Ah, August: when Washington’s torrid temperatures and humidity settle in and Congress scurries out for a monthlong recess. But this year there’s no escape from another source of swelter — lobbying campaigns addressing climate change legislation.

Groups representing both sides of the debate are prepping turbo-charged politicking to make their point and press for an advantage on the issue.

“Everybody’s gearing up for a big grass-roots push on both sides,” said Tony Kreindler, a spokesman for the Environmental Defense Fund. “This is going to be a recess like none other on climate.”

Senators delayed their work on the energy bill, which was expected to begin this summer, as the health care debate overtook most of the agenda. A bill has not been introduced but several committee markups are scheduled in September.

When the House narrowly passed its bill (HR 2454) in June, the Capitol phone lines were jammed with thousands of callers in the hours before the vote. Almost immediately afterward, the GOP ran radio ads in the districts of vulnerable Democrats who voted for it.

One environmentalist said the bill’s supporters were too slow to respond to these attacks, and they now want to convince senators that there are good reasons to vote for the measure.

“We were a little behind on the House vote,” said Debbie Sease, national campaign director for the Sierra Club. “People were hearing more from those who said the bill was hurting the economy.”

New ‘Green’ Jobs

The Blue-Green Alliance, a coalition of environmental groups and labor unions that supports legislation to cap greenhouse gas emissions and create a market for trading pollution allowances, plans to reach out to several Midwestern Democratic senators who are likely swing votes on an energy bill.

These lawmakers have said they are nervous about penalizing the already vulnerable industrial and agricultural sectors.

Advocates will stress that the bill will create “green” manufacturing jobs, such as building wind turbines and making buildings more energy-efficient. They argue that by spurring private investment in energy sectors, the legislation is key to reviving the economy.

“We need this as a short-term jobs strategy,” said David Foster, the alliance’s executive director, who added an energy bill will help “turn the corner on unemployment.”

Democrat Ben Nelson of Nebraska, who is skeptical about climate change legislation, said that so far he has been pressured in the opposite direction. “My mail is running about 99-to-1 against that,” he said at a recent hearing.