From manufacturing’s friends, allies and nuclear energy advocates at the CASEnergy Coalition:

On Wednesday, May 12, the CASEnergy Coalition will hold an event to release the Coalition’s four-point Policy Roadmap for Clean Energy to help the nation build the next generation of nuclear reactors and reach its clean energy goals.

To view the webcast LIVE from your computer, read more for the link below.

The event will be led by CASEnergy Co-Chairs Christine Todd Whitman and Dr. Patrick Moore at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on May 12, starting at 1:30 p.m.

We are also proud to have a line-up of top speakers from across the industry that will be presenting on our nation’s path forward to reaching its clean energy targets. Our speakers include:

• CASEnergy Co-Chair Christine Todd Whitman, former EPA Administrator and New Jersey Governor
• CASEnergy Co-Chair Dr. Patrick Moore, co-founder of Greenpeace
• Stephen Moret, Secretary, Louisiana Economic Development
• Denise Bode, Chief Executive Officer, American Wind Energy Association
• Daniel S. Lipman, Senior Vice President, Operations Support & Core Process Innovation, Westinghouse

For those of you in the D.C. area, we encourage you to attend the event. If you are unable to attend, please click here to join us LIVE from your computer.

From The Globe and Mail, Toronto, noting PM Harper’s meeting with congressional leaders on the Buy American provisions in the stimulus bill that provoked Canadian responses and hurt companies on both sides of the border, “PM prepares to lobby U.S. Congress.”

Canadian prime ministers troop to the White House every few years, but rarely lobby the congressional leadership who control matters key to Canada’s interests – such as inserting Buy American clauses into stimulus-spending bills. Mr. Harper meets Mr. Obama for less than an hour Wednesday, but will hold two sessions Thursday with the top Democrats and Republicans in both the House and Senate.

“In the American system, particularly when it comes to issues of trade and protectionism, often our bigger challenges are in Congress, as opposed to the administration,” Mr. Harper said in an interview with CTV News before he left for Washington.

“So far the administration has responded quite positively to our offers and our attempts to deal with this. But it may be the case that the administration alone can’t deal with it. That’s something we’ll have to gauge on this trip.”

The prime minister will also talk about the move by some in Congress to punish Canada for developing its oil sands in northern Alberta. Environmental groups are engaging in protests and stunts against PM Harper’s visit, agitating against U.S. energy security. See SecureOurFuel.org’s commentary, “Greenpeace’s War on Reality.” Key excerpt:

of PetroChina’s involvement (financial and otherwise) in the oil sands eliminated all doubt, if any remained, that even if U.S. policymakers end our unique relationship on energy with Canada, those resources will continue to be produced for, sold to and used by millions (billions?) of grateful energy consumers in Asia – impacting America’s economic and strategic position, but doing nothing to limit the emission of carbon dioxide (in fact, according to one respected study, emissions may actually increase under an LCFS).

UPDATEHow ‘Buy American’ Can Hurt U.S. Firms“:

Mr. Pokorsky runs Aquarius Technologies Inc., a company in Port Washington, Wis., that makes equipment to treat sewage. The stimulus plan earmarks some $6 billion for municipal wastewater projects that are right in his company’s sweet spot.

But the bill’s Buy American provisions — meant to give U.S. companies a leg up on foreign competition — are causing Aquarius and other U.S. companies a lot of grief with both suppliers and clients in Canada.

Protectionism invites retaliation invites further protectionism invites further …

Actually, this could be a bit of reverse psychology, or political jujitsu. Supporters can say, “See, it’s not so drastic. Environmentalists like Greenpeace oppose it. It’s a modest measure.” So Greenpeace opposes the bill in order to pass it.

As it comes to the floor, the Waxman-Markey bill sets emission reduction targets far lower than science demands, then undermines even those targets with massive offsets. The giveaways and preferences in the bill will actually spur a new generation of nuclear and coal-fired power plants to the detriment of real energy solutions. To support such a bill is to abandon the real leadership that is called for at this pivotal moment in history.  We simply no longer have the time for legislation this weak.

“With many others in the environmental, faith and consumer rights communities, Greenpeace has expressed tremendous concern about the role of offsets in this legislation.  Unless strictly controlled, the abuse of offsets could prevent real emission reductions for more than a decade.  The decision to move authority over offsets from EPA to the Department of Agriculture further reduces the likelihood that such controls will be maintained and increases the likelihood they will undermine real reductions.

To be fair, Greenpeace undoubtedly really does dislike the bill for failing to finish off the last remnants of an industrial economy. Only whales should be allowed to emit carbon dioxide.

Time to catch up with the crash-and-trade legislation being worked out behind closed doors on the House side.

CQ Politics, “Waxman Reaches Deal on Emissions“:

Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee have agreed to soften their short-term targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions as they work to write a bill that can move to the House floor.

Chairman Henry A. Waxman , D-Calif., said Tuesday evening that Democrats have resolved most of the core issues that were in dispute over draft legislation he released several weeks ago. He plans to release the text of the bill Thursday, begin a markup on May 18 and get committee approval by the end of next week.

Joint Statement From Greenpeace, FOE, and Public Citizen on the House Energy and Commerce Committee Climate and Energy Bill:

We are extremely troubled by the reports coming out of the Energy and Commerce Committee last night on additional compromises to the already flawed American Clean Energy & Security Act. The world needs real leadership from Congress and the Administration to address global warming – action that will enable us to transform our economy with clean, renewable energy technology, new green jobs and show leadership internationally. If reports are true, the compromises being struck on the bill undermine these goals.

Reuters, “Republicans push changes to U.S. climate bill“:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday vowed to push for major changes to a climate change bill that could move through a key committee next week, including a proposal to count nuclear power as a clean energy alternative….

Representative Joe Barton, the senior Republican on the House panel, predicted he would prevail with an amendment to include nuclear power and “clean coal” as alternative sources of energy that will have to be used more by electric utilities under the bill.