The Belfast (Maine) CCL chapter hosting H.R. 763 public meeting

From an Essay by Ann OBrien, Daily Camera, January 24, 2020

The January 11th front-page article in the Daily Camera reveals the horrifying effects from the massive wildfires in Australia. While the devastating loss of human lives, property and animals will take decades to overcome, some of the losses will be permanent. If the fires in Australia teach us anything, it is that the time to act on climate change is now.

The need to stem the tide of extreme weather events in the United States and across the globe takes up a big space in my brain. Unfortunately, in recent times, both ends of the political spectrum no longer speak civilly to one another, let alone address the critical issue of climate change. But there is a ray of hope that has put me and many others on an active path to promote a solution to address the damage to our climate.

The work of Citizens’ Climate Lobby is helping to break down the gridlock created by the current divisions over climate change in our nation. CCL is an international nonpartisan organization dedicated to educating legislators and citizens about a practical solution to reduce carbon emissions. CCL has over 400 chapters worldwide that are dedicated to using civil conversation and active listening skills to overcome the divisions that subvert our commitment to address climate change. The lobbying that CCL engages in is best described as gentle, but persistent, persuasion.

I believe that the CCL-endorsed Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (H.R.763) that is now in Congress offers a way forward to reduce the output of carbon in our country. Members of Congress who wish to join Citizens’ Climate Lobby must join with a member of the opposite party. This ensures a nonpartisan approach that acknowledges the need to reduce carbon emissions. CCL’s work to bring Congress on board and to gather support among local businesses and nonprofits is ongoing.

H.R. 763 has been studied and endorsed by well over 1,000 economists. H.R. 763 is co-sponsored by both Republicans and Democrats in Congress. If passed, this legislation is projected to produce 40% less carbon over 12 years. Please go to citizensclimatelobby.org to learn more about H.R. 763 and about the work CCL is engaged in.

Colorado has 14 active CCL chapters. My concerns about the impacts of climate change caused me to join the Boulder CCL a year ago. I received a warm welcome. I continue to find their approach refreshing and upbeat. The group combines a mix of ages and political views of members who are united in the work of reducing carbon emissions. Party politics are left at the door. Working with CCL has rekindled my hope that we will stabilize our climate in the years to come.

If you wish to learn about the work of CCL or use your skills in this important effort, there are Boulder County chapters in Boulder, Longmont and the University of Colorado Boulder that can be found through a Google search, at these locations or elsewhere.

The time is now.

>>> Ann OBrien lives in Boulder, Colorado, USA

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See also: The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2019 (H.R. 763) is a bill in the United States House of Representatives that proposes a fee on carbon at the point of extraction to encourage market-driven innovation of clean energy technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The fees are recycled to citizens in monthly dividends. The act was originally introduced in 2018 with bipartisan support from six co-sponsors and died when the 115th congress ended on January 3, 2019. It is principally based on Citizens’ Climate Lobby’s carbon fee and dividend proposal, and this organization advocates for the bill.

Source: www.wvpolicy.org

Tax Reform Committee Public Hearing This Tuesday in WV

The Joint Select Committee on Tax Reform will host its first public hearing on Tuesday, October 20 starting at 9:00 AM in the House Chamber at the State Capitol.

West Virginia policy makers are already struggling to maintain funding for important programs. Governor Tomblin recently announced additional across-the-board budget cuts for the current fiscal year.

Individuals wishing to speak to the Committee will be given a chance to sign up that day and speak in the afternoon. Groups or agencies will speak during the morning session and were required to preregister.

For more, please visit the Committee’s Facebook page. See also the WV Center on Budget & Policy, advocates of a WV state tax on natural gas liquids production.

Last month, a diverse coalition of organizations that cares about kids, families, seniors and working people, community organizations and local governments released basic principles of fair taxation which we urge legislators to consider as they deliberate changes to the tax code.

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Carbon Fee and Dividend Promoted by Citizens Climate Lobby

Concerned about our changing climate? Come hear how you can get involved in doing something about it, Wednesday, October 21st at 6 pm at the Morgantown Public Library.  This is a free presentation and all are welcome.

The speaker will be Jim Probst of the Citizens Climate Lobby.  Other advocates are the Monongalia Friends Meeting and the Mon Valley Clean Air Coalition.

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New Concern Over Quakes in Oklahoma Near a Hub of U.S. Oil

From an Article by Michael Wines, New York Times, October 14, 2015

A sharp earthquake in central Oklahoma last weekend has raised fresh concern about the security of a vast crude oil storage complex, close to the quake’s center, that sits at the crossroads of the nation’s oil pipeline network.

The magnitude 4.5 quake struck Saturday afternoon about three miles northwest of Cushing, roughly midway between Oklahoma City and Tulsa. The town of about 8,000 people is home to the so-called Cushing Hub, a sprawling tank farm that is among the largest oil storage facilities in the world.

Scientists reported in a paper published online last month that a large earthquake near the storage hub “could seriously damage storage tanks and pipelines.” Saturday’s quake continues a worrisome pattern of moderate quakes, suggesting that a large earthquake is more than a passing concern, the lead author of that study, Daniel McNamara, said in an interview.

“When we see these fault systems producing multiple magnitude 4s, we start to get concerned that it could knock into higher magnitudes,” he said. “Given the number of magnitude 4s here, it’s a high concern.”

The federal government has designated the hub, run by energy industry companies, a critical national infrastructure. Major tank ruptures could cause serious environmental damage, raise the risk of fire and other disasters and disrupt the flow of oil to refineries nationwide, said Dr. McNamara, a research geophysicist at the National Earthquake Information Center in Colorado.

The Cushing quake is among the largest of thousands of temblors that have rocked central and northern Oklahoma in the past five years, largely set off by the injection of oil and gas industry wastes deep into the earth. The watery wastes effectively lubricate cracks, allowing rocks under intense pressure to slip past one another, causing quakes.

The tens of millions of barrels of injected wastewater have helped make Oklahoma the second most seismically active state, behind Alaska. Although quakes have damaged or destroyed buildings and roads and, in a few instances, injured people, regulators do not have the authority to seriously curb waste disposal, and politicians in a state dominated by the energy industry have made no move to give it to them.

The state had three earthquakes of magnitude 3 or greater in 2009. Last year, it had 585, and this year’s total exceeds that.

Many scientists say the largest earthquake recorded in Oklahoma, a magnitude 5.7 temblor in 2011, was apparently unleashed by injected waste. Research suggests that the Cushing faults hold the potential for a quake as large as magnitude 6, Dr. McNamara said.

The Cushing oil hub stores oil piped from across North America until it is dispatched to refineries. As of last week, it held 53 million barrels of crude. The earth beneath the tanks was comparatively stable until last October, when magnitude 4 and 4.3 earthquakes struck nearby in quick succession, revealing long-dormant faults beneath the complex. Three more quakes with magnitudes 4 and over have occurred within a few miles of the tanks in the past month.

The Department of Homeland Security has gauged potential earthquake dangers to the hub and concluded that a quake equivalent to the record magnitude 5.7 could significantly damage the tanks. Dr. McNamara’s study concludes that recent earthquakes have increased stresses along two stretches of fault that could lead to quakes of that size.

The vice chairman of the state’s oil and gas regulatory body, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, said in an interview that the potential for a large earthquake in Cushing was among her biggest worries. “It’s the eye of the storm,” said the vice chairwoman, Dana Murphy. Nevertheless, Oklahoma’s attempt to deal with the earthquakes this autumn faces continuing obstacles.

The government’s chief seismologist, who came under oil industry pressure to minimize the quakes’ origins in waste disposal, left this fall, and his successor is scheduled to depart soon. The state budget for the fiscal year that began in July slashed appropriations to the Corporation Commission by nearly 45 percent.

The commission has used its limited power over oil and gas exploration and production to persuade some companies in quake-prone areas to reduce the amount of waste they inject underground. This week, however, a Tulsa energy company filed the first challenge to those efforts, calling them arbitrary and a violation of due process. The two sides are negotiating an accord.

See also: www.FrackCheckWV.net