Brooke's blog

In a joint letter to U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D - Calif), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, four major religious coalitions, representing millions of Americans, welcomed the work of lawmakers to highlight the urgency of global warming and take immediate action to address it. The National Council of Churches, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, National Association of Evangelicals and Jewish Council For Public Affairs/ Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL), emphasized some of the bill's key provisions regarding international security and climate change adaptation strategies. The letter describes the bill as "a significant step" toward protecting the "voiceless and the vulnerable."
Read the full text of the letter below:
December 3, 2007

The Honorable Barbara Boxer
Chairman
Environment and Public Works Committee
United States Senate

The first global warming bill taken up by Congress in more than 20 years passed out of committee yesterday with a vote of 11 to eight. Bill authors John Warner (R-VA) and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and Environment and Public Works Committee Chair Barbara Boxer (D-CA) staved off attempts by opponents to weaken the historic legislation during a committee mark up session Wednesday. More than 150 amendments were offered in an effort to protect both the environment and the economy.

The city of Austin is undertaking some far-reaching energy efficiency goals for new home construction. Here is an except from the Austin-American Statesman:

By 2015, Austin plans to tighten its building codes so new homes will use 65 percent less electricity and gas than those under construction today. "I haven't seen any other city ... with such a long-term vision as this. It's aggressive, but it looks very doable," said Aleisha Khan, executive director of the Building Codes Assistance Project, part of
the Washington-based Alliance to Save Energy...

The objective of Austin's plan is to make homes "zero-energy capable": energy efficient enough that it is cost-effective to install solar panels or other on-site electricity generation such as wind turbines. Without the energy efficiency improvements, the benefit of on-site generation is lost through leaky ducts and windows.

A recent study by the World Health Organization erases any lingering doubt that threats to the environment are direct threats to human health. According to the report, children are far more susceptible than adults to the impacts of environmental hazards. Scientific experts from 18 countries, say four million children under age five die each year because of polluted air and water and exposure to various kinds of chemicals. The report illustrates how poor, malnourished children are the most at risk and and that poor countries are the least able to take steps to prevent environmental health hazards.