HOUSTON, Texas, October 24, 2008 (ENS) – Houston is about to become the first U.S. city to retrofit municipal buildings to reduce energy and water consumption as part of the Clinton Climate Initiative. The energy efficiency improvements are projected to save enough electricity annually to create millions of dollars in savings and lower greenhouse gas emissions from America’s fourth largest city.

The project also will focus on making emergency response facilities disaster-resistant and passively survivable, strengthening the buildings’ capacity to maintain critical life-support conditions in the event of extended loss of power, heating fuel, or water, or in the event of extraordinary heat spells.

The Clinton Climate Initiative’s Energy Efficiency Building Retrofit program brings together some of the world’s largest energy service companies, financial institutions, and cities to reduce energy consumption in existing buildings.

Houston City Hall is among the buildings
to receive a retrofit. (Photo credit unknown)

“We’re committed to making these changes and institutionalizing best sustainability practices in the way the city of Houston operates,” says Mayor Bill White. “It will improve our quality of life, protect the environment, save us money, and it’s simply the right thing to do.”

Siemens Building Technologies has been awarded a contract to retrofit some 5.5 million square feet of city facilities.

“Siemens applauds Houston’s effort in partnership with CCI,” says George Nolen, president of Siemens USA. “We are committed to bringing the full depth of our experience, project management and technology to help Houston attain its goals in environmental protection.”

Siemens engineers and technicians will analyze a range of sustainable and green initiatives to find the best ways to conserve energy and reduce greenhouse gases.

“Our first priority will be to consider what improvements can be made to the City of Houston’s 271 facilities, addressing energy efficiency, conservation and operational cost reductions,” said engineer Issa Dadoush, director for the City of Houston’s General Services Department.

Siemens and the City of Houston have just finished the third phase of an extensive multi-million dollar demand-side interior lighting retrofit program which helped the city avoid using some 5,320,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually. This allowed Houston officials to receive more than $250,000 in rebate dollars from the local utility, CenterPoint Energy.

The interior lighting retrofit program alone resulted in enough annual electricity savings to avoid the equivalent of emitting 2,642 tons per year of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Siemens will also be busy retrofitting the majority of Houston’s traffic signals with energy efficient light-emitting diode, LED, lamps under a new contract with the Department of Public Works.

“We are doing many things throughout the city to manage our costs and save energy,” said Mayor White. “Replacing traffic signals with LED lights, for example, will end up saving us millions of dollars.”

In the 2007 State of the City address, Mayor White challenged the business community to join the city government in slowing energy consumption over the next three years.

“Our goal is to make Houston the energy conservation capital of the world,” the mayor said. “It makes good business sense.”

View This Story On Eco–mmunity Map.

SACRAMENTO, California, September 23, 2008 (ENS) – The Western Climate Initiative governments today announced the design of their new regional market-based cap-and-trade program. The emissions trading program is intended to reduce climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.

The program recommendations met with support from environmental groups and criticism from the coal industry.

The WCI partners say the program is expected to encourage growth in new green technologies, help build a strong clean energy economy, and reduce dependence on foreign oil.

The cap-and-trade program is one element of a regional effort by the governors and premiers of U.S. states and Canadian provinces to promote environmental sustainability and economic growth by reducing greenhouse gas emissions

The partner governments include seven U.S. states: Arizona, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Quebec, Utah, and Washington; and four Canadian provinces: British Columbia and Manitoba in the west, and Ontario and Quebec in the east.

Together, the seven states and four provinces represent over 70 percent of the Canadian economy and 20 percent of the U.S. economy.

The carbon reduction strategy will cover nearly 90 percent of the region’s emissions, including those from electricity, industry, transportation, and residential and commercial fuel use.

The coal-fired Hunter power plant in Utah
emits greenhouse gases into the
atmosphere. (Photo by Utah
Geological Survey)

The cap-and-trade program will require emitters to cut their pollution by setting a limit, or cap, on emissions and then allowing the market to identify the least costly ways to achieve the limit.

Through collaboration and consultation with stakeholders, the partner governments decided to recommend reducing air pollutants, diversifying energy sources, and advancing economic, environmental, and public health objectives while avoiding localized or disproportionate environmental or economic impacts.

The Western Climate Initiative partner governments have agreed to begin reporting emissions in 2011 for emissions that occur in 2010.

The first phase of the cap-and-trade program will begin on January 1, 2012, with a three-year compliance period.

The second phase will begin in 2015, when the program is expanded to include transportation fuels and residential, commercial and industrial fuels not already covered in the first phase.

“This landmark action by a diverse coalition of Democratic and Republican governors as well as Canadian premiers is a powerful signal to the world that now is the time for dramatic action to stem global warming,” said Derek Walker, director of the California Climate Initiative at Environmental Defense Fund. “This bold leadership will strengthen California’s economy and make the region a hub of clean technology and green job growth.”

Ontario’s coal-fired Lambton power plant
(Photo courtesy Ontario Power Generation)

Other environmentalists were pleased, but warned that many details have yet to be worked out, including whether emissions allowances are given to polluters for free, or whether they are auctioned off with the revenues spent in the public interest.

The agreement unveiled today requires that, at least, 25 percent of the allowances be auctioned by 2020 and encourages states to go further.

“The smartest, cheapest way to tackle global warming is to make companies pay for every ton of pollution and use the revenue to ease the transition to a clean energy economy,” said Jeremiah Baumann, an advocate for Environment Oregon.

“This will prevent windfall profits, save consumers money and accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy,” he said. “We look forward to working with state officials to pursue that goal.”

The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, an industry association, today expressed concern about the regional nature of the Western Climate Initiative cap-and-trade program.

“By focusing on such programs, there is a strong chance the state and/or regional mandates will conflict with future federal mandates, in essence double taxing states where local mandates reside. This would result in increased economic hardship for working families and businesses in WCI states,” said the coalition.

“There are better ways states and regions can continue environmental progress and address climate change concerns without harming the economy,” the coalition stated.

“Such strategies include increasing energy efficiency programs and funding advanced clean coal technology that can achieve real and measurable reductions in greenhouse gas emissions without putting western states’ economies at risk.”

The coalition supports “the timely adoption of a mandatory federal program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

The coal coalition says that investments in technology are “the only way to ensure that mandatory emissions reduction programs do not come at the expense of reducing energy security or making residential and business customers to pay unnecessarily higher costs for energy.”

To read the Western Climate Initiative emissions trading recommendations, click here [www.westernclimateinitiative.org].

View This Story On Eco–mmunity Map.

HOLLYWOOD, California, August 14, 2008 (ENS) – At the opening of the annual U.S.-Mexico Border Governors Conference Thursday at Universal Studios in Hollywood, host California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said he felt right at home.

“I actually started my movie career right here at Universal Studios,” he told his nine fellow governors. “It was Universal Studios that started the Conan the Barbarian movie.” The 1982 movie is recognized as the acting breakthrough of then bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger, an Austrian immigrant.

As host of the Border Governors Conference, Schwarzenegger used his keynote speech to expound on the theme of this year’s conference, Building Green Economies.

To help fight global warming, he pointed out, the Mexican border states have joined the Western Climate Initiative. They hold status as observers and so are not bound by the goal set by the WCI in August 2007 for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in its 11 member states in the west and in Canadian provinces that now extend as far east as Quebec.

In Hollywood today, Mexico’s top environmental official Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada, who heads the Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources, proposed the creation of state climate change plans to deal with the environmental impacts of global warming in a coordinated way.

He said the environmental agreement that Mexico signed recently with the state of California could be applied all along the border strip.

It would include greenhouse gas emissions inventories at the local, state and regional levels, and, said the Mexican secretary, the states south of the border could adopt California’s low-carbon air quality standard.

In addition, he suggested the establishment of 15 crossborder pollution control districts and also proposed building desalination plants in coastal areas to ensure drinking water supplies for the arid region.

Polluted stream rimmed with piles of
discarded tires at a border town
near San Diego. (Photo courtesy
San Diego Indymedia)

The California governor praised his colleagues for their work with the federal governments to tackle the problem of millions of abandoned scrap tires that pose a public health and environmental risk, “and we have begun discussions on managing water resources during drought conditions,” said Schwarzenegger.

“You see, these are important breakthroughs and they build on our history of friendship and accomplishment,” he said.

The 10 border states – Arizona, Baja California, California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, New Mexico, Sonora, Tamaulipas, and Texas – together exercise an economy that ranks third in the world for size.

Schwarzenegger praised his fellow governors for helping to create the Border 2012 program, a collaboration between the United States and Mexico to improve the environment and protect the health of the nearly 12 million people living along the border.

The bi-national program focuses on emergency preparedness, cleaning the air, providing safe drinking water, reducing the risk of exposure to hazardous waste, and addressing environmental health issues such as farm workers’ exposure to pesticides.

The conference ends Friday, but cooperation will continue. The United States and Mexico have been cooperating on a broad range of environmental issues since 1983.

“Now, our work is complicated, it’s never-ending and it requires constant coordination and collaboration,” said Swarzenegger. “But this organization has shown time and time again that it is ready to rise to any challenge.”

View This Story On Eco–mmunity Map.

SACRAMENTO, California, June 29, 2008 (ENS) – By the year 2020, California utilities will produce a third of their energy from renewable sources such as wind, solar and geothermal, under a draft plan to address climate change released Thursday by the California Air Resources Board.

Overall, the Climate Change Draft Scoping Plan aims to reduce California’s greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent over the next 12 years. to accomplish this goal, the plan utilizes both new and existing measures and is designed with strong elements of monitoring and enforcement.

“With the release of this draft scoping plan, California is once again blazing a trail to lead other states and the nation to address climate change,” said Mary Nichols, chairman of the Air Resources Board. “Our economy and our society face no greater threat than global warming.”

Development of the Scoping Plan is a central requirement of the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 that requires California to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

Central to the draft plan is a cap-and-trade program covering 85 percent of the state’s emissions of carbon dioxide, the most prevalent greenhouse gas.

This program will be developed in conjunction with the Western Climate Initiative [www.westernclimateinitiative.org] to create a regional carbon market among seven states and three Canadian provinces.

The draft plan calls for full implementation of the California Clean Car law to provide less polluting and more efficient cars and trucks to consumers who will save on operating costs through reduced fuel use.

Under the federal Clean Air Act, this state law requires a waiver of less stringent federal standards by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which to date has refused to grant the waiver. Nor has Congress passed any legislation that would allow California to implement the fuel economy provisions of the Clean Car law.

The draft plan also calls for development and implementation of the Low Carbon Fuel Standard [gov.ca.gov], which Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger established by Executive Order in January 2007. It requires that carbon intensity of transportation fuels sold in the state be reduced by at least 10 percent by 2020.

Geothermal power is generated at
The Geysers, which covers 30
square miles in the Mayacamas
Mountains north of San Francisco,
the largest complex of geothermal
power plants in the world.
(Photo courtesy Calpine)

“This draft plan is the roadmap to move us quickly to a cleaner, more sustainable future, energy independence and a healthier environment,” Nichols said. “This plan fulfills the governor’s determination to act now, and it is based on the conviction that Californians will rise to the challenge and develop creative solutions to improve our environment and grow our economy.”

The draft plan encourages improvements to the ways Californians grow and build communities to make more livable, walkable cities, and shorten commutes.

It requres full deployment of the Governor’s Million Solar Roofs initiative, development of high-speed rail transport and a range of regulations to reduce emissions from trucks and from ships docked in California ports.

The draft plan also proposes to expand and strengthen existing energy efficiency programs and building and appliance standards that have saved Californians more than $50 billion over the past 30 years in reduced costs for energy.

It also calls on Californians to make changes to their personal behavior to reduce their carbon footprint through carpooling and simple actions such as adjusting thermostats to use less energy for heating and cooling and water-related energy efficiency measures.

Workshops are planned throughout the state to present the details of the plan to the general public and to allow California Air Resources Board, CARB, staff to hear public comments before writing a final draft.

The Environmental Defense Fund has already expressed its approval of the plan.

Derek Walker, director of the California Climate Initiative at Environmental Defense Fund, said, “The draft scoping plan presents a wide array of tools at California’s disposal to meet the law’s goals. The plan includes a robust, innovative combination of market-based mechanisms and traditional regulatory policies.”

“Between now and the Board’s final approval in November,” said Walker, “we look forward to working with CARB and other stakeholders to expand the recommendations to capture vital, cost-effective emissions reductions from all sectors of California’s economy.”

Once the final draft is prepared, it will go to the California Air Resources Board for consideration in November.

After adoption of the plan, all measures in the plan will be thoroughly vetted and analyzed, with full public input, over the next two years as they move through the regulatory process.

Preliminary economic modeling of the plan indicates that the overall savings from improved efficiency and the development of alternatives to petroleum will on the whole outweigh the costs. The draft plan recommends targeted fees to fund the state’s long-term commitment to AB 32 administration.

To view the Climate Change Draft Scoping Plan, click here [www.arb.ca.gov].

View This Story On Eco–mmunity Map.

CHICAGO, Illinois, March 25, 2008 (ENS) – Chicago’s Merchandise Mart, the largest commercial building in the world, has signed the first project development agreement in the United States under the Clinton Climate Initiative.

Under the agreement to retrofit the huge building with energy-saving technologies announced today, TAC Energy Solutions will reduce the amount of energy used by the Merchandise Mart and the amount of greenhouse gases the building emits. The project is part of the Clinton Climate Initiative’s global Energy Efficiency Building Retrofit Program.

“The businesses and building owners collaborating on energy-saving building retrofits are saving money, making money, creating new jobs, and fighting climate change, all at once,” said former President Bill Clinton.

“I am very pleased that my foundation has been able to accelerate these projects that reduce carbon emissions and increase the use and market for energy efficient technologies around the world,” Clinton said. “Working together, we can save energy, reduce carbon emissions, strengthen the economy, and secure the future.”

Chicago’s Merchandise Mart opened for
business in 1930.
(Photo by J. Crocker)

At 4.2 million square feet, 25 stories tall and spanning two city blocks in downtown Chicago, The Merchandise Mart is a historic landmark building awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED-EB) status from the United States Green Buildings Council last November.

“The changes we have implemented at The Merchandise Mart to achieve our LEED-EB status have not only led to cost savings, but also to a new culture and point of view that permeates throughout our organization,” said Christopher Kennedy, president of Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc.

“By working with the Clinton Climate Initiative and TAC to achieve our energy saving goals, we will ensure that conserving resources continues to define our company and our way of life today,” Kennedy said.

The Energy Solutions division of TAC, an energy services, building automation and security company, is working with The Merchandise Mart in the analysis, design and project development phase of the retrofit project, which will implement a variety of facility improvements and energy-saving measures through a performance contract.

This turnkey method combines the design, construction, commissioning and performance measurement into one guaranteed fixed price.

“TAC is especially honored that The Merchandise Mart has chosen to partner with us for its ongoing efforts in sustainability to augment their LEED certification,” said Wes McDaniel, vice president of TAC Energy Solutions. “They are setting a tremendous example of environmental leadership for the city of Chicago.”

The Clinton Foundation’s Climate Initiative applies a business-oriented approach to fight climate change in practical, measurable ways. Clinton launched the Energy Efficiency Building Retrofit Program last May at the second C40 Large Cities Climate Summit in New York.

This program brings together 10 of the world’s largest energy service companies, six of the world’s largest financial institutions, and many of the world’s largest cities in an effort to reduce energy consumption in existing buildings across the municipal, private, commercial, educational and public housing sectors.

An initial group of 16 of the world’s largest cities has agreed to participate in the retrofit program – Bangkok, Berlin, Chicago, Houston, Johannesburg, Karachi, London, Melbourne, Mexico City, Mumbai, New York, Rome, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Tokyo, and Toronto.

The Clinton Climate Initiative and its partners will assist participating cities with the development of programs to train local workers on the installation and maintenance of energy saving and clean energy products. The U.S. Green Building Council and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers have agreed to help coordinate these programs.

View This Story On Eco–mmunity Map.

NEW YORK, New York, December 10, 2007 (ENS) – New York public housing buildings are getting new, green upgrades for lighting, heating and hot water services at a special low price under the first sustainability partnership between the city of New York, the federal government and the Clinton Climate Initiative.

On Friday, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former President Bill Clinton, and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD, Secretary Alphonso Jackson announced the new partnership at the Eastchester Community Center in the Bronx.

They were joined by Tino Hernandez, who chairs the New York City Housing Authority, NYCHA, the nation’s largest public housing authority with 2,691 residential buildings and more than 180,000 apartments.

“The New York City Housing Authority is home to more than 408,000 low and moderate income residents throughout the five boroughs,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “These energy saving measures will help the Authority save money, and the environmental impact of these measures will result in cleaner, healthier air for the residents living in public housing.”

The Clinton Climate Initiative works to reduce greenhouse gas emissions around the world and in New York City, where Clinton maintains an office in Harlem.
From left: HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson, former President Bill Clinton, Housing Authority head Tino Hernandez, and Mayor Mike Bloomberg (Photo courtesy Office of the Mayor)
“This is a step in the right direction in the fight against climate change that will reduce New York City’s carbon footprint, while saving money for taxpayers and residents at the same time,” Clinton said.

By participating in the partnership, the Housing Authority will be able to buy energy-saving technology and resources at lower prices through a purchasing consortium that the Clinton Climate Initiative has established. The Housing Authority also will receive help with program development to curb the output of greenhouse gas emissions.

New technology and equipment for the residences includes a computerized heating automated system is a software application that allows for the remote monitoring and hands-on management of NYCHA’s 210 large, central heating plants from any Internet-equipped personal computer.

Under the instantaneous hot water heater program, the Housing Authority is replacing aging domestic hot water tanks with energy-efficient instantaneous-steam water heater devices at developments throughout the city. The new heaters reduce fuel consumption, simplify maintenance, and provide safer and more reliable hot water service to residents.

The Housing Authority has been performing lighting upgrades in its buildings with the goal of reducing its overall electricity consumption by 15 percent.

Now, an average of seven light fixtures per dwelling unit will receive energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps to replace incandescent light bulbs. CFLs use less than one-fourth the amount of electricity as traditional domestic incandescent bulbs and last eight to 10 times longer.

This program also includes common-area lighting upgrades that consist of exchanging magnetic ballasts with state-of-the-art electronic ones and replacing T-12 fluorescent bulbs with super-efficient T-8 technology.

“The partnership that begins today affects the way in which we will look at all aspects of what we do and how we can protect the environment,” said Margarita López, NYCHA environmental coordinator and commissioner. “It allows us to contribute to the greening of our city, making it a healthier place for our residents while yielding savings of much needed funds for the future of public housing.”

“This is a great opportunity for NYCHA to contribute to Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC sustainability goals,” said NYCHA Chairman Hernandez. “We are working together to take an important step in promoting the environmental health of our City while continuing to preserve public housing.”

“Working with the New York City Housing Authority, we’ve been able to replace aging hot water tanks and boilers and install energy efficient light bulbs in hundreds of buildings across the city,” said HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson. “We’re making great progress and NYCHA and Mayor Bloomberg have been great partners.

“Now we must step it up,” Jackson said. “We are not just retrofitting buildings for today, we are writing new blueprints for tomorrow.”

In addition to meeting NYCHA’s own challenges, the programs will serve as the public housing component of the Mayor’s PlaNYC 2030 agenda, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in New York City to ensure a sustainable quality of life for all New Yorkers.

View This Story On Eco-mmunity Map.