U.S. Senate may scrap Cap and Trade in exchange for Cap and Dividend

I may have spoke too soon the other day. It seems that a few Republicans in the Senate are not only on board with Cap and Trade but could be willing to support a Cap and Dividend model as the centerpiece of the climate change legislation that the House of Representatives passed last year. I've been a fan of Cap and Dividend since I read about the concept in a few publications and blogs.

The key difference between Cap and Dividend and Cap and Trade is that the revenues that are raised through the auctioning of permits, which would allow businesses to emit a certain level of greenhouse gases, would be paid out in the form of dividends to American citizens, whereas in a Cap and Trade system the revenues go to the Federal Government, where they are supposed to be used to fund renewable energy projects. The problem, as we have seen with many of these types of government programs, is that legislators seems to always find away to use the money for something other than its intended purpose (in Allegheny County you have Dan Onorato trying to use tax revenues intended for public transit or air quality improvements to build roads).

When it comes to Cap and Trade or Carbon Taxes, many Americans have a legitimate concern (and for once, Republicans have a valid argument against Democratic legislation) that utilities would pass on any increased costs in the form of a new tax or fee on their utility bills. The utilities are almost guaranteed to pass these costs on to us, which is why a Cap and Dividend is the way to go. The dividends that are paid out to citizens would in essence offset any taxes or rate hikes on our utility bills. A bonus of the Cap and Dividend is that it acts as an incentive to consumers to reduce their electricity consumption, since a lower utility bill would mean they would have more of the dividend to keep for themselves.

This past December Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Susan Collins (R-ME) unveiled the CLEAR (Carbon Limits and Energy for America’s Renewal) Act. Which, at only 39 pages, is much simpler and clear cut than the Waxman-Markley climate bill that was passed last summer.

CLEAR is a “100-75-25-0” policy:

• 100% of the permits to bring fossil carbon into the U.S. economy will be auctioned from day one – there are no permit giveaways.
• 75% of the auction revenue is returned directly to the public as equal per person dividends.
• 25% of the auction revenue is devoted to investments in energy efficiency, clean energy, adaptation to climate change, and assistance for sectors hurt by the transition from the fossil-fueled economy.
• Zero offsets are allowed: polluters cannot avoid curbing use of fossil fuels by paying someone else to ostensibly clean up after them.

What's not to like about that?

For more on the CLEAR act, check out Senator Cantwell's website.

For more on Cap and Dividend read Scientific American's Cap and Dividend, not Trade: Making Polluters Pay

Supreme Court Ruling is a Huge Blow to Climate Change Legislation

Big business just got a huge shot in the arm yesterday thanks to a Supreme Court of the United States ruling that removes restrictions for federal campaign financing by corporations, unions, and other special interest groups (See "A Shocking Win for the Fat Cats"). The argument made by the majority boils down to the need to give corporations the same freedom of speech that you and I have under the Constitution of the United States. I blogged over at Thoughts on Government about how wrong this reasoning is, but here at Green is Good I wanted to touch upon how corporations can now directly spend their money to work to defeat any legislation that threatens their bottom line.

Health care firms were already spending an average of $1.4 million a day, yes, a single day, to defeat health care legislation. Now that the SCOTUS has made a ruling that will remove the restrictions that force corporations to use PACs for federal campaign contributions, one could argue that any legislator who supports a bill that hurts corporate profits will now be under fire from those same corporations and industry groups. Besides health care, the climate change legislation comes to mind as the most critical legislation that is now under threat of being derailed thanks to this ruling. The utility industry groups have already been sending out letters to their customers, telling them that climate change legislation would lead to higher rates or a tax on the utility customer. The SCOTUS ruling will open up a floodgate of more mailings, more commercials, and much more money being spent to defeat any legislators who support cap and trade or cap and dividend legislation.

This ruling will make it more likely that any Democratic Senator or Congressman in a red state or district will think twice about supporting a bill that puts them squarely in the bulls eye of corporate America. Our legislators, those who do not have a spine anyways, will not vote for something that is unpopular, even though it is, in their mind and heart, the right thing to do. My friends, we are becoming a plutocracy - a nation where our laws and policies are no longer written for your average citizen, but for the citizen (think T Boone, Bloomberg, Soros, etc) and the corporations that have the deep pockets to buy any politician who supports their agenda. If you haven't already, please watch the great documentary The Corporation for more on how treating corporations as if they were citizens poses a serious threat to our democratic republic.

Huge day for the Obama Administration, Clean Energy, and EVs

Despite taking place in the heart of tea party country, President Obama braved the handful of teabaggers protesting everything from cap and trade, to solar power to yes, health care reform for the opening of Florida Power and Light's new solar energy power plant in Arcadia, FL. The 40 megawatt 90,000+ solar panel plant, which have been installed across 180 acres of the 5,000 acre FPL property, is expected to generate enough clean electricity to power 3,000 homes. So far the FPL plant is the largest operating solar power plant in the US. During the event President Obama also announced the largest stimulus fund award to date - grants of $3.4 billion awarded to one hundred private companies, utilities, manufacturers, cities and other partners for development of smart grid technologies. Below is the official White House press release.

“The $3.4 billion in Smart Grid Investment Grant awards are part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, and will be matched by industry funding for a total public-private investment worth over $8 billion. Applicants state that the projects will create tens of thousands of jobs, and consumers in 49 states will benefit from these investments in a stronger, more reliable grid.

Speaking at Florida Power and Light’s (FPL) DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center, President Barack Obama today announced the largest single energy grid modernization investment in U.S. history, funding a broad range of technologies that will spur the nation’s transition to a smarter, stronger, more efficient and reliable electric system. The end result will promote energy-saving choices for consumers, increase efficiency, and foster the growth of renewable energy sources like wind and solar. "

Not to be outdone, Vice President Biden was in Wilmington Delaware today to announce Fisker Automotive's purchase and reopening of a GM auto plant that was recently closed down. The electric vehicle manufacturer, an EV competitor of California's Tesla Motors, is expected to manufacturer moderately priced sedans at its new Wilmington location. The new Fisker plant is expected to employ 2,000 workers, up from the 450 workers there when GM closed the plant down last summer. This is huge news for not only electric vehicle enthusiasts but our nations's beleagured automotive industry and manufacturing base.

Van Jones resigns from his post as White House adviser

Van Jones, founder of Green for All and the leading voice of the green jobs movement, has stepped down from his post as White House environmental adviser. Jones was seen as the President's "Green Jobs Czar" and his views on the environmental movement, his past as a political activist, and the partisan attacks (a while back he was taped referring to Republicans as "assholes") have led to cries for his resignation. Jones, realizing that falling on his sword made more sense since it would be less of a distraction than trying to combat the distortions and smears, said, in his statement, that "I came here to fight for others, not for myself."

Here are the facts related to the right wing media attacks on Jones's character:

1. Van Jones was among the many who were arrested in San Francisco for protesting during the aftermath of the Rodney King verdict in 1992. Jones was a law student at Yale at the time and was working for the San Fran based Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, and was monitoring the demonstrations at the time he was arrested.
2. Later that same year Jones said he became a "communist." He was a leftist activist for the next several years but upon realizing that their cause resulted in little or no progress he came around to the idea of capitalism, saying that he "...realized that there are a lot of people who are capitalists....who are really committed to fairly significant change in the economy, and were having bigger impacts than me and a lot of my friends with our protest signs" The full story on Jone's political past can be found in this Bay Area newspaper story.
3. Jones referred to Republicans as "assholes." It seemed like he was trying to be funny, because he even admitted the too could sometimes be an asshole, and that sometimes you have to be an asshole to pass legislation. Jones said this on 2/11/2009, prior to his being named to his post as White House adviser.
4. Jones spoke out about the role of race in environmental issues an decisions. Here he is talking about how white polluters, in the form of big business CEOs have "steered poison" into colored peoples' neighborhoods.

So basically, the far right didn't want a guy with a radical past and history of speaking the truth of the role of race in the environmental movement working closely with the President and his administration. Fair enough, and I think the Obama administration should have known better than to hire someone with Jones' background, because it plays into the right's hand and their argument that Obama "surrounds himself with radicals", although, up until this point, their accusations have turned out to be wrong.

I doubt Van Jones is going to lose sleep over resigning. Part of what makes Van Jones the leader that he is today is his radical roots, and his willingness to speak bluntly about the environmental and green jobs divide. As Al Gore has proven, someone with the drive of a Van Jones can probably do more for their cause working outside of government than they could from within.

UPDATE: This editorial from the San Fran Chronicle pretty much sums up what I posted above, but I wanted to highlight the following paragraph:

"Those of us who have observed Van Jones' work over the years know him as a dedicated activist whose once polemic and confrontational style on matters such as police misconduct has been redirected and transformed into a more polished and inclusive advocacy of the environment. In the politics of the San Francisco Bay Area, a fiery radical past is almost a rite of passage."

The New and Improved Incandescent: a case study of the way government mandates can spur innovation

It's an easy position, being anti-government, but on occasion an issue arises where only the federal government has the power to step in and bring about the changes we need. Energy efficiency, energy independence, and climate change are all perfect examples of how, absent government mandates, the free market fails to get it done and has failed to get it done time after time. Now, occasionally the government does back the wrong horse, corn ethanol is a perfect example of such an instance, but the case of the incandescent light bulb is indeed a case study of how the government can enact policy that takes a product that should have been obsolete half a century ago, and replaces it with a new technology or new and improved version. When it was announced back in 2007 that the incandescent light bulb, at least in its current form and efficiency, would be phased out by the year 2012, Conservative radio hosts across the country and in Pittsburgh (local right wingers Quinn and Rose) freaked out about the news. But have no fear right wingers and lovers of incandescent light bulbs. Because of the mandate, manufacturers have been rushing to develop new technologies that have already proven to make the old incandescent bulbs 30% to 50% more energy efficient. The impact of having the majority of our residential lighting, be it incandescents, CFLs, or LEDs, at 30%, 50%, and even 100% greater efficiency, is huge in the grand scheme of things. Now that, my friends, is change and government that we can believe in.

Panel of retired U.S. Military leaders recommend a call to arms against the National Security threat of Climate Change

A few weeks back a group of twelve retired U.S. Admirals and Generals issued a report on the "national security consequences of climate change." The report includes a list of the group's findings on how climate will impact our security over the next 30 to 40 years, along with a list of recommended a list of actions for the U.S. to take to mitigate the security risks climate change will present to our nation. The following is a list of their key findings, followed up by the group's recommendations.

Summary of Findings:

• Projected climate change poses a serious
  threat to America’s national security
• Climate change acts as a threat multiplier
  for instability in some of the most volatile
  regions of the world
• Projected climate change will add to
  tensions even in stable regions of the world
• Climate change, national security, and
  energy dependence are a related set of global
  challenges

Recommendations:

1. The national security consequences of
   climate change should be fully integrated
   into national security and national
   defense strategies
2. The U.S. should commit to a stronger
   national and international role to help
   stabilize climate change at levels that will
   avoid significant disruption to global
   security and stability
3. The U.S. should commit to global
   partnerships that help less developed
   nations build the capacity and resiliency
   to better manage climate impacts
4. The Department of Defense should
   enhance its operational capability by
   accelerating the adoption of improved
   business processes and innovative technologies
   that result in improved U.S.
   combat power through energy efficiency
5. The Department of Defense should
   conduct an assessment of the impact on
   U.S. military installations worldwide of
   rising sea levels, extreme weather events,
   and other projected climate change
   impacts over the next 30 to 40 years

The full report is less than 20 pages of actual content and has some more details around the military advisory group's findings and recommendations, including a great quote on climate change skepticism by General Gordon Sullivan (Retired), who stated that “ We never have 100 percent certainty. We never have it. If you wait until you have 100 percent certainty, something bad is going to happen on the battlefield.”

Shop at Kohl's, buy your groceries at Whole Foods, drink Pepsi, and read this blog while on a Dell powered by Intel

The EPA has a neat website that shows the top purchasers of green power across the private and public sectors, and also academia. The top 50 rankings are by total green power used for electricity, with Intel coming in at #1, Pepsi at #2, and Kohl's at #3. A lot of companies actually purchase 100% of their electricity from green sources such as wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, or biomass. Dell was #4 overall but purchased a whopping 158% of their electricity needs from green sources, compared to 46% for top ranked Intel. You can also view the top green power purchases by federal or local government. It is good to know that the EPA gets 100% of its electricity from green sources. The DOE, however, only gets 3% of its total electricity from green power, which is pretty sad since they should be leading the way. Let's hope that DOE Secretary Chu does something to change this. Come to think of it, I would hope that the Obama administration sets a precedent by mandating that all electricity used by Federal buildings come from the green energy sources listed above. I am a believer that government can and should use its purchasing muscle to create markets for emerging and socially and environmentally beneficial technologies like clean and green energy. Imagine the impact on our clean tech industry if the federal government mandated that its agencies get 100% of their electricity from green power sources? Imagine if the state and local governments followed suit? That would be huge!

Pittsburgh's North Shore Connector not among the projects receiving the latest Federal Stimulus grants

Hopefully this is the last time I have to bash the North Shore Connector, or the "Bore to the Shore", as the Port Authority refers to it as. Anyone familiar with the Port Authority's North Shore Connector project shouldn't be shocked that it wasn't among the recipients of the latest round of $742 million in Federal Stimulus grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The NSC needs roughly an additional $60 million to complete what was supposed to be a $430 million project, bringing the total cost to around $550 million. The project, once completed, will extend our light rail from downtown and under the Allegheny River to the city's North Shore. The new extension will not touch any residential neighborhoods and will most likely be used primarily to transport people going to Steelers and Pirates games, and eventually the new Casino, from downtown and the South Hills.

The project, in the minds of most people with at least half a brain (Former Mayor Tom Murphy still thinks it was a good idea), is not only a misuse of taxpayer dollars - it is a poster child of boondoggle projects that are thought up by politicians, special interests groups, and businesses (like the Pittsburgh Steelers) that do not add value to the greater public. The real need here in Pittsburgh, for years, has been the Oakland to Downtown light rail link. That project would have not only increased ridership, reduced congestion, and led to more economic development in the uptown area- it would have received a bigger part of the Federal Stimulus dollars that are currently being granted to light rail projects in Virginia (Dulles Airport link to DC Metro), Phoenix, and Denver, and even Utah. Yes, even Utah is building light rail that actually touches neighborhoods where people live.

New Pittsburgh Penguins Arena, named after Coal Company, will aim for LEED Gold Certification

Earlier today Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl announced some of the city's green initiatives, as well as news that the Penguins arena, which will be named after local coal company Consol Energy, will aim for LEED gold certified status. I think this is great news for Pittsburgh which will now have two of the world's largest LEED certified buildings. Let's hope that the city gets back on track to being the leader in green building (I think we are now #7 in the US after being #1 several years back). In order to get back to #1 the city needs to adopt new building codes which will require developments of certain size to achieve at least LEED silver status. Other city's, like Grand Rapids, have seen dramatic results following the passage of green building legislation that requires larger buildings to be energy efficient. Bram posted some video footage of today's announcement, which took place at Market Square.

Sierra Club pleased with the Stimulus Bill, President Obama's first month in office

Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope hailed the passing of the Stimulus Bill as the "biggest victory" by an American President in his first month in office. I'm sure his comment there is debatable, but one thing that is certain of President Obama's first month is that White House policy on clean energy and the environment is a complete 180 from the previous administration. If the Obama EPA, the Department of Energy, and the Department of the Interior can continue to make the kinds of changes they have made this first month over the next 11 months, this will indeed be the green-energy revolution, and the change, that we need and have been waiting for.

A recent Sierra Club email touted The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which contains approximately $80 billion in funding for promoting energy efficiency, renewable energy, and higher-mileage cars. This includes:

• $25 billion for energy efficiency
• $20 billion for renewable energy incentives
• $11 billion in grants and $6 billion in loans to modernize the electric grid and increase its capacity to deliver power generated by renewable sources, and
• $17.7 billion for mass transit, Amtrak, and high-speed rail.

Here are Carl Pope's Stimulus Package highlights, which are listed on his blog:

The signing a day earlier of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is, as far as I can recall, by far the biggest victory mustered by an American President in his first month in office. Environmentally, the bill is the most important piece of legislative support for clean energy ever adopted. Its provisions include $80 billion for a wide variety of environmental programs. The President, before he signed it in Denver, visited a solar-energy manufacturing facility. It was a nice bookend to the visit he made to a Ohio wind-turbine factory last month, when he launched his campaign to get Congress to pass the bill.

In addition to directly funded investments, the bill also contains important, if little commented on, incentives to industry, states, and local government to go even further. Some of the second-year funding for energy efficiency, for example, is contingent on states following California's lead in giving their public utilities as much incentive to save energy as to increase electricity generation.

Live Webcast: The Stimulus Package and what it means for Pittsburgh

Tune in to VivoLive.com this Wednesday at 5:30pm for a live webcast of a discussion of the Stimulus Package and what it means for Pittsburgh. Yours truly will be in attendance to hear from Pittsburgh's green champion, Councilman Bill Peduto, and the rest of the panel which will consist of representatives from the offices of Arlen Specter, Mike Doyle, Ed Rendell and Jane Orie; State Representative Chelsa Wagner; Eve Picker, and an official from the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission. The PG's Early Returns blog has more on what this blogger hopes will turn into the unveiling of the Pennsylvania High Speed Rail project (wishful thinking, I know).

"Small but much appreciated" victory for public transportation in the final House Simulus Bill

After the disappointment of learning that only 1.2% of the stimulus bill would be dedicated to public transportation, I reached out a policy analyst at Building America's Future, a coalition led by Governor's Ed Rendell and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mayor Mike Bloomberg that is lobbying members of Congress to increase funding for our nation's infrastructure improvements.

Here is his response:

"Yesterday could have been worse. Initially the transit number was at $9 billion, but an amendment sponsored by Rep. Jerrold Nadler to add $3 billion was passed yesterday with the final bill, so the stimulus package included $12 billion. A small but much appreciated victory for public transportation! "

NY Rep Jerrold Nadler's amendment was, in my opinion, the most significant of the few amendments that were actually approved, as it added $3 billion to the original $9 billion appropriated to public transportation. I feel a little better now.

We are not done though. If you want more funding for renewable energy and public transportation please write, call, or email your US Senators!

So far the Stimulus Bill looks like a major disappointment

Change may have happened at the top, but both the lower and upper houses of our Congress still suck. If you peruse The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 you will see many pork projects brought to you by House Democrats and a huge amount of the bill dedicated to tax cuts, brought to you primarily by Republicans, who year after year fail to provide any ideas for our economy beyond tax cutting. According to Talking Points Memo, the Senate draft looks even more disappointing.

Here is brief summary of my problems with the House Stimulus Bill:

• Too much pork!! Way too much going towards pork projects and programs that have nothing to do with economic stimulus (billions for student financial aid, energy assistance for seniors, and a number of pork projects like the $200 million revitalization of the National Mall)
  
• Too much (approx. $300 billion) going towards tax cuts or credits, most of which will not creates jobs or stimulate the economy
  
• Far too little going towards rail and public transportation projects (only $10 billion) and a disproportionate amount going towards highways ($30 billion)
• Only $18.5 billion going towards the DOE's energy efficiency and renewable energy projects
  

Okay okay, so are there any good parts to the House Bill? Sure. Energy wise, despite such a small portion of the bill going to the DOE and renewable energy, there are some good projects that will advance our clean energy economy, and even help clean up our producers of dirty energy. Here are the highlights

• $8 billion for the DOE's Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee Program
• $4.5 billion for modernization of our electricity grid (smart grid!)
• $2.4 billion for Carbon Capture and Sequestration demonstration
• $2 billion for the DOE's Advanced Research Projects
• $1 billion for the Advanced Battery Loan Guarantee Program
• $600 million for Plug-ins and Hybrid vehicles for the Federal Government's Vehicle Fleet
• $600 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's climate sensors and climate modeling technology
• $350 million for the R&D and evaluation for improvements in energy generation, transmission, regulation, use, and storage, for military installations, military vehicles, and other military equipment (An energy independent Military?)

Total for energy related projects: $20.7 billion

Sunlight Labs extracted the appropriations from the bill into a spreadsheet, where you can view the stimulus funds appropriated to each department. They were baffled that they were only able to find $356.4 billion in appropriations within the text of the bill. Where is the other $475 billion? Well, $300 billion of it is going towards tax cuts for individuals and businesses. I think some tax cuts for small businesses makes a lot of sense, but additional tax cuts or tax rebates for individuals? Last year's tax rebate showed that the any positive impacts due to the fiscal stimulus checks were both minimal and temporary, and now we are going to try to tax cut our way to prosperity again? We need to start building things again!

***Please note that Obama has stated to House Republicans that he "had no pride in authorship of the current bill. " THANK GOD Obama isn't as clueless as some of the idiot House Democrats. Good god - don't these people realize that it is time for change instead of the same old bullshit in our politics and legislation?!

Obama could bring us this stimulus package, the first major piece of legislation during his presidency, in two ways. He could pull a George W. Bush and simply rubber stamp a bill produced by his own party. The other option is to do the right thing. He could make both parties put country first by working together to draft a bi-partisan bill that will create jobs, improve our infrastructure, and put us on the road to energy independence. That is the kind of change we need! If Obama wants to turn this stinker around, and improve his already high approval rating, he will do something audacious. He will veto this dog shit of a bill when it gets passed in both the House and Senate. He will piss off the members of his own party by demanding that they remove the funding for the pork projects, and he will ask them to replace some of the tax rebates /cuts with tax cuts for small businesses, which will show some love to the Republicans.

NOTE: Pennsylvania is slated to receive $22.07 billion of the stimulus money, with a little over $2.3 billion going towards the state budget shortfall. I would bet that Governor Rendell makes sure that the North Shore Connector gets that $120 million it needs in order to be completed.

The Washington Post has a good story on the Democrats who oppose the stimulus plan as is.

My Green Inauguration Trip

This past week I made the trip down to Washington DC to see the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama. I had what I believe may have been one of the greenest inaugural trips out of any out of the owner. Instead of driving I carpooled with a friend who was already driving her Honda Civic Hybrid down to the capital. I think we only consumed 10 or 12 gallons of gas for the round trip. While in the capital I utlized one of the nation's better metro systems, I rode both natural gas and hybrid electric buses, and, when I wasn't too exhausted from standing out in the cold all day Tuesday, I made the one mile walk to and from the metro to the apartment I was staying at. Including gas, tolls, and metro fare I probably spent $50 on getting from Pittsburgh to DC and around DC. That's not too shabby. If you don't mind walking once in a while, and if you rely upon a car sharing service like Zip Car when you must have a car, living a car free life in Washington DC is very easy. Besides having hybrid electric buses I noticed that the district had a number of different electric vehicles for security and maintenance. Below is a picture of one of the electric security vehicles I came across while in the National Mall. Like this EV, DC was definitely 100% electric during the inauguration weekend.

The Mayor's Infrastructure Stimulus Wish List...prepare to be Underwhelmed

Pittsburgh's mayor Luke Ravenstahl released his list of projects for the Obama administration's massive infrastructure program, which should should go into effect as early as Obama's first month in office.. The mayor announced his plan amid criticism from members of Pittsburgh city council, who were upset that the mayor did not submit the city's wish list to the US Conference of Mayors in time to be included in the group's Jobs and Infrastructure Report, although 427 other cities were able to do so. You can view that report here.

My first reaction after looking over the list of 110 projects was "Where is the green?" and "Where are the transit projects?" Where are the big and bold ideas for light rail and commuter rail, like the things we have proposed as part of CityLive's Transportation Wiki? I've compared Pittsburgh's list to the wishlists of other cities, such as Miami, which asked for funding for $3.4 in projects, including $280 million on a new streetcar system, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, which requested $2.3 billion in funding, with over $1 billion of that money being earmarked for renewable energy projects. Below is a list of the ten cities which requested the most money for infrastructure projects. (The jobs figures are so inflated that you shouldn't even pay mind to them)



Again, the mayor's plan left me asking for plans to expand the light rail to Oakland, or a massive plan for citywide energy efficiency initiatives, like Councilman Peduto's LED lighting plan. To be fair, a lot of the projects on the mayor's list are essential and are long overdue. Our sewer systems should have been upgraded decades ago, and Pittsburgh is not alone as many cities across the US are asking for money for water and waste related projects. But when looking for true green projects I only found a handful that even come close to being considered "green". These projects included bike trails, LED lighting along the trails, and new parks and green spaces. These 10 projects, listed below, represent $38 million of the $1.02 billion in requested funds, meaning only 3.3 % of the total that Mayor Ravenstahl is requesting is going to projects that will make Pittsburgh a greener city. This is a joke when stacked up against other cities, both larger and smaller than Pittsburgh, who realize that projects focused on renewable energy and energy efficiency, not to mention CO2 reductions, will be at the top of the Obama's administration's list of priorities.




A friend, who had reviewed the list earlier today, sent me an email with the following:

Where’s the leadership? Where’s the innovation? The imagination? Where’s the $%@$ creativity or inspiration?

That’s just a rote $%#@ laundry list of stuff that came out of the backs of reports that have been filed away in the City-County Building for years.

My thoughts exactly. As I said earlier, the mayor's plan does address some essential fixes to things which are in dire need of upgrades, but anyone who has been living in Pittsburgh for a few years could have recommended those projects. These are not the big bold ideas that we need to "move Pittsburgh forward", as the mayor likes to say often. Obama's stimulus plan will be an unprecedented opportunity to improve our transportation system and finally build out our light rail network, which still only serves the South Hills and downtown Pittsburgh. Other cities have put forth bold ideas that will make them more competitive not only here in the US but on a global scale as well. Like every other issue, this one shows the glaring weakness of Pittsburgh : the lack of bold leadership from our top public officials.

The complete list of projects can be viewed and downloaded to a spreadsheet from Swivel.com

Obama chooses Nobel Prize winning Physicist to be the next Energy Secretary

This might be one of Obama's best cabinet selections to date. Dr. Steven Chu is your typical energy secretary, as he is not a politician or energy industry executive. Some had speculated that Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell was in the running to be Energy Secretary, and as Bill Richardson's two year tenure as Energy Secretary showed, politicians are the wrong choice as our nation's top energy chief The Wonk Room blog over at Think Progress had a nice write up on the announcement and this paragraph tells why Steven Chu is such an awesome choice as our next energy secretary.

It’s hard to decide if the selection of Dr. Chu is more remarkable for who he is — a Nobel laureate physicist and experienced public-sector administrator — or for who is not. Unlike previous secretaries of energy, he is neither a politician, oil man, military officer, lawyer, nor utility executive. His corporate ties are not to major industrial polluters but to advanced technology corporations like AT&T (where he began his Nobel-winning research) and Silicon Valley innovator Nvidia (where he sits on the board of directors). Chu is a man for the moment, and will be a singular addition to Obama’s Cabinet.

Here is a 9 minute clip of Dr. Chu at the last National Energy Summit. He is wicked smart when it comes to all things energy - he gets climate change, energy efficiency, and clean tech.

Plextronics CEO: "Today’s clean-tech intellectual property is tomorrow’s oil"

Popcity recently published an Op-Ed by Andy Hannah, CEO of Pittsburgh clean tech startup Plextronics. Hannah just returned from the Middle East, where he was on a trade mission with the US Department of Energy. Following his trip Mr. Hannah wrote about what he thinks the incoming administration needs to do to position the United States as the world leader in the clean technology and renewable energy.

The following are Hannah's steps for success:

• Collaborate. Participate with other nations, such as the UAE, where the vision is to be the world leader in energy technology.
• Compete. Establish a competitive platform that “reaches for the moon”. Let’s build a new city that has net zero carbon emissions or overhaul an existing city so that it has net zero carbon emissions. Let’s build a cluster of companies in a city that drives more than half of its economy from the export of energy technology.
• Use our assets. All of our government properties could convert its energy sources from traditional energies to clean and alternative energy technology.
• Win. What are the global visionaries expecting to achieve? Let’s double the ante.There are many efforts already in progress across the United States to establish excellence in clean and renewable energy technology.Sometimes they are loosely connected and most times they are independent in their efforts. As a country of ingenuity, invention and determination we need to harness all of those traits and drive a coordinated, nationwide effort to ensure that America’s clean-tech intellectual property is tomorrow’s oil.

The Ford Motor Company's Business (Survival) Plan

Below is the section on sustainability and electric vehicles from the business plan that Ford presented to the Senate Banking Committee on December 2nd. After reviewing this plan as well as the plans, the big three CEO's testimony to Congress, and also the financial health of the Detroit automakers, I have to say that Ford's relatively stronger balance sheet, their aggressive plans for rolling out electric vehicles, and having a chairman in Bill Ford who has longed to make Ford a green auto company, makes Ford the favorite to come out of this recession with a plan and strategy that will put them in a position of strength to compete with the Toyotas and Hondas who have been eating the big three's lunch throughout the past three decades. More to come on the plans of GM and Chrysler, but from first glance it looks like GM is asking for $18 billion to gut the company, while Chrysler seems to be a counting down the days until its cash shortage forces them to turn off the lights.

Here is the press release from Ford, which has links to both the plan (PDF) and appendix (PPT).

A WSJ reporter lived blogged the testimony, and it is worth reading in its entirety, especially the parts where Nardelli and Wagoner seem to be losing it.



Ford's Sustainability and Electrification Strategy
(page 16 in the report)

Ford’s sustainability plan will achieve continuous and substantial improvement in fuel economy and a corresponding reduction in CO2 through affordable technology in high volume. Ford’s plan is to make affordable fuel efficiency available to millions of consumers.

Our three-phased approach – with near-term,medium-term and long-term advanced technologies and products – begins now with advanced internal combustion engine and
transmission technologies, such as our EcoBoost engines going into production on several vehicles in 2009. The next major step in Ford’s plan is to increase over time the volume of electrified vehicles, as battery costs improve and as the transition from Hybrids to Plug-in Hybrids to Battery Electric Vehicles occurs. (See Appendix, Slide 4.)

Next month at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, we will discuss in detail Ford’s accelerated vehicle electrification plan, which includes bringing to market by 2012 a family of hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles. Our work will include partnering with battery and powertrain systems suppliers to deliver a full battery electric vehicle (BEV) in a van-type vehicle for commercial fleet use in 2010 and a BEV sedan in 2011. We will develop these vehicles in a manner that enables us to reduce costs and ultimately makes battery electric powered vehicles more affordable for consumers.

Our plan also includes building on our competence in hybrid vehicles, as demonstrated by the industry-leading fuel economy of the Ford Escape and Ford Fusion hybrids. We are now developing our next generation full hybrid technology, which includes plug-in capability, for vehicles in 2012 and beyond. We are targeting a substantial increase in hybrid volume through a greater than 30% reduction in cost, installation of hybrid capability in global platforms and hybrid vehicles that are uniquely styled.

We cannot, however, accomplish significant electrification by ourselves. The 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act requires American-developed breakthroughs in high-power energy batteries (e.g. lithium ion). In order to make significant progress in electrification, Ford supports establishing a U.S. public/private partnership to accelerate the development of this capability, including supporting infrastructure, within the United States.

Obama's National Security Adviser "Puts Energy First"

The Wall Street Journal's Environmental Capital blog has a story on President-elect Obama's choice for our National Security Adviser, General Jim Jones. Gen. Jones has been on record stating that energy is a national security issue. This should be a no brainer, but it is a 180 from the Bush administration, which has talked the talk but failed to walk the walk when it comes to taking action on climate change and energy security. Here is an interesting quote from Jones, provided by Environmental Capital:

“We are in a race against the clock and complacency is our greatest enemy. If we do not take this challenge seriously, America’s economic prosperity, national security, and global standing will be at risk. The status quo is not only an option, it is a recipe for failure.”

Can I get an Amen!? This is another sign that energy independence will be at the top of Obama's list of priorities. My friends, the closer we get to PE Obama's inauguration the more I can sense that change to our backwards energy policy is around the corner. How about you?

The DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy has a blog!

I found a very useful blog brought to us by none other than the Department of Energy's Office of EERE. The blog is titled Energy Savers, and the blog contains, you guessed it, tips on how each of us can save energy in and around our homes. I found the blog while doing research on ways to weatherize our house. Although the Energy Savers blog was created just this past September they have already posted helpful information on a wide range things from energy audits to tax incentives for energy efficient appliances and home improvements.

The following are a few of their best posts to date:

Six Places to Find Help with your Energy Costs
Two Stories of Successful Energy Audits
Energy Tax Credits: Stay Warm and Save MORE Money!
EERE's Energy Calculators

According to their first post from back in September, we can expect about 2 posts a week on the Energy Savers blog:

Welcome! The Energy Savers Blog is a new undertaking here at the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. We've been hearing so much great feedback from consumers who visit the Consumer's Guide to Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy that we decided to offer a new way to share your ideas, needs, and issues around energy. And this is it!

This blog is our place to discuss important energy issues with you, and your place to converse with us and others facing those issues. We've gathered a small team of bloggers who each offer a different perspective on saving energy and using renewable technologies. We hope that (at least occasionally) you'll find an outlook that you can relate to and information you can use.

Since many of us are already feeling a bit of a chill in the air, we are well aware that the approaching winter and high energy costs are probably on your mind as well. To help you get prepared before the snow flies, over the next two months we will be gearing our blog posts specifically toward "winterization" strategies that can help you save energy and money.

Expect to see regular posts approximately twice a week, with more posts throughout the month of October, widely known around here as Energy Awareness Month.

Finally, here are a few more helpful links from the Office of EERE:

EERE Consumer's Guide
Energy Saver's website
Consumer's Guide to Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
EERE Information Center