$467 Million in Stimulus Money Released for Solar Power & Geothermal

photo: David Blaikie via flickr.

Solar power and geothermal power have finally gotten their portion of money allocated in the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, to the tune of $467 million. President Obama announced this by touting the usual rhetoric of decreasing dependency on foreign oil and putting people back to work in through green energy jobs. Energy Secretary Stephen Chu too talked up green jobs, plus the role renewable energy can play in combatting climate change Frankly, absolutely nothing new or novel was said, but it is great that solar and geothermal have finally been shown some federal stimulus love. This is how all that money is being divided up:

Geothermal to Get Most of the Funding
All told geothermal is getting $350 million: $140 million is going toward Geothermal Demonstration Projects; $80 million towards Enhanced Geothermal Systems Technology Research and Development; $100 million towards Innovative Exploration Techniques; $30 million towards a National Geothermal Data System, Resource Assessment, and Classification System.

Solar Power Gets One-Third of Geothermal
Solar power has been allocated $117.6 million: $51.5 million for Photovoltaic Technology Development; $40.5 for Solar Energy Deployment (“Projects in this area will focus on non-technical barriers to solar energy deployment, including grid connection, market barriers to solar energy adoption in cities, and the shortage of trained solar energy installers.”); Concentrating Solar Power Research and Development brings up the rear with $25.6 million.

More: Department of Energy

US to “Zone the Ocean” to Divvy Up Space for Wind Farms, Oil Rigs and Fisheries

Is it possible to issue zoning permits for the ocean? Some US states think so. Due to the growing clashes between fishermen, offshore wind farms, oil rigs, and recreation-seekers, some believe that it’s high time we start zoning the ocean itself.

The purpose would be to fairly distribute ocean areas to different industries—an undertaking easier conceived of than done.

According to the Washington Post:

To resolve these conflicts, a handful of states — including Massachusetts, California and Rhode Island — have begun essentially zoning the ocean, drawing up rules and procedures to determine which activities can take place and where. The federal government is considering adopting a similar approach, though any coherent effort would involve sorting out the role of 20 agencies that administer roughly 140 ocean-related laws.

Which of course would be a bureaucratic nightmare. Since companies can’t lay claim to a specific plot of land, it’s got to be determined who gets what in more nuanced ways.

Marine ecologist Larry Crowder, one of several scientists at Duke University who have compiled data for such plans, said the approach makes sense because ocean resources are not “equally distributed, whether it’s oil and gas, or fish, or corals.” But he added that the sea has so many overlapping activities that “when you begin putting these maps together, as we’ve done, it quickly becomes a train wreck.”

And of course, how to go about divvying the areas up is a matter of huge contention, and the states are dealing with the idea in different ways. California, for instance, has decided to establish marine protected areas along its coastline and to broker agreements with interest groups along the way. Massachusetts plans on enacting a comprehensive plan that covers all major activities except fisheries.

How exactly this would impact the building of offshore wind farms and oil rigs is still up in the air.

These initiatives will give new meaning to the phrase “work in progress” and will surely be a massive undertaking. But if offshore wind farms, fisheries, and kayakers are to live together in harmony, shouldn’t there be some guidelines?

US Department of Energy: $786 Million for Biofuels Research & Commercialization

photo: Steve Jurvetson via flickr

The latest allocation of funds from the stimulus bill by the Department of Energy has been announced. This time it’s for biofuels and in the amount of $786.5 million. Here’s where it’s all going:

$480 Million for Integrated Pilot- and Demonstration-Scale Facilities

Projects selected under this Funding Opportunity Announcement will work to validate integrated biorefinery technologies that produce advanced biofuels, bioproducts, and heat and power in an integrated system, thus enabling private financing of commercial-scale replications.

DOE anticipates making 10 to 20 awards for refineries at various scales and designs, all to be operational in the next three years.  The DOE funding ceiling is $25 million for pilot-scale projects and $50 million for demonstration scale projects.

These integrated biorefineries will reduce dependence on petroleum-based transportation fuels and chemicals. They will also facilitate the development of an “advanced biofuels” industry to meet the federal Renewable Fuel Standards.

$176.5 Million for Commercial-Scale Biorefinery Projects

$176.5 million will be used to increase the federal funding ceiling on two or more demonstration- or commercial-scale biorefinery projects that were selected and awarded within the last two years.

The goal of these efforts is to reduce the risk of the development and deployment of these first-of-a-kind operations. These funds are expected to expedite the construction phase of these projects and ultimately accelerate the timeline for start up and commissioning.

$110 Million for Fundamental Research
This allocation will be further divided as follows,

Expand the resources available for sustainability research through the Office of Science Bioenergy Research Centers and establish a user-facility/small-scale integrated pilot plant ($25 million).

Create an advanced research consortium to develop technologies and facilitate subsequent demonstration of infrastructure-compatible biofuels through a competitive solicitation ($35 million).

Create an algal biofuels consortium to accelerate demonstration of algal biofuels through a competitive solicitation ($50 million).

$20 Million for Ethanol Research

The Biomass Program is planning to use $20 million of the Recovery Act funding in a competitive solicitation to achieve the following:

• Optimize flex-fuel vehicles operating on high octane E85 fuel (85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline blend).
• Evaluate the impact of higher ethanol blends in conventional vehicles
• Upgrade existing refueling infrastructure to be compatible with fuels up to E85.

More: Department of Energy – Recovery and Reinvestment

EPA Sued to Force Restoration of Degraded Chesapeake Bay Waters

Source: “EPA Sued to Force Restoration of Degraded Chesapeake Bay Waters“, treehugger.com, Matthew McDermott, 6th January 2009

photo: Andrew Bossi

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, along with a coalition of partners has filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Columbia which seeks to force the EPA to enforce laws requiring the reduction of pollution in the Chesapeake Bay to levels that the bay can be removed from the federal ‘impaired waters’ list.

Speaking on why the action was taken CBF president William Baker said,

EPA Has ‘Abdicated Leadership’ 

Over the last eight years the EPA, which has the responsibility to lead the effort to enforce the Clean Water Act, has abdicated leadership and weakened regulations that would have reduced pollution. The rule of science and the rule of law have been subjugated to political dogma and a policy of deregulation that has wreaked havoc from financial markets to environmental protection. Science has provided a roadmap for Bay restoration and EPA has the tools to get the job done. The Bay is still polluted due to the lack of political will.

 

Though there have been three agreements between the EPA and the states bordering the bay to clean up the Chesapeake Bay, going back as far as 1983, the EPA has acknowledged that the latest goal for cleanup of 2010 will not be met.

Efforts EPA Should Take
Among the efforts the CBF would like to the EPA to take are the following:

• Requiring EPA to commit to achieve 80 percent of the pollution reduction goal by 2012, with full implementation by 2015.
• Requiring EPA to take an active role in wastewater treatment plant permits to ensure compliance with pollution reduction goals and that there will be no net increase in pollution loadings.
• Requiring tough construction stormwater permits at sites that discharge into impaired waters.
• Requiring all power plants that generate air pollution that affects the region’s waterways to install existing technologies that would reduce that pollution.
• Requiring that new and existing agricultural conservation funding be geographically targeted to practices that achieve the most pollution reduction.
• Requiring that a portion of federal transportation funding be directed to stormwater management on highways.

 

According to the Chesapeake Bay Program, most of the waters of the bay are degraded, with much of the bay’s fish and shellfish population at historically low levels.

Partners in the lawsuit are the Virginia State Waterman’s Association, the Maryland Waterman’s Association, the Maryland Saltwater Sportfisherman’s Association, former Maryland Governor Harry Hughes, retired Maryland Senator Bernie Fowler, former Virginia legislator and Natural Resources Secretary Tayloe Murphy, and former Washington DC Mayor Anthony Williams

More: Chesapeake Bay Foundation and ENS

Water Pollution
Ocean ‘Dead Zones’ Increasing: 400 Oxygen-Deprived Areas Now Exist
California Commits to Significantly Reducing Stormwater Pollution
Bush Admin’s Parting Gift to the Factory Farms

Sea Level Rise Predictions Too Low, No Abrupt Release of Methane: US Climate Change Science Program

Source: “Sea Level Rise Predictions Too Low, No Abrupt Release of Methane: US Climate Change Science Program“, treehugger.com. Science & Technology, Matthew McDermott, 22nd Dec 2008

image: NASA via Space and Astronautics News

Will abrupt climate change happen in the 21st century? The US Climate Change Science Program certainly considers that a possibility and has released a new report, appropriately titled Abrupt Climate Change, detailing its findings.

Defining ‘abrupt’ climate change as those which “can occur over decades or less, persist for decades or more, and cause substantially disruptions to human and natural systems,” the report addresses four major questions (the possibility of abrupt changes in sea level, in land hydrology, in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, and in atmospheric methane) and comes to the following conclusions:

IPCC Sea Level Rise Predictions Very Likely Too Low
While the report says rapid and sustained arctic ice loss is likely in the 21st century, current models don’t capture the recent rapid changes seen in Greenland and Antarctica. When these changes are included in climate change models it “will likely lead to sea-level projections for the end of the 21st century that substantially exceed the projections” presented in the latest IPCC report.

Extended Drought Likely in US Southwest
Although the report concludes that “there is no clear evidence to date of human-induced global climate change on North American precipitation amounts,” it also says that subtropical aridity predicted in climate models is likely to intensify and extend into the US Southwest “potentially increasing the likelihood of severe and persistent drought there in the future.” This drying may have already begun but cannot be definitively identified because of “considerable natural variability” of the precipitation patterns in the region.

Ocean Circulation Current Likely to Decrease, Unlikely to Collapse
In case you’ve forgotten parts of An Inconvenient Truth, Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation is the feature of the ocean which moves warm, salty water northward in the the upper layers of the Atlantic Ocean and colder water southward in deeper parts of the Ocean.

The USGS concludes that it’s very likely that we will witness a 25-30% decrease in strength of this circulation, but it is very unlikely that the AMOC will become severely weakened of collapse by the end of the 21st century, or collapse because of global warming beyond that time period.

Methane Release Will Accelerate Climate Change, Abrupt Release Very Unlikely
In regards to abrupt release of methane into the atmosphere due to global warming, the report concludes that this appears to be very unlikely, but it is also very likely that methane emissions will increase and that this will accelerate global climate change. A doubling of methane emissions in northern high latitudes “could be realized fairly easily.”

Read the full report: Abrupt Climate Change

Global Climate Change
Permafrost Holds Twice as Much GHGs as Previously Thought
Are We Moving Into Another Era of ‘Abrupt’ Climate Change
Change Coming to Water Politics: Twelve US States Face Extended Drought Conditions
Sea Levels Still Will Rise Because of Global Warming: Just Not as Much as We Thought

Obama Nominates 2 Leading Global Warming Specialists for Key Science Posts in his Administration

 

Harvard physicist John Holdren will be Mr Obama’s scientific adviser while marine biologist Jane Lubchenco will head the US oceanic research body.

Both have advocated greater government action on climate change.

Their appointments have been seen as a sign of Mr Obama’s commitment to tackling environmental issues.

In his weekly address, Mr Obama said that “today, more than ever before, science holds the key to our survival as a planet and our security and prosperity as a nation”.

He said it was “time we once again put science at the top of our agenda” and that he was confident that the US could “lead the world into a new future of peace and prosperity”.

‘Respectful’

Mr Holdren was described by Mr Obama as “one of the most passionate and persistent voices of our time about the growing threat of climate change”.

 

Ms Lubchenco has criticised the Bush administration’s scientific policies

Mr Holdren will become director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the co-chair of the Council of Advisers on Science and Technology.

He will share the latter post with Nobel Prize-winning scientist Harold Varmus and Eric Lander, a specialist in human genome research.

Mr Lander’s appointment has been seen as an indication of the importance of genetic research to the Obama administration.

Meanwhile, Ms Lubchenco will direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) which monitors global weather patterns and ocean currents.

She had criticised the Bush administration earlier this year for not being “respectful” of science.

“I am very much looking forward to a new administration that does respect scientific information and that considers it very seriously in making environmental policies,” she said.

Mr Obama, who takes office on 20 January, has now filled all the posts in the cabinet. However all nominees must still be vetted and approved by the Senate.

Bush Administration to Open Public Lands Near Utah’s National Parks for Natural Gas and Oil Drilling

Source:”Bush Administration to Open Public Lands Near Utah’s National Parks for Natural Gas and Oil Drilling“, treehugger.com, Business & Politics, Jeremy Elton Jacquot, 9th Nov 2008

Image from jderuna

There is no doubt that the Bushies will go down in history as the administration with the least environmentally-friendly record (among other dubious distinctions). Having already gutted the Endangered Species Act, denied the existence of climate change and vehemently resisted efforts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, it is not as if the president has been trying especially hard to rehabilitate his dismal reputation. Last Friday, we learned of the Bush administration’s latest environmental hit job, courtesy ofThe New York Times‘ Felicity Barringer: a plan by the Bureau of Land Management to open tens of thousands of acres on or near the borders of three national parks in eastern Utah, including Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park, to drilling.

Image from Wolfgang Staudt

Decision taken without consulting National Park Service
In light of the administration’s ongoing (and recently accelerated) efforts to ease regulations on its industry allies, this does not exactly come as a shock (see Greg Haegele’s list of top 10 “eco-horrors” for more recent coverage). What was perhaps a little surprising was that the BLM did not even bother to notify officials in the National Park Service (some of whom presumably adhere to the administration’s anti-environment philosophy); instead, the agency quietly released an updated lease proposal (the first one was also heavily criticized for giving the green light to further industrial activity) that included 40 – 45 new areas. It evidently hoped to attract as little attention as possible, releasing it on November 4.

Late auction date will hurt next administration’s efforts to reverse sales
The new tracts will be sold at auction on December 19. (Incidentally, this is the last lease sale before the president leaves office.) As a result, instead of having the customary 1 – 3 months to comment on the new proposal, top managers at the NPS will have precious little time to voice their concerns about the drilling’s impact on the parks’ water, air and wildlife. When asked if she would reconsider offering the tracts in December, Selma Sierra, BLM’s state director, pointedly refused, Barringer notes.

Those who believe an Obama administration would be able to easily reverse the sales are mistaken: Any effort by the new government to do so would likely result in the energy companies filing suit or taking other retaliatory action — moves that would likely drag out the process for several months or years.

Earlier this year I wrote about the NPS selling our parks short by inhibiting its own ability to purchase the estimated 1.8 million acres of land listed for acquisition (it only requested $100 million from Congress for fiscal year 2009 to buy $1.9 billion worth of land). The fact that this administration has even managed to take its own officials by surprise speaks volumes.

More about the Bush administration’s shenanigans
In this Week’s Bargain Bin: Our National Parks
10 Eco-Horrors That Should Have You Scared
A Return To Colorado Oil Shale?

USGBC and Sen. Hillary Clinton Offer Energy Saving Solutions for Schools Via Upcoming “Webinar” (Web Seminar) Series

 

Source: “USGBC and Sen. Clinton Offer Energy Saving Solutions for Schools via Upcoming Webinar Series”, treehugger.com, Business & Politics, Kenny Luna, 11th Nov 2008

If you’re as interested in seeing our schools cutting energy costs and their total carbon footprint as Sen. Clinton and the United States Green Building Council are then there’s no doubt you’ll want to get involved with their upcoming series of webinars aimed to help schools across the country get a better idea of just how valuable some simple investments in green infrastructure can be.

Of course, a sneak TH preview of just what’s in store for those who participate is right after the fold…

As they’re set to feature a wide range of solutions, ranging from the “no cost” like controlling classroom thermostats and putting someone in charge of the common areas to “low cost” like coming up with a vacation energy shutdown plan and installing 365 day time clocks for outside lighting.

With the next scheduled event coming up on Wednesday, December 3, 2008 – 1:00pm – 2:30pm EST and titled “Top 10 Low-Cost Ways to Lower Your School’s Utility Bills” to be followed on Wednesday, January 21, 2009 – 1:00pm – 2:30pm EST with their “Top 10 Investments to Lower Your School’s Utility Bills”.

To register head on over to www.usgbc.org/webinars and find out more great ways that you can get involved making our nations schools a greener place to learn.
Via: USGBC

More on Green Schools and the USGBC
Economic Crunch Hits Schools Efforts to Go Green

Students Protest Lack of LEED

Bush Administration Proposes 48 New Endangered Species in Hawaii

Photo credit: Getty Images

Trust us, we’re as surprised as you are: In a bold, uncharacteristic, and long-overdue move, the federal government announced a proposal on Tuesday to add 48 species, found only on the island of Kaui in Hawaii, to the endangered species list. With 329 imperiled plants, animals, and insects, Hawaii has more endangered species than any other state.

Protecting these species would involve a “holistic approach,” according to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, who, lest we forget, dug in his heels every step of the way before finally reluctantly caving in to pressure to list the polar bear as threatened. If the 45 plants, two birds, and one insect are successfully added to the list, a process that involves a yearlong study, approximately 43 square miles would be designated as critical habitat for all 48 species. While this would depart from a 30-year-old practice of mapping out each species’ habitat individually, which does little to help the entire ecosystem, conservation groups remain wary.

“It is good news that the Fish and Wildlife Service has finally started to do their job, once again, of proposing protection under the Endangered Species Act for plants and animals on the brink of disappearing forever,” says Leda Huta, executive director of theEndangered Species Coalition (ESC). “Unfortunately, given this administration’s track record, we will have to go over the proposal with a fine-toothed comb to ensure that the protections are really being put into place.”

Although the ESC calls the action “an end to the drought,” it also points out that that administration has yet to act on the 23 other species it told Congress it would begin the listing process for this fiscal year.

“This Administration has the worst record of protection since the Endangered Species Act was created in 1973,” Huta says. “They have bent over backwards—and around ethics policies—to keep all but a handful of species unprotected and their record on providing adequate habitat for species to recover is even worse.”

The Center for Biological Diversity is equally skeptical. “While we welcome this action to protect these incredibly rare and imperiled species, in no way does it make up for the Administration’s abysmal track-record of listing and protecting endangered and threatened species,” says Mike Senatore, the Center’s Biodiversity Program director and senior counsel. “This action also does nothing for the hundreds of additional species that have languished for years awaiting protection under the Endangered Species Act. In fact, the proposal even falls short of the Interior Department’s announcement earlier this year that it would propose adding 71 species to the list of endangered and threatened species.”

At this point, though, we’ll take whatever we can get. ::Associated Press, ::Endangered Species Coalition, ::Center for Biological Diversity

More on the Endangered Species Act:
Bush Officials Launch Stealth Attack on U.S. Wildlife
AP Reports Proposal to Drastically Alter Endangered Species Act
Delaying Tactics Put U.S. Wildlife in Hot Water
Endangered Species List is Itself Endangered
America Celebrates Endangered Species Day
A Bush Administration Policy Adjustment

Source:

“Bush Administration Proposes 48 New Endangered Species in Hawaii”, treehugger.com, Travel & Nature, Jasmin Malik Chua, 1st Oct 2008

Wal-Mart Goes on a Plastic Diet: 9 Million Plastic Bags to Be Eliminated From Waste Stream

photo: Jim

Another significant environmental commitment coming out of the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting comes from an seemingly unlikely paring: The Environmental Defense Fund and Wal-Mart.

Announced in the Metropolitan Ballroom by President Bill Clinton, who was keen to point out the odd-couple nature of the situation, the Global Plastic Shopping Bag Commitment stands to make a serious dent in the plastic shopping bag waste by big box mega-retailer Wal-Mart. How much waste will be avoided:

One-Third Per Store Plastic Bag Reduction by 2013
Granted the qualifying word “potentially” prefaced this next figure in the public announcement, but this commitment could eliminate 9 million plastic shopping bags per year from Wal-Mart stores. To do this EDF will help Wal-Mart develop strategies for recycling, reusing and reducing the use of plastic bags in its stores by an average of one-third per store, from 2008 levels, by 2013.

An estimated 290,000 tonnes of carbon emissions and energy consumption equal to 678,000 barrels of oil will be eliminated through this action.

Specific Measures That EDF Will Be Taking 
Proving scientific advice to Wal-Mart on the environmental impact of plastic bag use, as well as quantifying the carbon footprint of alternative bags and packing options.

Assist in developing educational materials for Wal-Mart customers.

Evaluating Wal-Mart projections for program’s environmental benefits.

Monitor and assess the project’s progress.

:: Clinton Global Initiative

Clinton Global Initiative
3500 MW of Green Power in India, China to be Developed by Suzlon Green Power
Clinton Global Initiative Highlights: Old World is Oil, New World is Renewables

Plastic Bags
Encinitas, CA – Latest City to Ban Plastic Bags
Paper Bags or Plastic Bags? Everything You Need to Know

Source:

“Wal-Mart Goes on a Plastic Diet: 9 Million Plastic Bags to Be Eliminated From Waste Stream“, treehugger.com, Business & Politics, Matthew McDermott, 25th Sept 2008