{"id":310102,"date":"2010-02-11T19:48:20","date_gmt":"2010-02-12T00:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/apolloalliance.org\/?p=1348"},"modified":"2010-02-11T19:48:20","modified_gmt":"2010-02-12T00:48:20","slug":"snow-storms-hit-east-coast-make-some-policymakers-lose-their-clean-energy-bearings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/310102","title":{"rendered":"Snow Storms Hit East Coast; Make Some Policymakers Lose Their Clean Energy Bearings"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The record-breaking blizzards that engulfed Washington, DC, the past two weeks have prompted climate change deniers to argue that if it\u2019s snowing on the East Coast, then climate change must not exist. Those who want climate action could just as easily argue that the dearth of snow in Vancouver, where the 2010 Winter Olympics are about to kick off, means climate change is already hitting us right in our backyard.<\/p>\n

Climate scientists have warned for years that we can expect more frequent extreme climate events \u2013 from heavier snowstorms to increasingly strong hurricanes \u2013 as global temperatures rise. As Jeff Masters, director of meteorology for the Michigan-based forecasting service Weather Underground, said on a Thursday telephone press conference organized by the Center for American Progress, \u201cWe still will have snowstorms, and the signs of record snowstorms being evidence against global warming is just not true. In the future, we shouldn’t be surprised to find heavier precipitation events.”<\/p>\n

\u201cThis actually is, according to the satellite record, the warmest winter on record,” said Joseph Romm of the Center for American Progress during the teleconference. \u201cThe scientific literature predicts that you will see more intense winter storms because of global warming.” Click here <\/a>to read more about what was discussed during the teleconference.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not just that the climate change deniers are wrong about the relationship between heavy snowstorms and climate change. It\u2019s also that they would use these arguments to derail federal climate and clean energy measures, ignoring the fact that climate change is not the only reason why we need to switch from fossil fuels to clean energy. What about national security?<\/p>\n

Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., who was quick to jump on the climate change denial bandwagon this week, seems to have forgotten that not only is our current energy system polluting the atmosphere with greenhouse gas emissions, it\u2019s also keeping us hooked on foreign oil. This makes the U.S. vulnerable to terrorists who object to our presence in the Middle East and forces us into relationships with hostile or repressive governments, thus jeopardizing our national security.<\/p>\n

Luckily, a group of veterans and national security experts are bringing our oil dependence to the forefront of the national clean energy debate. Operation Free<\/a> is an effort to draw attention to the national security threat caused both by U.S. dependence on foreign oil and by climate change. In November 2009, the Apollo Alliance interviewed a member of Operation Free, an Iraq war veteran named Alex Cornell du Houx, for a story we published about veterans green jobs training programs. At that time, Cornell du Houx said, \u201cWhen I was deployed in Fallujah with the marines, we came across a line of cars, trucks and tractors that were bumper-to-bumper as far as the eye could see. They were waiting there all night and risking their lives for gasoline and diesel. It really struck me how vulnerable and dependent they were on this single source of energy. Likewise, it made me think about how dependent we are and how it puts our security at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Operation Free recently ramped up its activities by launching a 16-state \u201cNational Veterans Tour for Clean Energy Security\u201d and a national television advertisement. Iraq war veteran Steve Maddox narrates the advertisement: \u201cTerrorists. They\u2019re trying to kill Americans at home and our troops abroad. And who\u2019s footing the bill for the attacks against us? Oil money, filtered through secret organizations in the Middle East and countries like Iran. When oil money ends up in the hands of our enemies, Americans pay the ultimate price. We\u2019ve got to protect ourselves and do all we can to end our dependence on foreign oil. Tell Congress: Pass the Clean Energy and America Power Act NOW.\u201d<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to watch the Operation Free television advertisement.<\/p>\n

Read about the national veterans\u2019 tour<\/a> or find out when it\u2019s coming to your state<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read the Apollo Alliance story about veterans green jobs training programs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And remember, come rain, sleet or snow, the need to transition to clean energy is not solely about the devastating impacts of climate change; it\u2019s also about the need to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil and making America more secure.<\/p>\n

In other news \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

*On Tuesday, Feb. 16, the Apollo Alliance and St. Louis Urban League are sponsoring an event to highlight a successful weatherization assistance program that is creating jobs for St. Louis, Mo., residents with the support of funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The program has already created 39 new green jobs and is also saving money for low-income St. Louis residents whose homes are being weatherized. To learn more about the program, visit the St. Louis Urban League\u2019s website.<\/a><\/p>\n

*A new report by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, the Pennsylvania Green Jobs Report<\/a>, analyzes the green economy in the state, identifying the primary industry sectors where green jobs are located as well the jobs that are most closely linked to green services and processes. It differs from other state green jobs reports in that it directly connects federal and state clean energy investments to clean energy job creation. According to the report, \u201cbetween 2010 and 2012, $10 billion in public and private investment in the green economy will be a catalyst for generating 115,000 jobs.\u201d Read the report<\/a> at the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry website.<\/p>\n

*Check out our new clean energy success stories! This month we have \u201cSignature Stories\u201d about model green jobs training programs in Michigan (Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice<\/a>) and Wisconsin (Green Affordable Housing in Indian Country<\/a>). We also have a new story about the role of small businesses in clean energy research and development (Small Businesses Leading the Way in Clean Energy Innovation<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Photo credit: Weather Underground<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The record-breaking blizzards that engulfed Washington, DC, the past two weeks have prompted climate change deniers to argue that if it\u2019s snowing on the East Coast, then climate change must not exist. Those who want climate action could just as easily argue that the dearth of snow in Vancouver, where the 2010 Winter Olympics are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-310102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=310102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310102\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=310102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}