Waxman’s Safe Climate Act

Another cool thing about living in Santa Monica: Henry Waxman’s my US House Representative. This guy seriously kicks ass — especially on the environment!

In fact, the Safe Climate Act of 2006 (H.R. 5642) he introduced in June has been getting raves from environmentalists all over the place. Grist loves it, for ex.

I’ve procrastinated on writing about this, but got my ass in gear yesterday when I got Waxman’s newsletter, “Reports to the Community” — printed on recycled paper with soy ink!

Why’s the bill so great? It would freeze greenhouse gas emissions in 2010, at the 2009 levels. Then starting 2011, it would cut emissions by roughly 2% per year, reaching 1990 emissions levels by 2020. After 2020, it cuts emissions by roughly 5% per year. By 2050, emissions will be 80% lower than in 1990.

These goals would be accomplished via the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy. The EPA’s gotta set strict standards and caps on emissions, while the DoE’s to set standards for renewable energy sources, reaching 20% of renewable retail electricity sold in 2020.

On top of that, National Academy of Sciences and the National Research Council would review this progress every 5 years, recommending additional actions as needed.

Right now, the bill’s in the House Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality, of which Waxman’s a member. It’s also picked up 59 cosponsors!

What you can do: Check the list of cosponsors here to see if your rep’s on it. If not, send them a letter or email saying get on that! And for more deets on the bill, go here.

Tags: henrywaxman, environment, climate, hr5642, safeclimateact

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