Lobby Day, one CoolMom's experience...

photo taken by J-photo

by Anne Marie Jehle, mom to 5-year-old Abby 

Hi CoolMoms,

Thanks for all you do for keeping cool. CoolMoms rock! We raise our kids clean, green and sustainably. We keep making it real while urging our legislators to raise the bar on local sustainability policy and projects. I recently joined over 450 activists at Environmental Lobby Day in Olympia. I testified for clean energy and asked legislators to follow up on I-937 that I worked hard to pass. I made hundreds of phone calls in the early evening while my baby slept to make pass this piece of legislation. I wanted the I-937 victory to last.

Promoting sustainable energy is the right thing to do. We can't simply conserve and de-consume our way out of the climate mess we're in. I learned this from www.earthdaysmovie.com. Joni Mitchell sings "you don't know what you've got till it's gone" but CoolMoms know better. We're awake, pro-active, inspired and organized. So, let's hang tough and keep the heat on our legislators to help us keep cool in the long run.

Hang in there, CoolMoms. Thanks for doing the good work of keeping our community sustainable and whole for generations to come.

Lobby Day video courtesy of People for Puget Sound http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BQVryz1RG

Here's the skinny on next steps for environmental priorities from Anne Marie's friends and leaders:

Climate Action Network of Sustainable Wallingford's Arvia Morris Reports:
Hope Obama's State of the Union speech has you inspired to work for a clean energy future.  

In Washington State we have many legislative opportunities. Please see three bills that I think we should keep an eye on this legislative session.  They have to do with clean energy and green jobs.

1) On Lobby Day  I [Arvia Morris] had the fun of testifying in favor of maintaining the integrity of our renewable energy portfolio standard I-937.  Last session there were attempts to weaken it severely.

see this link for information on I-937 http://www.nwenergy.org/?s=I-937&x=0&y=0

2) Northwest Energy Coalition details of the bilss, HB2853 and SB 6656.http://www.nwenergy.org/2010/01/energy-efficiency-financing-act-details/

At lobby day January 23rd, the Senate Committee hearing on this bill was very interesting learning about this bill and how important it will be  to create a financing mechanism for communities to invest in renewable energy and efficiency.  This bill addresses the upfront costs involved with green energy investment which can be a barrier.

Section 8 of the bill appears to be the most controversial, so watch out for any amendments there.

Overall this is a good bill and we need to support it.  I [Arvia Morris] recommend that as it makes its way through the Legislature we see what the NW Energy Coalition says about how it is or is not being amended and use their talking points.

3) Green Jobs Bill HB2561 http://newsroom.housedemocrats.wa.gov/hans-dunshee/jobs-act-of-2010/

There is a lot of support among Democrats for this bill and it is critical that we get some green jobs creation going. 

At the hearing I [Arvia Morris] had the impression that there was some potential for politicians to play renewable energy off against energy efficiency.  Statements to the effect of," well why should be spend money on renewable energy when we can get the same reduction in C02 with energy efficiency".  It must be made very clear that we need both energy efficiency and renewable energy.  This trade off is false as it ignores the hidden costs of fossil fuels and enables continued and unnecessary reliance on fossil fuels. To rapidly ramp down our use of fossil fuels and create new energy jobs we need both energy efficiency and renewable energy legislation.

Quotes from People for Puget Sound's Field Director Rein Atteman rattemen@pugetsound.org:
Thanks to more than 450 activists this year's Environmental Lobby Day had an immediate impact at the Legislature. One specific example of progress made during the day was when Senator Randy Gordon chased downed his constituents after the meeting to express his desire to be sponsor of the Senate's Working for Clean Water bill. Bravo to his constituents in the 41st district!
The Environmental Priorities Coalition greatly appreciates your involvement. Activists visited over 400 legislators in 40 legislative districts.
 
Let's take the time to enjoy the success of Lobby Day. Check out this youtube video by Al Bergstein, People For Puget Sound board member: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7cJZyw3cfM .
 
However, let's remember that we still have work to do to ensure that our three Priorities pass this year. For that we are counting on you for additional help as the bills progress through the halls and chambers of our state capitol.
 
Please refer to Environmental Priorities Coalition's web site www.environmentalpriorities.org  for updates. Another great way to get involved and stay updated is to become a fan of the Priorities on Facebook!

 
If you would like to help us build the movement around the 2010 Environmental Priorities there are three easy things you can do:

1. Become a fan of the 2010 Environmental Priorities Page
2. Share the Facebook Page with your friends.
3. Participate frequently on our Page via discussion forum and wall.