Enviros Call on Obama to Step Up His Game on Energy

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Senate Democrats are expected to introduce an energy package shortly after the July 4 recess, an as-yet undetermined combination of energy, oil-spill, and possibly climate-change measures. The Senate was expected to debate the package the week of July 19, but with no clear picture yet of what that package might look like, that seems less likely.

A number of environmental groups want the president to step in and give the Senate some clear guidance on the package, which they say is crucial at this point. “White House leadership is the only path we see to success, just as your direct leadership was critical in the passage of the recovery plan, health care reform, and other administration successes,” wrote the heads of nine environmental groups in a letter to Obama.

President Obama met with a bipartisan group of senators on Tuesday of this week, but the meeting didn’t make the picture any more clear. Senators said Obama called for the package to include a price on carbon, but most of the Republican senators (save Olympia Snowe of Maine) outright rejected that idea.

Hill staffers briefed on the meeting say it was more of a listening session for Obama than one in which he outlined what he wants in a bill. Press secretary Robert Gibbs signaled as much at Thursday’s press briefing. “The president had a good meeting a couple days ago with senators from both parties that have led on this issue,” he said. “We have not made any final determinations about the size and scope of the legislation except to say that the president believes, and continues to believe, that putting a price on carbon has to be part of our comprehensive energy reform.”

The heads of the Alliance for Climate Protection, the Blue Green Alliance, the Center for American Progress Action Fund, Environment America, Environmental Defense Fund, League of Conservation Voters, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Union of Concerned Scientists signed onto the letter, which called on Obama to give the senate more direction on the issue. Here’s the key portion of the letter:

The Senate needs your help to end this paralysis. With the window of opportunity quickly closing, nothing less than your direct personal involvement, and that of senior administration officials, can secure America’s clean energy future. We strongly urge you to produce a bill, in conjunction with key Senators, that responds to the catastrophe in the Gulf, cuts oil use, and limits carbon pollution while maintaining current health and other key legal protections. We further urge you to work with the Senate to bring that bill to the floor for passage before the August recess. White House leadership is the only path we see to success, just as your direct leadership was critical in the passage of the recovery plan, health care reform, and other administration successes.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

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