This post is by Daniel J. Weiss, Director of Climate Strategy at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

On the eve of the vote on the American Clean Energy and Security Act, expected Friday (or early Saturday), the Washington Post-ABC News just released a poll that found strong support among Americans for action to reduce global warming pollution. Despite conservative loud and misleading opposition to the bill, a global warming reduction plan has widespread public support.

The poll respondents also gave President Obama high marks for his efforts to address this problem. President Obama’s net ratings on this issue — net 28% approve — is his second strongest issue after international affairs. He has a higher approval rating on global warming than on health care or the economy, among other issues.

Respondents were asked whether “government should or should not regulate the release of greenhouse gases from sources like power plants, cars and factories in an effort to reduce global warming?” By more than 3-1, Americans felt that the Federal government should “regulate” the release of greenhouse gas pollution. And the respondents who felt strongly about it favored action by 4-1.

These findings are particularly significant given that the wording of the question was biased against action since it asked about the regulation of greenhouse gases. Regulate and its derivatives are hot buttons for many Americans. And the bill American Clean Energy and Security Act is not a strict regulatory bill because it includes a “cap and trade” mechanism that relies on the market place to set prices on emissions reductions, and allows companies to offset their emissions by paying farmers and others to store carbon pollution instead.

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… in a decade, the price to the average American will be just about a postage stamp a day….

There is no longer a debate about whether carbon pollution is placing our planet in jeopardy.  It’s happening.

Memo to Obama speechwriters:  The price to the average American household will be about a postage stamp a day (see Krugman takes on the “fantasists” of the “burn-baby-burn crowd” for opposing climate action that costs Americans 18 cents a day).

This afternoon, President Barack Obama made a special statement on Waxman-Markey, going well beyond what he said at yesterday’s press conference (see Obama: “I believe that this legislation is extraordinarily important for our country.”)

If you want to know what the best talking points on the bill are, read what he said today.  Not only is this a “jobs bill” (that will create 1.7 million net new jobs across the country) and that “will protect consumers from the costs of this transition” (especially with 7% lower electric bills by 2020), but “the price to the average American [household] will be just about a postage stamp a day,” (as reported by the CBO).

Below is a transcript of Obama’s remarks, and here are some early clips of the actual speech.   Read it, view it, and gain some serious inspiration for the next 48 hours.  There’s no better inspiration than our brilliant and eloquent president. Enough with the Republican falsehoods “misinformation” — America needs to pass this bill.

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Nobelist Gore is working the phones in his home-state of Tennessee to push for more Waxman-Markey votes.  And Repower America has set up two phone lines that will quickly connect you to your Representative:

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A coalition of progressive organizations and lawmakers is calling for the passage of amendments to improve green economy legislation this week. Last month, 1Sky, MoveOn, Green For All, Sierra Club, Environment America, and the Energy Action Coalition agreed upon three top-priority amendments to improve the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454/H.R. 2998). The organizations drafted a letter to Speaker Pelosi, which garnered additional signatures from US Action, Acorn, Oxfam, Rock the Vote, Health Care Without Harm, and Democracia Ahora.

This coalition letter became the basis for a letter from progressive leaders Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME), asking fellow members to join in their call for higher clean energy standards, stronger regulations for coal plants, and fewer giveaways to polluters:

Ensure More Clean Energy for America. Increase the Renewable Electricity Standard to 30 percent by 2020, combining renewable energy and energy efficiency to deliver more clean energy jobs to the U.S. economy more quickly. Utilities would have to achieve 17 percent mandatory renewables and 10 percent mandatory efficiency by 2020, while maintaining flexibility to do either with 3 percent.

Ensure that All Coal Plants Meet Strict Global Warming Emissions Standards. Maintain or strengthen existing authority under the Clean Air Act to establish limits for global warming emissions from coal plants.

Create More Clean Energy Jobs for America and Build Resiliency to Climate Change. Reduce allocations to polluting industries in order to supplement allowance accounts that would bolster green job development and protection of vulnerable communities that are impacted first and worst by climate change. Shave allocations from fossil fuel producers and redistribute to programs that deliver energy efficiency and renewable energy, create green jobs and train workers to fill them, and protect natural resources and vulnerable communities here and around the world.

The groups, also including the Progressive Democrats of America, collectively generated hundreds of thousands of emails, calls, visits and faxes to Congress asking for these strengthening amendments. The Pingree-Ellison letter has garnered 49 signatures, including a number of members of the Congressional Black Caucus and Blue Dog Adam Schiff (D-CA).

Nearly all of the signatories are expected to vote for passage of the legislation when the vote comes Friday, no matter its final language, so this is primarily an opportunity for members to note they would prefer more equitable and stronger legislation, given the chance. That there are so few members of the House of Representatives willing to take even this soft stand on behalf of a just, green economy is a harsh judgment on the strength of the climate movement.

Signatories of the Pingree-Ellison letter: Read more

Scotland approves world’s “most ambitious” climate bill

Businesses in Scotland can expect to face significantly more demanding carbon emissions targets than their counterparts in the rest of the UK, after the Scottish Parliament passed a climate bill that is far more stringent than that adopted by Westminster.

As with the UK bill, the Scottish legislation sets a target of cutting emissions 80 per cent by 2050, but that target includes emissions from international shipping and aviation, while the UK will not formally decide whether international emissions are included until 2012.

Moreover, the Scottish bill sets significantly more demanding medium-term targets, requiring a 42 per cent cut in emissions by 2020. In contrast, the UK’s recently released carbon budgets require emissions to be cut by 34 per cent below 1990 levels by the later date of 2022.

Sears Tower to Be Revamped to Produce Most of Its Own Power

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There appears to be a lot more natural gas than previously thought (Part 1) and therefore unconventional gas makes the 2020 Waxman-Markey target so damn easy and cheap to meet (Part 2).  Our guest blogger, Craig A. Severance, is a practicing CPA in natural gas country — Grand Junction, Colorado.  He discusses some of the latest research on new gas supplies and some recent analyses of what that gas might mean for coal use in a post first published on his blog.  Craig, is co-author of The Economics of Nuclear and Coal Power (Praeger 1976) a former Assistant to the Chairman and to Commerce Counsel, Iowa State Commerce Commission, did one of the most detailed cost analyses publically available on the current generation of nuclear power plants being considered in this country (see “Exclusive analysis: The staggering cost of new nuclear power“).

GRAND JUNCTION, CO –  You can see it in the faces of those gathered to hear the latest news on the natural gas industry:  Anxiety.  Anger.  Fear of losing everything they have. Frustration that there seems nothing anyone can do.

The rigs are down. Here in Western Colorado and nationwide, the drilling rigs that employed thousands in well paying jobs are down.  Where just a year ago this region was bustling with new drilling activity, rig counts are now down 74%.  Across the nation the story is the same:  74% down in W. Texas/NM; 68% down in Green River Basin (WY); 50% down in Arkoma Basin; 49% down in E. Texas/N. La.  The gas resources are still there, but new drilling activity is being curtailed.

Local Economy is Hurting. When the rigs go down, so goes the local economy of a gas-producing region.  In Western Colorado,  $3.2 – $3.5 Billion less investment by the natural gas industry is expected in 2009 versus 2008.  Housing prices are down and unemployment is rising. Retail sales have fallen drastically, stressing merchants and local governments.  The flow of dollars coming from elsewhere into the local economy has dropped off a cliff.  When natural gas — a domestic energy resource — goes down, it is not Saudi oil sheiks but American gas workers and the communities where they live that feel the impacts.

Natural Gas Was High Priced & Unreliable. Just a year ago, in June 2008, the average U.S. wellhead price for natural gas was $10.82 per thousand cubic feet, (about $10.50 per Million BTU, or MMBTU).  Electric utilities, concerned about the volatility of natural gas prices and worried about its reliability of supply, were beginning to explore high priced alternatives to natural gas, even considering reviving a nuclear power industry that had been dead for over 30 years.

Then, everything changed almost overnight.

39% Increase in Total U.S. Natural Gas Resources. High natural gas prices, together with relatively new “fracturing” technologies to free gas from shale deposits, prompted massive gas exploration efforts nationwide. These resulted in discoveries of major new natural gas resources, which became apparent before the end of 2008:

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Note:  If you are in the districts of any of the fence-sitters named below — Democrat or Republican — or you know someone who is, now is the time to make your position known.

We are approaching zero-hour for the House on the Waxman-Markey climate and clean energy bill.  I’m also traveling today, so this update is mostly going to be extended excerpts from two E&E Daily (subs. req’d) pieces this morning on the final fence-sitters and Ohio:

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