California Energy Policy: a Cautionary Tale for the Nation
Key lawmakers are now promoting California’s energy and global warming policies as a model for the federal government and other States to follow. Thomas Tanton’s talk will review California’s policies and show that they have had significant costs as well as other detrimental effects and are likely to have even higher costs and even worse effects in the future. California’s policies have led to the highest electricity and gasoline prices in the continental U. S. and contributed to the de-industrialization of California.
Mr. Tanton’s talk is based on his new White Paper for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, California Energy Policy: a Cautionary Tale for the Nation. Copies will be available at the event and online at www.cei.org.
Please RSVP by e-mail to Julie Walsh at jwalsh@cei.org. Please give your name and office or organization.
For more information, please call Myron Ebell at (202) 331-2256
Enviros Criticize, Fete Ken Lewis of Bank of America For Climate Influence
Originally posted at the Think Progress Wonk Room.
Bank of America CEO Kenneth D. Lewis received two utterly different awards from environmental groups on Tuesday, April 1—the Energy Action Coalition and Rainforest Action Network (RAN) voted him the “Fossil Fool of the Year,” while the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) honored him at their annual fundraising gala as a “Force for Nature.”
Rebecca Tarbotton of RAN said, “Ken Lewis faced a who’s who list of polluters, but voters deemed him the worst of a very deserving crop.”
Frances Beinecke of NRDC said, “We have the know-how to beat global warming. What we need is the leadership to make it happen, and Ken Lewis is providing that leadership.”
Climate and environmental activists celebrated “Fossil Fools Day” yesterday, April 1, with actions across the globe protesting the fossil fuel industry. Heeding Al Gore’s call for “young people to engage in peaceful protests to block major new carbon sources,” they blockaded coal mines, coal plants, and energy company headquarters.
As part of the day of action, the Energy Action Coalition dedicated the Fossil Fools Awards to “the world’s biggest contributors to our global addiction to fossil fuels.” Kenneth Lewis won top honors for facilitating “nearly $1 billion in loans to Massey Energy and Arch Coal, two of the largest companies involved in the environmentally devastating process of mountaintop removal coal mining” in the last few years. Bank of America also made several billion dollars in loans and facilitated stock offerings in 2006 for Peabody Energy, the world’s largest private coal company.
NRDC’s tenth annual “Forces for Nature” $1000-a-plate fundraising gala feted Ken Lewis and NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg at Cipriani 42nd Street.
NRDC honored Lewis for Bank of America’s ten-year, $20 billion environmental initiative which “addresses climate change by championing sustainable business practices through innovative lending and investing strategies, new financial products and services and operations.” The initiative was launched last year. The new Bank of America Tower in New York City, when completed in 2009, will be one of the most environmentally friendly and efficient office buildings in the world.
At the NRDC gala, Lewis made the major announcement that Bank of America would adopt the Carbon Principles, “a set of guidelines that help advisors and lenders to power companies evaluate and address carbon risks in the financing of projects” drafted in January by Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., and Morgan Stanley. According to the Wall Street Journal, “the ‘Principles’ push utilities to explore other alternatives to regular coal plants . . . Still, the banks make clear they won’t stop funding all conventional coal plants—they’ll simply want assurances higher rates will cover likely costs of carbon.”
Surface Transportation Trust Funds and Amtrak
Witnesses Panel I: Status of Surface Transportation Trust Funds and Impact on Federal Spending
- James S. Simpson, Administrator, Federal Transit Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation
- James D. Ray, Administrator (Acting), Federal Highway Administration, U. S. Department of Transportation
- John F. McCaskie, Chief Engineer, Swank Associated Companies (Transportation Construction Coalition)
- William W. Millar, President, American Public Transportation Association
- Joseph H. Boardman, Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration
- Donna McLean, Chairman of the Board, National Railroad Passenger Corporation-AMTRAK
- Alexander Kummant, President & CEO, National Railroad Passenger Corporation-AMTRAK
- David Tornquist, Assistant Inspector General, United States Department of Transportation
- Joel M. Parker, International Vice President & Special Assistant to the President, Transportation Communications International Union
On Mass vs. EPA Anniversary, Stephen Johnson Delays and Hides
Originally posted at the Think Progress Wonk Room.
One year ago today, the Supreme Court handed down an epochal decision in the global warming case Massachusetts vs. the Environmental Protection Agency, stating that the EPA had the responsibility to determine how to regulate carbon dioxide for its contribution to global warming. The EPA, led by administrator Stephen L. Johnson, has utterly failed to do so, prompting a series of Congressional investigations and new lawsuits.
Johnson’s adversaries marked the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision today by continuing to press their case. Officials of 18 states filed suit against the EPA for its continued inaction—their petition “asks the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to require the EPA to act within 60 days.” By a unanimous vote, the House Global Warming Committee issued subpoenas “for EPA documents showing the Agency’s progress in making the ‘endangerment’ finding and proposing national emissions standards.”
The Supreme Court decision mandated that the EPA:- Declare whether greenhouse gases pose a threat to human health and need to be regulated;
- Make a decision on California’s Clean Air Act petition to regulate motor vehicle greenhouse gas emissions;
- Propose federal regulations for motor vehicle greenhouse emissions.
Investigations by Congress, though repeatedly stymied by the agency, have determined that EPA staff actually worked vigorously last year to meet the Court mandate. In late fall Johnson brought the complete package with a health endangerment finding, approval of the California waiver, and motor vehicle regulations to the White House. After that, Johnson issued his waiver denial and all work at the EPA on the issue ceased. Henry Waxman, chair of the House Oversight Committee, has vigorously pursued documents related to the California waiver denial, even as the EPA responds to his subpoenas with document requests of their own.
Johnson’s latest act was to declare last week that the EPA would release an “Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” asking for new round of comments, a delaying tactic promoted by a “memo from the Heritage Foundation.”
He is now fleeing to Australia with his top staff for two weeks to discuss the “ongoing environmental collaboration” between the countries—and fortuitously delay further Congressional hearings. The $280,000 trip is taxpayer-funded.
Climate Change and the Midwest
Senate briefing on “Climate Change and the Midwest,” a discussion of the impacts of climate change on Midwestern states.
Panelists Include:- Dr. Donald Wuebbles, Director of the School of Earth, Society, and Environment at the University of Illinois, who will summarize the potential impacts of global warming on the Midwestern states. Dr. Wuebbles developed the concept of Ozone Depletion Potentials used in the Montreal Protocol and the U.S. Clean Air Act. He contributed to all of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) assessments on climate change, and coauthored both an assessment of the impacts of climate change on the Great Lakes region and, more recently, a similar assessment of the U.S. Northeast.
- Dr. Jonathan Pershing, Director of WRI’s Climate, Energy and Pollution Program, who will focus on how proposed federal legislation might be tailored to address Midwest-specific concerns through allowance allocation or complementary policies, including policy options that can mitigate economic impacts of a federal program. Dr. Pershing is active in U.S. and international climate policy design; he serves on the CA Market Advisory Committee, was the facilitator for both the Northeast states’ emissions trading initiative (RGGI) and the Illinois state climate advisory group, is a regular participant in international UN climate negotiations, and was a lead author for the IPCC.
- Doug Scott, Director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, who will present a summary of the actions taken to date by Midwestern states to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Mr. Scott chairs Governor Blagojevich’s Climate Change Advisory Committee.
If you have any questions, please contact Senator Klobuchar’s office or Senator Lugar’s office.
Curbing Soaring Aviation Emissions
On Wednesday, April 2, 2008, Chairman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming is holding a hearing titled, “From the Wright Brothers to the Right Solutions: Curbing Soaring Aviation Emissions.” The hearing will take place on April 2, 2008 at 1:30 p.m. in Room 1310 of the Longworth House Office Building. Witnesses will be by invitation only.
At this hearing the Committee will also vote to subpoena documents from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) showing what progress that agency has made in response to Supreme Court decision, Massachusetts v. EPA, which was delivered April 2, 2007.
As Congress examines all causes and impacts of heat-trapping emissions, the Select Committee is assessing aviation’s present contribution to greenhouse gasses and the potential to curb such emissions in the future. Aviation emissions generate 12 percent of U.S. transportation carbon dioxide emissions and three percent of the United States’ total carbon dioxide emissions. The FAA estimates that demand for passenger and cargo aviation in the United States will double or triple by 2025. As the European Union is poised to extend its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to all airlines, it is imperative for Congress to consider how aviation can contribute to or curb heat-trapping emissions through operations, technology and fuel.
Witnesses- Dan Elwell, FAA Assistant Administrator for Aviation Policy, Planning, and Environment
- Bob Meyers, Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Tom Windmuller, Senior Vice President, International Air Transport Association
- James May, President and CEO, Air Transport Association
New legal developments in the case of Mass. v. EPA
EPA Leaves Behind Wake of Broken Promises, Inaction as Anniversary of Landmark Global Warming Case Approaches
State Officials, Environmental Groups to Discuss Steps to Compel EPA Action
On April 2, 2007, the Supreme Court handed down a watershed decision in the case of Massachusetts v. EPA. Despite promises from EPA Administrator Johnson and even President Bush himself, EPA has willfully chosen to ignore the Supreme Court’s instructions. Indeed, EPA has instead proposed action consistent with the wishes of polluters and other special interests.
The petitioners in Mass v. EPA have repeatedly and publicly warned EPA that continued inaction on the so-called “endangerment finding” and promised regulations for global warming emissions from vehicles would force the petitioners to take steps to compel action. EPA’s brazen refusal to act has left the petitioners no choice but to take the agency back to court to force it to comply with the High Court’s decision.
This press teleconference will review developments over the past year, outline the Bush administration’s broken promises relating to this case, and outline the legal action that the petitioners are being forced to take in order to prevent EPA from continuing to ignore the Supreme Court.
- G. Edmund Brown, Jr., Attorney General of California
- James Milkey, Chief of Environmental Protection, Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office
- David Bookbinder, Sierra Club Chief Climate Counsel
- Joe Mendelson, Legal Director, International Center for Technology Assessment (ICTA)
The ICTA brought the original petition that led to this case. James Milkey argued the case before the Supreme Court.
Conference ID: 41865683
Dial-in: (888) 228 – 9795
Contact: Josh Dorner, 202.675.2384 (w), 202.679.7570 (m), josh.dorner@sierraclub.org
The Listing Decision for the Polar Bear Under the Endangered Species Act
Dirk Kempthorne has not confirmed attendance.
Witnesses- The Honorable Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior (INVITED)
- Dr. Douglas B. Inkley, Senior Scientist, National Wildlife Federation
- Kassie R. Siegel, Director of the Climate, Air, and Energy Program, Center for Biological Diversity
- William P. Horn Esq., Birch, Horton, Bittner & Cherot
FY 2009 Department of Energy Budget
- Raymond Orbach, Under Secretary for Science, Department of Energy
- Alexander Karsner, Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of Energy
- David Frantz, Director, Office of Loan Guarantees, Department of Energy
Ben Geman reports for E&E News:
DOE: Loan guarantee program advancing, official tells Senate panel (04/03/2008) Ben Geman, E&E Daily senior reporterA high-level Energy Department official assured lawmakers yesterday that the department is making progress on a “clean energy” loan guarantee program and expects to begin receiving the first full applications this month.
David Frantz, who heads the loan guarantee office, also told a Senate Appropriations panel that DOE plans to issue the solicitation for the next round of projects within months.
Congress last year required DOE to provide House and Senate appropriators a loan guarantee implementation plan to define award levels and eligible technologies at least 45 days before a new solicitation. Lawmakers should receive this plan later this month, Franz told the Senate Energy and Water Subcommittee.
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorized federal loan guarantees for low-emissions energy facilities such as new nuclear plants, renewable energy projects, carbon sequestration and other technologies. But lawmakers
- notably Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) -say the program has been slow getting off the ground.Frantz said DOE is on the cusp of receiving full applications from some of the first 16 projects the department is considering and expects them to come in over the next several months. These projects include integrated gasification combined cycle power plants, solar energy projects, cellulosic ethanol plants, a hydrogen fuel cell project and others. DOE hopes to begin issuing the first guarantees this year.
Nuclear power plant developers are eager to receive the federal loan backing and see the program as a crucial way to get a much-anticipated wave of plants off the ground after a decades-long lull in new nuclear construction.
But loan guarantees for nuclear plants are on a longer time frame. Frantz told reporters it is not clear whether nuclear will be one of the technologies included in the next solicitation. “It is still very much in the planning stage, and we have not made a final determination,” he said after the hearing.
The omnibus fiscal 2008 appropriations bill provides DOE with authority to issue $38.5 billion worth of loan guarantees through the end of fiscal 2009, including $18.5 billion for nuclear power projects. The department already had an additional $4 billion in loan guarantee authority through prior legislation.
But DOE, as part of the current budget proposal, is asking lawmakers to extend this time frame through fiscal 2011 for nuclear power projects and fiscal 2010 for other projects. Franz called the extension “absolutely essential.”
“It takes us months and years on these larger projects to do our credit underwriting and due diligence process,” he told reporters.
Frantz said he envisioned the $18.5 billion in loan guarantee authority for nuclear plants would cover guarantees for three to four projects. The program allows the federal government to issue guarantees for loans that cover up to 80 percent of a project’s cost—a federal backstop that is designed to help energy project developers secure Wall Street financing.
Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) urged Frantz to move quickly in implementing the loan program. “I hope that you have running shoes on,” he said.
The Climate Policy Puzzle: Putting the Pieces Together
Real progress on climate change issues requires new, manageable policy. It’s time to get to work. The Climate Policy Puzzle: Putting the Pieces Together is 2008’s must attend conference for those looking for straight talk on U.S. policy developments.
Join A&WMA, Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. (R-UT), and ranking representatives from the environmental community in Arlington, VA April 2-3, 2008 for a climate change event that breaks new ground.
Get down to business on positions, perspectives and predictions with issue-leaders from:
- Natural Resources Defense Council (USCAP)
- 3M Corp.
- Duke University
- Environmental Defense Fund (USCAP)
- Hogan & Hartson
- U.S Environmental Protection Agency
- Clean Air Institute Asia
- UK Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
- The U.S. Department of Energy
- The Electric Power Research Institute
- The United Mine Workers of America
- U.S. DOE’s National Energy Technology Lab
- The American Petroleum Institute
- The World Resources Institute (USCAP)
- The Center for Clean Air Policy
- Analysis Group, Inc.
- Edison Electric Institute
- DTE Energy
- Heinz Center for Science, Economics and the Environment
- ES&P LLC
- Environmental Council of the States
- National Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA)
- Utah Department of Environmental Quality
- RTP Environmental Associates, Inc.
- Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District
- Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
- Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
- Arizona Public Service
- The LEVON Group
- The Energy and Resources Institute, North America (TERI NA)
- Pew Center for Global Climate Change (USCAP)
Marriott Crystal City Gateway
1700 Jefferson Davis Highway
Arlington, VA 22202
Phone: 703-920-3230
Fax: 703-271-5212
To register, download the registration form and return it with your payment to:
Registrar, Air & Waste Management Association
420 Fort Duquesne Blvd., 3rd Floor
Pittsburgh, PA 15222-1435 USA
Fax: 412-232-3450
Phone: 412-232-3444
Important Note! The advance registration deadline was extended from March 10 to March 17.
Refund Policy:
If written notice of cancellation is received on or before March 19, 2008, payment will be refunded, less a $75 cancellation fee. (Cancellation fees apply regardless of payment method). Substitutions may be made at any time; payment for any difference is due at the time of substitution. This refund policy applies to all occurrences, including weather-related events and other natural disasters. In the unlikely occurrence of event cancellation, the Association is not liable for any expenses incurred by the registrant other than the full refund of registration fee(s) paid.
Continuing Education Credit Opportunities:
Conference attendees may be eligible for continuing education credit. For more information, please contact Autumn Secrest, Programs Coordinator, at 412-232-3444 ext. 6031, or asecrest@awma.org.
Conference Committee:
Conference Co-chairs:
- William J. Palermo, PE, Principal, RTP Environmental Associates, Inc.
- John S. Seitz, Partner, ES&P, LLC
Organizing Committee Members:
- A. Gwen Eklund, Director, Power, TRC
- Peter F. Hess, PE, DEE, QEP
- Miriam Lev-On, Executive Director, The LEVON Group, LLC
- C. V. Mathai, Ph.D., QEP, Manager for Environmental Policy, Arizona Public Service
- Jim Pfeiffer, Environmental Advisor, Air Quality, BP Exploration (Alaska), Inc.
- Jayne M. Somers, Program Manager, U.S. EPA Climate Change Division
- Richard W. Sprott, Executive Director, Utah Department of Environmental Quality
- C. Flint Webb, Project Manager, SAIC