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There’s been a lot of talk recently about “green jobs” powering our nation into the 21st century. Considering the state of our current economy, a new bailout each day and the nation’s dependence on foreign oil many have started to speak up for change. Check out the links below for more information on the current debate, including Omar Freilla, founder of the Green Worker Cooperatives, Van Jones, founder of Green For All and author of the NYT bestseller,The Green Collar Economy, and Barack Obama’s agenda on the energy and environment.

Green Worker Cooperatives [www.sundancechannel.com]

Green For All [www.greenforall.org]

Barack Obama’s Green Agenda [change.gov]

Is all this a myth or will it really make a difference? How many green jobs are needed to make a difference? What kinds of jobs qualify as truly “green”? If you were to get a green job, what would you like to do? Start writing now – go to Open Salon [www.opensalon.com] and share your ideas.

CHICAGO, Illinois, December 10, 2008 (ENS) – President-elect Barack Obama signaled that he is ready to tackle the climate crisis immediately upon taking office, following a meeting Tuesday with former Vice President Al Gore and Vice President-elect Joe Biden.

“All three of us are in agreement that the time for delay is over, the time for denial is over,” Obama said.

The three men met at the Transition’s Chicago headquarters to discuss energy and climate policy – and how addressing those issues can drive the nation’s economic recovery.

“This is a matter of urgency and national security,” Obama said. “It is not only a problem, it is also an opportunity.”

From left, Vice president-elect Joseph Biden,
President-elect Barack Obama, former Vice
President Al Gore at Transition headquarters.
December 9, 2008 (Photo courtesy Obama
Transition Team)

“We have the opportunity now to create jobs all across this country in all 50 states to repower America,” said Obama, “to redesign how we use energy and think about how we are increasing efficiency to make our economy stronger, make us more safe, reduce our dependence on foreign oil and make us competitive for decades to come – even as we save the planet.”

Obama’s “repower America” comment Tuesday is an echo of Gore’s plan, made public in July, to Repower America with 100 percent clean electricity within 10 years.

The plan to Repower America outlines immediate investments in three areas: energy efficiency, renewable generation and transmission.
# Energy Efficiency: A national upgrade to eliminate waste, save money, and improve comfort. Make every bit of energy we produce work harder for us.

# Renewable Generation: Accelerate the ramp-up of clean, renewable electricity sources through policies that support increased private and public investment in technologies that work, like wind, solar, and geothermal.

# Unified National Smart Grid: Modernize transmission infrastructure so that clean electricity generated anywhere in America can power homes and businesses across the nation. National electricity ‘interstates’ that move power quickly and cheaply to where it needs to be; local smart grids that buy and sell power from households and support clean plug-in cars.

The president-elect and the former vice president appear to be in accord on the urgent need to address global warming after eight years of denial, delay and neglect during the Bush administration. Obama is taking advice from Gore, who shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for his work to publicize the dangers of global warming through his Oscar-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.”

In November, the We Can Solve It campaign mounted by Gore’s nonprofit Alliance for Climate Protection launched an advertising and grassroots effort to support the president-elect as he enacts policies to revitalize the American economy and help solve the climate crisis.

Obama is not waiting until he takes office to go green. His will be the first eco-friendly inaugural celebration in American history.

Event Emissary, a DC-based event planning company, announced today that it will host the Green Ball to kick off the Obama Inaugural on January 17, 2009 at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium. www.greeninauguralball.com

Co-founder Jenna Mack explains, ” With millions of visitors headed to Washington for President-elect Obama’s swearing in ceremony and accompanying celebrations, the impact on our environment will be substantial. Our goal is to create an unforgettable evening while treading lightly on the Earth.”

Every facet of The Green Ball is designed to reduce the impact on the environment. Catering will be 100 percent organic and include both vegetarian and vegan options. The bars will feature local and organic beverages. Food waste and floral arrangements will be composted and bottles will be recycled.

Decorative lighting will focus on the use of LED Color Blasts that utilize a fraction of the power compared to more traditional lighting sources. Entertainment audio-visual production will be tailored to minimize environmental impact, using only the most efficient lighting and equipment.

“That which cannot be reduced will be offset,” says Mack. “Energy usage will be measured closely and offset through the purchase of wind power credits. Transportation for deliveries to the event, as well as vendor and staff transportation will be offset through the purchase of carbon credits.”

Event Emissary Co-founder Stephanie Campbell said, “While one green event is a step in the right direction, our goal is to bring attention to this issue while the Presidential Inaugural Committee and many other groups are still early in their planning. We hope to set an example to other organizations and encourage them to green their events, as well.”

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WASHINGTON, DC, November 21, 2008 (ENS) – The order of business in the incoming 111th Congress is beginning to take shape. When lawmakers convene on January 6, 2009, Democrats will be firmly in control of both houses, although today the outcome of several elections is still unclear.

When Democratic President-elect Barack Obama takes office on January 20, both the White House and Congress will be in Democratic hands for the first time in 16 years.

For the environment, this means that climate change legislation will be on the front burner as soon as the new session opens.

The U.S. Capitol at sunrise. November 11,
2008 (Photo credit unknown)

Senator Barbara Boxer of California, who will continue to chair the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, announced Tuesday that she will introduce two pieces of climate legislation in January.

“The first bill will establish a grant program to reduce global warming emissions under the Clean Air Act with up to $15 billion a year available to spur innovations in clean energy, including advanced biofuels,” Boxer said.

Intended as an economic stimulus, Boxer said the bill follows President-elect Barack Obama’s recommendation.

Obama’s short video statement on climate change played at the Governors’ Global Climate Summit convened in California on Tuesday was “music to my ears,” Boxer said.

Obama said, “Few challenges facing America – and the world – are more urgent than combating climate change. The science is beyond dispute and the facts are clear. Sea levels are rising. Coastlines are shrinking. We’ve seen record drought, spreading famine, and storms that are growing stronger with each passing hurricane season.”

“My presidency will mark a new chapter in America’s leadership on climate change that will strengthen our security and create millions of new jobs in the process,” he said.

“Climate change and our dependence on foreign oil, if left unaddressed, will continue to weaken our economy and threaten our national security,” said Obama.

Senator Barbara Boxer of California
(Photo courtesy EPW)

“Clean energy means green jobs,” Boxer said, citing a new report from the U.S. Conference of Mayors estimating that by 2038, another 4.2 million green jobs could be added to the economy.

Boxer also will propose a bill amending the Clean Air Act that directs the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to set up a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases that meets the goals laid out by the president-elect.

“This bill will reflect the strong partnership we will have with the new administration, and will focus on achieving the emissions reductions needed while restoring the economy,” said Boxer.

Boxer also announced her committee’s first hearing in the 111th Congress. “The hearing will take place as soon as possible after we convene in January, and will be entitled “How Fighting Global Warming is Good for the Economy and Will Create Jobs,” she said.

Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma
(Photo courtesy EPW)

Senate Democrats will have to contend with Republican Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, the ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee and a climate change denier. In his blog on the committee website, Inhofe claims that the planet is cooler now than when President George W. Bush took office and that Arctic ice is growing, not shrinking.

Over in the House of Representatives, the Democratic Caucus Thursday elected California Democrat Henry Waxman as chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

He replaces Michigan Congressman John Dingell, who has served for the past 28 years as chairman and ranking member of the committee. Dingell now will serve as chairman emeritus, but Waxman’s ascendency marks a shift away from the influence of the Detroit auto industry and towards cleaner energy and climate concerns.

Waxman said, “Some of the most important challenges we face – energy, climate change, and health care – are under the jurisdiction of the Commerce Committee. In large measure, our success as Congress will depend on how the Commerce Committee performs.”

“Enacting comprehensive energy, climate, and health care reform will not be easy,” said Waxman, but, “The public expects Congress and President-elect Obama to work together to find solutions to the nation’s most pressing problems.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday, “Henry Waxman will bring to the post of Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee the outstanding leadership he has demonstrated as chair of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

“Under his leadership, the committee and the entire caucus will make progress toward making America energy independent, making health care available to all Americans, and addressing the greatest challenge of our time, global warming,” she said.

Congressman Henry Waxman of California
(Photo courtesy Office of the Congressman)

The replacement of Dingell by Waxman could affect the outcome of possible legislation offering financial assistance to the beleagured auto industry, which has requested at least $25 billion to stave off collapse.

Today, Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sent the following letter to the executives of the Ford, General Motors and Chrysler, calling on them to “submit a credible restructuring plan that results in a viable industry, with quality jobs, and economic opportunity for the 21st century while protecting taxpayer investments” by December 2.

“It is critical that you meet this deadline since we have announced we are prepared to come back into session the week of December 8 to consider legislation to assist your industry. We intend to give pertinent agencies within the executive branch, the Government Accountability Office, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, as well as outside experts, the opportunity to comment on your work,” Reid and Pelosi wrote.

Senator Inhofe calls higher fuel efficiency standards that may be a condition of the potential auto industry bailout, “environmental thuggery.”

In a speech on the Senate Floor Thursday, Inhofe said, “The proposed $25 billion bailout of Detroit now appears to have been hijacked by the powerful environmental lobby.”

Quoting a November 19 article in the “Wall Street Journal,” Inhofe said, “the auto bailout has degenerated into a tool to ‘make Detroit a subsidiary of the Sierra Club.’”

“We hear proponents of the auto bailout endlessly say it’s about jobs,” said Inhofe. “But the truth is, this bailout appears to be about environmental lobbies taking over the U.S. auto industry.”

The Congressional balance of power is set, but the actual seat count is still shifting.

Right now, in the Senate, the Democrats hold 55 seats, the Republicans hold 40, and there are two Independents – Joe Lieberman and Bernie Saunders, who caucus with the Democrats.

Three seats are vacant or undecided.

One Illinois seat is vacant as President-elect Barack Obama, a Democrat, has resigned. This seat will be filled by a replacement appointed by a Democratic governor.

Delaware does not yet have a vacancy, but Vice President-elect Joe Biden, a Democrat, is expected to resign on or before inauguration day, January 20, 2009. His seat will be filled by a replacement appointed by a Democratic governor.

In Minnesota, the seat is held by Senator Norm Coleman, who won the 2002 election. While Coleman leads Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party challenger Al Franken by 215 votes, the race remains too close to call. The close margin triggered a mandatory recount, which began on November 19. The recount is not expected to be resolved for at least a month.

In Georgia, a run-off election between Republican incumbent Saxby Chambless and Democratic challenger Jim Martin is underway.

In the House of Representatives, the Democrats hold 255 seats, the Republicans hold 175, and there are no Independents. Five seats are vacant or undecided.

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WASHINGTON, DC, November 5, 2008 (ENS) – Congratulations to President-elect Barack Obama and his team with messages of hope and pledges of support rolled in today from environmental and sustainable business groups across the political spectrum.

The Sierra Club said in a statement, “If the Obama administration is as smartly, deliberately, and thoughtfully run as his presidential campaign, our country and our future are in very capable hands.”

Obama declared in his victory speech, “We cannot go back to the old way of doing things.”

The groups agree and each organization – from the investors of the Ceres Group to the grassroots members of Defenders of Wildlife – has words of advice for Obama along with their congratulations and compliments.

Many groups are reminding Obama of his pledge to make clean energy his top priority, to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil, kickstart economic recovery, create millions of jobs, and curb climate change.

Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense said, “This election offers us the greatest opportunity we have ever had to change course on global warming.”

“We must do everything we can to pass climate legislation here at home and to craft a global compact that unites the world against the common enemy of rising temperatures, melting ice caps, erratic weather and the spread of disease,” said Krupp.

President-elect Barack Obama (Photo
courtesy Obama for America)

Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres, the largest coalition of investors, environmental and public interest organizations in North America, said members of her group want the Obama administration and Congress to curb global warming by passing legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent below 1990 by 2020, and 80 percent below the benchmark by 2050.

Ceres urges reform of the capital markets to require “honest accounting of financial risks that companies and investors face from climate change.”

An Obama administration should end tax incentives and subsidies for high carbon-emitting technologies and projects and enact mandates that 20 percent of the nation’s electricity come from renewable power by 2020 and at least 30 percent by 2030, Lubber said.

“The new administration and Congress must shun the excuse that it is ‘too expensive’ to act to curb global warming, to treat our resources as limited, or to end our allegiance to high-carbon fuels,” said Lubber. “It is too expensive not to act, and the cost of inaction in a future world of 9 billion people is what Barack Obama last night called “a planet in peril.”

“It is a world in a headlong rush toward climate instability, water scarcity, high food prices, deeper global poverty, and locked in a perilous addiction to oil and coal,” she said.

“The reward for action is a green and sustainable economy that creates new business opportunities, trains a legion of new workers, helps heal the environment and assures our future,” Lubber said. “We believe investors, companies and those who work for them are just waiting for the signals from Washington to begin this work. Those signals should come quickly – in the first 12 months of the new administration.”

With 750,000 members and activists, Environment America and its federation of state environment groups endorsed Obama for president and 29 candidates for Congress and lobbied swing voters on behalf of their candidates.

“This election pitted the energy policy of last 30 years against that of the next 30 years,” said Anna Aurilio, director of Environment America’s Washington, DC office. “”This is now a clean energy Congress – 65 percent of new House members and all of the new Senate members come from states with strong renewable electricity requirements.”

“Senator McCain focused on the oil, coal and nukes of the past, while Senator Obama called for a new energy economy fueled by renewable energy such as wind and solar, investments in clean technologies of the future and five million new jobs. From Senator Obama on down the ballot, the candidates who won were talking about a clean energy future and voters understood that this was the key to a stronger economy, a more secure world and the solution to global warming,” she said.

The Alliance to Save Energy today urged Obama to fulfill his campaign promise to make building a sustainable energy future for America a key priority upon taking office in January.

“The Obama-Biden ‘New Energy for America’ plan contains many exciting, creative, and urgently needed energy-efficiency actions,” said Alliance President Kateri Callahan. “The Alliance stands ready to help our new president and his team deliver a new energy future for America that is built on a bedrock of energy efficiency.”

The Apollo Alliance of environmental, labor and business organizations said, “President-elect Barack Obama’s priority list jives with Apollo’s clean energy, good job goals. Sweeping Democratic victories in yesterday’s elections are expected to bring good fortune to wind and solar interests and hope to all those interested in stabilizing the climate.”

With his congratulations, Wildlife Conservation Society President and CEO Steven Sanderson said, “Our nation is positioned to be a world leader in saving wildlife and wild places across the globe, including policies to address climate change.” He encourages the incoming administration and Congress to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, “including reducing rates of deforestation which may account for 20 percent of all global carbon emissions.”

“Efforts such as these are good for both wildlife and humanity,” said Sanderson, “which share a common future as creatures inhabiting the same planet.”

The historic victories of President-elect Barack Obama and environmental champions in Congress create a new era of opportunity for environmental priorities, said Defenders of Wildlife president Rodger Schlickeisen.

“A new day is dawning in Congress and the White House. Environmental champions won major victories at the polls yesterday, and the prospects for environmental progress in 2009 look bright,” he said, urging them to tackle global warming, safeguard endangered species and better protect wildlife on public lands.

“Let’s be clear – we have a lot of work ahead of us. We’ve just had eight years of the most anti-environmental presidency America has ever seen,” said Schlickeisen. “Reversing the damage done by the Bush administration will take years of hard work.”

“Defenders of Wildlife looks forward to working with President Obama and our champions in Congress to reverse President Bush’s assault on our environment and promote a green economy for the people and wildlife of America.”

The Center for Biological Diversity looks forward to working with the Obama administration and the new Congress to take swift action to stem the extinction crisis, reverse the current course toward runaway global warming, and promote the cultural diversity that is the essential foundation of a fulfilling life for all peoples, plants, and animals,” said Executive Director Kierán Suckling.

“Mass extinction, global warming, and erosion of diversity are the greatest threats humanity has ever faced,” he said. “The time left to address them is growing short. In our 20 years advocating for wildlife, wilderness, and untamed culture, we’ve never before witnessed a presidential election with so much promise to actually solve these issues.”

Eli Pariser, executive director of MoveOn.org Political Action, “Our members sense the opportunity to achieve things that seemed improbable if not impossible only a year ago. For our members, this is the culmination of a decade of work to build a progressive, people-driven politics in America.”

After endorsing President-elect Obama in February, MoveOn’s 4.5 million members contributed more than $88 million towards Obama’s presidential campaign, the organization announced today. More than one million MoveOn members worked in a coordinated field effort with the Obama campaign.

“President Obama will face daunting challenges from the day he takes office,” said Pariser. “We look forward, however, to being part of the enormous wave of civic and political engagement that his Presidency has inspired and that will enable him to achieve the things that have been on the top of his agenda and ours. We look forward to the change all of us worked so hard to create.”

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WASHINGTON, DC, September 30, 2008 (ENS) – President George W. Bush today signed a consolidated appropriations bill that funds government operations through March 2009, including disaster relief. The measure also lifts a long-standing legislative ban on offshore oil and gas leasing cherished by conservationists.

Earlier this year, President Bush lifted an executive moratorium on oil and gas leasing offshore, so with the signing of this bill the petroleum industry is free to lease areas of the Outer Continental Shelf that have been off-limits for 27 years.

“This Act lifts the legislative moratoria on oil and gas leasing on significant portions of the Outer Continental Shelf and the prohibition on the completion of regulations for commercial leasing of oil shale, which will allow us to reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” the president said.

While environmentalists predicted the bans would be reinstated in the next Congress, the National Taxpayers Union was pleased with the opportunity to develop more domestic energy supplies.

“The Democrats’ concession on offshore drilling and oil shale leasing bans will allow development of our country’s vast energy resources and – most importantly – will provide American consumers with some much-needed price relief in the future,” said National Taxpayers Union Government Affairs Manager Andrew Moylan.

“Congress’s decision not to extend the ban will make available more than 86 billion barrels of oil offshore and, potentially, as much as 800 billion barrels of shale oil. While these resources won’t be accessed overnight, the promise of increased supply in the future will help calm volatile markets,” he said.

Oil production platform 60 miles
off the coast of Louisiana in the
Gulf of Mexico (Photo credit unknown)

Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope said, “This is not the last we will see of the moratorium that has protected our coasts since 1981. The drilling ban could very well be restored by a new Congress and president who understand that more offshore drilling will do nothing to lower gas prices or solve our energy crisis.”

Republican Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma called the expiration of these moratoria “a victory for the American people and our goal of energy security.”

“America is finally able to utilize its plentiful domestic natural resources to help address high gas prices at the pump,” Inhofe said today. “A vast majority of Americans now support offshore drilling and greater use of domestic energy resources. Republicans have consistently proposed measures to address high gasoline prices by increasing our domestic production.”

The Outer Continental Shelf holds at least 19 billion barrels of recoverable oil. These enormous reserves are equivalent to 35 years’ worth of oil imports from Saudi Arabia,” the senator said.

In addition, up to 1.1 trillion barrels of oil are estimated to be recoverable from oil shale and at prices as low as $35 to $48 dollars per barrel, within the first 12 years of commercial scale production, he said. At current rates of consumption, Inhofe estimates that 1.1 trillion barrels equals more than 145 years of domestic supply.

But environmental groups concerned about the climate change impact of burning more oil and gas are opposed to offshore oil and gas leasing and oil shale development.

“The lifting of the ban on drilling for oil and oil shale doesn’t mean the end of the fight for clean energy, which Big Oil and its allies have exploited for their own gain,” said Frances Beinecke, president of Natural Resources Defense Council. “We look to the next Congress and a new president to reverse course and deliver a clean, homegrown energy future.”

Allowing the ban on offshore drilling to expire lets oil companies drill as close as three miles off shore, putting our food supply, oceans and coastal economies at risk, Beinecke warns.

She points out that offshore drilling and production create huge quantities of waste that contain toxic and radioactive pollutants, which can contaminate fish and marine life.

Also, between 1981 and 2005, there were 187 large oil spills as a result of offshore drilling, she observes.

“The gains from expanded offshore drilling are minimal,” says Beinecke. “Only three percent of the world’s reserves are off our coasts, yet we consume 25 percent of the world’s oil. And offshore drilling won’t produce results for 10 years. Even then it will be a matter of cents saved; not dollars.”

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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].

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WASHINGTON DC, August 7, 2008 (ENS) – The Bush administration today denied a request by Texas to cut the U.S. biofuels mandate in half, rejecting the claim that the massive increase in corn-based ethanol is causing economic harm to the state’s livestock industry and raising food prices.

Few stakeholders were surprised by the decision, but debate over the U.S. biofuels mandate reflects lingering concern about the economic and environmental impact of nation’s ethanol boom.

The controversy centers on the nation’s renewable fuels standard, RFS, which calls for the nation to increase its production of ethanol and other biofuels to be blended into gasoline. Such fuels account for some six percent of the nation’s gasoline supplies.

The RFS requires nine billion gallons of biofuels be used this year, with the target set to jump to 11 billion gallons in 2009 and 36 billion gallons by 2020.

Fueling with corn-based ethanol (Photo
courtesy Iowa Corn Growers Assn.)

Congress first established the RFS in 2005. Lawmakers increased it last year, promoting the mandate as part of a strategy to reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil and to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

The politics of corn production hang heavy over the RFS controversy.

Corn-based ethanol currently accounts for the vast majority of biofuels blended into the U.S. fuel supply. Other sources of biofuels are not commercially viable, but corn-based ethanol is a ready alternative thanks to generous subsidies and support from U.S. lawmakers.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts a third of U.S. corn production will be funneled into ethanol this year, yet record corn prices have some wary of the larger impact of the ethanol boom on food and livestock feed prices.

In May more than 20 Republican senators, including Arizona’s John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, urged EPA to waive the RFS mandate because of concerns about its impact on food prices.

Others are concerned about the impact on the nation’s environment.

Corn growers use large amounts of pesticides and the boom in corn production has been linked to an increase this year in the giant dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

And although blending ethanol with gasoline helps cut greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks, in can increase emissions responsible for smog.

Today’s announcement came in response to a request made in April by Texas Governor Rick Perry, who asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to cut the RFS mandate by 50 percent.

Perry, a Republican, argues that demand for ethanol is responsible for corn prices that reached record levels in June, up nearly 120 percent from 2007. Those high corn prices that are harming his state’s cattle and poultry farmers, Perry said in his request, and are being passed onto consumers in higher food costs.

But the head of the EPA disagreed. The RFS mandate is not causing the “severe economic harm” required by law to waive the requirement, EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson said today.

“Rather, the RFS is strengthening our nation’s energy security and supporting America’s farming communities,” Johnson told reporters on a teleconference.

EPA was not required to consider the environmental impacts of the RFS mandate, Johnson added, as the Texas petition was based solely on economic concerns.

EPA’s analysis found the RFS mandate may be responsible for increasing corn costs between seven and 30 cents per bushel. The agency has yet to complete analysis of the long-term economic or environmental impacts of the policy.

The Texas governor blasted the decision, saying the EPA appears incapable of looking past the “good intentions” of the policy.

Fresh corn for dinner (Photo
credit unknown)

“For the EPA to assert that this federal mandate is not affecting food prices not only goes against common sense, but every American’s grocery bill,” Perry said. “Any government mandate that artificially props up a single industry to the detriment of millions of Americans is bad public policy.”

But recent events have given some strength to the view that the RFS mandate is not the key factor behind corn prices.

Prices have dropped from a record high of nearly $8 a bushel in June to less than $5.40 earlier this month – a decrease many contend has been driven by a drop in the price of oil.

“Most economists now recognize the real severe economic harm is being done by the skyrocketing price of oil and not by ethanol production,” said Bob Dineen, head of the Renewable Fuels Association. “In fact, without ethanol production the damage from high oil prices would be even worse.”

Dineen contends that curtailing the RFS mandate would have had little impact on corn prices but would have “sabotaged the development and growth of new technologies and a cellulosic biofuels industry.”

Other reaction to the decision demonstrated the strange bedfellows brought together by the biofuels controversy.

Livestock interests, along with environmentalists, grocery manufacturers, restaurants and oil industry groups had all called on EPA to grant the Texas waiver.

“Diverting a third of our corn crop to ethanol production has driven corn and all feed prices up to levels that are severely impacting U.S. meat and poultry producers as well as consumers,” said Jesse Sevcik, vice president for legislative affairs for the American Meat Institute.

The head of the nation’s largest chicken producer said the RFS mandate has caused feed prices to “spiral out of control,” adding that his company’s food costs could jump $900 million this year.

“It’s apparent that the government intends to blindly pursue this misguided and destructive policy despite reams of data demonstrating its negative impact on the environment, food prices, and world hunger,” said J. Clinton Rivers, president and chief executive officer of Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation.

Environmentalists had hoped debate over the Texas waiver would have prompted EPA to review the environmental impacts of the RFS mandate.

“Corn-based ethanol isn’t just raising food prices,” said Frank O’Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch. “It is causing more smog, adding to global warming, and causing more water pollution.

With controversy over the RFS mandate far from settled, the EPA is bracing for a potential flood of requests asking for changes to the policy.

States were the only interested parties allowed to file waiver requests this year, but next year the door will be open to industry groups and other affected parties.

By J.R. Pegg

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As is sadly the case in politics, philosophy and generally any intellectual sphere of human activity, there is a tendency to think of things in extremes. Today we are considering the two widely divergent positions of Democrats and Republicans when it comes to what to do about the high price of oil. Are these extreme positions really considering basic proven facts about oil in America?

Can this rig survive a direct hit from a
hurricane?

Some politicians (typically Democrats) think there should be no oil drilling in currently protected areas. Democrats take this position because they a) feel that the additional oil supply will not affect its price, b) the ecosystems in this area of the world are too crucial and endangered to allow corporate access, and c) investing in alternative energy technologies holds greater potential for shifting America away from a dependence on foreign oil importation.

Other politicians (mostly Republicans) believe that all the protected areas should be opened up for oil prospectors. Republicans argue that oil drilling is needed because a) new oil rigs equal more jobs and a positive economic impact, b) technology advances in mining and resource extraction have improved environmental safety standards to the point where environmental damage is unlikely at best, and c) new domestic oil resources would lower the price of gas.

The positions above have basically been in place for the last thirty years, but the debate during that time has not been as ferocious as it has been in recent months. Why the sudden public spotlight? The answer probably lies in the fact that gasoline prices are exorbitant in an election year. Since the debate about how to lower these prices currently focuses on creating more domestically produced energy (specifically oil) in America, one must consider where to find all the raw materials for this fuel industry.

Drilling In Frozen Alaskan Land

If all of these supposed “oil reserves” exist and are ready to be drilled, and their exploitation can benefit Americans by lowering the price of fuel, then why weren’t oil companies getting to this oil 10 or 20 years ago? The answer is in the relatively small amount of oil and the difficulty and expense in extracting it. Recent statistics indicate that approximately 3% of the world’s oil reserves can be found in American territories. This number includes some areas that are already being drilled now. The remaining reserves in the continental shelf, in Alaska, and in oil shale [en.wikipedia.org], are all locations that require a more expensive process of extraction. Sucking oil out of shale is expensive. Drilling through frozen earth in inhospitable arctic environments is expensive. Maintaining oil drilling platforms in the ocean is expensive when you consider the costs of environmental safety standards and insurance (you may remember the Exxon Valdez accident, but what about the Piper Alpha oil rig[/rl]? Or the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Kielland_(Platform)]Alexander Kielland [news.bbc.co.uk]?).

These reserves were not profitable to extract when oil was priced at $40-$60 per barrel. The profit potential only exists now because the price of oil is so high. If the price of oil dropped again to historical levels (and it is dropping at the time of this writing), drilling the three aforementioned sources of oil would become progressively less profitable.

Some spots where oil companies could suck oil out of porous rock

Therefore, why would these for-profit businesses push so hard to drill these resources if they believed doing so would lower the price of oil? Are we to believe that oil companies would sabotage their profits simply out of charity? It’s possible that the oil companies know that drilling these resources will not affect the price of oil much (as stated in the official report from the Department of Energy), and that they will continue to be profitable given rising world demand. It is important to seek a solution for the high energy prices in America, because the prices do squeeze people out of their livelihoods and force other people to choose between housing and food. Nonetheless, the current tragedy of high oil prices would only become more pronounced if Americans sacrificed delicate protected habitats for a solution which does not end up lowering the price of oil enough to make a real economic difference.

Thanks for coming to THE GREEN Blog and we hope that you discuss the ideas presented in this post or add your own revisions. If you want to check out another post about an alternative to gas guzzling cars, check out the DIY Green: Electric Vehicles Post [www.sundancechannel.com].

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania, July 18, 2008 (ENS) – Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell signed two pieces of legislation last week that will help spur the development of homegrown biofuels in Pennsylvania and establish new requirements that every gallon of gasoline and diesel fuel contain a percentage of ethanol and biodiesel.

“Pennsylvanians are struggling with higher fuels costs,” said Governor Rendell. “Record-high fuel prices are straining family budgets and pinching the bottom lines of our businesses. We need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and keep our energy dollars in Pennsylvania, to invest in our economy and create jobs.”

The biofuel percentages established under the new law will go into effect once in-state production reaches certain levels.

The requirements include what the governor believes to be the nation’s first state-specific mandate for cellulosic ethanol, which is made from non-food plant materials.

“Pennsylvania can be to cellulosic ethanol what corn-based ethanol was to Iowa and the Midwest,” said Rendell. “Pennsylvania has an abundant supply of cellulosic ethanol feedstocks, including switchgrass, woodchips, municipal waste and agricultural waste. This alternative fuel law ensures that Pennsylvania farmers and businesses will fully realize the benefits of these resources.”

Tractors that run on biodiesel at the
Pennsylvania Farm Show, January
2008. (Photo credit unknown)

Environmentalists were pleased with the new measures. “We must begin to move away from our ‘addiction to oil,’ as President George W. Bush characterized our energy problem,” said Jan Jarrett, vice president of PennFuture. “With oil prices over $140 a barrel and diesel over $4.60 a gallon, these bills will start us on the road to recovery.”

“These policies will bring some relief to Pennsylvania’s hard-pressed families and businesses, bringing heating oil and gasoline and diesel costs down,” said Jarrett. “And it will also help Pennsylvania farmers who grow soybeans and other crops for biodiesel production, offering them a chance to compete both in and out of state.”

The use of renewable fuels results in a reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions compared to the petroleum fuel that is displaced.

Biodiesel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by about 50 percent, while cellulosic ethanol could reduce greenhouse gas emissions up to 86 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Biodiesel reduces many types of air pollutants, including carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, air toxics, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter, below levels emitted by petroleum diesel.

Pennsylvania’s biodiesel manufacturers will benefit from new investments, which will help spur production, the governor said.

Pennsylvania will invest $5.3 million in its in-state biodiesel producers annually through June 30, 2011. These companies will be able to take advantage of a 75 cents per gallon subsidy that will be capped at $1.9 million per year per producer.

Under the new measure, as much as one billion gallons of biofuels will be added to the state’s fuel supply. All diesel fuel sold at retail must contain:

* 2 percent biodiesel, once in-state production reaches 40 million gallons

* 5 percent biodiesel, once in-state production reaches 100 million gallons

* 10 percent biodiesel, once in-state production reaches 200 million gallons

* 20 percent biodiesel, once in-state production reaches 400 million gallons

All gasoline sold at retail must contain 10 percent ethanol, once in-state cellulosic ethanol production reaches 350 million gallons.

Pennsylvania already has an in-state biodiesel production capacity of about 60 million gallons per year, and the state’s first large-scale ethanol plant – a 100 million gallon per year operation – is under construction in Clearfield County.

The developers of the Clearfield County plant – BioEnergy International and Lukoil Americas – have also committed to developing a pilot scale cellulosic ethanol plant. Another cellulosic demonstration facility is planned for Madison, Westmoreland County.

These projects, and similar ones expected to follow, will inject hundreds of millions of dollars into Pennsylvania’s economy in the coming years and create thousands of jobs.

“Each year, America incurs nearly $400 billion in additional debt to finance our appetite for oil,” said the governor. “Here in Pennsylvania, we spend approximately $30 billion to purchase liquid fuels from beyond our border. It’s time we keep more of that money here at home and invest in our biofuel manufacturers, communities and transportation industry.”

In a recent study commissioned by PennFuture, the global expert services company LECG LLC examined the benefits of offsetting 900 million gallons of petroleum-based transportation fuel with renewable and coal-derived fuels by 2017, as originally called for in the governor’s plan.

The study concluded that the plan would add nearly $1.5 billion to Pennsylvania’s economy, create as many as 25,775 new jobs in all sectors of the Pennsylvania economy and put an additional $6.6 billion into the pockets of Pennsylvanians over the next decade.

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WASHINGTON, DC, February 29, 2008 (ENS) – The U.S. Department of Energy, DOE, has decided to invest up to $33.8 million for four projects that will develop improved enzyme systems to convert cellulosic material such as switchgrass and paper pulp into sugars suitable for production of biofuels.

The funding will cover Fiscal Years 2008-2011 in an effort to meet President George W. Bush’s goal of making cellulosic ethanol cost competitive by 2012. Funding will depend on appropriations from Congress.

These projects aim to address key technical hurdles associated with mass production of cellulosic ethanol, which does not utilize food crops to produce the fuel. Instead,

Combined with industry cost share, up to $70 million will be invested in these projects, with a minimum 50 percent cost share from industry.

Corn stalks left in the field after the ears are harvested are known as stover. They may form a feedstock for ethanol production when the technology is developed to extract their sugars.

(Photo by Bob Allen courtesy NREL)

DOE Assistant Secretary Andy Karsner made today’s announcement while delivering keynote remarks at the Renewable Fuels Association National Ethanol Conference in Orlando, Florida.

“Success of these projects will play a pivotal role in the rapid development and deployment of renewable fuels to reduce emissions and dependence on foreign oil, and fundamentally change how we power our vehicles,” DOE Assistant Secretary Karsner said.

“In the interest of the environment, and energy, economic and national security, biofuels must continue to play a significant role as we work to diversify our nation’s energy sources and provide a balanced portfolio of science and technology solutions to help meet the rapidly growing demand for energy worldwide,” said Karsner.

These four projects seek to more cost-effectively and efficiently breakdown processed biomass into fermentable sugars, a significant challenge in converting biomass into fuels.

Projects were selected based on their demonstrated ability to reduce the cost of enzymes-per-gallon of ethanol by improving an enzyme’s performance. Three of the projects are wholly American, while one includes partners from Denmark, France and China.

Selected projects must demonstrate the ability to produce enzymes at a commercial-scale, and have a sound business strategy to market the enzymes or enzyme production systems in biorefinery operations.

Cellulosic ethanol is a renewable fuel made from a wide variety of non-food materials, including agricultural wastes such as corn stover and cereal straws, industrial plant waste like sawdust and paper pulp, and energy crops such as switchgrass, grown for fuel production.

By relying on a variety of feedstocks, cellulosic ethanol can be produced in nearly every region of the country, using material grown locally, Karsner said. Though it requires a more complex refining process, cellulosic ethanol contains more net energy and results in lower greenhouse emissions than traditional corn-based ethanol.

Negotiations between the selected companies and DOE will begin immediately to determine final project plans and funding levels.

The selected projects are:

* DSM Innovation Center Inc. of Parsippany, New Jersey: Development of a Commercial Enzymes System for Lignocellulosic Biomass Saccharification. This project will employ DSM’s internal, proprietary fungal systems to develop new approaches to improve enzymes for the conversion of pre-treated lignocellulosic biomass into sugars suitable for fermentation into cellulosic ethanol. Team Members: Abengoa Bioenergy New Technologies (Nebraska); and DOE’s Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories (New Mexico).

* Genencor – a Division of Danisco, USA, Inc. of Palo Alto, California: Enhancing Cellulase Commercial Performance for the Lignocellulosic Biomass Industry. This project plans to reduce the enzyme-dose level required for biomass saccharification by improving the specific performance of the Trichoderma Reesei mix of fungal-based cellulases to facilitate production of cellulosic ethanol from sugars produced by the saccharification process. Team Members: DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Colorado)

* Novozymes, Inc. of Davis, California: Project Decrease – Development of a Commercial-Ready Enzyme Application System for Ethanol. This project aims to improve performance of Novozymes’ most advanced enzyme system by decreasing the dosage of enzyme required to hydrolyze biomass into fermentable sugars suitable for cellulosic ethanol production. Team Members: Novozymes North America (North Carolina); Novozymes A/S (Denmark); Novozymes (China) Investment Co. Ltd; DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (Washington) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Colorado); the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique University (France); and Cornell University (New York)

* Verenium Corporation of San Diego, California: Commercialization of Customized Cellulase Solutions for Biomass Saccharification. This project will leverage Verenium’s advanced enzyme development capabilities to commercialize a cellulase enzyme system to produce a more cost-effective enzyme solution for biomass saccharification processes that will also tolerate conditions that enable more efficient process economics in producing ethanol from cellulosics.

This funding announcement is part of over $1 billion the Energy Department has announced within the last year for multi-year biofuels research and development projects.

The four newly funded projects complement the DOE’s January 2008 announcement in which four projects were selected for a total of up to $114 million in federal funding to build small-scale biorefinery projects to be located in Commerce City, Colorado; St. Joseph, Missouri; Boardman, Oregon; and Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. These small-scale biorefineries will test newer, novel refining processes.

Other major DOE-led biofuels R&D projects include up to $405 million in DOE funding for three Bioenergy Centers; and up to $385 million in DOE funding, over four years, for the development of six commercial-scale biorefineries, which will focus on near-term commercial processes.

With all of these projects, which reflect a coordinated approach to addressing all technological aspects of making biofuels more commercially viable, the amount of fossil fuel used to produce the biofuels is up to 90 percent less than that associated with gasoline, Karsner said.

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WASHINGTON, DC, February 27, 2008 (ENS) – Western governors have agreed to take action within their states and also as a region to speed the development and use of alternative fuels, improve vehicle fuel efficiency and reduce dependence on foreign oil.

A resolution adopted by the Western Governors’ Association Saturday incorporates many recommendations contained in its new report, “Transportation Fuels for the Future.”

The report was developed at the request of the governors and with the assistance of more than 100 energy experts representing government, industry, the environmental community, academia and the general public.

The fuels and technologies covered are biodiesel and renewable diesel, biofuels, coal-to-liquids, compressed natural gas, propane, electricity and hydrogen.

While the association represents the governors of 19 states, the lead governors for this initiative are Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, Brian Schweitzer of Montana, Brad Henry of Oklahoma, Michael Rounds of South Dakota, Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. of Utah, and Christine Gregoire of Washington.

James Boyd, vice-chair and commissioner at the California Energy Commission, and David Fleischaker, Oklahoma secretary of energy, led development of the report over the past 10 months.

In a letter to the governors, Boyd and Fleischaker warn that longstanding U.S. dependence on petroleum for nearly all transportation fuel “is among the most critical issues now facing the nation.”

“This dependence and global competition for the resource present enormous risks to the security of our future energy supply, the environment and to our nation’s economy,” their letter states. “Reducing these risks cannot be achieved solely with a dramatic increase in our domestic production for many reasons; yet, the outstanding potential for developing and increasing the use of alternative transportation fuels has been relatively unfulfilled.”

This driver fuels up with E85
at a pump in Ohio. (Photo
courtesy Clean Fuels Ohio)

The report addresses the West’s unique transportation challenges and ways the states can position themselves to become key producers and beneficiaries in the emerging “alternative fuels economy.”

The authors say vast distances between metropolitan and rural areas make it imperative that an ample and affordable supply of fuels is available to maintain the region’s economy.

“Similarly, our sustainability issues differ from those of the other parts of the U.S.,” the letter states. “Water, air quality, land use and feedstock supplies are of great concern to all of our states and careful consideration of these issues is critical as we transition to clean, alternative fuels and more fuel-efficient vehicles.

“By working together and leading this transition, the Western states can achieve ambitious goals more rapidly than through individual, uncoordinated efforts,” the letter states.

One major hurdle to leap is supplying alternative transport fuels to the driving public. Currently most 85 percent ethanol, E85, fueling stations are located in the Midwest. The heavily populated coasts – both East and West – have only a few E85 outlets, and most are reserved for private fleets.

“Alternatives to gasoline can succeed,” the California Energy Commission says in an analysis of ethanol and other non-petroleum fuels. “Unfortunately, a chicken-and-egg situation exists. Public acceptance and a healthy level of consumer demand are needed to make alternative fuel vehicles viable, but a network of refueling facilities must also be in place.”

The report addresses:

* Potential resources, technologies and capabilities of the Western states to develop alternatives fuels and the policy measures that will be required
* Issues surrounding sustainable feedstock development, environmental impacts and availability of conversion technologies
* Infrastructure that will be necessary for the full range of alternative fuels to succeed
* Challenges common to all of the fuel types, including changing a century-old practice of fueling the transportation sector with oil
* The development of measurable goals and analytical tools to determine and mitigate the environmental impacts of the new fuels

Boyd and Fleischaker said they have not offered a “silver-bullet approach to solve the challenges associated with energy security, the environment and the economy.”

“However,” they told the governors, “you will find a wealth of opportunities that can be achieved with bold action and strong leadership.”

To read the Transportation Fuels for the Future report click here [www.westgov.org].

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