I know I’m not alone in feeling growing anxiety about the changes to the natural world I’ve seen in my lifetime, or in my rising concern as I flip through the newspaper and think that America could be left behind in the accelerating race to a clean energy global economy. But I’ve also seen vivid proof that America can turn action on climate change into American jobs.

For all these reasons, and like millions of Americans, I was relieved and moved to hear President Obama commit to “respond to the threat of climate change” in his second inaugural address and to do so to preserve both America’s unique natural heritage, and our economic promise for our children.

In a  statement on Inauguration Day, NWF saw renewed hope for a secure climate future and underscored the broad public support to confront the urgent climate challenges that face all Americans.

Gov. Granholm at the Department of Energy Saturday.  Photo:  DOE

But for starters, here’s a hot-off-the-presses proposal that gives citizens of every state something to chew on (and a stake in the clean energy economy):

At an Inauguration weekend event at the Department of Energy,  I was happy to get a chance to hear former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm outline a Clean Energy Jobs Race to the Top that would spur states and regions to take advantage of their unique strengths to build in-state jobs and forge state and national energy leadership.

Here’s how it would work

One example of what responding to climate change looks like today. Building more fuel efficient cars and trucks in Kentucky. Photo: Sam Varnhagen, Ford Motor Co.

• Targeting industry clusters and opportunities for competitive advantage;
• Strong business and education partnerships;
• Approaches that spur supply and demand for new energy and technology;
• Partnering regionally; and
• More jobs created

How big is the upside to state action? Big. Take a look at these recent reports that outline the state-by-state and region-by-region benefits of deploying offshore windproduction, or modernizing our electric grid, building advanced vehicles, developing solar power or restoring the Gulf.

Full video of the DOE inaugural event is here, and provides a plenty to spur discussion of the specifics of  the Clean Energy Jobs Race to the Top  and other promising ways to meet our climate and energy challenges.  But whether you care most about jobs and  manufacturing, healthy families and communities, education and innovation, or wildlife and our natural heritage, there’s no doubt that states — in partnership with communities and the federal government — have a powerful opportunity to lead the way into a prosperous clean energy and climate smart future.

Ask your elected leaders and local organizations what they’re doing to respond to climate change and bring clean energy jobs to your neighborhood. You can make an #energypledge about what you plan to do to respond to climate change or meet our energy challenges, or a #GreenWish about what you’d like to see for the environment, wildlife, climate or energy in the year to come.

Here’s the real story

Today’s headlines that start-up battery maker A123 would file for bankruptcy was quickly followed by news that major automotive and efficiency equipment supplier Johnson Controls would buy A123′s automotive business, complementing JCI’s existing investments in advanced battery facilities in Michigan and Ohio.  More on the details here.

As Alex Molinaroli, president, Johnson Controls Power Solutions said this morning:

“Our interest in A123 Systems is consistent with our long-term growth strategies and overall commitment to the development of the advanced battery industry.”

Update since this blog was published:  Johnson Control’s bid for A123 in October touched off a bidding contest with Wanxiang, the large Chinese auto parts manufacturer, Japan’s NEC, and others.  In January, 2013 Wanxiang was ultimately successful, winning approval to buy A123 for about $260M.  Wanxiang voiced a similar optimism around the future of the battery industry, and reiterated a commitment to the company’s US operations.

In other words, while pundits jumped in to score political points, clean energy investments just kept on trucking.

The new Ford C-Max plug-in hybrid EV gets a 100mpge rating from EPA and is built in Michigan. Photo: Ford Motor Co.

• DOE clean energy investments across some 15,000 projects in all 50 states are overwhelmingly successful
• In 2010 3.1 million Americans were employed in “green goods and services” as calculated by the Bureau of Labor statistics…. and that doesn’t even include most of the rapidly innovating auto industry
• Since mid 2009, the auto industry has added over 230,000 jobs as it retools to build and sell the next generation of far more fuel efficient vehicles
• Ohio has added nearly 10,000 auto and parts  manufacturing  jobs since July 2009. Indiana has added 20,000 and Michigan 33,000 in the same time period.
• Toledo Ohio alone has at least $1Billion in recent investment in clean energy and advanced vehicle technologies  including a$140M investment made by Johnson Controls in their start-stop advanced battery plant in Toledo that retains 400 jobs and adds 50 more.

The electric vehicle industry is real and growing.  Yes, like any new industry the EV industry has its growing pains and its winners and losers. But real cars require real batteries and a host of other technology shared with hybrid and advanced conventional vehicles that is creating a boom in automotive innovation and jobs .

• EV sales are growing rapidly – consumers are adopting EVs faster than they did the hybrid Prius when it was initally released.
• Volt sales are up 300% from last year, and the Volt is currently outselling half of all car models on the market.
• EVs are not just the Volt, the Leaf, and the Tesla, but include vehicles from Ford, BMW and others.  In fact, more than a dozen different electric vehicles will be offered next year.

Many of these vehicles, their components and batteries are being built across the US in states from California to Michigan to Tennessee, and are a part of hundreds of companies’ businesses plans.

They are also part of a clean energy transformation of the auto sector that shows that America has what it takes to combat climate change and spur an economic recovery at the same time.

Smog envelopes downtown Houston, TX (Flickr's Rick Kimpel)

The oil, gas and coal industries get billions of dollars in subsidies and tax giveaways every single year. A group of 35 U.S. senators last year identified $122 billion over 10 years in oil subsidies that could be cut. And globally, fossil fuel industries receive six times more government subsidies than clean energy, according to the International Energy Agency. Those aren’t loan guarantees – it’s gone and we’ll never get a dime back. Where are the media investigations into how many millions in bonuses are paid to the CEOs of these oil giants?

Instead, today we see another headline about a clean company trying to get off the ground, this time electric car battery maker Ener1:

Ener1, an electric car battery company that the Obama administration awarded a $118 million stimulus grant to expand its operations, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday after being unable to repay pressing debts. […]

Ener1 is the third company to seek bankruptcy protection among those the Energy Department backed as part of the president’s signature program to invest in clean energy. Solyndra, a California solar-panel maker, and Beacon Power, a Massachusetts energy-storage firm, entered bankruptcy court proceedings in the fall, after having received taxpayer-guaranteed loans of $535 million and $43 million, respectively.

Ener1 wasn’t controversial with Republican members of Congress when it had the backing of a Republican president:

Ener1’s application for stimulus money had bipartisan support among Indiana lawmakers. The company received $10.5 million in grants and contracts under the George W. Bush administration.

Despite obsessive coverage by the Washington Post and other media outlets, the Department of Energy’s clean energy investment program remains an incredibly safe investment. A Bloomberg Government analysis found that 87 percent of the portfolio is low-risk and that even if all 10 of the higher risk projects had to default, hundreds of millions of dollars would still remain in the Congressional fund to cover losses. And as the Ener1 example shows, even “default” could signify only a bump in the road, not the end of it – private investors have stepped up to back the company and it continues to employ hundreds of people at its Indiana plant.

America’s successful investments in the clean economy don’t get nearly as much media attention. Among the largest Energy Department investments were $5.9 billion in loans for Ford for projects in plants across 5 states. These projects were responsible for sustaining 33,000 permanent jobs making far more fuel efficient vehicles, including electric vehicles. This morning, Ford reported its sales, revenue and earnings are all rising.

As for the reporters who just can’t help themselves from writing negative stories about clean energy, you have to remember the Washington press corps thrives on controversy and in the extremely competent Obama administration, scandals have been hard to come by. But that hasn’t stopped reporters from trying. In this click-driven multimedia age, even a thin attempt at controversy can deliver big numbers for media outlets thanks to the polluter-political industrial complex.

Opposition to clean energy investments isn’t about the deficit, jobs or protecting our wildlife and public health – it’s about election year politics. Many of the very same members of Congress complaining about direct taxpayer investments are same people who blocked legislation that would’ve created a market-based cap-and-trade system to put a price on carbon pollution. So what’s their solution? They don’t have one.

But even after months of relentless attacks on clean energy, a November ORC International poll found  77 percent of Americans agree “the U.S. needs to be a clean energy technology leader and it should invest in the research and domestic manufacturing of wind, solar, and energy efficiency technologies.”

Here’s the bottom line: The National Wildlife Federation’s 4 million supporters from across the political spectrum want clean energy and they want leaders who’ll face down special interests to deliver it. And coming off a year in 2011 that saw global warming-fueled extreme weather cause record damage, action on clean energy is more critically needed than ever.

Take Action

The Environmental Protection Agency is acting now to limit carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants, but is coming under assault from polluter-funded attack groups. Let the EPA know you support limits on carbon pollution.

1. Highlight of the Week: Wrong Pipeline, Wrong Oil
2. Quote: Congressman Steny H. Hoyer
3. Economic Story of the Week: Energy-Saving LEDs , Unstoppable
4. Editorial of the Week: Sizzle Factor for a Restless Climate
5. Bad News for Bears
6. Clean Energy is Blowing in the Wind
7. Bloomberg Boos Pollution
8. Happening this Week

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Highlight of the Week

Wrong Pipeline, Wrong Oil

Tar Sand refinery via Pete Williamson/Flickr

While the Yellowstone River is still being cleaned after a 42,000 gallon ExxonMobil pipeline spill and we learn more about the impacts on wildlife such as bald eagles, the House of Representatives will vote to expedite the next oil disaster.

Introduced by Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE), H.R. 1938 directs the President to expedite the permitting and make a final decision by this November on TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. The constant contamination of America’s lands and waters by tar sands pipelines proves that rushing this pipeline is irresponsible. Critics of the bill say it is legally flawed, would drive up gas prices, and result in more oil disasters. They also say the backers of the bill have greatly exaggerated jobs that might result.

Here are 10 reasons why Congress should not rush Keystone XL:

1. TransCanada’s brand new Keystone tar sands pipeline has spilled 12 times in 12 months.
2. The toxic chemicals that will flow through Keystone XL haven’t been disclosed to emergency first responders.
3. Keystone XL’s spill frequency and worst-case scenario spill have been seriously underestimated.
4. TransCanada is strong-arming American farmers opposed to Keystone XL’s route through the Ogallala Aquifer.
5. Existing pipeline safety standards are failing to protect public health and the environment.
6. Regulators have said that tar sands may cause more “wear and tear” on pipelines.
7. Tar sands were implicated in all the worst pipeline spills in the U.S. and Canada over the last year.
8. Pending legislation in the House and Senate acknowledge that tar sands pipelines may be risky.
9. Michigan’s Kalamazoo River is still contaminated from a tar sands pipeline spill a year ago.
10. Keystone XL’s environmental review has taken so long because it’s been flawed by bias.

Check out the NY Times’ take on the pipeline.

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Quote:

Steny Hoyer, Center for American Progress Action Fund

“I got no message from any voter that I ought to come to Congress and undermine the air, water, land that they survive on, recreate on and rely on for the quality of their lives. Not one constituent, whether they voted for me or against me, said ‘undermine the protections of our land and water and air.’ Not one.”

-Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-5) during the mini-filibuster against H.R. 2584, a bill that would significantly undermine U.S. environmental protection laws.

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Economic Story of the Week

Energy-Saving LEDs, Unstoppable

US Dept of Energy

Despite House attempts to strip funding for federal lighting efficiency standards, LEDs are driving the lighting market as commercial, industrial and outdoor sectors (96 percent of the world’s lighting energy use) realize massive savings from the growing technology.

According to the CEO of Digital Lumens, Tom Pincine, “The adoption rate of LED is so profound … and is happening at a clip that is surprising even for us in the marketplace.”

Some politicians have been targeting a 2007 energy law that would phase out traditional 100-watt incandescent light bulbs to make America’s light bulbs 25 percent more efficient. The House approved an amendment by voice vote to prohibit the use of funds to implement the federal light bulb standards and then added the measure to an Energy and Water Development appropriations bill for 2012 spending.

Meanwhile, the Department of Energy (DOE) is fighting back by launching a national education campaign with the Ad Council to help consumers save money on their energy bills by promoting sealing leaks in homes and energy efficient products. Click here to watch the advertisements.

More on this story: SolveClimateNews

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Editorial of the Week

Sizzle Factor for a Restless Climate

(NY Times)

Enjoying the heat wave? Yes, it has been a very hot summer after one of the most extreme-weather springs on record. It’s time to face the fact that the weather isn’t what it used to be. For climate geeks like me, the new normals offer a fascinating and disturbing snapshot of a restless climate. The numbers don’t take sides or point fingers. They acknowledge both powerful natural climate fluctuations as well as the steady drumbeat of warming caused by roughly seven billion people trying to live and prosper on a small planet, emitting heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the process. (More…)

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Bad News for Bears

beingmyself/Flickr

The eastern U.S. is suffering through stifling heat and humidity, which have caused 22 deaths already. The U.S. Weather Service says heat is the number one weather-related killer in the country, claiming more lives each year than floods, lightning, tornadoes and hurricanes combined.

Had enough? Climate experts warn that our future will be hotter because of carbon pollution causing global warming. But it’s not just us, the heat waves are bad news for bears too.

Polar bears are being forced to swim very long distances because of melting sea ice due to climate change, which can be deadly for their cubs. A new study shows that when mother polar bears had no choice but to swim long distances to reach the safety of sea ice or land, nearly half of their cubs simply didn’t survive! Polar bears are outstanding swimmers, but scientists warn that these long-distance marathon swims — some more than 400 miles and lasting up to 12 days — puts them at risk of drowning, not to mention severe exhaustion if they survive.

More on this story: NY Times, Washington Post, Wildlife Promise

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Clean Energy is Blowing in the Wind

via Slaugner/Flickr

America’s offshore wind resources are immense, and it is time to get serious about bringing this significant, domestic clean energy source ashore. NWF applauds Senators Carper (D-DE) and Snowe (R-ME) for their leadership in building a bipartisan coalition of support for offshore wind energy. The introduction of the Incentivizing Offshore Wind Energy Act, which will provide much-needed incentives for investments in offshore wind projects, demonstrates a bipartisan commitment to advancing job-producing clean energy.NWF has joined more than 120 organizations in calling on the Obama Administration (Letter to Obama 3.7.11, Loan Guarantee Letter 6.10.11) and Congressional leaders to take positive steps to advance offshore wind development in a manner that is protective of our coastal and marine resources. Providing financial incentives such as an investment tax credit is a critical way to support this emerging industry that has the potential to create thousands of jobs while helping revitalize America’s manufacturing and maritime industries.

With great potential to reduce harmful pollution, create thousands of high-quality jobs, and help achieve energy independence, offshore wind energy is a wise investment in America’s future.

More on this story: Wildlife Promise, Clean Energy News

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Bloomberg Boos Pollution

Mayor Bloomberg via 32BJ/Flickr

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently expressed frustration with the national paralysis on setting climate change policies and is supporting the environmental campaign to shut down coal-fired power plants across the United States with a donation of $50 million. The plants produce nearly half the nation’s electricity, but they also pump out pollution that contributes to our warming climate, makes people sick and causes premature deaths.

“If we are going to get serious about reducing our carbon footprint in the United States, we have to get serious about coal,” he said in a statement. “Coal is a self-inflicted public health risk, polluting the air we breathe, adding mercury to our water, and the leading cause of climate disruption.”

More on this story: NPR, NY Times

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Happening this Week

Tuesday, July 26

Hearing on EPA power plant rules, House Oversight and Government Reform, 1:30 PM, 2154 Rayburn

Wednesday, July 27

Hearing on U.S. economic interests in Arctic, Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard Subcommittee, 10:30 AM, 253 Russell Senate Office Building

Thursday, July 28

Hearing on endangered species bills, Natural Resources Committee, 10AM, 1324 Longworth

Hearing on land and water bills, Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks,
9 AM, 366 Dirksen

Hearing on DOE, Fish and Wildlife nominations, Energy and Natural Resources, 10AM, 366 Dirksen

Hearing on long-term budget issues of climate, Appropriations Committee, 2 PM, 138 Dirksen Senate Office Building

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For more global warming news on Wildlife Promise click here.

The Energy Harvesting Journal Reports:

A transparent thin film barrier used to protect flat panel TVs from moisture could become the basis for flexible solar panels that would be installed on roofs like shingles. The flexible rooftop solar panels – called building-integrated photovoltaics, or BIPVs – could replace today’s boxy solar panels that are made with rigid glass or silicon and mounted on thick metal frames. The flexible solar shingles would be less expensive to install than current panels and made to last 25 years.

‘There’s a lot of wasted space on rooftops that could actually be used to generate power,’ said Mark Gross, a senior scientist at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. ‘Flexible solar panels could easily become integrated into the architecture of commercial buildings and homes. Solar panels have had limited success because they’ve been difficult and expensive to install.’

See full article >>

Photo by Pam Owen, RLEP.org

CNet News: GreenTech reports:

“The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, in conjunction with the Department of Energy, this week released six maps that could help determine the location of the next big push in solar energy.The BLM maps cover areas within the six U.S. states most suitable for solar energy generation and transmission as judged by the U.S. government: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.

“Only lands with excellent solar resources, suitable slope, proximity to roads and transmission lines or designated corridors, and containing at least 2,000 acres of BLM-administered public lands were considered for solar energy study areas. Sensitive lands, wilderness and other high-conservation-value lands as well as lands with conflicting uses were excluded,” according to a BLM statement released with the maps.”

See full article.

The first is from NWF President and CEO Larry Schweiger. It was originally addressed to NWF board members, staff and supporters, but it seems appropriate here.

When I returned to National Wildlife Federation three years ago, we were all alarmed by what was happening around us.  The conservation movement was mired in scores of defensive battles to prevent rollback of the bedrock laws that have protected our wildlife and our environment. As we were fighting those important battles, the greatest single threat to wildlife and our children’s future was being ignored and neglected by politicians everywhere.

That issue is global warming.  Scientists’ warnings – and the warning signs we began to witness in the natural world – were being ignored by politicians and the media.  Global warming still had the baggage of multi-million dollar misinformation campaigns from oil companies and other polluters  that were casting this as a partisan issue.

There are some who will question our support of the Lieberman-Warner bill until we get all the changes we would want to make it a perfect bill.  I welcome the questioning because it means that the dialogue about global warming has risen to a new level.  People are angry that we have gone so long without acting.  They should be.  I am angry too.

However, we also need to listen carefully to what scientists are telling us about solving this problem.  We are facing a planetary crisis with a firm deadline and there is no time for delay.  Every day we wait, the risks grow and action becomes more difficult.  Why?  Our emissions are going up when they need to be going down.  According to the Bush Administration, our emissions of greenhouse gases in the United States will actually increase by one-third by the year 2030 if we don’t turn things around fast.

Scientists are warning us that we must act within the next few years to cut our emissions by two percent every year.  We need to hit that pivot point – the time when our emissions go down instead of up, as soon as possible. We need strong legislation that reduces global warming pollution and we need it now.

That’s why I am optimistic about America’s Climate Security Act.  Unlike past votes in Congress for measures that would have merely stopped emissions from growing, this bill actually puts us quickly on the downward trajectory of cutting emissions from large emitters by two percent per year from current levels.   And, it is the first bill to include all large emitters, not just power plants.

What’s more, this is the first legislation with specific measures to address impacts on consumers, particularly low- and middle-income families.  The bill devotes an estimated $350 billion through the year 2030 from polluter payments to help consumers reduce their energy consumption through efficiency.  We need to make sure legislation does not put the burden on those least able to carry it.  And we need to make sure that everyone has access to the economic opportunity created by this clean energy revolution.

The bill also includes essential provisions for protecting America’s fish and wildlife, great waters, and other natural resources from the climate changes that can no longer be avoided.  Healthy wetlands and other habitat are critical for wildlife and serve to protect our communities from the impacts of storms, droughts and other climate extremes brought on by global warming.  A rapidly changing climate is adding additional pressures to ecosystems already stressed by development, pollution and invasive species.   The Lieberman-Warner bill requires polluters to pay into a fund that devotes more than $160 billion through the year 2030 to protecting wildlife and America’s great waters.

Despite the many benefits of this bill, National Wildlife Federation has been seeking improvements. Some we have achieved, such as stronger goals in the coming fifteen years for reducing pollution.  We must get moving quickly, and not postpone the heavy lifting decades into the future.

National Wildlife Federation has fought hard for many of the strongest pieces of the bill and worked with the sponsors to improve this bill at each stage of the process.  And we have done it by building support and encouraging leaders like Senators Lieberman and Warner to step forward.

I am convinced that we will not meet the urgency of the climate crisis if we allow criticism to block progress.  We must focus on what unites us and not on what divides us.  By acting now we can re-adjust our aim as we go forward.  It is easier to turn the wheel of a car that is rolling than one that is sitting still.  Movement begets movement.

Additionally, getting a Senate vote on a substantive global warming bill will help raise the profile of the issue nationally as voters turn their attention to what candidates are saying about global warming.  As long as there is no action on global warming, it is very difficult to tell where candidates stand on this issue.  The climate crisis must become one of the top tier issues for Americans in this presidential campaign.

Read the full letter here.

The second,  is from seven environmental groups, to the Members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.  The seven groups signed onto the letter are:  National Wildlife Federation, Environmental Defense, National Environmental Trust, Natural Resources Defense Council, The Nature Conservancy, Union of Concerned Scientists and The Wilderness Society.  This letter shows the strong support the bill has.

Dear Members of the Environment and Public Works Committee,

We are writing to highlight the mounting urgency of action on global warming and
encourage prompt action by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. A
new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences warns that the global
buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has accelerated unexpectedly rapidly in
this decade. Similarly, recent evidence from the Arctic demonstrates that the greenhouse
gases already in the atmosphere are changing our climate far more rapidly than scientists
have predicted.

These and other findings underscore the need for prompt action to reduce the pollution
that is causing global warming. Time is running out for effective action, and we need to
get started now. The Department of Energy is forecasting that U.S. greenhouse gas
emissions will increase by more than 30% by 2030 without action. The longer we delay
action, the greater the impacts and risks, and the more dramatically we will have to cut
emissions in future years to achieve the same results.

Consequently, we applaud Senators Lieberman and Warner for their leadership and the
subcommittee for debating S. 2191 with the goal of reporting a bill to the full committee.
We further applaud Chairman Boxer for seeking to expeditiously report a bill out of the
full committee this fall. We would also like to thank Senator Baucus for his expressed
support of S. 2191.

We acknowledge and thank the sponsors for making important improvements in the bill
from their August outline. We also thank Senators Sanders and Lautenberg and other
members of the subcommittee and committee who are working to strengthen the bill as it
moves through the process.

It is vitally important that the Senate have a full and open debate on global warming
action. We therefore ask all members of the Environment and Public Works Committee
and its subcommittee of jurisdiction to work together to deliver a strong, bipartisan bill to
the full Senate this year.

Read the full letter here.