[USCC] Waxman-Markey Climate Bill

Thu Jul 9 13:33:47 CDT 2009

We at Eco-Cycle very much concur with Andrew's comments.  At a bare minimum,
now is a critical time to take some basic steps to protect our markets and
avoid a huge step backward, but as Andrew mentioned, the current
administration should instead present a huge opportunity for us to attach
carbon credits to proper composting and educate lawmakers that they should
be banning organics from landfills, not encouraging further dumping by
giving renewable energy credits to landfill operators for partial methane
capture.

Eco-Cycle, BioCycle, and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance co-authored a
report last year that details the climate-changing methane emissions from
landfills.  It can be downloaded in various forms from
http://www.stoptrashingtheclimate.org/.

Dan Matsch
Program Manager
Eco-Cycle, Inc.
5030 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO  80301
303-444-6640, ext. 116
www.ecocycle.org
dan at ecocycle.org

Donate to Eco-Cycle Today!
Zero Waste is essential to fighting climate change, and we need your support
to make Zero Waste a way of life in our community. Make your tax-deductible
donation online at www.ecocycle.org/support

-----Original Message-----
From: compost-bounces at mailman.cloudnet.com
[mailto:compost-bounces at mailman.cloudnet.com] On Behalf Of
compost-request at mailman.cloudnet.com
Sent: Thursday, July 09, 2009 11:00 AM
To: compost at mailman.cloudnet.com
Subject: Compost Digest, Vol 64, Issue 6

____________________________________________________________________________
__

Today's Topics:

   1. Waxman-Markey Climate Bill (Andrew Kessler)

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Message: 1
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2009 10:36:20 -0400
From: Andrew Kessler <andrew.kessler at turningearthllc.com>
Subject: [USCC] Waxman-Markey Climate Bill
To: compost at mailman.cloudnet.com
Message-ID: <764C99D5-EAC5-4D36-83F3-BBEA1FAD45E1 at turningearthllc.com>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset=WINDOWS-1252;	format=flowed;
	delsp=yes

We very much share Nelson's concerns about this legislation.

It raises a broader question - is the USCC's lobbying effort in  
Washington adequate or does it need to be strengthened?

The policy changes that are and have taken place and the resulting  
legislative efforts are unprecedented in recent memory.  The USCC must  
have a meaningful seat at the table and direct dialogue with key  
people in Congress and the White House.  Industries related to and in  
many cases in competition with the organics recycling industry are  
clearly well represented in Washington, and we must have adequate  
representation to protect our interests.

In addition, there are several excellent examples of fledging  
cleantech sectors doing an excellent job pushing their agenda in  
Washington and ensuring both policy and dollars are moving in their  
favor.  For example, wind, solar, hydrogen industries have very high  
profiles and active efforts in Washington.

The organics recycling industry must have a similarly high profile and  
active presence to ensure that the language to which Nelson refers  
does not even end up in the bill in the first place.  Trying to remove  
language is much harder than keeping it off the page.  A reactive  
strategy is far less effective than a proactive strategy.

I applaud the USCC's leadership in many key areas and encourage the  
council to further dedicate resources and capital to Washington.  It  
may well be time to form a PAC or possibly team up with other  
organization(s) whose interests are aligned with ours to strengthen  
our presence in Washington.

Maybe it's time to hold the annual conference in Washington!

Andrew Kessler
Managing Director
Turning Earth, LLC
97 Maple Wood Drive, Brewster, NY 10509
Telephone.   845 259 8400   |  Facsimile.   845 622 3649  |  Mobile.   
917 251 5662
www.turningearthllc.com

Go Green ? Think before you print

On Jul 8, 2009, at 1:00 PM, compost-request at mailman.cloudnet.com wrote:

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____________________________________________________________________________
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Today's Topics:

   1. Fw: Waxman-Markey Climate Bill (Nelson Widell)

From: Nelson Widell <nelsonwidell22002 at yahoo.com>
Date: July 7, 2009 11:45:34 AM EDT
To: compost at mailman.cloudnet.com
Subject: [USCC] Fw: Waxman-Markey Climate Bill
Reply-To: Compost Discussion List <compost at mailman.cloudnet.com>

from Nelson Widell
Peninsula Compost Co.LLC
Wilmington, Delaware

--- On Mon, 7/6/09, Nelson Widell <nelsonwidell22002 at yahoo.com> wrote:

From: Nelson Widell <nelsonwidell22002 at yahoo.com>
Subject: Waxman-Markey Climate Bill
To: compost at mailman.cloudnet.com
Date: Monday, July 6, 2009, 2:24 PM

As recently passed through the House, the Waxman -Markey Bill (HR2454)  
eliminates carbon offset incentives for projects that capture or avoid  
landfill methane emissions,including composting and anaerobic digestion.
Unfortunately,this bill takes away offset opportunites for composting  
by forcing the EPA to regulate landfill methane emissions through  
"performance standards". Since the bill appears to assume that all  
landfill emthane emissions will be taken care of by performance  
standard regulations, then there is no need to develop offset projects  
such as composting or anaerobic digestion related to this.
As one can imagine, the major landfill companies love this because it  
provides justification
for sending more organics to landfills to produce more methane gas to  
help pay for the increased gas collection costs contemplated by the  
proposed new EPA capping requirements for those lanfills.
This is bad news for the composting industry.
I haven't heard a peep out of the USCC on this issue.Does the  
Composting Council have a position on this or propse to do anything  
about it?

_______________________________________
Join us at the US Composting Council's 17th Annual Conference & Trade  
Show
January 26-29th, 2009 at the Westin Galleria in Houston, TX.
The National forum for those involved in the development and expansion  
of the composting and organics recycling industry.
Conference Highlights, Registration forms, Exhibitor information and  
Sponsorship Opportunities available at the USCC website:
www.compostingcouncil.org 
  or call the USCC at 631.737.4931
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_______________________________________
Join us at the US Composting Council's 17th Annual Conference & Trade Show
January 26-29th, 2009 at the Westin Galleria in Houston, TX.
The National forum for those involved in the development and expansion of
the composting and organics recycling industry.
Conference Highlights, Registration forms, Exhibitor information and
Sponsorship Opportunities available at the USCC website:
www.compostingcouncil.org or call the USCC at 631.737.4931  
_______________________________________
Compost maillist - compost at mailman.cloudnet.com
http://mailman.cloudnet.com/mailman/listinfo/compost
_______________________________________
This list is a service provided by the US Composting Council (USCC).
(c) Copyright 2004 United States Composting Council - All rights reserved

Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the USCC, the Foundation, or
the Board of Directors.

Non-members of USCC are encouraged to join the Council through its website
at: http://www.compostingcouncil.org/membership.cfm

Members posting CC copies to the list and other addresses may have their
posting privileges suspended. For discussion list policies and information
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For additional help in unsubcribing or to report bugs and problems, send a
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End of Compost Digest, Vol 64, Issue 6
**************************************