The switch to natural gas will allow the CPP to dramatically reduce carbon and criteria pollutant emissions, eliminating more than 95 percent of sulfur oxides and at least 50 percent of carbon monoxide.
Noting that the Capitol Power Plant continues to be the number one source of air pollution and carbon emissions in the District of Columbia, the Congressional leaders thanked the Capitol Architect for the work they had done on increasing efficiency at CPP but that, “more must be done to dramatically reduce plant emissions and the CPP’s impact.” Read the rest of this entry »
After Tom Daschle withdrew himself from consideration today as Barack Obama’s Secretary of Health and Human Services because he failed to pay $130,000 in taxes, including the tax liability for a car and driver, this old Daschle campaign is strikingly painfully ironic.
A new study shows that pollution from automobiles and coal-fired power plants is contributing to the melting of mountain snowpacks up to a month early, exacerbating water shortages and polluting streams in the arid West.
We’ve all seen it. That white fluffy blanket of snow that looked so nice after it fell a couple weeks back is no longer white and fluffy. It has been capped with a layer of dark sooty particulate matter, turning it from white to gray to black. Having grown up in the Boston area, this was the reality of virtually every snowstorm I can recall from my youth. But that dark, sooty particulate matter that builds up on the stale snow is not only an aesthetically unpleasing feature of urban landscapes in the winter, it happens in the North American snowscapes of the Rockies, the Sierra Nevadas and the Cascades – with far more serious consequences.
A peer-reviewed study conducted by scientists at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, is the first to explore changes to snowmelt caused by soot pollution at a regional level. The study, authored by Qian, Gustafson, Leung and Ghan, is scheduled to be published next month in the Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres. Read the rest of this entry »
I also noted the part about “harnessing the sun, the wind and the soil”. The BBC’s Washington correspondent, Richard Lister noted that he was “setting out his transformative agenda: creating a new energy infrastructure. The image of ‘harnessing’ the soil is a notable one…”
Though President Obama did not utter the word “environment” per se, he spoke both directly and indirectly about the major energy and environmental issues of today; more so than any of his predecessors. Below are the excerpts in which Mr. Obama referred to the environment:
“…each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.”
“For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act – not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.”
“With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet.”
“To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.”
There will be many firsts during the course of Tuesday’s Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama, but mentioning the environment in the inaugural address will not be one of them: though pretty darn close.
Past presidents like Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S Truman and Calvin Coolidge have referred to the development and wise use of our “natural resources.” The language in these earlier environmental references was infused with the themes of conservation and preservation as opposed to pollution and ecological balance.
Conspicuously absent throughout the history of inaugural addresses have been allusions to the major energy and environmental issues of the time. In fact, only two presidents in this country’s history have even mentioned the word “environment” in this context; and they each used both of their opportunities. Read the rest of this entry »
“Well, it’s a sad night because we’ve reached the end of George W. Bush’s presidency and that means we have to unload what was a tremendous, rich, heavy-laden vein of comedy for us – like mining a dense vein of coal by god…” – David Letterman, January 16, 2009
The late night TV hosts have made their living over the last eight years thanks to the guffaws of the forty-third President of the United States, George W. Bush. But now that Bush is leaving the White House, the same late-night denizens of the airways have made a cottage industry talking about how they will have no material to make fun of after Obama takes office. Letterman recognized the end of the George W. Bush era with a video tribute to some of the President’s “rougher” moments [3:46].
Change is in the air! Red, Green, and Blue editor Tim Hurst posted photos of the wind turbines on the Capital Mall yesterday, and I was able to see them firsthand today, with the flag-draped Capital as a most appropriate backdrop.
Arriving in the DC area last night, I’m staying across the Potomac in Alexandria, the obvious buzz in the air is about the inauguration. But this time it is different. That’s the feeling on the air and the word on the street. Estimates are now for two million people to converge on the Mall on inauguration day in what truly is becoming a Great American Pilgrimage.
Of course I knew when I left San Francisco early yesterday morning that I was one of many – thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions – coming to Washington to bear witness to history. But once the journey is begun, I am myself swept up in its tide.
There is a pragmatic aspect to governance, a political reality to wielding power. But seeing and being a part of this movement of people, I realize there is an underlying spirit to what this inauguration represents. Pragmatism and power lend itself to politics – the art of the possible. They are the tools that, when we strive for our best, serve the ideals and spirit of a nation and its people. This is a proud moment for America and Americans.
Two small wind turbines, the type that would power individual homes, farms, or businesses are currently on display at the National Mall and contributing to the Washington, D.C. power grid. The turbines will remain in place through January 2009 as part of a sustainability exhibit at the Botanic Garden.
The two turbines, from Mariah Power (left) and Southwest Windpower (right), are just a few hundred feet from the Capitol, visible from where President-elect Obama will take the oath of office next Tuesday, January 20.
“Small residential wind turbines and solar PV are examples of technologies moving us toward realizing President-elect Obama’s vision for a renewable energy future and also creating thousands of new manufacturing and dealer jobs across the country,” said Andy Kruse, co-founder of Southwest Windpower, maker of the Skystream 3.7, the first real ‘plug and play’ residential wind turbine to hit North American markets.
This past fall, Congress passed a small-wind tax credit that gives individuals and businesses a $4,000 investment tax credit for the purchase of turbines like those from Mariah and Southwest Windpower currently on display on The National Mall.
This is a guest post by Caitlin Sislin, a public interest environmental attorney in Oakland, California and founder of the Transformative Advocacy program of Women’s Earth Alliance.
Barack Obama is committed to slowing and reversing climate change. Environmentally-friendly initiatives such as green jobs are at the center of his economic stimulus plan. So it’s no surprise that Obama’s inauguration will have the smallest “footprint” of any president in history.
Environmental groups will also be on hand, working to raise awareness about sustainability among the millions of event attendees. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals will hand out used fur coats to homeless people, as well as hot chocolate with soy milk in cups that read “Thank You for Not Wearing Fur!” Read the rest of this entry »
Red, Green and Blue brings together voices from across the political and ideological spectrums to discuss and debate critical environmental issues and current events.
Of course I knew when I left San Francisco early yesterday morning that I was one of many – thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions – coming to Washington to bear witness to history. But once the journey is begun, I am myself swept up in its tide.
