The Fifth US Climate Action Report presents a detailed outline of the actions the US is taking to address climate change, contains updated projections on U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and underscores the United States commitment to address climate change. The report indicates that US overall greenhouse gas emissions increased 17 percent from 1990 through 2007 - projected to grow by another 4 percent by 2020 - and that without comprehensive federal energy and climate legislation, much of the current activity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is being undertaken by states and cities, supported by federal incentives and regulations. http://www.state.gov/g/oes/rls/rpts/car5/index.htm
June 2 - President Obama linked the oil spill to the need for a Senate energy & climate bill
"The catastrophe unfolding in the Gulf right now may prove to be a result of human error, or of corporations taking dangerous shortcuts to compromise safety, or a combination of both....But we have to acknowledge that there are inherent risks to drilling four miles beneath the surface of the Earth, and these are risks -- these are risks that are bound to increase the harder oil extraction becomes. We also have to acknowledge that an America run solely on fossil fuels should not be the vision we have for our children and our grandchildren.
"We consume more than 20 percent of the world’s oil, but have less than 2 percent of the world’s oil reserves. So without a major change in our energy policy, our dependence on oil means that we will continue to send billions of dollars of our hard-earned wealth to other countries every month -- including countries in dangerous and unstable regions. In other words, our continued dependence on fossil fuels will jeopardize our national security. It will smother our planet. And it will continue to put our economy and our environment at risk.
"... The time has come, once and for all, for this nation to fully embrace a clean energy future. Now, that means continuing our unprecedented effort to make everything from our homes and businesses to our cars and trucks more energy-efficient. It means tapping into our natural gas reserves, and moving ahead with our plan to expand our nation’s fleet of nuclear power plants. It means rolling back billions of dollars of tax breaks to oil companies so we can prioritize investments in clean energy research and development.
But the only way the transition to clean energy will ultimately succeed is if the private sector is fully invested in this future -- if capital comes off the sidelines and the ingenuity of our entrepreneurs is unleashed. And the only way to do that is by finally putting a price on carbon pollution.
No, many businesses have already embraced this idea because it provides a level of certainty about the future. And for those that face transition costs, we can help them adjust. But if we refuse to take into account the full costs of our fossil fuel addiction -- if we don’t factor in the environmental costs and the national security costs and the true economic costs -- we will have missed our best chance to seize a clean energy future.
The House of Representatives has already passed a comprehensive energy and climate bill, and there is currently a plan in the Senate -- a plan that was developed with ideas from Democrats and Republicans -- that would achieve the same goal. ... I will continue to make the case for a clean energy future wherever and whenever I can. I will work with anyone to get this done -- and we will get it done.
For the full speech, go to www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-economy-carnegie-mellon-university
June 2 - Computer model shows possible route of oil from the Gulf of Mexico reaching the East Coast
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/03/oil-could-reach-atlantic-coasts/?ref=science
National
Thanks to Gail Karlsson, Citizens Network for Sustainable Development (CitNet) for the postings below
New Report on Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States
The report compiles years of scientific research and presents a consensus of 13 agencies, plus several major universities and research institutes, on the conclusion that climate change is already having visible impacts in the United States, and that the choices we make now will determine the severity of its impacts in the future. “This new report integrates the most up-to-date scientific findings into a comprehensive picture of the ongoing as well as expected future impacts of heat-trapping pollution on the climate experienced by Americans, region by region and sector by sector,” said John P. Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. “It tells us why remedial action is needed sooner rather than later, as well as showing why that action must include both global emissions reductions to reduce the extent of climate change and local adaptation measures to reduce the damage from the changes that are no longer avoidable.” http://www.globalchange.gov/
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Oil Industry Anti-Climate Rallies
Taking a cue from angry town hall meetings on the Obama Administration’s health care restructuring, the oil industry is helping to organize anti-climate legislation rallies around the nation. The American Petroleum Institute, along with other organizations opposed to the Waxman-Markey bill, is funding rallies across 20 states over the August recess (not in NY). http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/
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US Agencies to Cut Emissions
A draft executive order from President Obama on federal energy use will ask US agencies to cut greenhouse gas emissions 20% from 2010 levels by 2020. http://communities.
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California climate adaptation plan
To minimize the potential damage from climate change, a new report recommends that cities and counties offer incentives to encourage property owners in high-risk areas to relocate and limit future development in places that might be affected by flooding, coastal erosion and sea level rise. State agencies also should not plan, permit, develop or build any structure that might require protection in the future. http://www.google.com/
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Tracks the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's progress
http://www.recovery.gov/
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Who Are the Players? The White House Team and Climate Change/Energy
www.WhiteHouse.Gov
- Carol Browner – Leader, Energy and Environment Team
- Former head of Clinton's EPA
- Steven Chu – Director, Department of Energy
- Nobel prize-winning physicist, green energy researcher
- Lisa Jackson – Administrator of EPA
- Tom Vilsack – Secretary, Department of Agriculture
- Nancy Sutley – Member, Council on Environmental Quality
- Karen Mills – Administrator, Small Business Association
- John Holdren – Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy
A Summary: The New Energy for America Plan
http://my.barackobama.com/
"The Obama-Biden comprehensive New Energy for America plan will:
- Help create five million new jobs by strategically investing $150 billion over the next ten years to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future.
- Within 10 years save more oil than we currently import from the Middle East and Venezuela combined.
- Put 1 million Plug-In Hybrid cars -- cars that can get up to 150 miles per gallon -- on the road by 2015, cars that we will work to make sure are built here in America.
- Ensure 10 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025.
- Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050."
- Obama's approach addresses the problem cited by skeptics that pro-environment decisions can cost jobs.
- Obama's campaign made environmental and economic promises to create domestic green collar jobs, with federal private and local money to:
- Promote renewable energy sources, R + D and location-specific construction (wind in Wisconsin, solar in Nevada, geothermal, biofuels, nuclear, clean coal)
- Build hybrid cars, re-tool auto factories so they can build small cars
- Reduce electricity use, like California, and promote efficient use of the energy we do use, in old and new plants, appliances, and buildings
http://www.businessgreen.com/
"Environment America, a federation of state-based, environmental advocacy organizations, analyzed the final bill and said there were $32.80bn in funding for clean energy projects, $26.86bn for energy efficiency initiatives and $18.95bn for green transportation, giving a total of $78.61bn directly earmarked for green projects."
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Energy News: Federal Solar Tax Credits Extended for 8 Years, US Poised to Become Largest Solar Market in the World
Thanks to Manhattan and Staten Island Energy $mart Communities Newsletter for the information below
When Congress passed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, designed to address the U.S. financial crisis, it also enacted the most significant federal policy ever for the solar industry. "This long-term extension of the solar tax credits will create a domestic solar industry with hundreds of thousands of jobs while providing clean, affordable, carbon-free energy to millions of American families, businesses, and communities," said Solar Energy Industries Association president Rhone Resch. "By 2016, we expect solar energy to be the least expensive source of electricity for consumers."
The solar investment tax credit (ITC) provisions will:
· Extend for 8 years the 30-percent tax credit for both residential and commercial solar installations;
· Eliminate the $2,000 monetary cap for residential solar electric installations, creating a true 30-percent tax credit (effective for property placed in service after December 31, 2008);
· Eliminate the prohibition on utilities from benefiting from the credit;
· Allow Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) filers, both businesses and individuals, to take the credit;
· Authorize $800 million for clean energy bonds for renewable energy generating facilities, including solar.
Send suggestions to the Obama transition team at change.gov
Thanks to Gail Karlsson at Citizens Network for Sustainable Development (CitNet) for the policy updates belowOn October 3, the US House of Representatives finally passed the extension of federal renewable energy tax credits, tucked into the authorization for the $700 billion financial industry bailout package. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/
Thanks to Gail Karlsson at Citizens Network for Sustainable Development (CitNet) for the policy updates below
The Environmental Protection Agency released an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) regarding potential regulations of greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, which calls for several months of public comment and consideration before any further action is taken, essentially delaying action until after the Bush administration leaves office. The administrator of the White House Office of Management and Budget's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs wrote that: "the Clean Air Act is a deeply flawed and unsuitable vehicle for reducing greenhouse gas emissions." http://www.truthout.org:80/article/white-house-disavows-epa-plan-emissions The ANPR was released in belated response to the April 2007 Supreme Court ruling stating that the EPA must consider carbon dioxide a pollutant under the Clean Air Act if human health and welfare are being harmed by greenhouse gas pollution.
The EPA also released its report detailing climate change impacts on health, including increased disease-carrying insect populations, more pollen contributing to worsened allergies, and increases in smog-related respiratory illness and lung disease. Technical Support Document for Endangerment Analysis for Greenhouse Gas Emissions under the Clean Air Act, June 21, 2008, http://www.edf.org/documents/8084_EPA-HQ-OAR_080622.pdf
