WP: Pelosi Reveals Who's Who On Global Warming Panel

[DeepModem Mom]

Pelosi Reveals Who's Who On Global Warming Panel
Monday, March 12, 2007; Page A11

The best-kept secret on the Hill -- the full membership of the new committee on global warming -- is no longer secret. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has announced the 15 members of the committee, formally known as the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.

Pelosi's decision to create the committee initially sparked a turf war. Many saw it as a way to diminish the influence of veteran lawmakers, such as Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), who in the past guarded the interests of the big U.S. automakers from his state by opposing higher fuel-efficiency standards.

Pelosi said that the committee would be designed to raise the visibility of energy and climate-change issues and that it would not have legislative jurisdiction. "Global warming and energy independence are urgent issues that have profound implications for our nation's economic competitiveness, natural security, environmental quality and public health," Pelosi said in announcing the panel's members Friday. They are:

Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), who will chair the committee

Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.)

Jay Inslee (D-Wash.)

John B. Larson (D-Conn.)

Hilda L. Solis (D-Calif.)

Stephanie Herseth (D-S.D.)

Emanuel Cleaver II (D-Mo.)

John Hall (D-N.Y.)

Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.)

F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.), the ranking minority member

John Shadegg (R-Ariz.)

Greg Walden (R-Ore.)

John Sullivan (R-Okla.)

Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.)

Candice S. Miller (R-Mich.)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/11/AR2007031101044.html

[Ian David]

1. What? No Inhofe? GOP Names Climate Skeptic to Lead New Global Warming Committee

See:

09 March 2007
GOP Names Climate Skeptic to Lead New Global Warming Committee

ABC News: Fulfilling one of the campaign promises of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the House voted to create special committee "devoted solely to addressing the issue of global warming. Legislation creating the new ‘Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming’ passed 269 to 150, with 44 Republicans voting in favor of its creation."

While Democrats caucus to determine who will chair the new panel, the GOP has already named their leadership team. Let's meet the ranking Republican member:


Jabba The Sensenbrenner (R-WI).

Sensenbrenner is one of the loudest anti-gay, anti-immigrant and anti-global warming right-wing voices in Congress. (You remember this guy, he threw a hissy fit during the Patriot Act hearings and shut off all the microphones.) Think Progress documents Sensenbrenner's hostility toward the scientific community around global warming, including his famous questioning about placing "catalytic converters on the backs of cows" to decrease methane gases. A long history of similar colorful remarks has earned the congressman the nickname "Senselessbrenner" around Milwaukee.

According to a recent poll, only 13 percent of congressional Republicans say they believe that human activity has caused global warming, compared to 79 percent of all Americans.

More:
http://rodonline.typepad.com/rodonline/2007/03/republicans_nam.html

[Norquist Nemesis]

3. He's putting his time in on the Senate side

:hi:

[Norquist Nemesis]

2. ugh, ugh, and ugh

Senslessbringer, Shaddegg, and Scorched Earth Blackburn :puke: :puke: :puke:

Well, I don't understand why they (the 'liberal' media, not Pelosi) make this sound like it was a huge back-room secret deal or something. It seems to me that when this new committee was being formed that any or all of the three Cons noted would be more than happy to get in front of the cameras and talk about it to the heart of the journalists' content. :shrug:

[Ian David]

4. Rep. Shadegg joins climate change panel despite thinking it shouldn't exist

Rep. Shadegg joins climate change panel

Mike Madden
Mar. 10, 2007 12:00 AM

WASHINGTON - Republicans picked Rep. John Shadegg of Arizona on Friday to serve on a new House committee on global warming even though he doesn't think the committee should exist.

<snioP

Shadegg joined all but 44 Republicans in voting against the funding, which passed. Four of the other five Republicans named to the new panel also opposed the funding.

<snip>

Environmentalists worry the six GOP committee members will try to sabotage it from within, by tying the nine Democrats up in debates. An international panel of scientists last month reported that human activity "very likely" drove most of the rise in global temperature over the last 50 years.

"Selecting a panel that is comprised almost exclusively of people that still question the basic science behind global warming is not a good indicator that this committee is going to be able to move forward," said Ben Dunham, a staff attorney at U.S. PIRG, which backs tighter limits on carbon emissions by industry. "The fear is that some of the Republicans on the panel could take us back a step instead of moving us forward."
Shadegg hasn't been outspoken on global warming one way or the other, though he has acknowledged doubts about the causes and proper responses.

"There's a pretty open question as to precisely how much of global warming is caused by human activity and by which human activity, and I have a very open mind on those issues," he said Friday.

A spokesman for House Minority Leader John Boehner, {when two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking} R-Ohio, said Shadegg has "a mastery of the relevant policy."


More:
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0310shadegg0310.html

[fidgeting wildly]

7. Obstructionists.

We have to keep saying it, because that's what they are. Obstructionists. I just wish the Dems in Congress would call them by that name. They are scratching and clawing and will stop at nothing to prevent even the tiniest slice of the Democratic agenda to slip through, the will of the voters be damned.

[Ian David]

5. Walden appointed to exclusive climate change panel

2. Logging

Under the guise of "forest recovery," Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) has introduced a bill which would fast track destructive logging projects in National Forests affected by natural disturbances such as fires, droughts, or windstorms. The Walden logging bill, HR 4200, would remove basic protections for clean water and wildlife habitat by cutting meaningful environmental review and excluding public involvement. This harmful bill has passed the House Resources and Agriculture committees; a floor vote is expected this week.
http://www.sierraclub.org/pressroom/releases/pr2006-05-15.asp


Also:

Press Release: Walden appointed to exclusive climate change panel

March 9, 2007 - WASHINGTON, D.C. -

Congressman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) today announced that he has accepted an appointment from House Minority Leader John Boehner to serve on the new Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently announced the creation of the new panel, and yesterday the House approved its establishment. Nine Democrats and six Republicans will serve on it.

“It will be an honor to sit on a panel that will hopefully investigate the many differing points of view and scientific findings on what is exactly affecting climate change,” Walden said. “Global temperatures have risen, no doubt. We have thermometers that can measure these things with accuracy. The challenge we face is to determine exactly the role nature and other countries play, and what we as humans can do about it to positively curtail negative trends. Climate change is a critical and complicated issue with many aspects to it, and I’m eager for this new panel to pursue them in depth.”

“Congressman Walden is uniquely qualified given the expertise he’s gained during his service on the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Resources Committee,” Boehner said. “Greg is an intelligent, hard-working legislator who has a strong record of driving bipartisan conservation initiatives.”

Walden represents one of the most heavily forested Congressional districts in the country, and understands that healthy forests are an important tool in reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide. According to the Oregon Forest Resources Institute, the 2003 B&B Complex fire near Sisters emitted more than double the amount of carbon into the atmosphere than all other Oregon emission sources that year combined.

“Scientific studies are confirming what commonsense tells us; well-managed, healthy forests run a lower risk of burning up in a catastrophic, highly polluting, wildfire. Responsible forest stewardship, both here in the United States and in other nations around the world, naturally lessens the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere,” Walden said.

Walden is also vice chair of the bipartisan House Renewable Energy Caucus and co-chair of the bipartisan House Northwest Energy Caucus. The Pacific Northwest is a leader in the production and use of renewable energy and alternative fuels. Walden has been a leading advocate in the House to further develop alternative energy sources, promote the use of hybrid vehicles and invest in new technological advances. He has consistently voted to extend or increase tax credits to advance wind, solar, geothermal and biomass energy production.

Congressman Walden represents 20 counties in central, southern and eastern Oregon. He is a Deputy Whip in the House Leadership Structure and a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

###
http://walden.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.View&ContentRecord_id=342

[Ian David]

6. Quote from John Sullivan (R/Idiot- Okla) "I don't know much about science."

Thursday, 8 March 2007
Global Warming Hearing an Exercise in Futility

<snip>

And here, alas, is some enlightened cross-examination from committee members:

"500 years ago what kind of meteorologists were on the planet and where were the weather stations?" wondered Rep. John Sullivan (R-Oklahoma), in an attempt to cast doubt on historical measurements of temperature. When informed that scientists use tree ring and ice core samples to track historical climate events with a good degree of accuracy, Sullivan admitted: "I don't know much about science."

More:
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/03/global_warming_.html



Also:

Will Climate Change Destroy the Atmosphere?
10 March 2007

<snip>

Scientific Ignorance

Given the responsibilities of the committee, few of the Republican members who attacked the IPCC appeared to be deeply informed, based on their questions and assertions.

Here’s John Sullivan (R-OK): “I’m trying to learn a lot about it , I don’t know much about it, maybe someone could help me with some of these things.”

Sullivan struggled with the concept of estimating temperatures before the modern era. He asked, “1,300 years ago, what kind of meteorologists were on the planet, and what kind of thermometers did they use, and where were the weather stations?...” After a short pause, Sullivan relented slightly: “Let’s just say 500 years ago.”

Dr. Gabriele Hegerl (see list of witness and their affiliations below) patiently explained that in the absence of ancient meteorologists, scientists use indicators that follow changes in the climate, like tree rings, or independent indicators like the records of major volcanic eruptions in ice cores from the Greenland.

Sullivan, after noting that water vapor makes up 96% of naturally occurring greenhouse gases, asked “is there anything we can do to change that .”

Showing great restraint, none of the witnesses tried to answer Sullivan’s question directly. After listening to a brief discussion about the role of water vapor, Sullivan wandered back into questioning mode. Was it possible for the models which scientists were using to study global warming to predict temperatures exactly?

Dr. Hegerl quickly said “No.”

Sullivan then addressed all the witnesses with this probing question:

“Would you agree that this is pretty complicated stuff? Would most of you agree with that?"

The panelists shook their heads in agreement with Sullivan’s blinding insight.

Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) had another bombshell question that I’m sure none of the witnesses, or any of the 200 people in the hearing room had ever heard. Shimkus said he had dinner with a classmate who was a NASA astronaut. His classmate told him how thin the atmosphere looked when you were up in space. Shimkus asked whether global warming could cause “the destruction of the atmosphere as we know it, the breakup of the atmosphere as we know it. Is Earth at risk of just being a rock plummeting through space?”

There was a slight but noticeable sucking in of breath as people in the room looked around at each other wondering if they had really heard what they just heard. The witnesses squirmed noticeably before Dr. Michael Oppenheimer finally choked out a short two-word answer: “Probably not.”

More:
http://www.globalpublicmedia.com/articles/874

[Ian David]

8. Keep in mind that John Boehner is the one who appointed the Republickers on the panel.

Nancy Pelosi didn't have any say in who the Republick Party put on the panel.

That would be Boehner's fault. (Remember: when two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking.)

[peacetalksforall]

9. Are they really going to go far with Sensenbrenner on it?

[Ian David]

10. Marsha! Marsha! Marsha! Blackburn (Idiot / R-Tenn)

ADVANCED FUELS INFRASTRUCTURE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ACT
The United States House of Representative
Feb 8, 2007
Section 25

<snip>

Rep. Marsha Blackburn : Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

I rise to support the amendment of the gentleman from Virginia. I do rise on the point of conservation and pointing out some conservation. You know, it is amazing to me to hear all of this talk that we have about global warming. But you know what, the debate that we are having here just points out, Mr. Chairman, there is a difference between conservationists and environmentalists, and this is one of the debates that points this out. Conservationists walk the walk. Environmentalists talk about it, but they do not walk the walk.

You know, I remember, I appreciate so much the gentleman from Tennessee's comments about global warming and the threat that is there. Well, you know what? I am old enough to remember having been in high school in the 1960s, and I remember in the early 1970s, going into college where we were all going to freeze to death.

We were going to freeze to death. It was on the cover of every magazine out there. We had an Ice Age that was coming. I was scared to death. I thought, my goodness, I will never be able to have children, watch them grow up, because we are going to be living in igloos.

Well, but you know what? It did not happen, and now we find out, guess what, 100 years ago, they thought they had a warming cycle; or they did, they documented it. Then we find out that the rises and falls in temperatures of this great Earth are cyclical. It is there, and, yes, it is rising a little bit right there. But in 1969 and 1970 and 1971, the Ice Age was coming, and there was scientific proof.

You know, at Energy and Commerce Committee last year, we had some great hearings. We talked about the fallacy of the hockey stick theory. We discussed that. We heard testimony, and we can have all of our community of scientists who are trying to serve the purpose of validating one another's theories, but not wanting to go back and use the evidence from 100 years ago, and it just proves the point, as is often said on this floor, you are entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to a different set of facts, and that is the truth.

You know, it is of tremendous concern, on a day when we are talking about the environment, that we do have an example being brought forth that would be spending, not only $22,000 an hour, but would be spending a lot in emissions, in gases. This is something that does deserve to be discussed, Mr. Chairman.

I tell you what, we have named this, we have talked about this being the hold-on-to-your-wallet Congress, and for every hour that our friends across the aisle are in charge, they are racking up, not thousands and millions, but moving to billions. Hold on to your wallet because of what they are choosing to spend the taxpayers' hard-earned money on.

It is of great concern to me, when I read reports that are coming out of all sorts of papers and news organizations about how this is coming to be, people returning to smoke-filled rooms, picking up the phones, calling, saying, this is the way it ought to be done.

Mr. Chairman, it is of great concern to me, I think for those of us who are conservationists, who want to be certain that we leave this Earth a better place than we found it. We are wise to stand and to question the bill and to support the amendment of the gentleman from Virginia.

More:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/record.xpd?id=110-h20070208-25&person=400032

[Ian David]

11. National Association of Manufacturers whine about Global Warming Committee, rank the members

March 10, 2007
New Global Warming Committee: The NAM Rankings

Members of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's anti-global warming panel, the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, were appointed Friday. (Speaker's news release. Story here. Background here. Names here in .pdf file.) The committee consists of nine Democrats and six Republicans; as anticipated, the Chairman is Rep. Ed Markey, D-MA.

When Pelosi announced plans to create the committee -- with the goal of passing legislation by July 4 -- she encountered resistence for circumventing traditional committee jurisdictions. Chief critic was Rep. John Dingell, D-MI, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

"We're just empowering a bunch of enthusiastic amateurs to go around and make speeches and make commitments that will be very difficult to honor," Dingell said last January. In an interview with The Associated Press, he added, "They're going to get under the feet of and interfere with those who are trying to do a decent job of legislating...I'm unaware of anything they will do that will be of any value."

On the other hand, the Sierra Club is mightily pleased. http://www.commondreams.org/news2007/0309-05.htm

Chairman Dingell's skepticism seems well-founded in light of the new committee includes some Representatives who have demonstrated a strong appreciation of market forces, growth and the manufacturing economy.

The NAM's rankings of the committee's 15 members' votes during the 109th Congress are certainly interesting. (NAM's official Voting Record guide is available here.) Chairman Markey earned a 4 percent grade, as did two other Democrats (Blumenauer and Solis); the ranking Republican, Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-WI, earned an 86 percent grade, the lowest NAM rating of the GOP members.

For a full list of the Committee members and their NAM rankings for 109th Congress, please check the extended entry of this post.

Where available, we've added a link to a local story about the respective Representative's appointment to the committee.

NAM Rankings, 109th Congress
Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming

DEMOCRATS

Ed Markey, Massachusetts, Chairman -- 4 percent

Earl Blumenauer, Oregon -- 4 percent (story)http://www.examiner.com/a-609406~Three_Northwest_members_on_global_warming_panel.html

Jay Inslee, Washington -- 17 percent (story)http://www.examiner.com/a-609406~Three_Northwest_members_on_global_warming_panel.html

John Larson, Connecticut -- 13 percent

Hilda Solis, California -- 4 percent (story)http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_5405985

Stephanie Herseth, South Dakota -- 46 percent (story)http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2007/03/10/news/state/state03.txt

Emanuel Cleaver, Missouri -- 17 percent

John Hall, New York -- N/A (new member) (story) http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070310/NEWS/70309022

Jerry McNerney, California -- N/A (new member) (story) http://origin.insidebayarea.com/localnews/ci_5406555

{REPUBLICKERS}

James Sensenbrenner, Wisconsin -- 86 percent

John Shadegg, Arizona -- 100 percent (story)http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/44521.php

Greg Walden, Oregon -- 100 percent (story)http://www.bendweekly.com/Statewide-News/3534.html

John Sullivan, Oklahoma -- 96 percent

Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee -- 100 percent

Candice Miller, Michigan -- 96 percent (story)http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070309/UPDATE/703090451/1148/AUTO01

Tagged: Ed Markey , John Dingell , Nancy Pelosi , Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming , Sierra Club

Posted by Carter Wood at March 10, 2007 5:23 PM

More:
http://blog.nam.org/archives/2007/03/global_warming_50.php

[cally]

12. I'm thrilled that McNerney will sit on this comm.

He's an expert on alternative energy, is a strong environmentalist, and just defeated to Pombo.