Jeremy Symons

“Beware of oil companies offering bumper-sticker solutions to our energy problems. Rushing to drill by bypassing safety regulations won’t save American families a penny at the pump, but it will cost us plenty when the next oil spill disaster strikes.” 

- Jeremy Symons, senior vice president for Conservation and Education at National Wildlife Federation. 

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Economic Story of the Week

Navy Study Recommends Action on Climate

A recent report commissioned by the United States Navy concluded that the American naval forces – the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard – will face significant challenges in the coming decades as a result of climate change. 

The study, conducted by the National Research Council, accepts the scientific community consensus that the climate is changing and finds it imperative that preparations begin to secure Arctic shipping lanes, protect coastal populations and naval bases from rising sea levels, and plan for more humanitarian aid missions. 

According to Antonio J. Busalacchi, climatologist and director of the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center at the University of Maryland, College Park, and one of the report’s primary authors, “It’s clear that the potential for environmental disasters is on the rise due to the changing nature of the hydrologic cycle and sea level. Naval forces must be prepared to provide more aid and disaster relief in the decades ahead.” 

The report elaborates on prior work of the Pentagon, State Department, intelligence community and independent research groups that have declared climate change a “threat multiplier”, adding unpredictable hazards to national security and global physical and political stability. 

More on this story: NY Times, Climate Science Watch 

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Op-Ed of the Week

If gas prices go up further, blame Canada

(Star Tribune)

…Foreign oil interests are planning a deliberate manipulation of the U.S. oil market that would raise gas prices for Midwest farmers and consumers even higher. Who’s behind the plan? Not OPEC. It’s Canada. The Canadian oil industry…wants to build a pipeline to move crude oil from Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico. U.S. farmers, who spent $12.4 billion on fuel in 2009, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, could see expenses rise to $15 billion or higher in 2012 or 2013 if the pipeline goes through. American consumers will pay the price of this highway robbery. Food prices will rise because they reflect farm operating costs. …millions of Americans will spend 10 to 20 cents more per gallon for gasoline and diesel fuel as tribute to our “friendly” neighbors to the north. Environmentalists have long opposed [the pipeline] because tar sands production is “dirty” due to the high carbon emissions and the ecological damage caused by extracting and processing the oil. (More…) 

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Dirty Air Act Update

Earlier this month U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) introduced legislation undercutting the ability of the U.S. EPA to protect public health from the impacts of climate change brought on by harmful carbon pollution. 

“This proposal is a huge step backward for people, wildlife and our economy,” said Joe Mendelson, global warming policy director of the National Wildlife Federation. “It is an attack on clean air and would undermine our ability as a nation to protect public health, not to mention our ability to compete in the clean energy economy. 

“The American people want Congress to put forward solutions that create jobs, protect public health and position our nation as a global leader in the clean energy economy. Congress should reject the premise that our kids need to breathe polluted air and drink toxic water in order for our economy to prosper.” 

H.R. 910, the Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011, more familiarly known as the Dirty Air Act, is undergoing a mark-up this week in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Stay tuned for the results. 

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Landowners Tired of Dirty Energy Giant Bullies

Last week, landowners who are concerned they are being forced to place a dangerous pipeline under their land came to Washington, DC to visit with their representatives in Congress and officials in the Obama administration. 

TransCanada is trying to run dirty fuel into the U.S. along a 2,000 mile pipeline almost certain to leak. The fuel’s life cycle carbon emissions are three times that of conventional oil and gas, and it is also expensive. According to TransCanada’s own study, it would actually drive up energy prices in the Midwest. 

Widespread media reports say the company has attempted to strong arm residents into putting a risky pipeline on their property. David Daniel, a Texas landowner whose property would be split in half by the pipeline spoke about the trespass and abuse he’s experienced. “For me the integrity, not only of TransCanada, from all the lies and misdirection I have experienced, but the integrity of the pipeline is in question. The way it’s constructed, the lack of transparency and emergency response plan is very concerning. If they have nothing to hide they should be doing things very differently.” 

And Texas landowner Eleanor Fairchild said, “I’m concerned about all the pollutants that could get in our water supply. I’d like to at least make it safer.” 

Watch video testimonials of Daniel and Fairchild here. To learn more or report abusive or questionable acts visit www.TransCanadaAbuse.com. If you’re not a landowner near the pipeline, you can still speak out by taking action here. 

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NWF Report Preview: Air Pollution Harms Local Wildlife

A new report to be released on Wednesday from National Wildlife Federation finds that a number of wildlife species important to hunters and anglers are harmed by toxic air pollution and climate change. The report comes in the same week the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the long-awaited Mercury, Arsenic & Dioxin Reduction Rule to limit toxic emissions from power plants. Mercury is one of the most common and toxic power plant emissions and causes a variety of health disorders for fish, mammals, birds, and other species. 

Local press events and telephone press conferences are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday across the country. 

Contact: Tony Iallonardo, iallonardot@nwf.org,       202-797-6612     

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Happening this Week

Tuesday, March 15th

Vote: Markup of H.R. 910 – Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011, House Committee on Energy and Commerce, 3:00PM, RHOB 2123. 

Hearing: Report to the President from the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, 10:00AM, Dirksen 406. 

Thursday, March 17th

Hearing: “Clean Air Act and Jobs,” Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety and Subcommittee on Green Jobs and the New Economy, 10:00AM, Dirksen 406.

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For more global warming news on Wildlife Promise click here.

“The Continuing Resolution’s Clean Air Act prohibitions would place an unprecedented blindfold and gag order on the Environmental Protection Agency.  It requires EPA to turn a blind eye to carbon dioxide pollution from smokestacks, in defiance of the Clean Air Act, a Supreme Court order and sound science. EPA’s responsible enforcement and updating of the Clean Air Act are a big part of the legislation’s 40-year successful track record protecting public health and wildlife from pollution.”

- Jeremy Symons, senior vice president for National Wildlife Federation, rebuffing the attacks on the Clean Air Act in the Continuing Resolution spending plan released by House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY)     

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Economic Story of the Week

Wikileaks Cables Reveal Concerns Over “Peak Oil”

Diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks have called into question Saudi Arabia’s ability to increase oil production above current levels if needed to stabilize oil prices, stating that the country’s crude reserves may have been overestimated by up to 40 percent. Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest exporter of oil and plays a key role in setting global oil prices.    

If Saudi Arabia is reaching its point of “peak oil,”  that is to say that the country’s oil production has reached its maximum, concerns are growing that global oil prices up will be forced up over time with no way to drive them down.    

Even without “peak oil” looming Americans are demanding a clean energy future, a recent Gallup poll finding that 83 percent of individuals want Congress to push forward on an energy bill that provides incentives for using solar and other alternative energy.    

More on this story: The Guardian, NYT, NPR, TIME     

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Editorial of the Week

The GOP’s War on the EPA

(FrumForum)

The right to pollute is getting a big push from pals of the fossil fuel industries, most of them aiming at curtailing the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to limit greenhouse gas emissions. West Virginia’s senior Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller would call a two-year timeout on EPA regulations. House and Senate committee leaders Fred Upton (R-MI) and James Inhofe (R-OK) would strip EPA’s authority to limit CO2 and methane under the Clean Air Act. Wyoming Republican Senator John Barrasso would hurl Congress off the deep end. His legislation would forbid federal greenhouse gas limits under the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act…Let’s hope Congress, in a shortsighted venture into EPA-bashing, doesn’t behave similarly with carbon pollution – stubbornly letting it build up, like the national debt, until a crisis forces action more drastic than anyone would like. (More…)      

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Obama Administration Advances on Offshore Wind

The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and the Department of Energy (DOE) recently unveiled a strategic plan to accelerate the development of offshore wind energy, including more than $50 million in new funding for research and development. The agencies also identified four high-potential, low-impact areas in the Mid-Atlantic to speed up the construction of offshore wind power.    

“Offshore wind holds great potential to create jobs, cut pollution, and reduce our reliance on dirty fossil fuels,” said Catherine Bowes, senior policy representative at National Wildlife Federation. “It is time for America to move forward boldly and responsibly with clean energy, and we applaud the administration showing leadership to accelerate offshore wind development.”    

National Wildlife Federation along with a coalition of state and national groups recently released the report Offshore Wind in the Atlantic: Growing Momentum for Jobs, Energy Independence, Clean Air, and Wildlife Protection (pdf), which found more than 212 gigawatts of potential offshore wind energy in the Atlantic.    

More on this story: NWF Media Center, USA Today, Reuters     

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Report: Mass Climate-Related Migration on the Horizon

A new report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is warning that extreme weather caused by climate change will displace millions of people over the next half-century.   

The report, Migration Due to Climate Change Demands Attention, predicts that between 50 and 300 million people will be forced to relocated within and across borders.   

“Protection and assistance schemes remain inadequate, poorly coordinated, and scattered,” said the report. ”National governments and the international community must urgently address this issue in a proactive manner.”  

Reports from the National Wildlife Federation highlight how global warming brings an increasing amounts of extreme weather events such as droughts, hurricanes, floods and heat waves.   

More on this story: ADB Press Release, Reuters, NYT, E&E(sub. req.)   

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Happening this Week

Tuesday, February 15

Hearing: “Environmental Regulations, the Economy, and Jobs,” House Energy and Commerce Subcommitte on Environment and the Economy, 1:00PM, Rayburn 2322.   

Hearing: “Green Jobs and Trade,” Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Green Jobs and the New Economy, 2:30PM, Dirksen 406.   

Wednesday, February 16 

Briefing: Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Development, Environmental and Energy Study Institute, House Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Caucus, California Fuel Cell Partnership, and Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association. 3:00-4:30PM, HVC 201 Capitol Visitors Center. No RSVP required.

Summit: “Virginia Greenforce Community College Summit: Preparing the Virginia Workforce for New Green Jobs,” National Wildlife Federation and Jobs for the Future’s Greenforce Initiative, 9:00AM-4:00PM, Germanna Community College, Daniel Technology Center, 18121 Technology Drive, Culpeper, Virginia 22701, To attend email Jen Fournelle at fournellej@nwf.org.

Thursday, February 17 

Summit: “Michigan Greenforce Learning and Action Network Summit: Advancing Greener Careers and Campuses in Michigan,” National Wildlife Federation and Jobs for the Future’s Greenforce Initiative, 9:00AM-4:00PM, Lansing Community College, West Campus Conference Center, rooms M119-122,  Register online here.

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For more global warming news on Wildlife Promise click here.