Bleeding Heartland - nuclear power

Obama's "five worst nominees"

desmoinesdem — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 02:49:47 GMT

Over at the Mother Jones blog, Kate Sheppard, David Corn and Daniel Schulman compiled a list of "Obama's Five Worst Nominees." Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner doesn't make the cut, which surprised me until I read the short bios of appointees who are likely to put corporate interests ahead of the public interest. In alphabetical order:

William Lynn, for whom the president made an exception to his policy on lobbyists in government. Lynn was the chief lobbyist for defense contractor Raytheon before becoming deputy secretary of defense in the Obama administration.

William Magwood, a "cheerleader for nuclear power" who has "worked for reactor maker Westinghouse and has run two firms that advise companies on nuclear projects." Obama nominated him for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Scott O'Malia, who was apparently suggested by Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell. O'Malia "was a lobbyist for Mirant, an Enron-like energy-trading firm" and lobbied for weakening the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, to which Obama appointed him.

Joseph Pizarchik, who helped form policies in Pennsylvania to allow disposal of toxic coal ash in unlined pits. Obama named him director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.

Islam Siddiqui, whom Obama appointed to be the chief agricultural negotiator for the U.S. trade representative. Jill Richardson has been on this case at La Vida Locavore; see here and here on why Siddiqui is the wrong person for this job.

I wouldn't suggest that this rogue's gallery is representative of Obama appointees, but it's depressing to see any of them in this administration.

In the good news column, Obama has decided to renominate Dawn Johnsen to head the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, along with five other nominees who didn't receive a confirmation vote in the Senate last year.

Year in review: national politics in 2009 (part 2)

desmoinesdem — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 20:56:38 GMT

Following up on the diary I posted this morning, this post compiles links to Bleeding Heartland's coverage of national politics from July through December 2009. Health care reform was again the number one topic. I wish there had been a happy ending.
July 2009

A video of Chuck Grassley went viral after he told a questioner at a town-hall meeting to "go work for the federal government" if he wanted a health insurance plan like the one Grassley enjoys.

The Iowa Farm Bureau expressed confidence that the climate change bill would die in the Senate. It seems that they were right.

Sarah Palin resigned as governor of Alaska right before the Fourth of July.

The health care reform debate demonstrated that Washington's revolving door between government and lobbying is still running smoothly.

Al Franken started making us proud immediately after being sworn in as the junior U.S. senator from Minnesota.

Steve King was the only House member to vote against placing "a marker acknowledging the role that slave labor played in constructing the Capitol" in a "prominent location in the visitor center's Emancipation Hall."

The Government Accountability Office examined how 16 states were handling federal stimulus funds. Iowa got good marks for its "foundation of safeguards to help ensure the funds are being spent in the way that they were intended and to minimize the fraud, waste and abuse."

News emerged that the CIA did withhold "information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress for eight years on direct orders from former Vice President Dick Cheney." Republicans included Steve King had been bashing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for months after Pelosi claimed the CIA did not reveal its waterboarding policy during a 2002 briefing. RDemocrat posted more reflections on this story.

Guest poster jamess wrote about the insurance industry's rescission practices and which illnesses are most likely to put policy-holders on the "drop list."

Health Care for America Now and the Iowa Citizen Action Network created a "job application" for Iowans wanting to take Chuck Grassley's advice to "go work for the federal government" if they want good health insurance coverage.

Chuck Grassley lectured Judge Sonia Sotomayor and generally didn't distinguish himself during her confirmation hearings, but he did get a laugh out of the room.

There was massive demand for the high-speed rail funding allocated in the stimulus bill.

Representatives Bruce Braley, Dave Loebsack and Leonard Boswell helped negotiate new language in the House health care reform bill to change Medicare reimbursements.

Representative Tom Latham tried but failed to replace $3 billion in high-speed rail funds with more money for roads in a transportation appropriations bill.

Cash for Clunkers went into effect.

Chuck Grassley announced plans to vote against confirming Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court.

The RNC ran radio ads against Leonard Boswell on health care.

Guest blogger RDemocrat called for opposing the compromise House version of health care reform (which would have been a lot better than the final bill we're likely to get).

Amid growing dissatisfaction with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus' handling of the health care reform bill, Tom Harkin suggested having the Democratic caucus vote by secret ballot every two years on whether a chairman should continue in that role.

August 2009

The National Republican Congressional Committee included Leonard Boswell (IA-03) on its list of 70 Democratic-held districts to be targeted in 2010.

The Sunlight Foundation reported on Chuck Grassley's ties to health and insurance PACs.

I still held out hope that Congress might reject Obama's deal with big Pharma.

The Senate confirmed Sonia Sotomayor as associate justice of the Supreme Court.

Iowa Republicans grew increasingly worried that Chuck Grassley might help Democrats pass health care reform, but I knew he wasn't working to improve the bill or its chances of passing.

Congress quickly moved to extend the Cash for Clunkers program in light of huge demand. By the end of the month, President Obama signed a bill allocating another $2 billion to the program.

Sarah Palin's warning about "downright evil" health care rationing inspired this diary about health care rationing that happens already.

Chuck Grassley played the "pull the plug on grandma" card.

Iowa got the highest marks in the Work Loss Data Institute's 2009 state report cards on workers' compensation.

Bleeding Heartland user iowademocrat attended a Tom Harkin health care forum and declared, "Now I understand why war happens."

Leonard Boswell was vague about what he considered essential elements of a health care reform bill.

Democratic candidate for Iowa secretary of agriculture Francis Thicke advocated "ecology as a model for livestock production."

News emerged that in 2003 Chuck Grassley voted to fund end-of-life counseling for the terminally ill.

Bleeding Heartland user iowademocrat posted some ideas on how to "defeat the health care forum bullies".

The White House sent Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius out on tv to make clear that the Obama administration was not insisting that health care reform include a public option.

Bleeding Heartland user hei posted a first-person account from one of Dave Loebsack's town-hall meetings.

Chuck Grassley admitted that he would vote against health care reform even if Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus amended the bill to include all the changes Grassley requested.

As some Senate Democrats floated regional health insurance co-operatives as an alternative to the public option, the New York Times noted that health insurance co-ops had already failed in Iowa.

A coalition of labor unions started running ads against Chuck Grassley on health care reform.

Critics of the public option continued to ignore bigger problems with huge problems with current health insurance industry practices.

Rumors continued to circulate about a high-profile Democrat joining the race against Chuck Grassley.

The Cash for Clunkers program ended, and Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced plans to introduce cash rebates for energy-efficient appliances.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman vowed to shine a light on the health insurance industry's common business practices.

I chose not to attend an Organizing for America rally on health care reform.

Bleeding Heartland user iowademocrat, an early Obama supporter, lost patience with the president: "I refuse to work for his version of health care reform when he has no clear goal other than to pass something - anything - that may get through Congress, regardless of content."

Senator Ted Kennedy passed away, and his friend John Culver (former U.S. Senator, father of Chet Culver) made memorable remarks at the funeral.

September 2009

Polls showed Democrats losing the generic Congressional ballot advantage and trailing Republicans in terms of voter intensity.

The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee released a report on how quickly states are turning around stimulus road funds, and Iowa scored quite well.

I never believed the rumors that social conservatives were considering a primary challenge against Chuck Grassley.

The Obama administration's negotiating position on the public option irritated me. (That post was written under the assumption that Obama wanted a public option in the health reform bill, which is arguable.)

I maintained that Chuck Grassley is not a knucklehead.

Tom Harkin became chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee after Senator Chris Dodd decided to remain chairman of the Banking Committee.

Barack Obama delivered a speech on health care reform to the House and the Senate. I was disappointed by lines he drew and didn't draw in the sand.

Tom Harkin claimed he had 60 votes to pass the Employee Free Choice Act in July, but Senator Ted Kennedy was too ill to come to the Capitol to vote.

I discussed why Jews are liberals and Norman Podhoretz is asking the wrong question.

Tom Harkin held his annual steak fry, featuring Senator Al Franken of Minnesota. Harkin promised that health care reform containing a public option would pass by Christmas.

BruceMcF described what a real public health insurance option would look like.

I was disturbed by the failure of any prominent Republican to denounce political rhetoric of armed rebellion.

Health insurance co-ops, proposed by some Democrats as a compromise in place of a public option, are designed to fail.

Tom Latham and Steve King voted against the student loan reform bill that passed the House of Representatives. Tom Harkin promised to get the reform through the Senate.

Iowans again split on party lines as the U.S. House extended unemployment benefits.

Steve King decided same-sex marriage would lead to a "socialist society."

Chuck Grassley continued to make the case against health care reform.

The death of census worker Bill Sparkman prompted this post urging conservative politicians to stop demonizing the census.

Asked about the Congressional vote he most regrets, Steve King said he couldn't think of any and pivoted to bragging about what he considers his "best vote": against the $1.5 billion aid package for Hurricane Katrina victims.

The growing questions surrounding Strategic Vision made me wonder whether their 2007 Iowa polls were fabricated.

Kentucky-based blogger RDemocrat discussed the widening gap between rich and poor in this guest post.

Conservatives including Steve King targeted the Service Employees International Union as part of the continuing war on ACORN.

The Senate Finance Committee rejected amendments that would have included a public health insurance option, but Tom Harkin continued to insist that Senate Democrats had the votes to pass a public option.

October 2009

During the Senate Finance Committee markup of the health reform bill, Chuck Grassley had the insurance companies' back.

Senator Byron Dorgan vowed to offer an amendment on importing prescription drugs. The Senate eventually voted down that amendment in December, partly because the White House had promised pharmaceutical companies that re-importation would not be part of health care reform.

I became increasingly concerned that health insurance companies would easily evade the new regulations being considered by Congress.

The health care reform battle took a toll on Chuck Grassley's approval rating, according to Survey USA.

Rinku Sen and Billy Parish cross-posted a piece on youth unemployment.

Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Movement toward an "opt-out" public health insurance option concerned me.

I wondered whether Iowa Republicans would seek out Sarah Palin's endorsement next year.

Tom Harkin correctly predicted that a food safety bill would not clear Congress this year.

News that a Colorado insurance company used a breastfeeding infant's "obesity" as an excuse to deny insurance coverage outraged me.

Chuck Grassley capped months of bad-faith negotiating by voting no on the Senate Finance Committee's health reform bill, even though it lacked a public health insurance option.

News of record pay on Wall Street prompted this post on the failures of the bailout policy that George Bush began and Barack Obama continued.

Chuck Grassley whined about Senate Democrats not including Republicans as the health reform bills passed by the HELP and Finance committees were merged. Meanwhile, Grassley suggested an individual mandate to purchase health insurance might be unconstitutional, even though he was on record during the summer supporting that kind of mandate.

The same week that Steve King joined the right-wing crusade against White House "safe schools" official Kevin Jennings, Mike Denklau became the first Democrat to announce plans to run against King in Iowa's fifth Congressional district in 2010.

I reflected on the good life enjoyed by uninsured apes in America, as opposed to human beings who lack health insurance.

Bleeding Heartland user Runaway Rose analyzed Chuck Grassley's stance on climate change-related issues.

Inspired by ads New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine ran against overweight Republican Chris Christie, Bleeding Heartland user American007 pondered whether Chet Culver might be too big to win re-election.

I took another guess at how the likely Republican presidential candidates will do in the 2012 Iowa caucuses.

House Progressives failed to round up 218 votes for the more robust version of the public health insurance option.

Harry Reid included a very weak opt-out public health insurance option in his merged health reform bill, no thanks to President Obama, who urged Reid to drop the public option in favor of a "trigger."

Tom Harkin predicted that Joe Lieberman would not stand in the way of health care reform, because he has too much to lose.

November 2009

Democrats in Iowa and nationwide should not resort to sexist insults when mocking Sarah Palin.

I argued that it's a waste of time for journalists to speculate on whether Steve King will run for president in 2012.

I reviewed some reactions to the off-year elections in Iowa, Maine, New Jersey and Virginia. In general it was a tough night for Iowa incumbents.

Steve King falsely claimed that the Democrats' proposed health care reform would cancel every private insurance contract in the country. King also missed a House Judiciary Committee hearing in order to participate in Michele Bachmann's Capitol Hill rally against health care reform. In so doing he helped doom several GOP-sponsored amendments to the PATRIOT Act.

The U.S. House narrowly approved a health care reform bill, and Iowa's representatives split on party lines.

The Iowa-based conservative advocacy group American Future Fund asked the Federal Election Commission to overturn state bans on political robocalls.

Health Care for America Now ran ads thanking a number of House Democrats for supporting health care reform, including Iowa's Leonard Boswell.

The Pew Center on the States released a report on state budget problems, and Iowa got good marks as one of the states "least like California." You'd never know that from listening to Iowa Republicans, however.

Crisitunity's Swing State Project post about vulnerable Democratic-held House districts suggested to me that the National Republican Congressional Committee is unlikely to invest heavily in Leonard Boswell's GOP opponent next year.

The Des Moines Register's Iowa poll indicated that Roxanne Conlin would have an uphill battle against Chuck Grassley.

I argued that we should pull the plug on the climate change bill pending in Congress because Senate Democrats including Tom Harkin are demanding even more concessions to polluting industries.

A report on the AIG bailout released by the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program confirmed my opinion that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner must go.

I viewed the upcoming GOP primary in Iowa's second Congressional district as a sign of the shrinking Republican tent. In a D+7 district long represented by Jim Leach, none of the potential GOP candidates is a social moderate.

Republican hypocrisy regarding the Obama administration's plans to try some terrorism suspects in the U.S. inspired this post.

After reading a report from Physicians for Social Responsibility, "Coal's Assault on Human Health," I suggested that it's misguided for some politicians to claim that climate change legislation would be "unfair" to residents of coal-dependent states.

I urged President Obama to ignore the people advising him to make deficit reduction a top priority next year.

I apologized for wrongly assuming that census worker Bill Sparkman had been murdered in September.

Bleeding Heartland user American007 speculated about nine possible choices for Time magazine's person of the year. This diary did not predict the selection of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke but presciently noted that Time's editors often "recognize the people attempting to combat the bad economy."

I discussed the so-called "purity test" resolution backed by some RNC members, which is intended to cut off GOP support for any candidate who strays too far from conservative dogma. At least two of Iowa's three RNC members support the test.

December 2009

I was disappointed by President Obama's speech announcing an escalation of the war in Afghanistan.

The executive director of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement published a good piece in the Des Moines Register about ending USDA loans that encourage construction of more factory farms.

Jim Gibbons' Congressional campaign's first attack against Leonard Boswell was pathetic, even by the standards of modern Republican campaigns.

Bruce Braley's House Populist Caucus and Tom Harkin advocated new Wall Street transaction fees to increase revenue and discourage "reckless speculation."

OK, this wasn't a political story, but I posted some reflections on John Lennon's music on the 29th anniversary of his death.

Bruce Braley called for Congress to include Buy American provisions in a jobs bill (the final bill included that language).

Leonard Boswell turned up on a list of 17 House Democrats that the NRCC hopes to pressure into retirement.

I gave up hope that health insurance reform would be an improvement on the status quo after Senate Democrats brokered a lousy deal that fell apart days later.

Two votes in the House over reforming the estate tax and extending some tax breaks for businesses told me a lot about Republican priorities.

A draft memo from the Department of Justice indicated that the Obama administration was likely to move some prisoners from Guantanamo Bay to the Thomson Correctional Center in Illinois.

A federal judge halted a Congressional ban on funding for ACORN on the grounds that the legislation was an unconstitutional bill of attainder.

The Senate health insurance reform bill was looking worse every day (though a later version of Reid's manager's amendment did close one of the loopholes I mentioned in that post).

Tom Harkin said he may reintroduce a bill he sponsored in 1995 that would have changed the Senate's rules on the filibuster.

The House approved new regulations of Wall Street, and Iowa's delegation again split on party lines.

I was furious that White House officials told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to give in to all of Joe Lieberman's demands on health care reform. Lieberman later said that President Obama never asked him to support a public health insurance option.

I responded to Nate Silver's claim that any Democrat who opposes the Senate's version of health care reform must be "batflippin' crazy."

Bill Maske declared his candidacy in Iowa's fourth Congressional district. He faces an uphill battle against eight-term Republican incumbent Tom Latham.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee made me angry with their incessant spin about "Republican obstruction" being the main threat to real health care reform.

I couldn't believe that Time magazine named Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke the person of the year. It reminded me of why my high school debate coach dismissed publications like Time and Newsweek as "McNews."

Environment Iowa warned that expanding our national investment in nuclear power is not the answer to global warming.

I reviewed some recent national opinion poll data on health care reform, which should worry Democrats.

Jim Gibbons secured the backing of many heavy-hitter Republican donors in his race for the GOP nomination in IA-03.

I got fed up with MoveOn.org after receiving yet another e-mail blaming Joe Lieberman for "single-handedly" trying to block health insurance reform. (Later MoveOn.org did come out against the Senate's version of the bill, but they still failed to hold the president accountable for his role in letting the bill get watered down.)

The House passed a jobs bill using returned money from the Wall Street bailout, and Iowa's representatives split on party lines.

After seeing the weak November fundraising numbers from the National Republican Congressional Committee, I predicted the NRCC will not spend heavily in IA-03 next year.

Senate Democrats reached a deal on health reform and secured 60 votes for the first cloture motion.

The National Republican Congressional Committee started a new robocall against Leonard Boswell three days before Christmas.

Wall Street viewed the Senate deal on health reform as good news for the insurance industry.

The Senate passed its version of health insurance reform on Christmas Eve.

The Census Bureau's last population estimates before the 2010 census confirmed that Iowa will lose a Congressional district during the next reapportionment.

Harkin confirmed that he is looking for allies to change the Senate rules on the filibuster.

Citing official statements by Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Grassley and Harkin, I previewed next year's campaign messages on health care reform.

I launched a holiday haiku contest, and Bleeding Heartland readers submitted some good haikus inspired by the governor's race and the campaign in Iowa's third Congressional district.

Likely 2012 presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty endorsed the idea of a federal constitutional amendment requiring Congress to pass a balanced budget.

The Department of Labor released an encouraging annual Statement of Regulatory and Deregulatory Priorities.

Early Obama supporter John Norris was confirmed for a position with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Steve King kept scaremongering about health care reform and the threat posed by moving terrorist suspects from Guantanamo Bay.

Environment Iowa's annual scorecard for the Iowa Democrats in Congress got me thinking about how Bruce Braley, Tom Harkin and Leonard Boswell handled the climate change issue during the year.

Nuclear power not the answer to global warming

desmoinesdem — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:41:57 GMT

Environment Iowa posted an important statement here today, and I encourage you to click over and read the whole thing. I want to highlight a few passages:

* To avoid the most catastrophic impacts of global warming, the U.S. needs to cut power plant emissions roughly in half over the next 10 years.
* Nuclear power is too slow to contribute to this effort. No new reactors are now under construction and building a single reactor could take 10 years or longer, while costing billions of dollars.
* Even if the nuclear industry somehow managed to build 100 new nuclear reactors by 2030, nuclear power could reduce total U.S. emissions over the next 20 years by only 12 percent. [...]
In contrast to building new nuclear plants, efficiency and renewable energy can immediately and significantly reduce electricity consumption and carbon emissions. The report found that:
* Efficiency programs are already cutting electricity consumption by 1-2 percent annually in leading states, and the wind industry is already building the equivalent of three nuclear reactors per year in wind farms, many of which are in Iowa.
* Building 100 new reactors would require an up-front investment on the order of $600 billion dollars - money which could cut at least twice as much carbon pollution by 2030 if invested in clean energy. Taking into account the ongoing costs of running the nuclear plants, clean energy could deliver 5 times more pollution-cutting progress per dollar.
* Nuclear power is not necessary to provide carbon-free electricity for the long haul. The need for base-load power is exaggerated and small-scale, local energy solutions can actually enhance the reliability of the electric grid.

Click here to download "Generating Failure: How Building Nuclear Power Plants Would Set America Back in the Race Against Global Warming." Other excerpts from the executive summary:

Nuclear power is expensive and will divert resources from more cost-effective energy strategies.
* Building 100 new nuclear reactors would require an up-front capital investment on the order of $600 billion (with a possible range of $250 billion to $1 trillion), diverting money away from cleaner and cheaper solutions. Any up-front investment in nuclear power would lock in additional expenditures over time.
* Over the life of a new reactor, the electricity it produces could cost in the range of 12 to 20 cents per kilowatt-hour, or more. In contrast, a capital investment in energy efficiency actually pays us back several times over with ongoing savings on electricity bills, and an investment in renewable power can deliver electricity for much less cost.
* Per dollar spent over the lifetime of the technology, energy efficiency and biomass co-firing are five times more effective at preventing carbon dioxide pollution, and combined heat and power (in which a power plant generates both electricity and heat for a building or industrial application) is greater than three times more effective. In 2018, biomass and land-based wind energy will be more than twice as effective, and offshore wind power will be on the order of 30 percent more effective per dollar of investment, even without the benefit of the renewable energy production tax credit. (See Figure ES-2.)
* By 2018, and possibly sooner, solar photovoltaic power should be comparable to a new nuclear reactor in terms of its per-dollar ability to prevent global warming pollution. Some analyses imply that thin film solar photovoltaic power is already more cost-effective than a new reactor. And solar power is rapidly growing cheaper, while nuclear costs are not likely to decline.

Please send this link to friends who believe we must expand nuclear power in order to meet our electricity needs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The Union of Concerned Scientists has also concluded that "the U.S. does not need to significantly expand its reliance on nuclear power to make dramatic cuts in power plant carbon emissions through 2030-and that doing so would be uneconomical."

This post should have been an action alert

desmoinesdem — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:33:00 GMT

All week I've been trying to decide what to write about the upcoming vote on HR 2454, the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES). The U.S. House is scheduled to vote today, so I better not delay any longer.

Some arguments for and against the bill are after the jump.
Al Gore and most of the big environmental organizations are encouraging people to ask Congress to vote yes on ACES. A letter to Congress urging passage was signed by an impressive list of groups:

Alliance for Climate Protection, American Rivers, Center for American Progress Action Fund, Ceres, Clean Water Action, Climate Solutions, Defenders of Wildlife, Environment America, Environmental Defense Fund, Environmental Law & Policy Center, Environmental Working Group, Fresh Energy, Interfaith Power and Light, League of Conservation Voters, League of Women Voters of the United States, National Audubon Society, National Parks Conservation Association, The National Hispanic Environmental Council, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, Oceana, Oxfam America, Pew Environment Group, Sierra Club, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Southern Environmental Law Center, The Nature Conservancy, The Wilderness Society, Union of Concerned Scientists

Several Iowa-based organizations have also sent out action alerts supporting ACES, including Iowa Interfaith Power and Light and Iowa Global Warming.

On the other hand, Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth have come out against the bill, and their arguments look very strong to me. Click here for the statement from Greenpeace and here for the statement from Friends of the Earth.

I have talked to several people this week who follow climate change policy more closely than I do, and they still believe that on balance we are better off if ACES passes. They fear that if a cap-and-trade framework doesn't pass this year, it never will. They hope that the renewable energy targets and other portions of the bill could be strengthened in the future, especially as more evidence about global warming emerges.

Bill Scher made the case for supporting this bill here.

I agree with Darcy Burner that there are good arguments for voting either for or against the bill.

From where I'm sitting, it looks like this bill gives away a lot to corporate polluters and does nothing more for renewable energy than what would happen anyway. Coal will receive more subsidies, even though it is the worst fossil fuel for greenhouse gas emissions. The amendment process in the Senate will only make the bill worse.

I see no realistic chance for future improvements once President Obama and Congress are able to take credit for pretending to solve global warming. If anything, future Congresses are likely to water down the bill's targets even more as 2020 and 2030 approach. But of course, companies that profit from expanding coal and nuclear power in the short term will already have their money in the bank.

If I were in Congress, I would vote against this bill. It won't take effect until 2012 anyway. If Obama wants to claim he kept his campaign promises on climate change, let him come back to Congress on this issue next year and be more engaged in the process. People like House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson have gotten everything they've asked for. There has been no progressive bloc in the House drawing a line in the sand on ACES the way the Progressive Caucus has done on health care reform. As a result, the amendments have made the bill steadily worse.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu admits that this bill wouldn't put us on track to solve the climate change problem.

Chris Bowers thinks contacting Congress at this point is hopeless, because they had the votes to pass ACES two days ago.

On the other hand, if it makes you feel better to contact Congress, by all means do so. The only member of the Iowa delegation whose vote on ACES seems to be in doubt is Leonard Boswell. (Bruce Braley and Dave Loebsack will almost certainly vote yes, and Tom Latham and Steve King will definitely vote no.) The phone number for Boswell's Washington office is (202) 225-3806.

Final note: I want to give credit to the Iowa politicians and activists who tried to make this bill better. That includes Braley and Governor Chet Culver, who lobbied for a strong renewable electricity standard. Although they did not succeed in getting better language into this bill, they fought the good fight.

On the other hand, everything Boswell asked for would have made the bill worse from the perspective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. I never heard him advocate for a single thing to make the bill stronger. That's what I'll remember, whether or not Boswell votes for ACES today.

UPDATE: Thanks to the reader who informed me that Boswell said he will vote for this bill.

The American Farm Bureau is telling members of Congress to vote yes on Collin Peterson's amendment but no on the bill as a whole. The worst possible position.

SECOND UPDATE: A friend wrote me a thoughtful e-mail. Excerpt (with the friend's permission):

Nonetheless, while acknowledging its numerous faults, I remain supportive of the bill. First, I think that there are some helpful measures within it that have gone underreported such as higher appliance standards, better building codes, and the establishment of a smart grid. Second, while a 20% renewable standard by 2020 means little for Iowa, it is significant progress for states like Kentucky who use next to no renewable energy. Third, I feel it is important that we pass some sort of climate legislation prior to Copenhagen in December so that the administration has a starting point for international negotiations, especially with China and India. Third, I feel that it is important to officially lay out reductions goals in order to establish accountability for future efforts. Fourth, I feel that this represents a first step in the right direction, even if it is a small one. If trends continue, in the coming years the effects of climate change will become even more apparent. Furthermore, there is a generational divide on this issue, and as a different political
generation takes the reigns there is a greater chance that this legislation will be strengthened. Finally, I think there is value in writing to legislators regarding this legislation. The fact that they do not hear enough from their constituents on the issue of climate change makes it very easy for them not to make the difficult decisions needed to resolve the problem.

Events coming up this weekend and next week

desmoinesdem — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 17:44:21 GMT

As always, post a comment or send me an e-mail (desmoinesdem AT yahoo.com) if you know of an event I should add to this post.

Friday, February 13:

As part of the "POWERLINES to the Future" conference of the Midwest Regional Physicians for Social Responsibility, there will be a free film and discussion of "Scarred Lands and Wounded Lives" at 7:30 pm in the International Center, Old Capitol Town Center Mall, downtown Iowa City.

Get full information at:
www.iowa-psr.org/pl/pl_home.html

One Iowa urges supporters to "write a note on Facebook or Myspace with the 25 Reasons you support marriage equality. Then tag 25 of your closest friends on the note and add your 25 reasons as a comment to the One Iowa Facebook or Myspace page." Also, One Iowa is hosting a Happy Hour from 5-7 PM at Azalea Restaurant, 400 Walnut St., Des Moines.

Friends of Iowa Midwives is having a "Red Envelope Party" (where people can write letters to policy-makers advocating for expanding birth options in Iowa) in Davenport from 3 pm to 5 pm at the Harrison Hilltop Theatre. Click here for more information:

http://www.friendsofiowamidwiv...

Saturday, February 14:

Physicians for Social Responsibility is holding a "POWERLINES to the Future" conference at the International Center, Old Capitol Town Center Mall, Iowa City. PSR hopes to encourage Iowans, especially those involved in the health professions, to become more informed and actively engaged in confronting the gravest health challenges of our time:

Conference 9:00 AM -- 4:00 PM
Check-in and breakfast at 8:00 AM
The Saturday program addresses health, environmental, and economic consequences of:
Nuclear weapons
Nuclear power
Coal fired power generation
View full program at: www.iowa-psr.org/pl/pl_home.html/#program
Intended audience: physicians, allied health professionals, public health officials, general public, and students.
Registration includes breakfast and lunch on Saturday.
Pre-registration by Wednesday February 11, 2009 is required to be ensured food!
Sliding-scale conference registration fee.
Register online or download a printable registration form at:
www.iowa-psr.org/pl/pl_home.html/#registration

Friends of Iowa Midwives is having a "Red Envelope Party" at the Urbandale Public Library from 10 am to 12 pm, and at the Iowa City Public Library from 1 pm to 3 pm. For more information:

http://www.friendsofiowamidwiv...

Monday, February 16:

Big event on climate change co-sponsored by lots of good organizations:

The University of Iowa Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research and a variety of co-sponsoring organizations invite you to a climate change briefing and discussion to highlight the recent report of the Iowa Climate Change Advisory Council.
The briefing and discussion will take place on Monday, February 16, 6:00-7:30 pm at the Iowa State Historical Building Auditorium, 600 East Locust in Des Moines.
The meeting will be an opportunity to learn more about climate change science its potential impacts on Iowa, as well as learn about the recent options detailed in the work of the Iowa Climate Change Advisory Council report and participate in an informal discussion about climate change and next steps.
Iowa Climate Change Briefing and Discussion
Monday, February 16, 6:00-7:30 pm
Iowa State Historical Building, Auditorium
AGENDA
Welcome - Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie
Richard Leopold, Director, Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Climate Science and Assessment of Climate Change for Iowa- Eugene S. Takle, Director, Climate Change Initiative, Professor of Atmospheric Science, Professor of Agricultural Meteorology, Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University
Brief overview of the Iowa Climate Change Advisory Council's Report - Jerry Schnoor - Co-director, University of Iowa Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research and Chairman, Iowa Climate Change Advisory Council
What are our next steps? Interactive discussion with key legislators, ICCAC members and the audience
Adjourn for light refreshments
Climate Change Briefing and Discussion Co-Sponsors
Iowa State University Climate Science Initiative
UNI Center for Energy and Environmental Education
Iowa State University Extension
Iowa Department of Economic Development
Iowa Office of Energy Independence
Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Iowa Department of Public Health
Iowa Office of Consumer Advocate
Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities
Iowa State Association of Counties
Iowa League of Cities
Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation
Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture
Iowa Environmental Council
Iowa Interfaith Power & Light
Iowa Policy Project
Trees Forever
For more information or questions contact Joe Bolkcom, Outreach and Community Education Director, UI Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research at joe-bolkcom@uiowa.edu or 319-353-2681.

One Iowa is organizing this event:

February 16, 5:30 PM
"Transgender Medicine 101"
featuring Dr. Christine McGinn
FREE and open to the public
Dinner at 5:30, lecture at 6:00
Des Moines University Student Education Center Auditorium
3200 Grand Avenue, Des Moines
Go to www.oneiow.org for more information

Tuesday, February 17:

It's the registration deadline for the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa's Crossroads lunch on February 20 (see below for more information). Call 515-279-8715 to make a reservation.

The Women Food and Agriculture Network is holding "Women Caring for the Land" meetings on February 17, 18 and 19, for women landowners in Johnson, Jones and Linn Counties. These are free educational programs on conservation programming for women who are farm partners, owner-operators, or inheritors who own farmland. Laura Krouse will hold meetings in each county, followed by spring field days and a follow-up meeting. Please call her at 319-895-6924 to find out where and when the meeting will be held in each county.

Wednesday, February 18:

One Iowa and Lambda Legal are holding a "Let My Parents Marry" forum at 6:30 pm in the Coralville Public Library, Meeting Room A, 1401 5th St., Coralville.

Friends of Iowa Midwives is holding its third Annual Conscious Birth Summit from 3 pm to 8 pm in the Iowa City Public Library, Meeting Room A, Featuring screenings of The Business of Being Born and Orgasmic Birth.

Thursday, February 19:

From the Iowa Environmental Council newsletter:

Growing Sustainable Communities Conference
Join us Thursday, February 19, 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., at the Grand River Center, 500 Bell Street in Dubuque. Cost is $20 per person, which includes a lunch. Limited number of student scholarships available. Our conference theme is "Promoting Historic Preservation as Part of the Climate Solution." Insights will be offered on creating local and regional policies to promote sustainability through historic preservation. Keynote speakers for the event are Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Roya Stanley, director of the Iowa Office for Energy Independence. Deadline for registration is Feb 11 [from desmoinesdem: I know it's late, but if you're interested try calling anyway]. A limited number of student scholarships are available. Online registration and payment, as well as additional information, are available at www.sustainabledubuque.org or by calling 563.589.4110 during business hours. The mission of the conference is to educate the public on the issues that impact the long-term health and sustainability of our region and to create an opportunity for policy decision-makers from the tri-state area to come together to discuss ways in which they can enact the most effective change at the local level.

Also from the IEC bulletin:

Iowa Whitewater Coalition Annual Dinner Meeting
February 19, Des Moines
The IWC 'Reconnecting the Rivers' Annual Dinner Meeting will take place on Thursday, February 19th, with a social hour beginning at 6 pm and dinner at 7 pm. Following the meal special guest Adam Brooks, who has paddled the entire Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, will be sharing stories from his adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail and his plans for paddling 2300 miles of the Yukon River in Alaska starting in June. The meeting will be held at the House of Thai, located at 3017 100th Street in Des Moines. There will be a wonderful selection of dishes served banquet style, beverages and a cash bar for those interested. Tickets may be purchased for $25 per individual or $45 per couple. Proceeds from the event directly benefit the non-profit activities of the IWC and its Reconnecting the Rivers Campaign. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to: http://www.iowawhitewater.org/...

One Iowa and Lambda Legal are holding a "Let My Parents Marry" forum at 6:30 pm in the Des Moines Public Library, Meeting Room 1, 1000 Grand Ave. in Des Moines.

Friday, February 20:

The Interfaith Alliance of Iowa is holding a Crossroads luncheon:

Guest Speaker: Nate Monson
Project Coordinator, Iowa Safe Schools
Subject: Safe Schools for All
Sexual orientation and gender identity are two controversial topics in our communities and in our schools. Are our schools safe for LGBT youth? Learn about, discuss, and experience the effects of bias and harassment on students who identify and students who are perceived to be gay, lesbian, bisexual and/or transgender and learn about laws dealing with the GLBT community.
Date: Friday, February 20
o Time: 11:45 - 1 p.m.
o Location: Plymouth Congregational Church, Des Moines (42nd Street & Ingersoll Avenue )
o Cost: $9.00
Reservations are required for Crossroads. Please call or email TIA Iowa by Tuesday, February 17.
Office: 515-279-8715

Friends of Iowa Midwives is having a Red Envelope Party from noon to 1 pm at the Marion Public Library.

Saturday, February 21:

From the IEC bulletin:

Hunter Angler Summit
Please join other outdoor enthusiasts on Feb 21, at Johnson County Conservation Education Center at F.W. Kent Park, just west of Tiffin, for a one-day summit to learn about threats to Iowa wetlands, rivers and streams, and help the National and Iowa Wildlife Federation to launch a state campaign to fight back after the rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court and administrative fiats that have left over half of Iowa streams and over 70 percent of Iowa's prairie pothole wetlands vulnerable to losing Clean Water Act protections. Whether you are an angler who enjoys casting in your favorite stream or a hunter who counts on mallards and northern pintails, these decisions threaten the places you love. Policy experts and scientists will share the current efforts to eliminate protections in Iowa and the serious impacts they have for Iowa fish and wildlife. We will work together to design a statewide plan for hunters and anglers to stop the rollback of clean water protections for Iowa waters. Hunters, anglers and outdoor enthusiasts who care about clean water and wildlife should attend. Please RSVP: Email Pam Goddard, goddardp@nwf.org or call at 301-741-6606.

Bleeding Heartland Year in Review: Iowa politics in 2008

desmoinesdem — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Last year at this time I was scrambling to make as many phone calls and knock on as many doors as I could before the Iowa caucuses on January 3.

This week I had a little more time to reflect on the year that just ended.

After the jump I've linked to Bleeding Heartland highlights in 2008. Most of the links relate to Iowa politics, but some also covered issues or strategy of national importance.

I only linked to a few posts about the presidential race. I'll do a review of Bleeding Heartland's 2008 presidential election coverage later this month.

You can use the search engine on the left side of the screen to look for past Bleeding Heartland diaries about any person or issue.
January 2008

The Iowa caucuses dominated the beginning of the year. In the ninth and final diary in my series on how the Iowa caucuses work, I responded to arguments in defense of what I consider flaws in caucus system.

I supported John Edwards and was impressed by some of Hillary Clinton's campaign tactics, but on the whole January 3 was obviously Barack Obama's night.

Chris Woods posted some early analysis of the Iowa caucus results. Barack Obama won 41 counties, John Edwards won 29 counties, Hillary Clinton won 25 counties and four counties were ties.

I was frustrated by my failure to secure a third delegate for Edwards in my precinct.

Chris Woods lamented the Iowa mainstream media's lack of interest in political blogs.

Iowa Republicans were already downbeat about their election prospects, having failed to recruit a credible candidate against U.S. Senator Tom Harkin. Republicans in the state legislature fell behind Iowa Democrats in fundraising.

I was hoping the legislature would put some balance in our state's transportation planning, but the powers that be wanted to spend virtually all the new money on road-building.

Secretary of State Mike Mauro did us all a favor by proposing a bill to require paper ballots in every Iowa precinct.

I took a stab at explaining why Iowa has never elected a woman governor or sent a woman to Congress.

Yet another study confirmed that runoff from conventional farms in Iowa is a major contributor to the "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico.

Former Governor Tom Vilsack called for more action to combat global warming.

Noneed4thneed called for more leadership from Chet Culver on conserving energy and making Iowa the renewable energy capital.

A report by the American Wind Energy Association showed Iowa falling to fourth in wind power.

Environmental advocates arranged for world-class expert testimony before the Iowa Utilities Board against a proposal to build a new coal-fired power plant near Marshalltown.

Ed Fallon announced his candidacy for Congress, and I explained why I planned to support him against six-term incumbent Leonard Boswell in the third district primary.

I was a respondent in a long poll commissioned by Boswell's campaign, which tested some of Fallon's messages against the incumbent.

I called for fixing the problems with the Iowa caucuses and learned that the Nevada Democratic Party adopted slightly better caucus rules than ours. (Unfortunately, precinct chairs in Nevada were poorly-trained, and the caucuses were a fiasco in many precincts.)

I was disappointed when Edwards dropped out of the presidential race, even though I knew he had no chance of winning the nomination.

February 2008

What started out as a routine illness put me in the hospital for a week. Things might have taken a very bad turn if I had waited longer before seeing a doctor. I told the story here: My health insurance may have saved my life.

Noneed4thneed discussed the connection between anti-tax zealots and local roads that are in terrible condition.

Renewable Rich sounded the alarm about attempts by state legislators to define nuclear power as a form of renewable energy. Fortunately, that bill was not approved.

The Iowa Commission on the Status of Women supported a bill that would make it easier for working mothers to breastfeed. Unfortunately, the bill did not make it out of committee in the Iowa House.

Senator Tom Harkin stayed neutral in the Clinton-Obama contest and said the Democratic Party should eliminate superdelegates from the presidential nominating process.

I was already getting tired of safe incumbent Harkin's repeated fundraising appeals, and there were dozens more to come before the year was over.

Democracy for America endorsed Ed Fallon in the third district Congressional primary.

Boswell was among 21 House Democrats who worked with Republicans to do George Bush's bidding on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. But he stepped up his constituent outreach by helping my suburb, Windsor Heights, secure a unique zip code.

Fourth district Congressional candidate Kurt Meyer started posting diaries occasionally at Bleeding Heartland.

Secretary of State Mauro ran into opposition from Chet Culver over his efforts to require that all voting machines use paper ballots. However, the governor soon got behind a plan to eliminate touchscreen voting machines.

I argued that a new law requiring all Iowa children to be tested for lead is worth the cost, not only because lead harms children. It seems that exposure to lead may diminish the functioning of the aging brain decades later.

Iowa joined California's lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency "for its legal action which denied states' rights to adopt vehicle emissions standards to regulate global warming emissions."

Iowa State Senator Matt McCoy paid a fine to settle an ethics investigation.

Noneed4thneed alerted us to a corporate-funded advertising campaign targeting five first-term Iowa House Democrats. (Four of the five won re-election in November, but Art Staed lost by a heartbreaking 13 votes.)

I reflected on a year without Steve Gilliard, whose News Blog I used to read daily.

March 2008

Governor Culver rejected federal funds that had strings attached to require "abstinence only" sex education.

The Republican 501(c)4 group Iowa Future Fund ran untruthful ads against Culver without disclosing its donors, but Iowa law does not require political ads to be true.

In a party-line vote, the Iowa House rejected a Republican effort to bring a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage up for debate.

Tom Harkin introduced the Complete Streets Act of 2008 in the Senate.

Congressman Steve King of the fifth district made his infamous comment about how terrorists would be "dancing in the streets" if Obama were elected president.

The National Republican Congressional Committee's list of top House targets did not include any of Iowa's Democratic-held seats.

Ed Fallon came out against new coal-fired power plants proposed for Marshalltown and Waterloo, while Boswell declined to take a position on the issue.

Boswell used his franking privilege to send glossy campaign-style flyers to voters in the third district, and the Des Moines Register called him on it.

Boswell defended his vote for the bankruptcy bill, which was unpopular with many liberal Democrats.

Boswell also changed his stand on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and touted his record on supporting the middle class.

A national LGBT rights group endorsed Fallon.

Boswell's campaign sent out a mass e-mail saying Fallon is "no Democrat."

I explained why I thought Fallon would be a more effective representative than Boswell.

Fourth district Congressional candidate William Meyers started posting diaries here and continued to do so throughout the primary campaign.

Noneed4thneed encouraged Bleeding Heartland readers to support first-term Democrats in the Iowa legislature who were targets of a corporate-funded advertising campaign.

A report from Families USA estimated how many Iowans die prematurely because they lack health insurance.

I wrote about the disparities in c-section rates in Iowa, depending on where a woman lives and in which hospital she births.

Speaking of babies, I gave some reasons to use cloth diapers.

April 2008

A Polk County judge ordered Secretary of State Mauro to stop providing voter information in languages other than English, proving that the English-only bill Governor Tom Vilsack signed in 2002 was more than symbolic.

Chet Culver signed the law banning touchscreen voting machines in Iowa.

Our state's Republican representatives in the U.S. House, Steve King and Tom Latham, voted against a federal bill on verified voting.

After reviewing voter records, the Des Moines Register concluded that very few ineligible voters participated in the Iowa caucuses.

The U.S. House approved a "plain language" bill sponsored by Congressman Bruce Braley of the first district.

I discussed how much money in earmarks each member of Iowa's Congressional delegation secured in 2007.

The Iowa legislature approved a major new transportation bill without putting additional funds into public transit or stipulating that road money be spent on fixing existing infrastructure.

I urged Culver to veto a bill seeking more study of the livestock odor problem instead of action, but he signed it.

The legislature also approved a ban on smoking in most public places, with a few exemptions, such as casino gambling rooms.

Mrs panstreppon speculated about the political ambitions of Bruce Rastetter, a businessman and funder of the anti-Democratic 501(c)4 group Iowa Future Fund. The Iowa Future Fund had been running television ads attacking Chet Culver.

Mrs panstreppon also wrote about the new Republican 501(c)4 group Iowa Progress Project, which was created to replace the Iowa Future Fund.

The Des Moines Register razzed Culver for staying at Bill Knapp's Florida condo without paying the full market rental rate.

I wrote a four-part series on the Boswell campaign's efforts to question Fallon's ethics and explored the differences between Fallon and Boswell on farm issues.

Progressive Kick created an entertaining website highlighting Boswell's voting record in Congress.

Fallon blasted Boswell's vote for the Military Commissions Act, which gave the president the authority to determine what interrogation techniques are "torture."

Boswell's campaign sent out positive direct-mail pieces on the economy, Iraq and health care. His campaign also sent two direct-mail pieces in one week highlighting Fallon's support for Ralph Nader in 2000. I transcribed them here and here.

Polk County voters rejected a plan to borrow money to build a new courthouse.

A sign that the housing bubble had well and truly burst: Iowa's largest home-builder ceased operations and laid off its entire staff.

Mixed-use developments are good for people, business and the environment.

I weighed in on a local hot topic when Pizza Hut fired a Des Moines delivery driver who shot an alleged armed robber. (The restaurant chain does not allow drivers to carry guns.)

In honor of cesarean awareness month I wrote about how to avoid having an unnecessary surgical birth.

I advised readers to drink tap water, but not from plastic bottles and to avoid using baby bottles containing bisphenol-A.

On the last day of the month the Iowa Utilities Board approved an application to build a new coal-fired power plant near Marshalltown.

May 2008

I was extremely disappointed that the Democrats on the Iowa Utilities Board voted to approve a new coal-fired power plant.

I weighed in on why Hillary Clinton lost Iowa and eventually the nomination.

An article by Joe Trippi got me speculating on whether John Edwards should have stayed in the presidential race longer.

Tom Harkin gave some reasons to be concerned about John McCain, and I added ten more reasons not to vote for the Republican nominee.

I discussed why John and Jackie Norris were important early Obama supporters in Iowa and pondered which presidential candidate had the best celebrity supporters.

The removal of Lurita Doan as head of the General Services Administration reminded me of one of Bruce Braley's finest moments in Congress.

Governor Culver signed into law a bill that establishes a statewide 1-cent sales tax for school infrastructure.

Prevention First discussed the Healthy Families project's successful attempt to persuade state legislators to increase funding for family planning.

Sadly, no prominent Iowa Democrat stood up for repealing Iowa's English-only law.

I welcomed the prospect of a court challenge against the smoking ban exemption granted to casinos.

A Des Moines Register report on the Culver administration's alleged horsetrading with lobbyists was troubling.

In the fourth district primary, Becky Greenwald introduced herself to Democrats as "the girl next door."

As the third district Democratic primary race heated up, Fallon highlighted his early opposition to the war in Iraq and portrayed himself as "new energy for Iowa." He also urged Boswell (a Clinton supporter) to endorse Obama for president.

Fallon and Boswell clashed over ethanol, and Fallon called for a moratorium on new confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs).

Boswell refused all invitations to debate Fallon.

He highlighted Al Gore's endorsement in direct mail and reminded voters that Fallon backed Nader.

Noneed4thneed argued that Boswell is not a loyal Democrat on the issues that matter most.

A 527 group bankrolled by a central Iowa developer accused Fallon of not protecting kids from sex offenders, not supporting ethanol producers, and not protecting kids from sex offenders (yes, there were two dishonest direct-mail pieces on Fallon's vote against residency restrictions for sex offenders).

The Southeast Iowa Lutheran Synod showed real leadership on global warming.

The Union of Concerned Scientists and the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production published damning reports on conventional livestock production in the U.S.

An editorial by James Howard Kunstler on "Driving Toward Disaster" inspired this post on how to reduce Americans' vehicle-miles traveled by car.

In honor of asthma awareness month, I suggested 10 ways to combat asthma.

I paid tribute to my friend and fellow activist LaVon Griffieon on Mother's Day.

I gave parents some ideas about good books to read to children.

June 2008

June 3 was primary day in Iowa. I wrote up Boswell's final radio ad as well as his campaign's pathetic attempt to portray Fallon as unconcerned about meth.

I received two push-polls targeting Iowa House district 59 candidate Jerry Sullivan.

On election day Becky Greenwald easily won the four-way primary in the fourth Congressional district, while Boswell easily defeated Fallon in the third district. Mariannette Miller-Meeks narrowly won the Republican primary in the second district. Christopher Reed barely edged out two Republican rivals for the chance to get crushed by Tom Harkin.

Although Boswell wiped out Fallon by 20 points, I still believe the primary challenge was worth the effort. (At least my suburb got its own zip code.)

I urged unsuccessful fourth district candidate William Meyers not to make the mistake of running for Congress as an independent.

After Republicans nominated Miller-Meeks and Democrats nominated Greenwald, I again discussed some reasons why Iowa has never elected a woman to Congress.

I was confident that the third district Congressional race would not be competitive in the general election.

Dubuque and the Quad Cities moved one step close to passenger rail, thanks to work by Bruce Braley on the House Transportation Committee.

Activists for organized labor in Iowa were still mad at Chet Culver two months after he vetoed a bill that would have expanded collective bargaining rights.

I started making the case for supporting fifth district Democratic candidate Rob Hubler against "Jackass Award" winner Steve King.

Meanwhile, King chastised Scott McClellan for revealing misconduct inside the Bush White House.

Bleeding Heartland readers weighed in on potential future leaders in the Iowa Democratic Party.

Chris Woods examined the relationship between climate change and the Iowa floods and offered his take on how Iowa should pay for flood recovery.

I advocated an investigation into why the Des Moines levee that failed was never fixed after the 1993 floods.

I was taken aback by some conservative bloggers' views on flood relief and discussed our disagreements here and here.

Also in connection with the historic flooding, I urged readers not to use chlorine bleach to clean flood-damaged surfaces and not to use DEET-based mosquito repellents.

Noneed4thneed called attention to a report on how special interests spent big money to influence Iowa lawmakers.

The Iowa Values Fund seems not to have been good value for the taxpayers' money.

I disagreed with Iowa Utilities Board members who argued that meeting future electricity needs will require more coal or nuclear power.

Less than three weeks after winning the primary, Leonard Boswell voted with House Republicans to approve the new version of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

Chris Woods explained what was wrong with the FISA "compromise."

Iowa Voter informed us that Chuck Grassley misled a town hall meeting audience on FISA. I linked to a bunch of commentaries on Obama and the FISA bill.

Opponents of the public smoking ban annoyed me when they called the new law "Soviet" or "fascist." Anyway, fears about the smoking ban's impact on business were unfounded.

The US Department of Agriculture in effect told honeybees to drop dead.

I learned from noneed4thneed that Marshall County looked into an ordinance to reduce the use of plastic bags.

After reading a diary by nyceve on how insurance companies punish women who have had cesarean births, I posted more advice for pregnant women seeking to reduce their risk of having a c-section.

I had some friendly advice for Obama volunteers on how to talk to non-supporters about Obama.

I posted my take on what any Democrat should do if you get push-polled or message-tested.

July 2008

News that the Obama campaign would be running the GOTV operation in Iowa made me worried about the potential effect on down-ticket Democrats. (Sadly, the election results validated several of my concerns.)

AlanF cross-posted this excellent piece on tips for volunteers who knock on doors for a political candidate.

I offered readers five reasons to get involved in state legislative races.

Senator Tom Harkin held an online voting contest to determine which Democratic statehouse candidates would receive contributions from his campaign fund.

Second district incumbent Dave Loebsack signed on to a letter urging Congress to address transportation issues in forthcoming legislation on climate change.

Relations between Senator Chuck Grassley and social conservatives in the Republican Party of Iowa had seen better days. Some of the tension stemmed from Grassley's inquiry into the tax-exempt status of some television-based ministries.

Leonard Boswell spent two weeks in the hospital after having surgery.

Becky Greenwald criticized fourth district incumbent Tom Latham for his loyal Republican voting record on Iraq and other issues.

I argued that Greenwald had a real chance to beat Latham, but the incumbent's money advantage would be her biggest obstacle.

Latham put up a statewide radio ad on the need for more off-shore oil drilling.

I contrasted Bruce Braley's record of delivering for his constituents with Steve King's.

King kept making offensive comments regularly and showed that he has no interest in genuine Congressional oversight.

SW Iowa Guy, a fifth district resident, gave us a window onto a conference call with King.

Joe Trippi signed on as a consultant to Rob Hubler's campaign.

A particularly horrible Associated Press story on how "Pet owners prefer McCain over Obama" inspired this post on confounding variables in opinion polling.

I posted Four comments and a question on the bad blood between Culver and organized labor.

Markos Moulitsas bashed me on the front page of Daily Kos.

I shared some thoughts on a new advocacy group seeking to repeal Iowa's public smoking ban.

Iowa environmental groups encouraged state regulators to make utilities do more on energy efficiency.

I went over some reasons to buy local.

One of my occasional posts on parenting laid out some reasons to "wear your baby".

August 2008

The revelation of John Edwards' affair stirred up conflicting feelings for me, as for many other former Edwards volunteers. I posted ten words I thought I would never write and a precinct captain's reflections on the Edwards story.

Edwards' political career may be over, but his presidential campaign's slogan lived on.

After getting more fundraising appeals from Tom Harkin (whose Republican challenger had only a few hundred bucks in the bank), I advocated a Use it or Lose it campaign to encourage safe Democratic incumbents to give more money to Democratic campaign committees.

Jason Rosenbaum asked readers to contact their representatives in Congress on health care.

Former Republican Congressman Jim Leach endorsed Obama for president. Leach later addressed the Democratic National Convention and headlined numerous "Republicans for Obama" events.

I suggested five ways Bleeding Heartland readers could help Rob Hubler's campaign against Steve King.

Giant chickens started showing up outside King's campaign events after he refused to debate Hubler.

I felt a special legislative session to deal with flood relief was warranted, but it never happened.

The Cedar Rapids-based Rebuild and Grow organization offered its own flood recovery action plan.

The Iowa Fiscal Partnership released a report on why property tax cuts are the wrong approach for flood relief.

Chuck Grassley made some shameful comments favorably contrasting flood victims in Iowa to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Unfortunately, conventional agriculture interests trumped environmental concerns on the state's flood recovery panel.

I posted some thoughts on how to reform the Democratic presidential nominating process.

I was impressed after attending one of the Obama campaign's outreach events for women.

I argued that Joe Biden would be a good surrogate for Obama.

A conservative baby-sitter helped introduce my five-year-old to the concept of political pluralism.

Comparing the presidential campaigns' ground games, I became convinced that Obama's small-town outreach would crush McCain's.

I posted a few questions on factors that could skew polls of the Obama-McCain race.

Caught up in the excitement of the Democratic National Convention, I finally gave some money to Obama's campaign.

I was immediately convinced that Sarah Palin would become McCain's gift to Democrats and noted that not all evangelical conservatives were thrilled with her candidacy.

Chet Culver criticized labor practices at the Agriprocessors meat-packing plant in a newspaper editorial, and the company responded.

I discussed another failure of employer-based health insurance as Whirlpool "filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to cut the medical benefits of thousands of retired Maytag workers."

A well-known political scientist at the University of Iowa took his own life while under criminal investigation for allegedly giving students higher grades in exchange for sexual favors.

Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa warned about a proposed Bush administration regulation that would restrict access to contraception. (The administration implemented that new rule in December.)

I was annoyed that my son's public school encouraged parents to buy Tyson chicken products.

Marvin Pomerantz, one of the most influential Iowa Republicans in the last 40 years, passed away.

September 2008

As September began I was thankful Iowa's first Congressional district was not competitive, freeing me of the responsibility to write most posts on the idiot who ran against Bruce Braley.

Obama started running radio ads on abortion in Iowa and several other states.

American007 posted this excellent summary of Sarah Palin's record in Wasilla.

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer headlined Tom Harkin's Steak Fry, but Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge gave the most memorable speech of the day.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee put IA-04 on the list of "emerging races" and declared IA-05 a "race to watch."

EMILY's List finally endorsed Becky Greenwald two days after I posted this piece wondering why they hadn't done so already.

The following week Greenwald went up on tv with a biographical ad that depleted her campaign coffers while doing little to boost her support.

Tom Latham's first television ad highlighted his big "achievement" on health care: co-sponsoring a bill that never made it out of committee. Greenwald's campaign exposed Latham's real record on health care in a press release, but unfortunately lacked the cash to put up a response on television.

I saw Latham's ad as proof that he expected a big Democratic wave and was positioning himself accordingly on traditionally "Democratic" issues.

Tom Harkin posted this diary on McCain's "crusade against renewable fuels."

There was plenty of hypocrisy on both sides of the aisle when the U.S. House passed an energy bill designed to give Democrats cover on the offshore oil drilling issue.

I again encouraged readers to get involved in the Iowa statehouse races.

While the presidential election still looked like a tossup, I discussed what would happen if neither candidate received 270 electoral votes.

I made the case for voting early here and here.

Annoyed by the fundraising appeals I kept getting from safe Democratic incumbent Leonard Boswell, I asked Bleeding Heartland readers to tell Boswell to give more to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

I argued that Democrats can win and hold districts like Iowa's fifth. (Unfortunately, Hubler was not among the Democratic challengers who won deep-red Congressional seats this year, most notably in Maryland's first and Colorado's fourth districts.)

As a Democratic wave election appeared more likely, I wondered which Democratic pickups would shock us the most. (As it turned out, the most surprising pickup was probably in Virginia's fifth Congressional district. We also had surprisingly narrow losses in California's fourth and 44th districts.)

I thought labor unions were right to focus their political spending on the Iowa statehouse races and withhold contributions to Chet Culver's re-election campaign for now.

The Sierra Club created an online petition for Iowans urging energy providers to invest in clean sources for electricity generation, not coal.

Environmental groups called on utilities to do more to save energy.

Renewable Rich summarized a report showing how clean energy can create thousands of new jobs in Iowa.

I went over some ways to improve the Iowa caucus system.

A grassroots group in Cedar Rapids organized volunteers every weekend for flood recovery work.

An advocate for factory farms stepped down from the state Environmental Protection Commission.

Former John Deere employees filed a class-action lawsuit in Des Moines that underscored the failures of our employer-based health insurance system.

I called for ending Iowa's "don't ask, don't tell" approach to water quality.

I had a feeling that the Wall Street bailout was a terrible idea and "a trap that will enrich a bunch of people while doing little to help the overall economy."

There was a highly contentious election for the Des Moines school board, followed by an ill-advised attempt to censure the black sheep of the board. I found the lack of oversight on the Des Moines School Board disturbing.

A newspaper article on an abstinence club at my old high school inspired this post on why even abstaining teens need comprehensive sex eduction.

I explained why Iowa native Justin Roberts is our family's favorite children's musician.

October 2008

All three Iowa Democrats in the U.S. House voted for the second version of the Wall Street bailout package, while Iowa's two Republicans voted no. The bailout became a central issue in Tom Latham's campaign advertising after Becky Greenwald unwisely said she would have voted for the revised bailout package. Senators Harkin and Grassley both voted for the bailout.

I offered some advice to disappointed party activists on What to do when you don't care for your party's nominee. Bleeding Heartland user lorih followed up by explaining why she started volunteering for Obama despite her deep disappointment that Clinton did not win the nomination.

I continued to speculate on factors that might affect the accuracy of polls on the presidential race.

The third quarter Federal Election Commission filings showed all the incumbents in Iowa's Congressional delegation with big money leads over their challengers, foreshadowing the double-digit victories all the incumbents posted a few weeks later.

I kept urging our safe Democratic incumbents to "Use it or Lose it" by donating some of their excess campaign cash to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee or the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Although I considered the second district race uncompetitive, I covered some key issues and events in Dave Loebsack's campaign against Mariannette Miller-Meeks.

Again I examined the reasons underlying Iowa's failure to elect a woman to Congress.

Bleeding Heartland supported the Obama campaign's strong push for Iowa Democrats to vote early (including an early voting RV tour). As it turned out, strong early voting saved several Democratic statehouse incumbents.

Tom Latham debated Becky Greenwald twice on the radio during October; I analyzed the candidates' performance in the debates here and here.

Latham ran tv ads pounding Greenwald on the bailout, while the Democrat (lacking money for tv) had to make do with web ads and press releases highlighting Latham's record on various issues.

Not long after the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee upgraded the races in IA-04 and IA-05, I urged Bleeding Heartland readers to get serious about expanding the field by supporting under-funded longshot Democratic Congressional challengers.

Steve King continued to embarrass himself and all Iowans.

Although the outcome wasn't what I'd hoped for, I have no regrets about encouraging Democrats to back Rob Hubler's campaign.

Speaking of longshots, little-known Republican Senate candidate Christopher Reed blew it in his only debate with Tom Harkin.

Harkin gave more cash to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. His campaign also launched a contest where Iowans could nominate county party organizations that deserved extra money for GOTV efforts. (Marion, Muscatine and Linn counties ended up winning.)

Mark Langgin urged Bleeding Heartland readers to support Democratic candidates for the Iowa House in light of a Republican focus on the House races.

The Republican 501(c)4 group American Future Fund exploited loopholes in rules governing political advocacy groups in order to run campaign advertising in targeted Iowa House districts.

The perils of leaving any Republican unopposed were exposed when news emerged that an incumbent Iowa senator with no Democratic challenger had previously been charged with a prostitution-related crime.

The Iowa Democratic Party kept producing videos on why McCain would be bad for Iowa.

I was puzzled by John McCain and Sarah Palin's visits to Iowa late in the campaign, despite poll after poll showing Obama above 50 percent in Iowa, with a double-digit lead over McCain. In fact, a series of missteps by McCain got me wondering whether the Republicans should have nominated Mitt Romney.

The not-so-classy McCain used the Iowa floods in his campaign's robocalls and direct-mail pieces.

Polk County Democratic activists gained national attention by holding a clothing drive for the DAV across the street from a Palin rally in Des Moines.

I went over some tips for phone bankers trying to recruit volunteers.

I supported a referendum on taking the word "idiot" out of the Iowa Constitution. (There was no organized opposition to that referendum, and it passed easily.)

For the first time in my life, the Des Moines Register endorsed the full slate of Iowa Democrats running for Congress. Ed Fallon urged his supporters to vote for Boswell in an e-mail that linked to the Register's incredibly lukewarm endorsement of the incumbent.

Obama made one last stop in Des Moines shortly before election day.

Iowa Voter noted that the Brennan Center gave Iowa high marks for election readiness.

Jason Rosenbaum contributed this guest post on why health care reform matters. Rosenbaum was involved with the Health Care for America Now Coalition, which kept up the grassroots pressure on Senator Chuck Grassley to support universal health care.

I attended a commitment ceremony for a same-sex couple who had gotten married in California a few months earlier.

November 2008

Obama won Iowa convincingly, but his 9-point margin was smaller than the 17-point lead he had in the final Des Moines Register poll of the campaign.

Democratic gains down-ticket were somewhat disappointing in Iowa, as in quite a few other states.

I looked at some reasons why Becky Greenwald lost to Tom Latham by more than 20 points in the fourth Congressional district.

It was weeks before recounts finally confirmed net Democratic gains of three seats in the Iowa House and two seats in the Iowa Senate.

Unsuccessful Congressional candidate Rob Hubler criticized the statewide GOTV effort in an e-mail to supporters. Hubler's son lost an Iowa House race by only a few hundred votes in the Council Bluffs area.

I was particularly disappointed when Democrat Jerry Sullivan lost in my own district by fewer than 100 votes. He had been the target of negative advertising as well as last-minute robocalls and lit drops.

In the good news column, Democratic incumbent Eric Palmer won re-election in his House district despite Republican attempts to disenfranchise Grinnell College students who voted by absentee ballot.

Jackie Norris accepted an offer to become Michelle Obama's chief of staff.

The presidential election results convinced Josh Goodman of Governing.com that Iowa is now the best bellwether state.

Likely future Republican presidential candidates Mike Huckabee and Bobby Jindal reached out to social conservatives while visiting Iowa.

Meanwhile, the divided Republican Party of Iowa began work on turning the party's electoral fortunes around by replacing its leaders in the Iowa House and the Iowa Senate.

I suspect Democrats would benefit if Iowa Republicans take the advice of a leading social conservative.

Some Iowa Democrats grumble about Governor Culver, but I argued here that their discontent will not rise to the level of a primary challenge in 2010.

Bruce Braley played an active and visible role in Henry Waxman's successful campaign to be named chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Stranded Wind sounded the alarm about the risk of famine in 2009.

A blogger's struggle to pay medical bills inspired this post on the need for comprehensive health care reform. Our immoral and ineffective health care system was also the subject of this post.

I was surprised to learn that the Blog Gender Analyzer thinks I'm a man, a topic I explored further in this post at MyDD.

Wisconsin rejected an application to build a new coal-fired power plant, prompting the Iowa Environmental Council to call on Iowa policy-makers to follow the lead of "neighboring states to the west, north, and now east, which have concluded that clean energy makes more economic sense than coal."

I owned up to a few things I got wrong and right during the long presidential campaign.

December 2008

Tom Vilsack's nomination for Secretary of Agriculture was big news in Iowa. I covered the reaction to that appointment here and here.

The Iowa Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Varnum v Brien, a same-sex marriage case. jpmassar walked us through some of the legal issues at hand, and I discussed the political implications of the court ruling expected sometime next year.

A week later I posted a recap and analysis of the Varnum v Brien hearing and reaction to it.

Deteriorating revenue projections prompted Governor Culver to impose two rounds of budget cuts. I discussed the merits of some approaches to balancing the budget here.

Culver's announcement of $100 million in budget cuts the same day he had scheduled a $5,000 a head fundraiser inspired me to make the case for "clean elections" campaign financing.

Speaking of election reform, Sean Flaherty and I wrote about the importance of "verified voting."

The Democratic leadership in the state legislature released the committee assignments for the Iowa House and the Iowa Senate.

I discussed Congressional Quarterly and Progressive Punch rankings for the members of Iowa's Congressional delegation in 2008.

Bruce Braley announced plans to form a Populist Caucus and landed a spot on the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee.

I examined how the post-census reapportionment is likely to play out in the 2012 U.S. House races in Iowa.

Organic farming is carbon sequestration we can believe in.

There is no such thing as "clean coal."

Bleeding Heartland user American007 won our election prediction contest.

I wondered whether it matters who ends up running the Republican Party in Iowa and nationwide.

Bad news for opponents of new American nuclear power plants

desmoinesdem — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 02:07:03 GMT

If you're worried about the direction of energy policy under a President Barack Obama, as I am, you will not be comforted by the news I just learned from Bleeding Heartland user Renewable Rich. MidAmerican Energy, which is part of Warren Buffett's empire, is buying Constellation Energy, which among other things operates nuclear power plants. One of the articles Renewable Rich linked to notes:

This deal also brings nuclear energy to Berkshire's utility empire for the first time, an area where Buffett has professed great interest. Constellation operates a highly efficient fleet of plants and has plans to build several more. The merger effectively allies Berkshire with French nuclear giant Electricite de France-which owns 10 percent of Constellation-and its nuclear construction partner, French government-backed Areva. The pair has plans to build four advanced reactors in the US, and joining their interests to Buffett's deep pockets could accelerate their development.

Obama has already said he is open to expanding nuclear power in the U.S., and I'm sure Warren Buffett will have his ear.

This is not good news for those of us who share the position of the Union of Concerned Scientists regarding nuclear power.

Before people start posting angry comments, let me assure you that I understand Obama's energy policy as a whole would be much better than McCain's. I still worry about Obama's support for nuclear power and so-called "clean coal." Those stands were the main reason that Friends of the Earth Action endorsed John Edwards last fall and not Obama.

One more time: we don't need new coal-fired plants

desmoinesdem — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:20:00 GMT

This came in from Plains Justice yesterday:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - August 29, 2008
Contacts:
Carrie La Seur, Plains Justice (Cedar Rapids), 319-560-4729, claseur AT plainsjustice.org
Chris James, Synapse Energy Economics (Cambridge, MA), 617-861-7484, cjames AT synapse-energy.com
COMMUNITY, FARM AND PUBLIC HEALTH GROUPS FILE EXPERT TESTIMONY THAT BETTER EFFICIENCY PERFORMANCE IS A GENUINE ALTERNATIVE TO COAL
DES MOINES - Today Plains Justice, a Cedar Rapids-based environmental justice law center, filed expert testimony in Interstate Power and Light's energy efficiency planning docket before the Iowa Utilities Board, on behalf of a coalition of Iowa grassroots groups. The testimony by Synapse Energy Economics concludes that IPL has exaggerated costs and underestimated potential for its efficiency programs.
Expert witness Christopher James, a former air regulator who helped develop EPA's National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency, testifies that "IPL overestimates the costs of energy efficiency, and underestimates the amount of energy efficiency that can be achieved by 2013." IPL has told the IUB that energy savings of 1.5% annually, the level requested by IUB, would be difficult to achieve. James concludes that this scenario is "very achievable" and should be pursued.
IPL's energy efficiency planning is the subject of heightened interest because IPL claims that it cannot avoid the need for its proposed 649 MW Marshalltown plant through improved efficiency programming. According to today's intervenor testimony, IPL's flawed approach to efficiency has led to the conclusion that a new coal plant is needed. James testifies that IPL could achieve even more than 1.5% annual energy savings by including opportunities IPL has ignored, including combined heat and power at industrial sites like ethanol refineries.
The testimony states that "IPL has ignored some of the benefits of energy efficiency to Iowa's consumers and businesses. These benefits include: deferring the need to construct new or upgrade existing generation, deferring the need to construct new or upgrade existing transmission lines and distribution system, reducing ratepayer bills, reducing emissions of criteria air pollutants (such as those which contribute to acid rain, smog and haze) and greenhouse gas emissions, and reducing public health costs (from reduced number of asthma cases, visits to emergency rooms, lost productivity at work, etc.)." James recommends that IUB require a revised and more ambitious plan from IPL.
Plains Justice argues that IUB must ensure that IPL has optimized efficiency programming before allowing a new coal plant to be built at a cost of up to $2 billion. "Approving a coal plant before we've completed an aggressive efficiency planning process is putting the cart before the horse, at ratepayer expense," says Plains Justice President and Founder Carrie La Seur.
Intervenors represented by Plains Justice in this docket are Community Energy Solutions, Iowa Farmers Union and Iowa Physicians for Social Responsibility. The intervenors are advocates for clean, community-based energy solutions that minimize the health and environmental impacts of energy production and support local and rural economies. This intervention is one of a series brought by Plains Justice to promote better energy policy for Iowa on behalf of grassroots Iowa organizations.

The only low point of Barack Obama's acceptance speech on Thursday was this:

As president, as president, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power.

There is no such thing as "clean coal." Every new coal-fired power plant is a 50-year investment in the wrong direction. It is unfortunate that our Democratic leaders lack the political courage to embrace an energy policy committed to meeting our needs without expanding our use of coal and nuclear power.

Al Gore laid out how this can be done in a major speech last month. Click the link to find an annotated version of the full transcript.

We can do much more with conservation and energy efficiency measures than the major utility companies acknowledge.

Thanks to Plains Justice and the other non-profit groups that are continuing to push the Iowa Utilities Board in the right direction.

If only the IUB had done the right thing back in April, these worthy non-profits could be spending their staff time and resources on other environmental and health problems facing Iowans.

Repeat after me: we don't need new coal or nuclear plants

desmoinesdem — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:09:30 GMT

This article by Joseph Romm for Salon explains "Why we never need to build another polluting power plant."

That's right, conservation and efficiency measures can help us save money, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and meet our energy needs without building any new coal-fired power plants or nuclear reactors.

The whole article is worth reading, but here's a small excerpt:

America is the Saudi Arabia of energy waste. A 2007 report from the international consulting firm McKinsey and Co. found that improving energy efficiency in buildings, appliances and factories could offset almost all of the projected demand for electricity in 2030 and largely negate the need for new coal-fired power plants. McKinsey estimates that one-third of the U.S. greenhouse gas reductions by 2030 could come from electricity efficiency and be achieved at negative marginal costs. In short, the cost of the efficient equipment would quickly pay for itself in energy savings.
While a few states have energy-efficiency strategies, none matches what California has done. In the past three decades, electricity consumption per capita grew 60 percent in the rest of the nation, while it stayed flat in high-tech, fast-growing California. If all Americans had the same per capita electricity demand as Californians currently do, we would cut electricity consumption 40 percent. If the entire nation had California's much cleaner electric grid, we would cut total U.S. global-warming pollution by more than a quarter without raising American electric bills. And if all of America adopted the same energy-efficiency policies that California is now putting in place, the country would never have to build another polluting power plant.
How did California do it? In part, a smart California Energy Commission has promoted strong building standards and the aggressive deployment of energy-efficient technologies and strategies -- and has done so with support of both Democratic and Republican leadership over three decades.

There's no good reason why the Iowa legislature and Governor Chet Culver could not cooperate to implement some of the successful regulations from California. Then we could convince the members of the Iowa Utilities Board that conservation would go a long way toward meeting our baseload needs.

Too many people believe in the false choice of "clean coal" or nuclear power.

Don't overlook conservation as a way to meet electricity needs

desmoinesdem — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 22:00:54 GMT

The Des Moines Register published a long interview with the three members of the Iowa Utilities Board on Monday.

As you may recall, Democrats John Norris and Krista Tanner recently voted to approve an application to build a new coal-fired power plan near Marshalltown. Republican Darrell Hanson opposed the coal plant.

The whole piece is worth your time, but this was the key passage for me:

Q: For base-load power, it seems as if there aren't many other options for Iowa than coal right now. Longer term, what's on the horizon for base-load power?
Tanner: That is why I ultimately ended up voting for [the plant]. Even if all these things end up happening, the most aggressive standards we're talking about are 30 by 30 [30 percent of electricity generated by renewable sources by 2030], and I'm really concerned about what does that other 70 percent look like. In my opinion, it's coal or nuclear. [Nuclear is] not without its problems, because it is expensive. I am on the [Iowa] Climate Change Advisory Council, and we put that as an option to study. There's a lot of resistance to it in the public, more so than coal, even though it's a lower carbon-generating source.
They are pursuing ways to store the carbon to make coal more viable. I don't think that will happen in the next five to 10 years. I saw this plant as almost a bridge technology, because it is more efficient. My thought is that if we're going to have coal, it better be the most efficient plant we can have and have a potential for biomass. While it may be an incremental step in carbon reduction, it's a step that we can take today.
Norris: At least for the foreseeable future, it's going to be nuclear or coal. My preference certainly is to reduce greenhouse gases. For the long term, that's nuclear, but it's extremely expensive to build right now and an extremely lengthy process to build.
Q: Is there anything the state can do to encourage construction of nuclear plants or is that solely a federal responsibility?
Norris: We're certainly open to a nuclear application, but still don't expect it tomorrow. I know Mid-American looked closely at it, but decided costs, the time and the building issues are just prohibitive. Mid-American is a very progressive company in looking at new alternatives. It makes me a little concerned about how the country as a whole is going to solve our base-load problems. Nuclear certainly will help reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

Some people have suggested to me that John Norris would prefer for the coal plant not to be built, but his comments to the Des Moines Register do not support that speculation. It sounds as if he is resigned to expanding our use of coal because the utilities are not currently pursuing the alternative he prefers, nuclear power.

I believe that renewable energy technologies like wind and solar power can meet more of our electricity needs than IUB members expect.

But we also need to aggressively pursue conservation through government regulations, incentives and public-education campaigns. Conservation measures can dramatically reduce the demand for electricity, and do it quickly.

Residents of Juneau, Alaska cut their electricity use by about 30 percent in a week this spring. Click the link to read about how Brazilians reduced their use of electricity by 20 percent in two months in 2001.

The IUB is not in charge of our state's energy policy, but maybe its members would not be inclined to approve new coal-fired power plants if they believed that future demand for electricity would be lower than currently projected.

State legislators and officials should take more steps to promote energy efficiency and conservation, as well as increasing our use of wind and solar power.

Here are some easy ways for individuals to reduce their own use of electricity. Simple things like unplugging appliances you are not using can save a lot.

P.S.--I cannot agree with Norris's implication that expanding nuclear power would be the best way to meet demand for electricity while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Here is a link to a 74-page report from the Union of Concerned Scientists on nuclear power. But if you're too busy to read it, here is the key finding in less than 30 words:

The life cycle of nuclear power results in relatively little global warming pollution, but building a new fleet of plants could increase threats to public safety and national security.

A position paper on nuclear power and global warming notes that

Prudence dictates that we develop as many options to reduce global warming emissions as possible, and begin by deploying those that achieve the largest reductions most quickly and with the lowest costs and risk. Nuclear power today does not meet these criteria.

Friends of the Earth makes even stronger arguments against expanding nuclear power as a response to global warming:

It Would Set Back the Fight Against Global Warming: Experts suggest that we must triple the number of nuclear reactors in the U.S. in order to make a dent in global warming. With a price tag of $5 billion per reactor and a historic construction timeline around 10 years, we're not likely to see the 200-300 needed new reactors anytime soon. (We currently have just over 100 reactors and many of those would have to be replaced as they reach retirement age.) Alternatives, like wind, solar and conservation programs can produce results more quickly and affordably.

That was a long post-script, but we need to get out of the mindset that nuclear power is a solution to global warming, especially since both John McCain and Barack Obama are open to expanding nuclear power in this country.

McCain shameful behavior roundup

desmoinesdem — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:34:25 GMT

It's hard to keep up with all the reasons to oppose John McCain. Last night I wrote about his opposition to a bill that would make it easier for victims of job discrimination to seek legal redress.

If you care about that issue, you can sign the petition on "Equal Pay for Equal Work" at Momsrising.org.

Meanwhile, I learned from this diary by TomP that Friends of the Earth Action is running an ad against McCain on CNN. The ad highlights McCain's support for the nuclear power industry:

TomP's diary also includes this great quote from Friends of the Earth Action president Dr. Brent Blackwalder:

You know how self righteous John McCain can be when he talks about corporate pork and earmarks, but do you know why he opposes the Lieberman-Warner global warming bill? He plans to vote against it not because it could lavish $1 trillion on the profitable oil, gas and coal industries, but because he wants to add hundreds of billions of dollars more in earmarks for the nuclear industry!

On a related note, I got an e-mail today from the Sierra Club slamming McCain's proposal to suspend the federal gas tax between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The Sierra Club notes that the real effect of that policy would be to

[r]aise oil company profits by another 18 cents per gallon -- by eliminating the federal gas tax without guaranteeing that Big Oil won't just keep prices high and take the difference to grow their record profits even more.

The Sierra Club also has an online petition you can sign, which sends this message to McCain:

The best way to deal with high gas prices is to cut, not expand, giveaways to Big Oil. Please vote to end taxpayer-funded subsidies and tax breaks for Big Oil and use that money to invest in clean, renewable energy.

Earlier this week, I got the latest newsletter from Smart Growth America, which also blasted McCain's proposal to declare a summer holiday from the federal gas tax:

An artificial and temporary reduction of gas prices will simply guarantee that absolutely no money goes towards having suitable roads and bridges for those filled-up cars to drive on - not to mention alternatives to congestion, like commuter rail and transit. Instead, we can send the full price of gasoline directly into the pockets of oil companies. (An estimated $10 billion in transportation revenue would be lost, or enough to fully fund Amtrak rail service for 6 years or so.) Meanwhile, we fall farther behind in maintaining our infrastructure: Rust doesn't take the summer off.

But that's not all. To coincide with McCain's photo-op in New Orleans' Ninth Ward today, Moveon.org Political Action launched its own online petition calling on McCain to reject the endorsement of right-wing pastor John Hagee. I knew about Hagee's anti-Catholic bigotry, but I wasn't aware that Hagee once said, "Hurricane Katrina was, in fact, the judgment of God against the city of New Orleans."

Surely there couldn't be any more shameful news about McCain to emerge within this 24-hour period, right? Wrong. I learned from Natasha Chart's post at MyDD today that during a recent visit to Alabama, McCain's campaign used free prison labor to get out of paying to set up for a private fundraiser.

I guess a campaign that is way behind its Democratic rivals in fundraising has to save money wherever it can.

But it would be more honest for McCain to curtail all campaign spending between now and the Republican National Convention this summer, because he is not complying with limits imposed by his decision to take public financing last year.

If I've missed any recent disgraceful behavior coming from the McCain camp, please let me know in the comments section.