March 2010 Archives

President Obama today announced plans to expand oil and natural gas drilling off U.S. shores. The proposal seeks to fulfill Obama's State of the Union promise to reduce U.S. oil imports and boost energy security. Can America drill its way to a green future? Will the White House energy plan help Obama win congressional support for climate change legislation? Where should Obama's energy policy go from here?

19 responses: David Parker, Marvin Odum, David Parker, Thomas J. Pyle, Doug May, Eileen Claussen, Bill Meadows, Rodger Schlickeisen, Bill Snape, Karen Harbert, Donna Harman, Maggie L. Fox, William O'Keefe, Mark A. Cohen, Jack Gerard, Jon A. Anda, Carl Pope, Frances Beinecke, Bob Dinneen

Should Congress stop the Energy Department from closing the proposed nuclear waste repository site at Yucca Mountain?

Energy Secretary Steven Chu is facing increased criticism about the administration's plans to end development of the Nevada-based facility for radioactive waste. At a House hearing last week, lawmakers questioned Chu about White House plans to yank funding for the Yucca Mountain project, withdraw the license application at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and forbid the new nuclear waste commission from considering Yucca as a potential solution. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., went so far as to question the legality of President Obama's decision to terminate the project, and a group of House members have introduced a resolution aimed at stopping the administration.

Should DOE's new commission consider Yucca as an option for long-term nuclear waste disposal? How should the Energy Department handle such critical inquiries? Whether or not Yucca remains off the table, what are some viable options for nuclear waste?

7 responses: Amy Harder, Marian Hopkins, Amy Harder, Chuck Gray, William O'Keefe, Marvin Fertel, Arjun Makhijani

Americans are less concerned about environmental problems now than at any other time in the past 20 years, according to Gallup polling released last week. To the extent Americans do care about the environment, climate trails all other major issues, including water pollution and toxic dumps. What's your theory about why that's the case?

How should Congress respond to waning interest in global warming? Where should climate change rank among the nation's environmental concerns? What, if anything, is more important or should get more federal attention than climate change?

13 responses: David Parker, Jack Gerard, Marlo Lewis, Stephen Eule, Rodger Schlickeisen, David Kreutzer, Janet Larsen, William O'Keefe, Mark A. Cohen, Kevin S. Curtis, Bill Snape, Paul Portney, Jon A. Anda

Should Congress price greenhouse gas emissions differently for different parts of the economy?

Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn., are working on climate change legislation that would create different pricing mechanisms for various industrial sectors, particularly electric utilities, manufacturing plants and vehicles. They might incorporate a bill co-sponsored by Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, that would send most of the revenue generated from a limited cap-and-trade system back to consumers to offset higher energy prices.

Would this method be fairer, simpler, or more politically viable than an economy-wide cap-and-trade system? Could this approach attract more support from Republicans and moderate Democrats? Could it cut emissions as much as President Obama wants? Should the Senate trio consider incorporating provisions of the Cantwell-Collins bill?

13 responses: Margo Thorning, David E. Hunter, Dirk Forrister, David Parker, Chuck Gray, Thomas J. Pyle, Richard Revesz, Marlo Lewis, Jon A. Anda, William O'Keefe, Robert Socolow, Dave McCurdy, Bill Snape

Should Senate Democrats embrace a short-term delay on the EPA's greenhouse gas regulations to give Congress more time to write its own climate and energy legislation?

The agency's efforts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions are being assailed on Capitol Hill. Perhaps the most potent effort comes from coal-state Democrat Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, who introduced legislation last week that would delay EPA regulation for two years. Republicans in the House and Senate would go even further: They're seeking to ban the agency from regulating emissions altogether. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson is urging Congress to pass climate change legislation, but she says she will proceed with regulations in the meantime to give industry certainty.

What are the political ramifications for lawmakers when they either support or oppose legislation like this? Would a two-year delay prevent the climate debate from becoming political dynamite in the November midterm elections?

15 responses: Frances Beinecke, Erich Pica, Jon A. Anda, Thomas J. Pyle, Skip Horvath, Jeff Holmstead, Donna Harman, Marlo Lewis, Terry Chapin, William O'Keefe, Frank M. Stewart, Jonathan H. Adler, Cal Dooley, Bill Snape, Thomas Gibson

Updated at 2:52 p.m. on March 9.

How can scientists overcome questions about the legitimacy of international climate change studies?

The U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said last week it is appointing an independent committee to review how it conducts its major reports. The U.N. had made a similar announcement as part of a broader review of the IPCC. The investigations follow revelations that the IPCC's influential 2007 report, which concluded that humans are likely to blame for global warming, contains numerous errors both small and large. Republican lawmakers have seized on the news, arguing that the EPA should forgo any plans to regulate greenhouse gas emissions as long as the IPCC science is not vetted.

Are the U.N. investigations enough? Should Congress do any type of independent investigation? Should EPA suspend its regulations until an investigation is completed? How does the IPCC controversy affect both domestic and international efforts to curb emissions? If you think there should not be any type of investigation, how can the IPCC and climate change supporters allay concerns that the science is not credible?

CORRECTION: The original version of this question gave an incorrect name for the IPCC.

10 responses: Maggie L. Fox, Alan Oxley, Paul Sullivan, Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., Andrew Wheeler, Kevin Knobloch, William O'Keefe, Jon A. Anda, Eileen Claussen, Bill Snape