Leadership
Big Sur Bohemian Club Action Pledge
Composite picture of planetary ground lighting at night seen from space, courtesy NASA
I PLEDGE
1. To demand that my country join an international treaty within the next 2 years that cuts global warming pollution by 90% in developed countries & by more than half worldwide in time for the next generation to inherit a healthy earth
2. To take personal action to help solve the climate crisis by reducing my own carbon dioxide pollution as much as I can & offsetting the rest to become carbon neutral
3. To fight for a moratorium on the construction of any new generating facility that burns coal without the capacity to safely trap & store the carbon dioxide
4. To work for a dramatic increase in energy efficiency of my home, workplace, school, place of worship & means of transportation
5. To fight for laws and policies that expand the use of renewable energy sources & reduce dependence on oil and coal;
6. To plant new trees and to join with others in preserving and protecting forests;
7. To buy from businesses and support leaders who share my commitment to solving the climate crisis & building a sustainable, just, & prosperous world for the 21st century
Please check out the source: Live Earth
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Something I recently received:
Greetings! You are among 5500 individuals and 60 teachers from all traditions who joined the Dalai Lama in signing the Buddhist Declaration on Climate Change.
We are happy to announce the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) will present the Declaration and signatories to world leaders at the CopenhagenClimate Conference, December 7-18th. You may be interested to look at the analysis of signatories by country and affiliation. Others can still sign the Declaration.
www.ecobuddhism.org continues to attract visitors from across the world—over 1.25 million in the last 12 months. You will find informed new articles and updates in the lead-up to COP-15…and beyond. We will continue to examine the challenge and opportunity of the climate crisis, in the light of integral, contemplative activism.
A Buddhist Response to the Climate Emergency is a primer for the development of a pan-Buddhist policy for a safe-climate future. The book contains 60% new material not found on any website. Please consider purchasing a copy from Wisdom Publications, Snow Lion, Amazon or other online booksellers.
With our sincere thanks for supporting the Declaration,
The Buddhist Climate Project team
ecobuddhism@gmail.com
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Those who win, write history. What will history look like in ten years?- Bohemian's blog
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Summary of the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act- S. 1733.
Summary of the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act - S. 1733
November 2009
The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, in an 11-1 vote (with only Democrats voting) taken on November 5, 2009, approved The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (S. 1733). The bill that passed out of committee is a slightly revised version of the Chairman’s Mark which had been introduced in late October. Important final changes included designating the Department of Agriculture as the lead agency for regulating offsets from the forestry and agricultural sectors, and limiting the scope of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority under the Clean Air Act in certain areas. The committee-passed Kerry-Boxer bill includes the details on the distribution of greenhouse gas emission allowances and other provisions, but continues to have placeholders for important issues such as international trade measures and carbon market oversight which are likely to be taken up by other committees. Like the early drafts, the final committee bill draws heavily from the climate provisions of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (Waxman-Markey bill) passed by the House of Representatives on June 26, 2009, but continues to differ in several important areas (e.g., 2020 reduction target and preemption of certain aspects of EPA regulatory authority). In addition, while the House bill is a comprehensive clean energy and climate bill, the Kerry-Boxer bill focuses primarily on reducing U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Earlier this year, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which has jurisdiction over most energy issues, passed a comprehensive energy bill (American Clean Energy Leadership Act of 2009) that corresponds with some of the energy policy provisions contained in the House bill. The Kerry-Boxer bill should be viewed as an important starting point for Senate deliberations. Further work by other Senate committees of jurisdiction, and by other interested Senators will likely modify some aspects of what was passed and fill in some of the unaddressed issues. Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) is expected to combine the various elements into a bill to be brought before the Senate sometime in the coming months.
The following describes key aspects of the committee-passed bill (Kerry-Boxer bill) with specific attention to the sections that expand on earlier versions of the Kerry-Boxer bill or those that differ from the House bill.
Overview
The goal of the Kerry-Boxer bill is “to create clean energy jobs, promote energy independence, reduce global warming pollution, and transition to a clean energy economy.” The core of the bill creates a “Pollution Reduction and Investment” program aimed at setting up an economy-wide, market-based program for reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). Businesses covered by this program would be required to hold enough GHG emission allowances to match their emissions. The bill also contains complementary measures including: targeted emission standards; support for research, development and deployment of low carbon energy alternatives; and expanded programs to increase energy and water efficiency. Finally, the bill includes provisions intended to ease the transition to a clean energy economy by protecting consumers, workers, and energy-intensive industries from the impact of higher energy costs.
Scope of Coverage
The Kerry-Boxer bill covers the same seven GHGs identified in the House bill: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride, and nitrogen trifluoride. Entities covered by the bill include large stationary sources with annual GHG emissions over 25,000 tons, producers and importers of petroleum fuels, distributors of natural gas, producers of hydrofluorocarbon gases, and other specified large sources. Approximately 85 percent of national greenhouse gas emissions are covered under the cap. Hydrofluorocarbons are covered by a separate cap and emissions from perfluorocarbon production may also be regulated separately based on a future decision delegated to EPA. The bill also calls for a decision by EPA on whether additional domestic regulations on black carbon are warranted.
Targets
The Senate bill sets a more stringent 20 percent reduction target for sources covered under the cap from 2005 levels in 2020 compared to the 17 percent reduction in the House bill. The other targets are the same: a 3 percent reduction from 2005 levels in 2012; 42 percent reduction in 2030; and an 83 percent reduction in 2050.
Distribution of Allowances
The bill that passed the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee provides detailed information on how allowances are to be distributed. While most of the purposes to which allowance value is dedicated, most of the entities receiving allowances, and most of the amounts they receive are similar to the House-passed bill, a few differences are worth noting. Similar to the House bill, allowances are allocated to electricity (35 percent) and natural gas local distribution companies (9 percent) and to states for home heating oil and propane users (1.5 percent) expressly for the purposes of benefiting residential, commercial and industrial consumers. Free allocation of allowance value is also provided to refineries and to energy-intensive, trade-exposed industries to prevent “carbon leakage” – the migration of industries (and their emissions) to countries without similar GHG mitigation programs. (The bill includes placeholder language that indicates the Senate’s intention to also address “carbon leakage” through some form of border measure on energy-intensive imports.)
To further ease the transition to a low carbon economy, allowance value is provided to support deployment of carbon capture and storage technology; to fund energy efficiency and renewable programs by states; to finance transportation programs, clean vehicle, and advanced energy technologies; to support programs to train workers for the nuclear industry; and to support worker transition and training for those dislocated by the shift to low carbon energy. In addition, allowance value is used to recognize early action to reduce GHG emissions, to support a program to create supplemental domestic agriculture and forestry reductions, to supply allowances for the Market Stability Reserve (see Cost Containment, below), to fund domestic and international adaptation programs, to support international clean technology programs, and for reduced deforestation in developing countries. The bill designates allowance value for energy refunds for low and moderate income households and establishes rebates for all energy consumers beginning in 2026. Unlike the House bill, this bill provides allowance value to support transportation planning programs, building code enforcement, water efficiency programs, and training for workers in the nuclear power industry. It also differs from the House bill in that it calls for initially auctioning 10 percent of allowances annually (increasing to 25 percent by 2040) specifically for the purpose of making sure the bill does not add to the budget deficit. Distribution of allowance value for all other purposes would occur after these allowances are set aside from the total.
Cost Containment and Offsets
The EPW-passed bill includes measures aimed at reducing the costs of compliance and minimizing allowance price volatility. Like the House bill, it provides for a two-year rolling compliance period, unlimited banking of unused allowances, and limited borrowing (with restrictions on the amount and time period with the payment of interest). Also like the House bill, it allows for the use of 2 billion tons of qualified offsets annually, but divides this amount differently, with three quarters allowable from domestic sources (1.5 billion) and one-quarter (500 million) from international sources. However, if domestic supplies of offsets prove inadequate, an additional 750 million tons from international sources (1.25 billion tons total) can be used to reach the total of 2 billion tons annually. The bill gives authority for managing the offset program to the President, but in its latest version designates the Dept. of Agriculture with responsibility for implementing any offsets related to forestry and agriculture.
The bill creates a Market Stability Reserve (“reserve”), from which allowances would be auctioned to covered entities if allowance prices exceed a designated threshold. The reserve would be stocked with allowances borrowed from future years (larger quantities are designated as supply for the reserve than were included in the House bill) and would be replenished with domestic and international forestry offsets purchased with reserve auction revenue. The minimum threshold price triggering these auctions would initially be set at $28 per ton (in 2005 constant dollars), but would increase each year by a certain percentage (5 percent through 2017 and 7percent thereafter) over the previous year’s reserve auction price plus inflation.
Complementary Policies
In addition to establishing the GHG Pollution Reduction and Investment program described above, the Kerry-Boxer bill seeks to supplement measures contained in the clean energy bill that has been approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. It provides support for:
- Deployment of carbon capture and storage technology through a ten-year program funded through wire charges, bonus allowances for early deployment projects, and allowance value designated through 2050 for further deployment;
- Expansion of nuclear technology by establishing research and development programs for waste management and to safeguard aging existing power plants, and a program to train workers in the nuclear industry;
- Expansion of electricity generation using natural gas and RD&D for advanced, low-emitting natural gas end uses, such as natural gas use coupled with carbon capture and storage; and
- Expanded funding for programs for state energy efficiency initiatives, and building code and retrofit programs.
In addition, the bill requires performance standards for newly constructed coal-fired power plants to require carbon capture and storage technologies once the technology has been adequately demonstrated. It also requires GHG standards for heavy duty and other vehicles and engines to complement the recent EPA proposal for greater fuel efficiency from light duty vehicles. The bill includes a 6-year moratorium (2012 through 2017) on states imposing their own GHG cap-and-trade programs. Unlike the House bill, it does not preempt EPA from requiring performance standards on new and existing stationary sources, but it does delay until 2020 any EPA standards on sources that are outside the cap but that could supply domestic offsets (e.g., landfill and coal mine methane). It also now specifically exempts greenhouse gases from being regulated under a national ambient air quality standard or as hazardous air pollutants and sets the threshold for new source review and Title V permitting at 25,000 tons per year (similar to EPA’s recently proposed “tailoring” rule).
Click here for a more detailed summary of the bill (PDF).
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Pew Center on Climate Change
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Senate Legislation: Access our resources of the Kerry-Boxer climate and clean energy bill. (October 2009)
Post-2012 Climate Agreement: A new series of briefs addresses the key issues of verification and comparability in the global climate change negotiations. (October 2009)
For more on the outlook for a post-2012 climate agreement, read Eileen Claussen's testimony before Congress. (November 4, 2009)
Climate Adaptation: In testimony before Congress, Steve Seidel details actions the federal government should take to help the U.S. effectively adapt to climate change. (October 2009)
Business Leaders: Daimler joins the Pew Center's Business Environmental Leadership Council (BELC). (October 2009)
Climate Policy Outlook: Eileen Claussen discusses the domestic outlook for climate legislation and progress on the international scene. (September 29, 2009)
Copenhagen: The Pew Center outlines its vision for a Copenhagen climate agreement. (September 2009)
National Security: Experts warn that climate change represents a real threat to American security. A new Pew Center memo looks at these national security implications.
Landmark Climate Legislation: Find the bill summary and fact sheets on specific provisions in the Waxman-Markey clean energy and climate bill that passed the House of Representatives.
Key Resources
- In Brief: What Pending Climate Legislation Does for Nuclear Power
- In Brief: What the ACES Act Does for Coal
- Policy Memo: Eight Myths about the ACES Act
Impacting Corporate America: A customized carbon calculator and interactive website highlight the Make an Impact campaign, a newly-launched partnership between the Pew Center and the Alcoa Foundation.
Pew Center Initiatives
Climate Briefing Videos
Climate TechBook
Communicating Climate Change
Policy Briefs
U.S. Climate Legislation
Post-2012 International Framework
Adaptation
Coal Initiative Series
Corporate Strategies
State Climate Action Maps - Bohemian's blog
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TED: Riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world.
Now available in العربية, Deutsch, हिन्दी, ไทย, Русский, and more …. More about the TED Open Translation Project.
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Googles CEO, Eric Schmidt, shows enthusiastic support for Smart Grid
Eric Schmidt has been a long time supporter of the Smart Grid, part of Obama's Energy Bill:
I’m delighted to announce that Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt has agreed to speak at our GreenBeat event on Nov. 19, which focuses on the overhaul of our nation’s electrical grid.
Schmidt has been a vocal proponent of our nation’s need to invest in a cleaner, more efficient electrical grid, arguing that it part of a “second industrial revolution” that, if done properly, will create jobs and new industry.
In fact, Google has emerged as an aggressive player on the grid in its own right. It recently launched PowerMeter, a tool for consumers to gauge the amount of energy their various household devices are using with a central, online dashboard. In the U.S, you can get PowerMeter easily by buying the $200 device called TED 5000 (manufactured by Energy Inc.). The device is so popular that it is back-ordered right now (we’re trying to get one, and will let you know what it’s like. The home energy management system is rolling out to thousands of households this year. You can also get it in the U.K., by buying anAlertMe system).
Schmidt’s support for investments in the nation’s energy infrastructure comes at a crucial time. A majority of scientists say it urgent for us to shift our energy reliance from carbon-based sources to renewable sources, but theU.S. Congress appears to be stalling on legislation that would push this forward, blocked by special interests. Sadly, many U.S. states, represented by both democrats and republicans have businesses and utilities that rely on fossil fuels for their main energy supply or significant revenues. They fear a shift would hurt their businesses.
Schmidt has been avidly supporting the Obama administration’s smart grid initiatives over the past few weeks, for example going on MSN, and saying that such support is a big deal because our existing grid was built in the 1950s and 1960s and it’s important that we upgrade it for the digital economy — especially now that we’re moving to a two-way grid that allows people to feed their own solar and wind-generated power back to the grid. More sophisticated communications are needed for this. He also invited Energy Secretary Steve Chu to speak at Google last week (see video below). Google is seen as such a formidable player in the space that Chu chose it as his venue to announce $151 million in grants for global warming projects.
We recently covered Schmidt’s argument that in fact, the cost of legislative measures will be relatively minor, and the benefits huge. Schmidt uses California as an example: It leads the nation in efficiency, has established strong renewable energy requirements, and decoupled utility revenue from how much power customers use (giving utilities an interest in helping people conserve). As a result, consumers and businesses alike have redirected their energy spending to other goods and services, creating more than a million jobs with a payroll of more than $45 billion, according to Schmidt. (See Schmidt’s column written with his wife Wendy, here.)
The California Air Resources Board, the agency responsible for implementing a law that will reduce California greenhouse emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, predicts $33 billion in increased economic production as a result of the policy, Schmidt noted. In addition, the state’s gross product will increase by $7 billion, and personal income will grow by $16 billion.
By the way, you can get early-bird discount tickets for GreenBeat here, until Nov. 5.
Here’s that video of Chu at Google:
VentureBeat is hosting GreenBeat, the seminal executive conference on the Smart Grid, on Nov. 18-19, featuring keynotes from Nobel Prize winner Al Gore and Kleiner Perkins’ John Doerr. Get your discounted early-bird tickets before Nov. 5 atGreenBeat2009.com.
Next Story: Ford drops Smith, picks up Azure for all-electric van batteries
Previous Story: Boxer pushes Climate Bill forward, whether the GOP likes it or not
http://green.venturebeat.com/2009/11/02/newest-greenbeat-speaker-google-ceo-eric-schmidt/
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Obama's energy bill
Here are a few comments by the Chicago Tribune on Obama's Energy bill:
Obama: Energy bill 'extraordinary' step
The president voices reservations, however, about a tariff proposed.Posted June 28, 2009 5:55 PM
by Jim Tankersley
President Obama this afternoon called a House-passed energy bill "an extraordinary first step" toward curing global warming and reducing fossil fuels, but he expressed reservations about a controversial provision that would slap tariffs on imports from countries that do not similarly crack down on greenhouse gas emissions.
Meeting with energy reporters in the Oval Office, Obama predicted the energy bill, approved in a narrow vote on Friday, would spark a wave of innovation and job-creation, and that its costs to consumers would ultimately fall well short of critics' warnings. "What seems contentious now is going to seem like common sense in hindsight," he said.
The House bill sets a declining cap on the greenhouse gas emissions scientists blame for global warming. Power plants, factories and other major emitters would need to obtain permits for their emissions or buy "offsets," such as newly planted trees, that reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
The bill also includes strict energy efficiency standards and requirements for wind, solar and other renewable electricity use nationwide.
After factoring in that bill, strict new vehicle fuel standards he announced in May and hundreds of billions of dollars in energy-related spending packed into the economic stimulus, Obama boasted, "over the first six months" of his administration, "we've seen more action on shifting ourselves away from our dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels than at any time in several decades."
"If you had asked people six months ago or even six weeks ago for that matter if you could get an energy bill with the scope of the one we saw Friday through the House," he said, "people would have said no way."
The president said the bill would be a "blueprint" for moving a companion measure quickly through the Senate, where any proposal must navigate concerns from more than a dozen Democrats who hail from oil, coal or manufacturing-heavy states.
He said he expected the bill to be altered in the Senate but offered few specifics about changes he would like to see. But he did not hesitate when asked if he supported a controversial provision, inserted late in the House debate, that seeks to penalize imports from nations that fail to cut their emissions in step with the United States.
"At a time when the economy worldwide is still deep in recession and we've seen a significant drop in global trade, I think we have to be very careful about sending any protectionist signals," Obama said.
He noted other provisions in the bill meant to defend U.S. manufacturers - and their employees - from lower-cost foreign competition from coal-reliant developing nations such as China and India, and added "I am very mindful of wanting to make sure there is a level playing field internationally. I think there may be other ways to do it than with a tariff approach."
Republicans in the House attacked the bill last week as an energy tax that could devastate U.S. families and cost Democrats politically. The Senate's top Republican signaled on "Fox News Sunday" this morning that his caucus will pick up the chorus.
"It's going to cost jobs," said Mitch McDonnell of Kentucky, the Senate Republican Leader. "Obviously it will. It's going to increase the business of living in America. We all depend on electricity... I don't think putting clamps on our economy when you know the Chinese and the Indians are not going to do it is a good idea."
Obama dismissed those attacks. He recalled similar warnings that the Clean Air Act and a national acid rain program would send costs soaring and kill jobs - warnings, he said, that turned out to be false,
He castigated opponents for "lying" about cost projections and "scaring the bejeezus" out of voters, and accused Republicans of being stuck in a 1990s-era debate on energy when the American people "have moved forward" with concerns about climate change and hope for renewable power.
"Everyone I talk to," Obama said, echoing his chief selling point for the energy bill, "when they think about how are we going to drive this economy forward, post-bubble, keeps on pointing to the opportunities for us to transition to a clean-energy economy as a driver of economic growth."
Obama also acknowledged concerns from the other end of the political spectrum: Environmental groups and foreign governments who have criticized the House measure for not doing enough to prevent potentially catastrophic warming, because of its concessions - in emissions reduction targets and in allocating most emissions permits for free initially - to win industry support.
"The final legislation, when it emerges, is probably not going to satisfy the Europeans or Greenpeace," he said. He also said putting a "realistic" warming framework in place would "change the political conversation and the incentive structure for businesses in this country."
"Finding the right balance between providing new incentives to businesses but not giving away the store is always an art, it's not a science," Obama said. "It's never precise. But on balance, what you have with this legislation is a bill that business can embrace but is tough enough that by 2020, you will see a significant reduction in carbon emissions. You're going to see the kind of certainty that the wind industry and the solar industry and the biomass industry has been hungry for. You're going to see farmers making some very concrete decisions about reforestation and tillage and putting windmills on their acreage that are going to have huge benefits for rural communities."
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DC Legislation PASSED!
The Anacostia River Cleanup and Protection Act of 2009 PASSED!
The Committee of the Whole approved the Committee Report on B18-150, the Anacostia River Cleanup and Protection Act of 2009 without question or discussion.
We still have a second and final vote in two weeks; however, since it was unanimous, it's going through. Please thank all council members involved for passing this bill.
www.TrashFreeAnacostia.com
What does the Anacostia River Cleanup and Protection Act of 2009 do?
* Place a 5-cent fee, paid by consumer, on all disposable recyclable plastic and paper carryout bags from Retail Food Establishment license holders (including grocery stores, food vendors, convenience stores, drug stores, restaurants) and Class A & B liquor licensees.
* Ban non-recyclable plastic carryout bags.
* Require that if a plastic carryout bag is offered, that it must be recyclable and clearly labeled as such.
* The retail establishment will get 1 cent of fee returned tax exempt to the retailer.
* Retailers who choose to offer a carryout bag credit program will retain an additional cent, for a total of 2 cents per bag.
* The remaining fee per bag will be deposited into a new Anacostia River Cleanup & Protection Fund.
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