Larry Schweiger, President and CEO, National Wildlife Federation
Biography provided by participant
Schweiger became head of the National Wildlife Federation in March 2004 with a commitment to confront global warming to protect wildlife for our children’s future, connect people to nature, and restore America’s wildlife heritage. National Wildlife Federation is America’s largest conservation organization, with 48 affiliates and more than four million supporters. Schweiger also serves as co-chair of the board of directors of the Alliance for Climate Protection.
Previously, Schweiger served for eight years as president and CEO of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, where he pioneered and promoted programs to expand ecological research and community outreach in high-priority conservation areas.
Schweiger is an active community leader, having served on more than 40 governing boards, commissions and committees. He has received many awards for his efforts in conservation, including the Distinguished Service Award for Special Conservation Achievement from National Wildlife Federation in June 1995, and the Conservation Service Award from the Christian Environmental Association in September 1995. He was selected as Pennsylvania’s Environmental Professional of the Year in 2002.
Unfinished Business We can't afford to wait and let clean energy jobs go to other countries ready to invest in clean energy. Hope springs eternal, but the idea of waiting to "spring" for Senate action doesn't fill me with hope. In 2010, the Senate will convene in January, not March. The Senate's unfinished business on clean energy and climate should be on deck as the Senate's highest priority after health care. Speaker Pelosi and the House worked impressively already this year to pass a clean energy jobs bill that puts America on a leadership pathway for reducing pollution and tackling… Read more
Carbon Cap Essential To Clean Energy Simply put, the cap's the thing. Doing an energy bill without directly addressing our global warming pollution would miss the point of why we’re addressing the issue in the first place. Putting a limit (and with it, a price) on our global warming pollution will send a vastly clearer signal to the market than floating a raft of subsidies and hoping the folks downstream get the message. I’d also take issue with your contention that clean energy & climate legislation needs “saving.” In the House, the American Clean Energy & Security Act got more… Read more
A path forward I find it hard to believe that Charles Drevna, president of the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association, really believes it’s energy reform that threatens our national security. As Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) detailed in their op-ed in Sunday’s New York Times, it’s our energy status quo that’s the danger. The senators’ collaboration is a clear signal not only that clean energy & climate action are above partisan politics, but that the Senate can and will pass the Clean Energy Jobs Act this year. That message is being echoed in cities across… Read more
Why seek a different approach when cap-and-trade is not only proven to work, but supported by so many Americans? The system has already been used to dramatically lower acid rain pollution at only a fraction of the cost to consumers that was originally predicted. And 71% of American voters support the American Clean Energy and Security Act that passed the House in June. Americans know we face interconnected economic, energy and climate crises. That's why they support comprehensive solutions like American Clean Energy and Security Act that passed the House and the Clean Energy Jobs Act in the Senate. Each bill would that cap global warming pollution and invest… Read more
Biography provided by participant
