Support The American Worker, Support An RES!
This spring, as the temperatures begin to rise in Washington, DC, the debate over energy policy is heating up — with the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives’ energy committees both considering a national Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) this week. The RES, which enables renewable energy sources to provide a growing amount of the nation’s electricity, would, for the first time, provide a long-term commitment to renewable energy in the U.S.
A national RES is not only favored by 75% of Americans as shown in this recent poll (pdf) — it also promises to create hundreds of thousands of American jobs and foster a healthier and more secure environmental future. Take a look, and share with your friends, this video testimonial that shows the meaning of wind industry jobs to Americans who have been laid off in a down economy and are excited about new careers.
Unfortunately, as the RES provision moves through Congress, the strength of the standard is being watered down. At this critical moment in the reshaping of our nation’s energy policy, we need your help. Please take a stand now – e-mail your Senators and Representatives and ask them to support a strong RES policy.
To create a long-term commitment to renewable energy, the U.S. needs to adopt a national RES that calls for 25% of our electricity to come from renewable resources, such as wind and solar power, by the year 2025. This policy would foster a sound investment climate for renewable energy manufacturers to invest billions of dollars in new facilities and employ hundreds of thousands of Americans in high-quality jobs.
The Senate and House of Representatives are currently considering energy legislation that includes a national RES. Draft bills are currently calling for only half of the 25% by 2025 level – not strong enough to demonstrate a true national commitment to renewables. NOW is the time to let your Members of Congress know that you support a meaningful RES.
Please take a moment to contact your Senators and Representative and express your support for a national 25% renewable electricity by 2025 policy. Click here to contact your Senators and Representative to express your support for a national RES.
Important Legal Ruling: Coal Plants Must Limit C02
In a move that signals the start of the our clean energy future, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) ruled today EPA had no valid reason for refusing to limit from new coal-fired power plants the carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming. The decision means that all new and proposed coal plants nationwide must go back and address their carbon dioxide emissions.
“Today’s decision opens the way for meaningful action to fight global warming and is a major step in bringing about a clean energy economy,” said Joanne Spalding, Sierra Club Senior Attorney who argued the case. “This is one more sign that we must begin repowering, refueling and rebuilding America.”
“The EAB rejected every Bush Administration excuse for failing to regulate the largest source of greenhouse gases in the United States. This decision gives the Obama Administration a clean slate to begin building our clean energy economy for the 21st century,” continued Spalding
The decision follows a 2007 Supreme Court ruling recognizing carbon dioxide, the principle source of global warming, is a pollutant under the federal Clean Air Act.
“Coal plants emit 30% of our nation’s global warming pollution. Building new coal plants without controlling their carbon emissions could wipe out all of the other efforts being undertaken by cities, states and communities across the country,” said Bruce Nilles, Director of the Sierra Club’s National Coal Campaign. “Everyone has a role to play and it’s time that the coal industry did its part and started living up to its clean coal rhetoric.”
The Sierra Club went before the Environmental Appeals Board in May of 2008 to request that the air permit for Deseret Power Electric Cooperative’s proposed waste coal-fired power plant be overturned because it failed to require any controls on carbon dioxide pollution. Deseret Power’s 110 MW Bonanza plant would have emitted 3.37 million tons of carbon dioxide each year.
“Instead of pouring good money after bad trying to fix old coal technology, investors should be looking to wind, solar and energy efficiency technologies that are going to power the economy, create jobs, and help the climate recover,” said Nilles.
To get background information and see how the case unfolded click here.
A copy of the decision can be found here (PDF)
This is HUGE. Basically it means that coal power plants MUST use the most up to date (and most expensive) methods to control CO2 available. Don’t expect one red cent to be invested in coal for the next ten years. Instead look for all that money to be directed towards wind, solar, and geothermal. This one is big people, this one is big.
An American Wish List
I love this country but I am one of those who think that it could do better – that it could live up to the ideals they taught us in school more than it does and that it could be a more exemplary world citizen.
In Red Sky at Morning, James Speth has this to say about negative perception of America overseas:
At the root of America’s negative role is what can only be described as a persistent American exceptionalism, at times tinged with arrogance. It appears in many guises, including not feeling it necessary to participate in international treaties.
I’ve started a list of things I wish my country would do.
The List:
At last count, 192 countries had ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). This treaty has been ratified by virtually every country in the world and the United States is not among them. The Convention on the Rights of the Child sets out the rights that must be realized for children to develop their full potential, free from hunger and want, neglect and abuse. It reflects a new vision of the child. Children are neither the property of their parents nor are they helpless objects of charity. They are human beings and are the subject of their own rights. The Convention offers a vision of the child as an individual and as a member of a family and community, with rights and responsibilities appropriate to his or her age and stage of development. By recognizing children’s rights in this way, the Convention firmly sets the focus on the whole child.
182 countries have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The United States is the only industrialized country not among them. Here we join Iran, Sudan and Somalia.
The United States has not ratified the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction (The Ottawa Treaty). Some of the other countries joining us in this position are Cuba, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Libya. 151 countries have ratified this treaty.
The United States has not ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and we are joined here again by Libya. 167 countries have signed this treaty. The CBD establishes three main goals: the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from the use of genetic resources.
The Law of the Sea Treaty has been ratified by 143 nations, including the European Union – but not by the United States. Among its many provisions, the Convention limits coastal nations to a 12-mile territorial sea, establishes 200-mile exclusive economic zones, requires nations to work together to conserve high seas fisheries, and establishes a legal regime for the creation of property rights in minerals found beneath the deep ocean floor.
The International Criminal Court (ICC). 98 countries have ratified it but the United States is not among them. The ICC conducts trials of individuals accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity when there is no other recourse for
justice. The ICC identifies gender crimes and the crime
of apartheid as crimes against humanity. Article 7 of the Statute presents clear language that defines rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity as gender crimes.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) has been ratified by 149 countries but not the United States. The ICESCR requires states to promote and protect a wide range of social, economic and cultural rights, including the right to health, to an adequate standard of living, to education, and to social protection. It is often referred to as the “International Bill of Rights.â€
The Kyoto Protocol. 141 countries have signed it but the United States, which is the largest producer of CO2 emissions in the world, has not.
December 2007 – Australia has now decided to sign – the only other western industrialized nation that had not. Now the U.S. stands alone.
The Hague Convention of 29 May 1993 on Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption. This has been signed thus far by 46 countries but the United States is not among them.
Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) of the World Health organization. The FCTC entered into force on 27 Feb 2005. 168 countries have signed the treaty, and 134 have become Parties. Algeria became a Party on 30 Jun 2006. The United States has signed but not ratified this treaty. Tobacco needs to be regulated internationally because globalization has facilitated the spread of the tobacco epidemic through a complex mix of factors that transcend national borders. This means that countries cannot regulate tobacco solely through domestic legislation. Currently, it is estimated that there are 1.3 billion smokers in the world. Of those, 84% live in developing and transitional economy countries. Currently, an estimated 4.9 million people die annually as a result of tobacco-related diseases. Tobacco, is currently responsible for the death of one in ten adults worldwide. When consumed as indicated by the manufacturers, tobacco kills one half of its regular users.
Another Record Year For Wind Power
With the economy in the pooper, and oil prices going down, you might think that renewable energy would once again be regulated to the “also ran” category. But NO! The U.S. wind energy industry installed 1,389 megawatts (MW) this quarter, bringing to 4,204 MW the total of wind power projects completed in what is expected to be another record year, the American Wind Energy Association announced today in its 3rd quarter market report.
With even more reported under construction, the industry is on track to surpass the banner year of 2007, when 5,249 MW were installed, with a total of about 7,500 MW this year (7,500 MW would generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of about 2.2 million homes).
In welcome news for the economy, the industry is also aggressively expanding its manufacturing base in the U.S., creating jobs and fostering investment and growth even in a difficult financial climate. AWEA’s report tallies the opening of eight new wind turbine component manufacturing facilities this year; the expansion of nine facilities; and the announcement of an additional 19 facilities. As a result of recent manufacturing investment, AWEA estimates, the share of domestically made components in wind turbines has risen from about 30% in 2005 to 50% today. The new facilities will create an estimated 9,000 jobs.
“The convenient truth here is that wind power provides a stimulus for our economy, as well as a climate change and energy security solution,” said AWEA Executive Director Randall Swisher. “The market, in spite of all its turmoil, clearly points to wind power as one of the most attractive energy options available today. But if we are to keep this momentum going, the new President and Congress will need to put in place what the majority of the American people support but the country still lacks: a long-term renewable energy policy.”
Highlights of the report/project installations:
Texas, reaping the benefits of its excellent wind resource and a proactive transmission expansion policy, added 693 MW – the most wind power capacity of any state in the 3rd quarter. Texas moved into the 6 GW category, which propels it into the ranks of global leaders. Only Germany, India and Spain had more wind energy capacity installed at the end of last year.
West Virginia: The state with the fastest wind power capacity growth was West Virginia, which more than tripled its existing capacity with the addition of a 164-MW project; another 100-MW project is scheduled to come online in West Virginia by the end of the year. Utah added its first multi-turbine project, the 9-turbine Spanish Fork project. The Dakotas: Acciona Energy, a wind turbine manufacturer, brought its first U.S. turbines online at a 120-turbine project straddling the North Dakota/South Dakota border.
Highlights of the report/manufacturing investment:
In August, Vestas announced plans to further expand its American manufacturing presence with new wind turbine blade and nacelle assembly factories in Brighton, Colo. (the nacelle is the structure that sits at the top of a wind turbine tower. It can be as large as a school bus, and houses the generator). When fully operational in 2010, the blade factory is expected to employ 650 people and the nacelle factory is expected to employ an additional 700.
In September, TPI Composites opened a new production facility in Newton, Iowa, for wind turbine blades for the U.S. market. At full capacity, TPI Iowa plans to employ 500 associates, giving the Midwestern city an economic boost.
Based on projections for the remainder of the year, 2008 will mark the fourth year in a row that new wind capacity installations have set records, but that is not expected to continue next year. With some 8,000 MW already under construction for completion this year or next, the wind industry remains relatively strong. But because of the late extension of the wind production tax credit and the evolving financial crisis, new construction starts are expected to slow in 2009.
The steps that the new Administration and Congress take to promote renewable energy will therefore be critical. Long-term, stable policies are needed to take full advantage of the industry’s role in stimulating job creation and economic development, and to support growth of domestic turbine and component manufacturing, which will be one of the leading sources of new manufacturing jobs in the 21st century. These policies include a long-term extension of the wind production tax credit (the recent financial rescue package extended the credit for one year only), a federal renewable energy standard, strong climate change legislation, and investment in new transmission infrastructure.
The report is available here (pdf).
Cutting Down Old Growth Forests So You Can Wipe Your Ass
Giant Pile Of Wood To Be Used To Make Toilet Paper
Thats what is going on right now. Shocking new photos released today reveal the existence of a massive stockpile of old-growth logs that are destined to become disposable products like Kleenex tissue and Cottonelle toilet paper for tissue giant Kimberly-Clark Corporation (K-C). The logs originate from the Ogoki Forest, the single most ecologically valuable area left in Ontario’s southern Boreal Forest and the site of growing controversy.
The stockpile is evidence of Kimberly-Clark’s egregious mismanagement of the forests despite company claims that “much of [the] fiber from the Canadian Boreal forest comes to K-C in the form of wood pulp produced from sawdust and chips – or leftovers – of the lumber production process.” (1)
As these new photos and recent government correspondence reveal, Kimberly-Clark is currently purchasing huge quantities of pulp made primarily from whole, old-growth trees from intact areas of Canada’s Boreal Forest. According to the Ontario Ministry of Environment, the stockpile contained 85,000 cubic metres of wood as of the end of March 2008. That’s equivalent to over 7,000 logging trucks full of wood. Since the closure of an area sawmill in June 2008, this wood has been trucked to the Terrace Bay pulp mill where it is being turned directly into pulp for Kleenex and other disposable products. In total, the logs will have been trucked 6-7 hours from the forest to the mill.
What’s worse, even with this massive stockpile of timber already cut and waiting to be pulped, the Ogoki Forest continues to be logged, largely in order to supply Kimberly-Clark.
The Ogoki Forest is the northernmost area in Ontario subject to logging. Unlike other forests in the province that have been logged for the last 70-100 years, the first industrial logging in Ogoki did not occur until 1998. For this reason, it is the most intact of all the forest management units in Ontario. Because the neighboring Kenogami Forest was managed so poorly by Kimberly-Clark and then Buchanan Forest Products, and because regeneration there has been so unsuccessful, logging company Buchanan is pushing further and further north to supply its pulp mill at Terrace Bay.
The size, location, and near pristine state of the Ogoki Forest make it critical habitat for the threatened woodland caribou, while its carbon-dense trees and soils make it critical for mitigating climate change. The Kenogami Forest was turned from a vast expanse of healthy, near-pristine forest to a severely damaged landscape rife with environmental problems during 70 years of mismanagement by K-C.(2) The Ogoki Forest cannot be allowed to become the next Kenogami.
Unfortunately, as this new photographic evidence shows, Ogoki is already being subjected to the same gross mismanagement as the Kenogami. As incredible as it may seem, K-C is apparently willing to risk total devastation of yet another valuable eco-system in order to make its disposable paper products.
In light of the discovery of this staggering woodpile that was once pristine ancient Boreal Forest, Greenpeace is calling on Kimberly-Clark to ensure that no more fiber from the Ogoki Forest enters its product stream by immediately engaging with us and other stakeholders in a process to revise its ineffective and unsustainable fiber procurement policy.
1 Kimberly-Clark Fact Sheet on Sustainable Fiber Practices updated July 30,2008. http://www.kimberly-clark.com/pdfs/KC_Sustain_NAmerica.pdf (pdf)
2 Greenpeace. 2008. Cut & Run, Kimberly-Clark’s legacy of environmental devastation and social conflict in the Kenogami Forest. http://www.kleercut.net/en/node/936
Read the rest of Cutting Down Old Growth Forests So You Can Wipe Your Ass
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