Climate Action Has Bipartisan Traction

We all know Congress has sunk to historic levels of partisan paralysis. Senator Collins joined Senator Snowe in one climate proposal.  It is especially significant that the most anticipated climate proposal is currently being written by Democratic Senator Kerry, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, and Independent Senator Lieberman.  

4. President Obama Is Rolling Up His Sleeves

President Obama said in his State of the Union Address that he wants a comprehensive clean energy and climate bill on his desk this year. Since then, he has met with senators, business leaders, and environmental groups to push action along. The latest example was on Tuesday when he called a bipartisan group of swing senators to the White House.

5. There Is Strong Business Support for the Bill

Companies are still fleeing the Chamber of Commerce over its attempts to thwart clean energy and climate legislation. Meanwhile, the American Businesses for Clean Energy –a group of companies urging Congress to pass such legislation–has more than 2,500 members in 41 states after just four months in existence.

The bottom line is that all bills that offer any hope of meaningful change live on life support. The climate bill ain’t dead yet – not by a long shot.

Heather Taylor-Miesle is the director of the NRDC Action Fund. Become a fan on Facebook or Twitter.

I grew up in the rural parts of Kentucky and Pennsylvania, two relatively conservative areas.  Most of my friends and family are tried-and-true Republicans so it was assumed that I would follow suit.  When I started working for a Democratic Congressman in college, one very prominent male figure in my family explained the oddity with a shrug (channeling Churchill) saying “If you are a Republican when you are in college, you have no heart. But if you are a Democrat when you are older, you have no mind.”

This weekend, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said that kind of thinking could get the G.O.P. in trouble with young people. Indeed, he said one of the central reasons he is reaching across the aisle on clean energy and climate legislation is that he thinks the G.O.P. needs to do a better job of connecting with young voters.

“I have been to enough college campuses to know if you are 30 or younger this climate issue is not a debate. It’s a value,” Graham said. “From a Republican point of view, we should buy into it and embrace it and not belittle them.”

Graham is right on the money: Young people know their future is at stake and this is NOT a partisan issue. On the contrary, if America continues to ignore global warming, this generation will pay the price in the form of a disrupted climate, drought, and increased national security threats not to mention all the refugees who will need help. But if we confront this crisis, young people and old will reap the benefits of more clean energy jobs and robust economic growth.  

Anyone who wants to see on-the-ground changes has to translate their climate values into climate action.

Politicians talk about values, but they respond to voters’ actions. Young voters, these are two ways you can take action. Here are three things to keep in mind about the way politics works:

1. Young Voters Need to Stay in the Game to Be Taken Seriously

There is often a sense among lawmakers that youthful causes don’t need to be taken seriously because youth voters don’t tend to vote with a lot of regularity. Many don’t think that a dedication to climate change issues translates into electoral activity.  

If you don’t want to get the brush-off from lawmakers, you need to make it clear that our pleas for clean energy and self-reliance are not a passing fad; it is what will shape your voting patterns for years to come. You have to call Senators to say that you support a clean energy and climate bill. You need to turn out for primary elections to show that climate change is a mobilizing issue. And come November in order to prove that you cannot be dismissed by leaders who ignore climate change and your generation’s future – you must vote for the candidates who support clean energy and climate legislation

2. Contacting Your Senator’s Office Really Does Work

I have done everything on Capitol Hill from opening mail to working on legislation, and I am here to tell you that yes, intense, coordinated outbursts of citizen action really do make a difference.

People who work on the Hill have to juggle a bazillion issues at once. It isn’t easy keeping up-to-date on every single topic, but when voters flood an office with their opinions, Members and their staff stand up and take notice. When I was on the hill it meant I had to do the research and really engage with an issue in order to respond.

3. Repetition is Key

Maybe you have already emailed your Senator in support of a clean energy and climate bill, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it again. Indeed, if you want your action to count, you have to amplify it – repeat it.

So much of politics is about repetition: lawmakers are dealing with so many high-priority issues at once. You have to keep the repetition going in order to break through the noise. I think of it as the slow clap in a stadium. It starts with one person, but slowly the loud, rhythmic pattern catches on and more people join in. After a while, the sound is impossible to ignore.

Now, you know why you should take action. Here are two ways that the NRDC Action Fund is helping you to make your voices heard on clean energy and climate solutions:

The NRDC Action Fund has partnered with Headcount to launch a new website targeting young music lovers. The Musicforaction.org site makes it easy for people to email President Obama, Members of Congress, and local newspaper editors in support of clean energy and climate legislation.  Visitors receive free “Best of Bonnaroo” downloads for visiting the site.

NRDC is also joining in a 72-hour call-in campaign with our partners over at Clean Energy Works, in which we are urging all people–but especially young people–to call their Senators’ offices in support of the bill. All they have to do is call 1-877-973-7693 to make their voices heard.  So, call now!

Maybe our voices won’t break through to a particular today because he or she is too caught up with health care or financial regulation or some other issue, but if we keep calling back and emailing over and over again, they will start to hear the chorus for climate action. Now is the moment to add your voice to the mix – be young and take action.  

Last week, two conservative Republican Senators, James Inhofe of Oklahoma and John Barrasso of Wyoming, called for an independent probe of the IPCC — the international scientific body that summarizes the latest climate science — and asked the Senate to halt all climate action until that happens.  

The senators claim that because there were some errors included in the IPCC’s 2007 report — for instance, how quickly the Himalayan glaciers might melt — the entire phenomenon of climate change must now be questioned.

I am not a scientist by training, but even I know their reasoning doesn’t hold up.  The few errors that have been uncovered in the thousand pages or so of the IPCC report have nothing to do with the science of whether and why climate change is occurring.  Instead, those errors are about a few specific projections about what might happen in the future.

Saying we should discard the entire thrust of climate scientist because of a couple of sloppy projections is like saying the concept of evaporation is in doubt because a handful of scientists mistakenly said Lake Mead evaporates faster than we thought.  

Senator Inhofe and Barrasso are trying to use this excuse to ignore the IPCC (which stands for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). But it won’t be so easy to get around the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Science Foundation, the Pentagon, the National Intelligence Council, the World Health Organization, and the CIA.

Each and every one of these world-class institutions has concluded that climate change is a serious threat.    

But let’s face it, people like Inhofe will never be persuaded by scientific argument. Climate denial is an article of faith for them, and I don’t believe in arguing about people’s religion.

But I do argue politics, and on the issues that matter most to Americans right now — jobs, the economy, and security — climate action makes good political sense.

So even if Inhofe’s posturing about the IPCC gives  some Senators pause, they can’t ignore the following facts.

Fact: Climate Action Will Create Jobs

Every senator running for reelection this year has one question to answer: where are the jobs? Voters are hungry for opportunities, and a clean energy and climate bill will deliver them.

Clean energy jobs are growing 2.5 times as fast as traditional jobs right now. Indeed, according to economists at the University of California, the climate bill that passed the House of Representatives last June could generate nearly 2 million new jobs.

Why so many opportunities? Clean energy industries require more people than those in the fossil fuel industry. In fact, for every $1 million spent on clean energy, we can create 3 to 4 times as many jobs as if we spent the same amount on fossil fuels.

Some senators have the defeatist attitude that China will capture the clean energy market because of its low wages. In fact, A recent study by the EPIA (for which Barclay’s vetted the data) found that 75 percent of all solar energy jobs are in installation and maintenance and the trend is similar for other clean energy technologies.

You can’t outsource the job of building a wind farm or making an office more energy efficient.

But here is another fact: the only way to get these jobs benefits is to pass a clean energy and climate bill. Without that bill, businesses don’t get the incentive to invest in job-heavy, low-carbon energy sources. And without those jobs, Senators will have a much harder time talking to their voters.

Fact: Climate Action Will Generate Economic Growth

Many economists believe that we need a new engine for growth. We need individuals and companies to invest in something on a massive scale in order to instill confidence and create jobs.

Clean energy and climate solutions fit the bill. Annual investments in the global clean energy market could reach $106 to $230 billion a year in 2020 and as much as $424 billion in 2030. What other sector is offering that kind of growth right now?

But in order to unleash private investment, companies need the right incentives. Peter Darbee, the head of PG&E, wrote in the Capitol Hill newspaper Politico that America’s utilities need about $2 trillion over the next 20 years to modernize electrical infrastructure. But, he said, companies are delaying capital spending because, while they know climate legislation is coming, they don’t know when and they don’t know what it will look like. In the meantime, they are holding onto their cash and postponing job creation.

Darbee urged Congress to pass a climate bill because, he wrote, it will “clear the way for many companies to accelerate near-term investment and job creation. Longer term, it would enhance America’s economic competitiveness and national security.”

Fact: Climate Action Will Strengthen Our National Security

The Christmas bomber put security back on the list of top priorities for many American voters. It was a terrible reminder that distant unrest can wash up on our shores.

And that’s what the Department of Defense is worried about when it comes to climate change. A few weeks ago, the Pentagon released its Quadrennial Defense Review–its official assessment of military risks–and it called climate change a threat to national security that “may spark or exacerbate future conflicts,” and labeled global warming “an accelerant of instability.” The Central Intelligence Agency and the National Intelligence Council came to similar conclusions.

If we stay on our current path –ignoring climate change and continuing to fuel it with our oil addiction–the risks will only grow. Americans spent a record $450 billion on imported oil in 2008–$1,400 for every man, woman, and child in this country. This money was sent overseas to places like Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and Nigeria. Do you think those regimes have our best interests in mind?

Retired Navy Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn explained it like this: “Our growing reliance on fossil fuels jeopardizes our military and affects a huge price tag in dollars and potentially lives… In our judgment, a business-as-usual approach constitutes a threat to our national security.”

A clean energy and climate bill will disarm that threat, protect our servicemen and women, and keep billions of dollars here in America.

Senators Inhofe and Barrasso can argue over the science as much as they want.  The scientific community can and will defend the science behind climate change.  While they have that debate, there are lots of additional, incredibly important reasons to get started…. So, let’s not wait.

This blog post was originally posted at The Markup

As we all drink our morning coffee and digest what this latest change-up means for the Senate, let me be the first to say – I continue to be hopeful that the Senate will take action on climate change.

The signs of momentum for a clean energy and climate bill outweigh any signs that come from the Massachusetts special election.

Take, for example, that this week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid reiterated that he wants to pass the bill this spring, and that the bill has the tri-partisan support of Senators Kerry, Graham, and Lieberman.

In a little more than 6 weeks, 1221 businesses have called for strong action on climate via American Businesses for Clean Energy.  

Not to mention the fact that President Obama spent 15 hours at the negotiating table in Copenhagen drafting an international climate accord with his own pen because he believes so deeply in the need to confront climate change.  Top it off with the fact that Americans are frustrated with the continuing high jobless rate. The clean energy and climate bill, meanwhile, will create nearly 2 million additional jobs.

That’s the national picture. Now let’s look at what Brown himself might do on climate. In fact, like his constituents, Brown has said he believes we need to address climate change.  

While it’s true that Martha Coakley was a more reliable vote in favor of a bill and it’s true that Brown has ties to the conservative tea party movement, I am not counting Brown out.

Most of Brown’s tea party supporters are out-of-staters, eager to push their agenda in whatever campaign they can. But now that the election is over, those folks will return home, and Brown will be left with the people who elected him — Massachusetts citizens who have said in poll after poll that they want clean energy and climate legislation to pass.

Brown has a choice to make. He can choose to serve the interests of those tea baggers who live elsewhere or he can choose to represent the people of Massachusetts. I hope he decides to follow the example of fellow Northeastern Senators Snowe and Collins, leaders who walk the tightrope between the conservative Republican leadership and their environmentally-minded constituents.

He opposes, however, most of the mechanisms currently on the table for accomplishing that goal. This seems to be the new GOP equivalent of having your cake and eating it too. (Senator Murkowski is especially good at playing both sides of this game).  But it’s significant that these Republicans want to position themselves as proponents of fighting climate change – it means they and all their well-heeled advisors have concluded that time is on our side.  They don’t think they can just deny that the problem exists or claim that nothing needs to be done about it.  We have to capitalize on their sense that the future lies with a greener economy, even if they seem to be doing their best to stave off that future for the time being.

I hope Brown doesn’t use his fence-sitting to justify further delay. For if there was one thing the Massachusetts election showed is that voters want change, and they want it now.

People have grown impatient with their leaders. They don’t give them much time to realize their campaign promises anymore. President Obama took office just one year ago, but people have already moved on to the next person screaming for change. Brown knows this: he adopted Obama’s rhetoric from 2008 and ran as the change candidate.

It’s true that democracy can be painfully slow. The average bill takes Congress several sessions to pass and the major bills can take decades.

But several issues are ripe for action. They have had more than enough time to mature, and voters are begging for resolution. Americans want lawmakers to ensure the fat cats on Wall Street become better neighbors, to bring health care to those less fortunate, and to create jobs and economic opportunity by tapping into the global clean energy marketplace.

This is the kind of change voters want to see, and Brown has a chance to be part of the action. If, on his first day in office, he decides not to repeat the Mantra of No but instead to actually get some work done, he could be a game-changer on climate.

Our door is open, Senator-elect Brown, if that is the path you choose. Help us draft a bill that will protect the environment and get the economy back on track.  

The stance taken by the US Chamber of Commerce on climate change is damaging the confidence Americans have in business’ ability to respond to current challenges. The Chamber has been fighting climate change legislation tooth and nail on behalf of the US coal industry that makes up a very small segment of their membership. Other business have taken notice, as the list of companies leaving the Chamber is growing. The Chamber chose to entrench its stance on the lead up to the Copenhagen climate conference and this resulted in the departure of Exelon Corp, Pacific Gas & Electric, PNM Resources, Mohawk Fine Papers, and Apple.

The Chamber is relying on technology advancements to fix problems that are happening here and now. It only requires simple science to realize that burning coal now is harming our planet now. So waiting for those technological advancements to happen is not solving the problem – it is maintaining the status quo. The problem is that the status quo has deep pockets and the ability to fund campaigns against politicians that will not vote to maintain this status quo. Democrats should be on alert. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue recently laid out his marching orders at his “State of American Business” speech. “We’re not in presidential politics … but we’re going to be in a lot of politics in the House and Senate and judicial politics of this country,” stated Donohue from Chamber of Commerce headquarters in Washington.

Donohue is trying to frame the argument as a “for us or against us” battle (sound familiar in Washington?). He trying to paint the picture that all business in America, large and small, should be supporting the Chamber on this issue because voting for climate change legislation is an immediate death sentence for job and economic growth. “Congress, the administration and the states must recognize that our weak economy simply could not sustain all the new taxes, regulations and mandates now under consideration,” Donohue said. You better believe that those who vote for support any of “taxes, regulations and mandates” will be in the cross-hairs come the mid-term elections.

“We are not crazy or outside the mainstream,” says David Chavern, the Chamber’s COO. “We’ve been around for almost 100 years because we’ve done pretty good at figuring out what’s needed for the business community to be successful and we are going to be around for another 100 years.”

I disagree. When an economic force like Apple, with its millions of consumers, departs because it is at odds with the Chamber’s climate change stance then you are outside of the mainstream. The writing is being sketched on the wall and not all business agree with the Chambers stance. This is why I, and my small business, joined the group American Business for Clean Energy. In California, for example, Craton Equity Partners, Gap Inc., Serious Materials, Propel Software Corporation, and several others have already joined American Business for Clean Energy.  This group was started to prove that American business, large and small, can and will support climate change legislation that will have a real impact on curbing greenhouse gas emissions. There are 1097 business from shore to shore that have signed on to show their support for clean energy legislation for 2010 and now my business is one of them.

Business owners, I urge you to sign your business up too. Take a stand that Donohue and his pals don’t represent your view point on climate change. Consumers, I urge you to show your support for these business and encourage your local shops and favorite retailers to get on board too.

Just found this, you can follow American Business For Clean Energy on Facebook here. And on Twitter here.

In the end, I think businesses large and small can be a positive force for change in our country. Not a reactionary roadblock that keeps us stuck in the past.

Blogged yesterday on DesertBlog about the Sunrise Powerlink hearings in San Diego, and the viral videos about Sunrise Powerlink that are spreading across the Internet. SDG&E and its Chamber of Commerce minions are spamming the Internet to keep their astroturf support group’s website high in Google rankings.

Fortunately, there are three videos out there that tell the truth about the Sunrise Powerlink, and you can help spread their message. You can help boost one of the video’s search results simply by viewing it and you can also boost its ranking, along with several other anti-Powerlink sites, by voting for them on hugg.com, the green social bookmarking site of Treehugger.com.

Let’s get viral, people!