The bill, which bans the export of mercury, would keep this neurotoxin in the U.S. under the protection of the Department of Energy. This is an incredible victory that will ultimately mean less mercury in our atmosphere - and more importantly, less mercury in our bodies. As a mom who has breastfed two children, this battle has been a bit personal to me. The process for passing this bill hasn't always been pretty but I think it provides us with a few lessons for the future that we should reflect upon.
1. MEDIA IS KEY
My esteemed former colleagues at NRDC have been working on mercury issues for ages. We have been actively involved in international stakeholder groups and in the court trying to reduce mercury exposure. After incredible articles about the lifecycle of mercury by the Wall Street Journal and the Chicago Tribune, our Public Health team knew that it was time to turn up the heat on Congress. These articles added momentum to our fight and refreshed the public outcry for action.
2. FIND THE RIGHT CHAMPION WHO WILL BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER
We found our House champion in Congressman Tom Allen (D-ME). Rep. Allen worked with Chairman John Dingell (D-MI) from the House Energy and Commerce committee, Ranking Republican Joe Barton (R-TX), then-Chairman of the Environment and Hazardous Materials subcommittee Al Wynn (D-MD), and Ranking Subcommittee Republican John Shimkus (R-IL), to bring together very strange bedfellows in search of common ground: NRDC, the American Chemistry Council (ACC), the National Mining Association (NMA) and the Environmental Council of States (ECOS).
Our champions in the Senate were Senators Barack Obama (D-IL) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). Here is another example of picking the right champions. Senator Murkowski could have played the Presidential politics game and shied away from publicly supporting an Obama bill but she knew that this bill was too important and couldn't be allowed to flounder. She not only supported this bill but she helped convince other Republicans that issues associated with public health must transcend Presidential politics. She was certainly a bright light in this entire process.
3. HAVE AN OPEN MIND BUT KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BALL
One doesn't need to have been associated with my world for very long to know that NRDC and ECOS rarely agree with ACC and NMA. In fact, usually the only thing we do agree upon is that we don't agree on most issues. But the House Members pushed and we responded. There were round the clock negotiations with teams from each group, Members of Congress, and federal officials. At the end of the day, we all had to give up something but the ultimate bill achieved the original goal - it banned the export of mercury from the U.S. and set forth plans to create a federal repository for this junk where it would be kept safe and out of our atmosphere.
4. BE PATIENT, 5. BE PERSISTENT, and 6. POLITICS IS STILL LOCAL
The bill went through House hearings and a committee markup in October 2007. It was considered and passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on November 13, 2007. After that, it was sent to the Senate, where it sat on life support for months.
In most cases - especially in this Congress - a bill like this one would have died a quiet death. However, our strange new coalition wasn't about to let that happen. NRDC, ACC, and NMA called upon our supporters to encourage a hearing in the Senate on this important bill. One of NRDC's affiliate groups, the Los Angeles Leadership Council, mobilized and helped educate Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee about the bill. Their energy helped inspired Senator Boxer to take up this bill and ultimately reminded our coalition that constituents are always the most important voice in any fight.
We worked with Senator Obama, Senator Murkowski, and Senator Boxer to schedule a hearing on May 13, 2008. A committee markup was held on July 31, 2008. Following the markup, Congress left for a month long vacation from DC.
When they returned, Congress was faced with an economy in the dumps, energy prices through the roof, no hope of getting any spending bills passed, and a bitterly partisan membership. It looked like our tiny but important bill would be lost under the pressure of so many national emergencies. To top things off, some in the Senate expressed concerns about the ultimate location of the eventual repository. I think our entire team started to lose hope.
As a final Hail Mary play, our coalition once again came together to try and alleviate the new concerns expressed by the Senate. We knew that we couldn't compete with the issues of the day but our hope was that if we had enough support, we could at least receive consideration. After a new round of negotiations, we once again found common ground without sacrificing the ultimate goal of the bill.
We worked with Senator Obama, Senator Murkowski, Senator Boxer and our coalition partners and the Senate finally approved the bill on September 26th. Because of the changes, the House was forced to consider the bill again.
Certain Members started to see this bill as a train on the move. As you can guess, they wanted their bills to tag along. Despite efforts to tie the mercury bill to other, more controversial pieces of legislation, the bill was finally approved by the House of Representatives yesterday (9/29/08) at 8:15am by a vote of 393-5. Now we await the President's signature. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
7. CONSIDER WHAT IS NEXT
This bill will do a lot of good in the world for public health. But it has the potential to do even more good than currently realized. When the bill was considered by the House, Congressman Sullivan (R-OK) said, "This bill is proof that people of all political stripes can come together for the common good. It is a shining example of how our process in Congress can work and work well if given the chance."
I couldn't agree more, Rep. Sullivan. This bill opened the door to new relationships. While we will not always (or even usually) agree with our new friends at the ACC or NMA, maybe we can at least have a conversation in the future and see where this newfound goodwill can take us.
Have a good day!
Heather
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The Administration released their FY09 budget on Tuesday. At $3+ trillion, one would think that there could be room for significant reinvestment in these programs and in new ones to help us fight the effects of global warming (not to mention doing something crazy like ensuring that communities have clean water or that our natural places are protected).
There is investment, but mostly in technologies of the past. For a President who proudly calls himself a cowboy, this budget’s most telling failure is that is short-changes those programs that inspire innovation, one of America’s most fundamental traits. For instance, energy efficiency and renewable energy programs were scaled back by almost half a BILLION dollars while federal investments in coal and nuclear saw their budgets increase by almost exactly the same amount.
In some cases, programs that could make a real difference immediately in the battle to curb global warming were completely left on the cutting room floor. The most obvious example is the widely-lauded Weatherization Assistance program under the Department of Energy. This program is intended to help low income families reduce their electricity bills by installing energy efficient technologies in their homes. DOE itself has declared it as possibly the most successful energy efficiency program in our history – weatherizing 5.5 million homes in the U.S. It is inexcusable and short-sighted to even consider axing this program.
Instead of funding for a clean energy future, the Administration found plenty of room to provide incentives for dirty industry such as nuclear and liquefied coal. They expect to consider permits for 75,000 new oil and gas wells on Tribal and Federal Land, 40 liquefied natural gas terminals, 100+ re-permitting for nuclear power plants and 25 new nuclear plants. In stark contrast, funding for the research and development of newer, cleaner technologies such as renewable fuels and other energy efficiency measures was cut by 28%.
All this from a president who recently has been strongly touting his commitment to reducing our dependence on oil through clean energy technologies. I would say that it is time for this Administration to stop paying lip-service without action but I think after 7 years, that is all that we can expect. Here is to hoping that Congress feels the same and will ignore this budget proposal.
]]>Oh, how times have changed. Today, my former bosses are in power and it is their job to actually get something done. If you have picked up a paper today, you probably saw that getting something done has become a challenge. Bills get passed but either don’t make it past both chambers or are shot down by the President…. Funny how he didn’t ever do that when the Rs were in charge - hum. Congress is even having trouble passing bills that fund the federal government – their only Constitutionally-mandated responsibility.
Why? You may have noticed that we are gearing up for an election. Not only are we getting ready to elect a new President, every seat in the House of Representatives and 33 seats in the Senate are up for grabs. Republicans are determined to show that last year’s trend of electing Democrats was a mistake by trying to show that the Democrats can’t get anything done when in power. That means lots of filibusters and finger-pointing. Meanwhile, the Democrats are trying to find consensus among their diverse membership on all policy items, which also can lead to filibusters and finger-pointing. And we can’t forget that the President is desperate to prove that he isn’t a lame duck so it is his way or the highway on everything. You guessed it - this also leads to filibusters and finger-pointing.
In the past few months, there has been tremendous work done in Congress on our most pressing issues. The House passed an energy bill with a great fuel mileage standard. They also approved spending that reaffirmed our country’s commitment to environmental funding. The Senate started the work of seriously addressing climate change. Unfortunately, none of these priorities have resulted in new, better programs because of all of the filibustering and finger-pointing.
We are approaching the finish line of the first session of the 110th Congress so it is time to close the deal on many of the issues they promised to address. Congress and the President need to put aside the politics and do the jobs that they were elected to do.
]]>Good thing that I am not alone. Most businesses are most successful when they have a bit of certainty. That is why I am so excited about the Pesticides Registration Improvement Renewal Act (PRIA) reauthorization that just got signed into law. I know, you haven’t heard about it. PRIA is not as sexy as reversing climate change or getting a car to run on nothing but smiles but, let me assure you, we have all been better off because of its existence in the past few years.
This is what you need to know about it: PRIA is all about stability. Stability in funding for the government, stability in science for the public, and stability for companies who are trying to get products to those market shelves. To elaborate a bit, PRIA makes sure that new chemicals being sold to your family are safer. We are talking about the stuff underneath your kitchen sink, like cleaning products. PRIA gets these new products to the market in a more predictable time frame and this gives incentives for companies to pull those older, outdated chemicals. It also makes industry provide the Environmental Protection Agency with a stable source of funding so they can get the job done in the most responsible and expedient way possible.
One of the best parts about this bill is that NRDC worked with the industry folks, like the Consumer Specialty Products Association and BASF, to come to an agreement that everyone could live with. I have to admit that when my boss asked me to take over this issue for him, there was a high “ick” factor. Me? Work with the industry? One of the reasons I left Capitol Hill for the environmental community (besides the insanely reasonable work hours) was so I didn’t have to meet with or engage the “dark side”. But I am always telling my 4 year old to play nice, so working with industry was a way to practice what I am preaching. Times are a changing and in a world where Congress isn’t even able to pass the spending bills that they are directed to handle by the freaking Constitution, we all have to entertain the possibility that the best way to get something done may be to look for some common ground with some [note: throat clearing ] “non-traditional” allies.
The weird thing is that this experience was great and I think that the entire coalition of unlikely bedfellows really feel like this program makes a difference. I hate to sound like I have a school-girl crush, but I am hoping that this fluke relationship with the dark side can become something more. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want NRDC to become permanently hitched to the industry. In fact, we are probably going to disagree most of the time but it would be nice to look for some other places where we can work together.
It would be great to get more “boring”, stable bills enacted into law that will protect my family – and yours.
Have a great day!Heather
]]>If the Leadership of the House and Senate are to be believed, we are going to have a very busy fall. Anything that needs to get done in this Congress will have to take place before Members go home for the holidays because most Congresses are not very good at getting anything done in an election year. I am hoping that Pelosi and Reid are a bit more proactive, but usually election year brings about legislation dealing with guns, abortion, gay rights and other polarizing issues. With the race for the White House going full-steam ahead (how many debates have we had?), I have a sneaking suspicion that if an issue isn't done by the time Santa is scheduled to go chimney diving, we are up a creek.
Autumn's sprint will include passing federal spending bills, a potential energy conference, and actions on global warming, pesticides, agriculture, and water. This doesn't even include other important pieces of legislation that Members are planning, like reauthorization of the "No Child Left Behind" bill or even some immigration reform. No matter what actually makes it to the floor, one thing is clear: we are going to be very busy this fall.
So, here is hoping that we can get something done that really moves the ball forward. The clock is ticking.
]]>I am hoping that this morning was just an off day because today's top stories were about a study that confirms that sex exists beyond 50 (TMI), the food-fight like skirmish between Stephen Colbert and British Billionaire, Sir Richard Branson (which was hilarious), and the sad details of a dog-fighting ring run by a pro-athlete (sick). There were other important stories in the news about Iraq and the Utah mines but they didn't necessarily receive top billing. One story that went largely unnoticed was done by John Broder of the New York Times titled, Rule to Expand Mountaintop Coal Mining.
My family is from West Virginia. When I was little, we spent most summers traveling around from church to church with my grandfather, who was a minister in the state. With its lush forests, beautiful shallow streams and genuinely kind-hearted people, it is a lovely place to visit. Unfortunately, that might not last. The Bush Administration is set to finalize a regulation tomorrow that would expand mining operations that literally blast off the top of mountains in a quest to find coal. More of the debris that is left over will be dumped in the nearest waterway where it will no doubt pollute the very water that most drink from. It is unfortunate that West Virginia is ground zero for this practice and its people and environment are going to be on the raw end of the deal.
What is also unfortunate is that the President is using the timing of a national tragedy to boost this new policy. Most people have been watching with hopeful hearts the horrible events that happened at the Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah. I think most have said a prayer for those miners who are trapped, their families and the rescue teams that have literally lost life in search for their fallen colleagues. The Administration is quick to point out that mountaintop coal mining is safer and cheaper that the type of mining done in Utah. Maybe it is logistically safer in the short run but it won't be safer in the long run if the land and waterways are destroyed.
West Virginia's state slogan used to be "Wild and Wonderful." Now it is "Open for Business." Although this new policy may be good for business in the short run, it lacks any long term thought. What is going to happen when no one wants to fish in your streams? What happens when the mining operations cease and you are left with even higher unemployment and blighted flat-top mountains? What happens when public health is in danger because there is no clean water to drink due to mining-slurry contaminated wells? West Virginia may still be open for business when this happens, but who is going to want to do business there? Not me.
]]>The new rules contain many new provisions that will ultimately make DC a better place. I think that the biggest improvement is making sure that Members "own" money that they request for projects back home. Gone are the days of Congressmen screaming about bloated federal spending while secretly asking for taxpayers to foot the bill for enormous projects in their backyards. Although unlikely, I am hoping this will get rid of some of the hypocrites in DC, or at least silence them. The new rules also ensure that people can't go straight from the Congressional payroll into a new job where they will lobby their former bosses without any type of "cooling off" period. These types of rules have been needed in DC for years and I applaud the Congressional leadership for putting them in place.
Unfortunately, even with all of this good, there is still a fundamental flaw in the new ethics package — it makes it even harder for nonprofits to compete with the big corporate bad actors. The rules package bans Congressmen and their staff from accepting gifts, travel and meals from lobbyists. On its surface this sounds terrific. You might say, "Yeah, no more golf trips to Scotland for those scumbags!" Unfortunately, I have some news for you — banning a little thing, like lunch, is not going to stop special interest influence. In fact, all it does is lessen the ability of nonprofits to influence the legislative process.
The fat cats on K Street are going to be just fine because they can still donate to the campaign coffers of their favorite public official. Nonprofits are banned from making political donations, so we have often depended on relationships with Congressmen or their staffs to influence the process. The best way to build a relationship is to get someone off of the Hill. When I worked for Congress, most people were lucky to get 15 minutes for a meeting. That is hardly enough time to develop a level of trust or to talk about dramatic policy changes. Lunch, coffee, or even an educational trip not only gets someone away from their blackberry (the Arctic has no cell phone service), it can give people a chance to bond and discuss ways to work together. One of my most valuable Congressional relationships began during a staff trip to a dump in Los Angeles. What we saw at that landfill was important (and stinky), but the professional friendship that we started has been invaluable.
What is more powerful than the all-mighty dollar — especially in DC? If Congress really wants to control special interest influence, it will not only cut out lunches, it will also consider cutting out certain political donations. I never asked either of my former boss' to vote a certain way because of $20 lunch or a trip. I did, however, find out during those lunches who my boss could trust — and believe me, the guys who spent the most didn't always see a return on their investment. These new rules just make the all-mighty campaign dollar even more powerful while the rest of us are stuck begging for just a few minutes of a staffer's time.
NRDC will continue to be one of the most effective organizations out there. It is tough to argue with the facts that we present because our work is based on reality. All we ask for is a level playing field.
Have a good day!
Heather
PS — I want to wish my mom well. She is a public school teacher and today is her first day with 20+ new third-graders in Cincinnati. Her school doesn't have any air conditioner so I am thankful that it is only 77 degrees there and I wish her a good school year.
]]>The article pondered whether this shift in messaging and focus would alienate women – you know, the ones who tend to actually vote and buy with a pro-environmental agenda. Women tend to care about this issue because we usually want everyone to be happy. It is simple – healthy kids make people happy (quiet kids also make people happy, but that is another blog). Cancer clusters and environmental injustice usually enrage our internal "Mother Bear" instincts and that rage influences my money, my time, where I live – and how I vote.
The article got me wondering – how do I feel about the new Rambo focused message of our movement? And that got me to the next step – why do I spend everyday working to protect the environment?
Here is why – I still remember my first day of school many years ago at Cooper Elementary in Ashland, KY. I wore a purple jumper with a plaid shirt. My hair was shoulder length and my bangs were curled under with so much hairspray on them, I don't think that my entire head of hair moved all day. Although not cool by today's standards, I was definitely a fashionista for the time period. I was so excited. My mom gave all of us the gift of staying home with us while we were little so 1st grade was my first experience going to a new place by myself for an entire day.
When it came time for recess on that first day, I didn't think much about the trailer in the field behind the school that had what looked to be "Number 5" type of robots on the roof. I also didn't think a lot about the huge, mountainesque tanks owned by Ashland Oil that were down the hill from the playground. I especially didn't think about the little white spots on all of the cars in the area. I saw more than a few cars that had "WASH ME" written on the trunk, so I just thought it was dirt. All I wanted to do that first day of school was get to the swings before the second-graders.
Flash forward a few years and the air monitoring trailer in the field became a fixture in our kick-ball games. It was an automatic homerun if you hit the station when you were up to "bat". I am sure the operators just loved us and our plastic ball. The PTA of the school was starting to ask questions about how the kids were being impacted by the dirty air being produced by Ashland Oil. I remember sitting in the back of the school gymnasium coloring a picture of Scooby-Doo as the parents discussed what to do about our school. Eventually, it closed down because of the pollution and its impacts on our health. When people ask me why I do what I do, I have many reasons but this experience was one of my original inspirations.
Ultimately, I don't care how we message protection of the environment and public health. I just want us to make sure that the message gets us on the agenda for our government. If we have to be more masculine and adopt a muscle-headed Rambo, Conan the Barbarian, and Underdog as our mascots, terrific – as long as I get a bobble head. The point is that I hope people who are currently in the movement hold onto their own stories because that is where we will all find our passion, regardless of whether our message is girlie or a little butch.
Have a great day!
Heather
]]>I pride myself in being one of those lobbyists who likes to work with unlikely allies, hence forward know as the “black hats”. During my time on Capitol Hill and now at NRDC, my greatest successes have come by looking for situations where everyone wins and sitting down with those people who I wonder how they sleep at night. During the last days before August recess, one such victory came with the Senate passage of the Pesticides Registration Improvement Act reauthorization. Negotiated by those who manufacture pesticides and NRDC, this bill will help protect public health and the environment, is taxpayer friendly, and even benefits the industry by helping them get safe products to market in a more predictable timeframe. I am sure I will write more about this bill when it goes to the President for his signature but for now, I would say that we are in a great place with this bill and the reason we are in such a good place is because of the cooperation of our coalition of strange bedfellows.
So, I was feeling positive about our work with the black hats…. that is until I went to lunch with one of my industry “allies” to talk about other areas where we might work together. I expected a nice meeting where we discussed our vacations and our elation that Congress was gone for a few weeks. Unfortunately, when the topic turned to business, my lunch companion explained how many in the industry think of the “young environmental movement.”
He said – and I am paraphrasing here – “you have to understand, Heather, we are like the parents and as parents, we usually have to say no to our children for their own good and the environmentalists are the children.” He kept talking after this comment, but I was so astonished by his statement that I admittedly didn’t hear much else.
After my blood pressure normalized and I got over being offended by his patronizing explanation, I realized that if we are to build on the success of the environmental movement, we have to look at this analogy and reflect.
So, I now reflect –
Are we children? No. Although the youth of America and beyond do tend to be more environmentally aware and enthusiastic about protecting the world around them, our movement is diverse in age, race and culture. Furthermore, our objective is anything but childish. What could be more adult than sacrifice and trying to get business to operate in a responsible manner that helps sustain and lift up communities and special places. It is, in fact, childish to think that one’s bad actions should be blanketly excused because of the almighty dollar. Jobs and development are important, but we can achieve those goals while protecting public health and the environment. Children are short-sighted as they fail to look beyond the next holiday or play date. As adults we must have a long-term vision that considers more than just our pocketbooks.
Next question - are they the proverbial parent? No. This particular organization represents America’s original businesses so that does make them old – but does that age make them responsible enough to be a parent? As Moms and Dads, we have to make hard decisions. Just the other day, my 4 year old son asked to stay in the hot car as I ran into a store. I told him no. I could’ve gotten my errands done in a faster and easier manner if I had said yes, but in the long run it would have put him in danger. Now, this wasn’t a tough decision for me but it does illustrate that as parents, it isn’t always about us or about right now. We have to consider what is best for all. If this organization and the industries they represent are really the parents, they are neglectful at best and I personally would like to ask for emancipation.
So, I think his analogy was off base but it does give us a look into the mind of our opponents. If we want to become more efficient and effective, we must remind the black hats that the story always ends with the person in the WHITE hat riding off into the sunset.
Have a great day!
Heather
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