**For earlier part of the hearing, click here**

Secretary of the Department of Energy, Stephen Chu (a hero of energy efficiency dorks like me).

11:27 ‘Today I want to focus on the Energy Opportunity’ Hurray for CAP memes making it in the hearings!

11:28 China has made the choice. they are spending billions in clean energy, transmission,… my feed froze!!

11:30 ‘Obama announces billion dollar investments in smart grid technology! Hurray for rational people in the White House!’

Secretary of Department of Transportation, Ray LaHood

11:32 Acknowledging role of transit for climate reductions. Great to see that, but doesn’t really fall under climate bill purview…

11:33 Talking about smart growth. Can you believe it?! Only 2 years ago the Department of Transportation was working to subsidize suburbia!

Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar

11:37 ‘First energy independence, Second jobs, third healthy planet and safety of our children.’ Really? Your priorities are a little off.

11:39 ‘My department is the Carbon capture department’ (and the carbon extraction one!)

11:40 ‘We drill  a lot of oil in our public lands, but at the Department we are mostly excited about the new energy frontiers’ ‘ We are fast-tracking deployment of clean energy, both sun, off-shore, on-shore’

11:42 ‘Our public lands can sequester carbon just as what will happen with investments in Indonesia and Brazil in CEJAPA’

— Editorial comment: these witnesses are not as fun as senators… + they don’t talk about young people!—

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** For witness statements, go to the next post, here ** 

Just got back from the Senate office building where young people didn’t manage to enter the committee room.

10:47 Am – Voinovich doesn’t like the bill, big surprise

10:49 – Boxer ‘Climate change won’t be waiting for who is a democrat or who is a republican.’ Would like bi-partisanship but Senate lacks a Warner-like Republican.

10:50 – Voinovich ‘Building wind turbines is approximately the same as building nuclear power plants’ – does that include cost on waste disposal?

10:51 – Boxer ‘I am not advocating for taxpayers to build windmills OR nuclear. Trying to level the playing field so technologies can compete fairly’ – There you go!

10:53 – Lautenberg ‘We are looking at number of pages of bills to identify veracity. I didn’t know people were so concerned about trees!’ Calls for young people to be in the audience!!! Asks for them to testify about why we need to fight for this! Yeea!

10:55 – Lautenberg ‘It would be equally important to hear from the fisherman, asthma victims as much as farmers. We should look into the face of children and explain in their terms. How much would Americans be willing to pay in taxes to reverse these ills!’ My new favorite senator?

10:56 – Lautenberg ‘America wake up! Your kids are in danger! Your country is in danger’

10:59 – Can I just say “Climate deniers lie” every time one speaks? It would get a little redundant to keep on transcribing all of their disinformation (Sen. Barasso is speaking now, where are the Wyoming youth? Call him and tell him to invest in clean energy jobs)

11:00 – Barasso calls fossil fuels Red White and Blue energy… I can see red, but oil is certainly not white or blue!

11:01 – Merkeley “Choice of creating jobs for Americans, or sending jobs overseas” this hearing is all about republicans saying the bill will destroy jobs, while some democrats are saying it will create jobs. Doesn’t seem like anyone is taking the time to understand where the other is coming from.

11:04 – Merkeley “Whenever I ask college students what their top issue is, they always talk about climate change” – “You could argue this bill isn’t moving fast enough!” go get them Merkeley!

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