Between The Lines - Anne Kelly: President’s Clean Power Plan Attracts Business Support (Week Ending Aug. 14, 2015)

Award-winning Investigative Journalist Robert Parry (1949-2018)

Award-winning investigative journalist and founder/editor of ConsortiumNews.com, Robert Parry has passed away. His ground-breaking work uncovering Reagan-era dirty wars in Central America and many other illegal and immoral policies conducted by successive administrations and U.S. intelligence agencies, stands as an inspiration to all in journalists working in the public interest.

Robert had been a regular guest on our Between The Lines and Counterpoint radio shows -- and many other progressive outlets across the U.S. over four decades.

His penetrating analysis of U.S. foreign policy and international conflicts will be sorely missed, and not easily replaced. His son Nat Parry writes a tribute to his father: Robert Parry’s Legacy and the Future of Consortiumnews.

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The Resistance Starts Now!

Between The Lines' coverage and resource compilation of the Resistance Movement

"The man who predicted Trump presidential win now says Trump impeachment could happen," AM Joy with Joy Reid, MSNBC, Jan. 21, 2018
"Sketchy Kazakh money finds its way into Trump dealings," The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC, Jan. 15, 2018
"Red flags seen in many Trump real estate deals," The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC, Jan. 15, 2018
"Secret Money: How Trump Made Millions Selling Condos To Unknown Buyers," BuzzFeed, Jan. 12, 2018
"The Scandals of Donald Trump: Presidential Edition," The Atlantic, May 15, 2017
"Here's what we know so far about Team Trump's ties to Russian interests," Washington Post's ongoing compilation
"What Comey Was Investigating, Explained," The Moscow Project, Center for American Progress

"Donald Trump's Financial Ties to Russian Oligarchs and Mobsters Detailed In Explosive New Documentary from the Netherlands," Dutch TV documentary, Alternet.org, May 12, 2017
Ongoing compilation of Trump's creeping authoritarianism," MotherJones.com
Full resource list ...

SPECIAL REPORT: "The Resistance - Women's March 2018 - Hartford, Connecticut" Jan. 20, 2018

Selected speeches from the Women's March in Hartford, Connecticut 2018, recorded and produced by Scott Harris

SPECIAL REPORT: "No Fracking Waste in CT!" Jan. 14, 2018

Jen Siskind Jennifer Siskind, local coordinator for Food and Water Watch, describes the campaign to stop fracking waste in Connecticut, which so far has led to fracking waste bans in 34 towns around the state. Interviewed by Richard Hill on Mic Check, WPKN Radio, Bridgeport, CT

SPECIAL REPORT: "Resistance Round Table: The Unraveling Continues..." Jan. 13, 2018

Lindsay Kanaly The panel discusses Trump's long history of racism and the Republican voter suppression juggernaut confronting Democrats leading up to the 2018 elections. Special guest: Lindsay Kanaly, a lead organizer of the Women's Marches planned for Jan. 20, 2018. Panel: Scott Harris, Ruthanne Baumgartner and Richard Hill on Resistance Roundtable, WPKN Radio, Bridgeport, CT.

SPECIAL REPORT: "Capitalism to the ash heap?" Richard Wolff, Jan. 2, 2018

Richard Wolff, Economics professor Richard Wolff declares U.S. capitalism to be beyond repair and suggests the need for a radical alternative. Interviewed by Richard Hill

SPECIAL REPORT: Maryn McKenna, author of "Big Chicken", Dec. 7, 2017

Maryn McKenna, investigative journalist and author of Big Chicken, talks about the widespread use and dangers of antibiotics in commercial poultry, beef and fruit production. Interview by Bill Duesing, Richard Hill and Guy Beardsly on WPKN's Organic Farm Stand.

SPECIAL REPORT: Nina Turner's address, Working Families Party Awards Banquet, Dec. 14, 2017

Nina Turner, president of Our Revolution, talks about the fight ahead for progressives as she receives the Working Families Organization Award for Exceptional Leadership Towards Advancing Progress. The event was held in Meriden, CT. Produced by Richard Hill.

SPECIAL REPORT: Mic Check, Dec. 12, 2017

Working Families Party of CT talks strategy and issues for 2018.
Lindsay Farrell, executive director of the Working Families Party of Connecticut, discusses the state's electoral landscape and lays out the issues and strategies that could lead to progressive victories in 2018. Interviewed by Richard Hill.

SPECIAL REPORT: Resistance Roundtable, Dec. 9, 2017

Disturbing developments in the Trump/Republican Agenda
Focus on the tax bill, destruction of our public lands, North Korea and Trump's private CIA. Panel: Scott Harris, Ruthanne Baumgartner and Richard Hill. Special guest: Jo Macallero of Rise and Resist.

SPECIAL REPORT: On Tyranny - one year later, Nov. 28, 2017

Professor Timothy Snyder, author of the highly acclaimed resistance manual On Tyranny, discusses his book and offers a fresh assessment of the state of our beleaguered republic. Timothy Snyder, history professor at Yale, is introduced by Stanley Heller, administrator of Promoting Enduring Peace, a Connecticut-based organization that sponsored this event at the United Church Parish House in New Haven on Nov. 28. A brief interview with Snyder conducted by WPKN radio producer, Richard Hill, follows his talk.

SPECIAL REPORT: Mic Check, Nov. 12, 2017

Lynne Ide, director of program and policy with the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, talks about the current state of health care coverage in Connecticut. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Resistance Roundtable, Nov. 11, 2017

Focus on the Republican tax plan, the just-released autopsy on the Democratic Party, and Internet censorship by Google, Facebook and Youtube. Including an interview with Hilary Grant, a lead organizer with Action Together Connecticut, who discusses the local results of the recent election, with hosts Richard Hill, Scott Harris and Ruth Baumgartner WPKN producers

SPECIAL REPORT: Rainy Day Radio, Nov. 7, 2017

Two leaders from Redneck Revolt, an anti-racist, anti-capitalist movement, talk about their work organizing with white working class people in Suffolk County, New York. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Rainy Day Radio, Nov. 7, 2017

Bruce Gagnon, coordinator for the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, describes the extent of -- and motives underlying -- the vast US network of military bases around the globe. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Resisting U.S. JeJu Island military base in South Korea, Oct. 24, 2017

Joyakol, South Korean peace activist and singer, discusses the crisis on the Korean peninsula and focuses on the resistance to the U.S. huge military base being constructed on Jeju Island. The event was sponsored by the Greater New Haven Peace Council and this audio was recorded by Richard Hill, WPKN producer.
Joyakol discusses Americans' biggest misconceptions about the conflict between North and South Korea and the U.S., Interview by Richard Hill, WPKN producer.

SPECIAL REPORT: John Allen, Out in New Haven

John Allen, founding director of the New Haven Pride Center, Connecticut, talks about his new LGBTQ television show, Out in New Haven, which presents a range of political and cultural issues to the community. Interviewed by Richard Hill on WPKN's Rainy Day Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018.

2017 Gandhi Peace Awards

Promoting Enduring Peace presented its Gandhi Peace Award jointly to renowned consumer advocate Ralph Nader and BDS founder Omar Barghouti on April 23, 2017.

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THANK YOU TO EVERYONE...

who helped make our 25th anniversary with Jeremy Scahill a success!

For those who missed the event, or were there and really wanted to fully absorb its import, here it is in video

Jeremy Scahill keynote speech, part 1 from PROUDEYEMEDIA on Vimeo.

Jeremy Scahill keynote speech, part 2 from PROUDEYEMEDIA on Vimeo.

Between The Lines on Stitcher

Between The Lines Presentation at the Left Forum 2016

"How Do We Build A Mass Movement to Reverse Runaway Inequality?" with Les Leopold, author of "Runaway Inequality: An Activist's Guide to Economic Justice,"May 22, 2016, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The City University of New York, 860 11th Ave. (Between 58th and 59th), New York City. Between The Lines' Scott Harris and Richard Hill moderated this workshop. Listen to the audio/slideshows and more from this workshop.

Listen to audio of the plenary sessions from the weekend.

JEREMY SCAHILL: Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker "Dirty Wars"

Listen to the full interview (30:33) with Jeremy Scahill, an award-winning investigative journalist with the Nation Magazine, correspondent for Democracy Now! and author of the bestselling book, "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army," about America's outsourcing of its military. In an exclusive interview with Counterpoint's Scott Harris on Sept. 16, 2013, Scahill talks about his latest book, "Dirty Wars, The World is a Battlefield," also made into a documentary film under the same title, and was nominated Dec. 5, 2013 for an Academy Award in the Best Documentary Feature category.

Listen to Scott Harris Live on WPKN Radio

Between The Lines' Executive Producer Scott Harris hosts a live, weekly talk show, Counterpoint, from which some of Between The Lines' interviews are excerpted. Listen every Monday evening from 8 to 10 p.m. EDT at www.WPKN.org (Follows the 5-7 minute White Rose Calendar.)

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President’s Clean Power Plan Attracts Business Support

Posted Aug. 5, 2015

Interview with Anne Kelly, director of the policy program at Ceres, conducted by Melinda Tuhus

President Obama's Aug. 3 release of the final version of his Clean Power Plan, calls for a more rapid transition away from coal than a draft plan made public a year ago. The final rule attempts to avoid what the White House called an "early rush to gas," and encouraged earlier adoption by states of renewable energy sources. The plan's stated goal is to have 28 percent of the nation's power produced by renewables by 2030, up from 22 percent in the draft plan.

Many environmentalists praised the plan, while others said it doesn't go nearly far enough, because scientists say 80 percent of existing fossil fuels must remain in the ground to prevent the planet from warming more than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the level above which catastrophic changes will be inevitable. Climate activists say one obvious thing Obama could do is revoke permits his administration has granted for oil drilling in the Arctic.

Recognizing that the Clean Power Plan faces daunting political and legal challenges, Ceres, a non-profit group that works with companies and investors to promote sustainability, recruited 365 of its 1,500 member businesses and investors since June 2014 to sign a letter in support of the plan. Businesses, including Staples, Gap and Nestle reached out to the governors of 29 states in which they're headquartered, urging them to consider backing the plan. Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with Anne Kelly, senior director of the policy program at Ceres and director of BICEP, Businesses for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy. Here, she talks about corporate support for clean energy and the philosophy adopted by some that going green is good business.

ANNE KELLY: We have been developing supporters and developing support for the Clean Power Plan since the original announcement of the draft rules in June 2014. And for five years prior to that we'd been developing and really working with businesses who wanted to stand up for innovative climate and energy policy, and that's built into our name, BICEP. We also launched the Climate Declaration back in 2013, which enshrines the notion that tackling climate change is one of the greatest economic opportunities of ;the 21st century. That declaration has 1,500 businesses on it now, so we reached out to that group, as we have reached out to them several times over the last year for various advocacy opportunities. We specifically reached out to that group to say, you should get on and support the President's CCP. Our letters, by the way, are still open; we're still going to be gathering signatures as the months go on. I think some companies probably wanted to see the final plan before they could give their support, and yet it's notable that so many of them were quite willing to offer their support prior to even seeing the final version.

BETWEEN THE LINES: So, it sounds like these businesses and investors are motivated by the chance to profit from a shift to clean energy, rather than from a moral or ethical perspective regarding climate change. That makes sense.

ANNE KELLY: Well, as you know, are letter says, from the companies, "Our support is firmly grounded in economic reality. Clean energy solutions are cost-effective in innovative ways to drive investment and reduce greenhouse gas emissions." So yes, companies recognize the economic realities. They recognize climate risk. Many of them have experienced climate risk. They've experienced the price volatility that comes from fossil fuels, which is very well known, and they understand the opportunity embedded in solving the climate crisis, so many of them have set public goals around their renewable energy purchases; they've set goals around greenhouse gas mitigations; they've set goals around energy efficiency. What they would like to have is the law to catch up with their own initiatives and innovation. And they recognize that the cost of inaction - the cost of waiting longer to tackle the problem - is much moretha trying to solve the problem now.

BETWEEN THE LINES: So, Anne Kelly, when the Clean Power Plan was first proposed, it was all about converting power plants from coal to fracked gas. And a lot of people were saying that moving from one fossil fuel to another is not great progress, especially since methane -- which is the main component of natural gas -- is a much more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, and methane leaks could make gas as bad for the climate as coal. That seems to be shifting somewhat. But I wonder, does Ceres have members who are part of the natural gas industry?

ANNE KELLY: We do not. We don't have any natural gas companies as corporate members or signers. We do interact with those companies all the time. We have a whole electric power team at Ceres that has many partners in that sector and we're certainly talking with them all the time and helping them to fully appreciate climate risk, and also, obviously we've done reports on the extreme water risk associated with fracking. So our position is pretty well known in that regard. In that sector you're really looking at the power providers. And you'll notice that our letter and much of our advocacy work is really centered around energy users and energy purchasers, so it's really two different sides of the coin.

But we have also heard - and we'll know much more when the final rules are truly out - but we have heard about a shift in emphasis in the plan to do a better job of encouraging renewable energy purchases, to encourage the development of renewables instead of as much natural gas. Now, we don't know the specifics on that, but I would say that is a provision we would definitely support and suggest that that is moving in the right direction.

BETWEEN THE LINES: So, your strategy is to have the companies that signed the letter contact the governors of the states where they're headquartered to tell them of their support for the Clean Power Plan, is that right?

ANNE KELLY: Yes. Now the real work is going to go toward the states, and that's how the plan works. We felt it was important to have businesses and investors say to their governors, Look, we've got your backs, and we know this is a difficult job ahead, but we encourage you to move quickly with your state implementation plan, and to remember how important renewable energy and energy efficiency are, because they've been vital to each of these companies individually. And it really encourages the state energy officials that have the hard work now of rolling up their sleeves and figuring out how to make this work. Now the good news on that front - you may have seen the report from the Union of Concerned Scientists that many, many states are well along on the path to compliance. In fact, we believe that most of the states won't need the amount of compliance time they're actually going to get from the Clean Power Plan.

We sent a letter to 29 of the states, and many of them are mixed in terms of their expressed support for the Clean Power Plan. There's a range of opinions. But again, this is something that has to be looked at very carefully, because you might see a certain amount of top-line rhetoric from a state delegation that works in D.C. But when you really dig a little deeper and look at what the energy officials are actually doing and saying, you find that many of them are hard workers and working very hard on figuring out the specifics and the mechanics of how to comply with the plan. That's what's really happening on the ground, and that doesn't always make it into the news cycle.

For more information, visit ceres.org.