And we’re live from the auditorium of Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, VA! The Green Miles is part of an Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment contingent invited to attend. W-L serves an ideal host – a gold-level LEED-certified green school in one of the most climate-conscious counties in the country.
The forum features Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Gov. Tim Kaine (D-VA), former Sen. John Warner (R-VA), Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Deputy Agriculture Sec. Kathleen Merrigan, and Assistant Energy Sec. Cathy Zoi.
UPDATE 10:35am - Event wraps up. Consensus from the post-event buzz: Great event, but some skepticism about the fact that coal never came up.
10:35am - Event wraps up. Consensus from the post-event buzz: Great event, but some skepticism about the fact that coal never came up.
10:25am - Rep. Connolly slams federal agencies for tying state & local officials' hands on managing sprawl & developing public transportation. "We have to change how transit is funded here in the United States."
10:23am - Question about offshore wind in Virginia competing with other federal agency concerns. Salazar says he's having "an ongoing dialogue" with Defense Sec. Gates. Trying to break through "regulatory logjam." Salazar expects "major movement forward ... especially here in the Atlantic."
10:15am - A series of questions from representatives of clean energy businesses in the room. I wish there were more Republicans in the room considering how many of them claim there are no such thing as green jobs.
10:05am - Rep. Connolly says Northern Virginia has a sister city relationship with Stuttgart, Germany, laments that Germany is way ahead of America on clean energy.
9:56am - I have been to many Congressional hearings and heard many questions. A student just asked a question that blew most of them away. Said he was skeptical of biofuels as a solution and said we need to instead be looking at zero-carbon sources like solar & wind. Expressed concern about large-scale storage of renewable-produced electricity at off-peak hours.
Cathy Zoi says battery technology is important, but that we need to look at the whole suite of solutions, particularly a smart grid that can move power quickly & efficiently from one part of a country that's producing power to another part of the country that needs it. Also points out the potential of small-scale potential storage, for example a nationwide fleet of electric cars that could store power in their batteries.
9:51am - First question from a student asks whether clean energy & climate legislation can pass the Senate when even some Democrats are on the fence. Sen. Warner laments new ethics rules that keep him from lobbying his former colleagues until he's been retired one year. Rep. Connolly laments the 60-vote bar Republicans have set by filibustering nearly every single vote in the Senate. Connolly praises Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) for being willing to cross party lines to hammer out a deal.
9:43am - Sen. Warner is enjoying the rhetorical freedom of retirement. Points to Salazar and says "They need you in that Senate. We're gonna ship you back!" Points to Kaine and says he should take a great sense of pride in his accomplishments as Virginia governor. Points to students and says younger generation needs to lean on Obama to come home from Copenhagen with a strong climate deal.
9:38am - Rep. Connolly is particularly excited about the transit investments & incentives in the economic recovery and clean energy bills. Says the mechanism of cap & trade has been a proven method to address our acid rain & ozone problems.
9:31am - Asst. Sec. Zoi says 9,000 homes in Virginia will see their energy bills go down thanks to weatherization investments that were part of 2009's economic recovery package. SprintNextel based in Reston is investing in fuel cells. Virginia Tech is researching smart grid technology, particularly the impacts of solar power.
9:28am - The panelists are shameless in their brown-nosing to the students. We know, you believe our children are the future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess insiiiiiide.
9:26am - Dep. Sec. Merrigan says a properly-designed clean energy & climate bill will help, not hurt, America's farmers and consumers. Also points out critical forestry aspects to addressing climate change.
9:20am - Interior Sec. Salazar says surface temps in the Great Lakes are up 5 degrees in the last 30 years; by 2020, there are expected to be no more glaciers left in Glacier National Park; Colorado River is looking at a 20% reduction in water availability; expected to lose a million acres of our national wildlife refuges to rising sea levels.
9:15am - Gov. Kaine says until July 1 in Virginia, if a utility invested in efficiency, they were guaranteed a rate of return for new production, but not for new efficiency investments. In other words, they were guaranteed profit for increasing Virginia's energy usage, but not for cutting it. That law has now changed, and Kaine says utilities had a series of filings ready to go on July 1. Kaine says "We've not been leaders" on efficiency, in Virginia or perhaps even in the US, but "there's no doubt someone's going to be a leader" -- let's make sure that's us.
9:08am - Panel takes their seats & Gov. Kaine welcomes the audience.
8:58am - Buzz in the room among Arlington politicos: Lots of momentum towards a climate deal at the UN talks in Copenhagen, Denmark that begin this week; White House beginning its pivot from (economically vital) health insurance reform to a more explicit message of jobs & the economy; and adding some pressure on Virginia Senators Mark Warner & Jim Webb to support strong clean energy & climate legislation.
8:50am - The forum is due to get underway at 9am. Updates to follow!