Image: Governors' Wind Energy Coalition

While there is no shortage of hot air swirling around various plans to harness wind energy to power our homes and businesses, a group of United States governors has hammered out a plan and is ready to take it all the way to the top.

On Tuesday, Iowa Governor Chet Culver and Rhode Island Governor Donald L. Carcieri released Great Expectations: U.S. Wind Energy Development, the Governors’ Wind Energy Coalition’s 2010 Recommendations. Culver and Carcieri are the chair and vice chair of the 29-state organization, which is attempting to shape a national policy to make wind power both viable and cost-effective.

The group formed over a year ago and began work on recommendations in December. The next step: Lobbying efforts to get a bill into Congress and on to President Barack Obama’s desk as soon as possible.

“We need all the clean and cost-effective resources we can generate. And we will only get there if we work together,” Culver said during a press conference called in conjunction with the report’s release. “Continued uncertainty will potentially cause the nation to surrender the industry to other countries. If China gets the job of supplying the U.S. wind industry, (jobs) could be lost forever.

“The good news is that we have increased wind generation dramatically over the past few years, but continued growth hinges on a more stable market. Given the immense advantages wind power provides to industry, consumers and the environment, it is clear that Congress must pass a strong federal renewable electricity policy so investors, developers and state policy makers are working together to achieve a common goal.”

Among the recommendations in the report:

• Adopt a renewable electricity standard (Known as  a RES, it sets benchmarks for the nation to reach a certain level of clean energy production by specific dates. Many believe that having a strong RES is the only way that clean energy technology can promise lenders and investors a measure of security, to show that the industry will not be buffeted by politics in the coming years.)
• Develop new interstate electric transmission system infrastructure as needed to provide access to premier renewable energy resources both on-shore and offshore
• Fully support coastal, deep water, and offshore wind energy technology and transmission research and development
• Streamline permitting processes for both offshore and on-shore wind energy development projects
• Expand the U.S. Department of Energy’s work with the states and the wind industry to accelerate innovation
• Extend the Treasury Department Grant Program in lieu of the Investment Tax Credit — providing immediate capital, and adopt a long-term renewable energy production tax credit with provisions to broaden the pool of eligible investors

“These recommendations could not be more timely,” Carcieri said. “Congressional action on the energy bill seems to have stalled. It is our hope that these recommendations — and the national bipartisan consensus they represent — will advance the energy deliberations now under way in Congress.”

New York University released its Climate Action Plan (CAP) today, which outlines the first steps toward achieving carbon neutrality by 2040.

The plan was developed after the university took a greenhouse gas inventory, and it outlines the projects and methods it will use to reduce or offsets its emissions.

NYU officials credited both Mayor Bloomberg’s PlanNYC Climate Challenge and the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) for initiating and helping shape its actions. The school is a signor of the ACUPCC .

The goals:

• NYU will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions per square foot by 30 percent from FY 2006 levels by FY 2017. This plan aims to reduce emissions in “an immediate, ambitious and tangible way,” school officials said.

• NYU pledges to achieve “climate neutrality” (i.e. net zero emissions) by FY 2040 by upgrading buildings through efficiency and conservation, planning for green building, generating cleaner on-site and renewable energy,  encouraging behavior changes and offsetting remaining emissions.

“Across the University – from academics to financial and space planning to sustainability – we are striving to plan for the long-term,” said Michael Alfano, NYU’s Executive Vice President. “This Climate Action Plan fits within that template, relying on a rigorous analysis to point the way toward a 30-year goal of attaining carbon neutrality.”

Cecil Scheib, Director of Energy and Sustainability, noted in the news release that NYU has already made progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, cutting them by 20 percent over the past three years.

“NYU total emissions have dropped from a fiscal year (FY06) peak of 171,000 MTCE to 136,000 MTCE in FY 2009. This decrease in global warming pollution is a measurable component of New York City’s total emissions, and represents a major step toward confronting the challenge of global warming,” Scheib said.

NYU, which is located in Greenwich Village and comprises 14 schools and colleges,  intends to fulfill its CAP by retrofitting buildings to use less energy, and prioritizing those retrofits to maximize emissions reductions.

The school — already the largest university purchaser of wind power — plans to use more cleaner energy by expanding a cogeneration power plant on site, which is expected to mitigate nearly one-quarter of NYU’s baseline FY 2006 emissions. The university will also replace fuel oil used to heat buildings with cleaner energy sources.

NYU is exploring the possibility of adding wind and solar power to its on-site energy plans, projects that it hopes will be financially feasible because of a positive return on investment, buttressed by state and federal incentives.

Whatever emissions the school can’t reduce or eliminate with these methods will be mitigated through local, socially and educationally redeeming offset programs.

NYU’s Manager of Sustainability Initiatives, Jeremy Friedman said that the CAP plan “fuses” the short-term reductions required by the Mayoral Challenge with the broader goals of the ACUPCC.

And the program does not forget the educational opportunities provided by the changing times. NYU expects to foster a campus-wide appreciation of sustainability through expanded course offerings both at the main campus and the affiliated Polytechnic Institute of NYU.

“The size and scope of this problem,” said Friedman, “are equaled only by our collective capacity to confront it together – by reducing greenhouse gas emissions as individuals, and by educating the next generation of leaders in the struggle to create a more sustainable and just world.”

Calling themselves “Clean Energy Patriots,” dozens of environmental leaders today asked the U.S. Senate to quit serving the interests of “Big Oil” and take action on behalf of Americans who want clean energy and climate solutions.

The leaders from nearly 50 environmental and social responsibility groups signed a declaration at the U.S. Capitol. It demands  that the Senate quit stalling on climate action, and kicks off a 40-day countdown until Earth Day, which celebrates its 40th anniversary on April 22.

They urged citizens to join in what they are calling the Earth Day Revolution.

“The first Earth Day was a success because 20 million Americans demonstrated an urgent need for environmental protection and action,” said Kathleen Rogers, President, Earth Day Network. “Together, we can make the 40th anniversary of Earth Day a pivotal moment in the environmental movement. We will use the next 40 days to build momentum around a demand for comprehensive climate legislation…”

Clean energy legislation would not only protect the environment, it would create jobs and improve national security, the leaders said.

“For too long Big Oil and their special interest allies have stood in the way of a clean energy revolution. It’s time for lawmakers to listen to the millions of citizens who will recognize this Earth Day by demanding the Senate gets working to pass comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation,” said Gene Karpinski, President of the League of Conservation Voters. “We need more Clean Energy Patriots this year. We need an Earth Day Revolution, not just another celebration.”

The campaign will wind up with a Climate Rally on the Sunday after Earth Day, on April 25.

The following groups have signed the Earth Day Declaration:

1Sky

Audubon

American Hunters and Shooters

American Rivers

American Values Network

Campus Progress

Center for American Progress Action Fund

Clean Water Action

Chesapeake Climate Action Network

Climate Protection Action Fund

Climate Solutions

Defenders of Wildlife

Democracia Ahora

Earth Day Network

Environment America

Environmental Defense Action Fund

Environmental Law and Policy Center

Green for All

Hip Hop Caucus

Interfaith Power and Light

La Onda Verde

League of Conservation Voters

National Catholic Rural Life Conference

National Wildlife Federation

NWF Campus Ecology

Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund

Oceana

Operation Free

Rock the Vote

Sierra Club

Southern Alliance for Clean Energy

SACE

Southern Energy Network

StudentPIRGs

SustainUS

Truman National Security Project

Union of Concerned Scientists

Veterans for Common Sense

Voces Verdes

World Wildlife Fund

The Wilderness Society

Looking to rent an apartment? Make sure it has all the amenities you’ll need: laundry facilities, exercise room — and a car for occasional long-range errands.

In San Francisco, they are not leaving that last one to chance. The Planning Department mandates that for every 50 to 200 units in a new residential building, at least one space must be made available for a car sharing vehicle.

The idea is that parking for an apartment complex shouldn’t shut out, but should encourage, those who use car sharing. And if the space has got a car at the ready — all the better.

Zipcar, Inc., the Boston-based car sharing service that claims to be the world’s largest, announced this week that San Francisco has granted it a certification that qualifies the company to fill those designated car-share spots. That means that Zipcar can place its cars at the car share parking spots, giving it a competitive edge over other services.

“As a ‘Certified Car Share Organization,’ Zipcar will help meet the demands of San Francisco developers and residents, who increasingly are requesting car sharing at their buildings,” said Lawrence Badiner, Zoning Administrator of the San Francisco Planning Department.

Eventually, other car companies could get certified, as well, by applying to the city Planning Department.

In the meantime, Zipcar can fulfill the needs of building owners and tenants, as Zipcar President and COO Mark Norman explained in his statement: “Developers can better attract tenants by offering Zipcar as an on-site amenity, and effectively cut costs by reducing the overall number of parking spaces necessary, since fewer residents will own cars.

“Residents can more easily live car-free with the convenience of a Zipcar just steps from their home.  A car-free life will save money, simplify their lives and reduce their environmental footprint.”

Integrating car sharing, biking amenities or locating near mass transit also wins building developers points toward LEED designation by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Zipcar serves many major and smaller city markets in North America.

For more information about car sharing, see carsharing.net.

In Durham, N.C., homes will get an energy retrofit. In Salt Lake City, they’ll develop a plan to reduce auto pollution.  In Sacramento, they’ll be improving the landscape around a river to reduce pollution runoff. And in Denver, they’ll be looking at a little bit of all that — energy efficiency for homes and businesses, bike sharing and renewable energy.

It’s all being made possible by $10 million from the EPA’s Climate Showcase Community Grants, set up to help communities develop their plans to reduce greenhouse gases and lighten their carbon footprint.

Durham, N.C.

Retrofiting by insulating pipes in Durham, N.C.

In the city and county of Durham, N.C., the community will use the grant to retrofit homes in selected neighborhoods. Tobin Freid, sustainability manager, says one of the most effective ways to change behavior is to see that everyone else “is doing it.” In other words, if the neighbors are all getting retrofitted, the mentality is “I should do that, too.”

The federal grants will have a double benefit by providing much needed green collar jobs for those employed by the program.

“We are starting with 2,000 square-feet or less homes, all of which are single story and free of un-vented combustion appliances.
The houses in these neighborhoods tend to be similar, three to four styles,” says Freid, and by beginning with simple designs, “it is more efficient to quickly assess [the retrofitting needs].”

Single story homes are easier to retrofit because the duct work is all on one level. The other advantage is that the smaller homes are a good training ground for the retrofitters before embarking on larger projects in the future, Freid said.

The Durham crew is not doing an energy audit on each of these homes, instead, “we are focusing on four retrofits: a programmable thermostat, sealing air ducts, adding insulation and sealing leaks/cracks in floor boards. Most houses need these.”

The homes to be retrofitted will be selected this spring and the work will begin in July. Currently, Freid says, “volunteers are going door to door to educate homeowners on energy savings and tax incentives. We will also have workshops on easy energy fixes such as caulking windows or wrapping hot water pipes.”

The homes chosen will be tracked for energy use, before and two years after, the retrofits. “We realize energy consumption changes depending how many people live in a house. For example when a child is born, energy usage goes up; or when a child goes off to college, energy usage should go down.”

Residents will pay $300 to participate; the grant will provide up to $1,200 per home. Depending on what a family’s income is, they may qualify for the federal weatherization program. In which case, they will be encouraged to do so. A family of four earning $44,000 or below, would qualify.

Salt Lake City

In Salt Lake City, the EPA grant is being used to figure out how to make sustainable transportation a priority — and for good reason.

Bike racks at the new Salt Lake City transit center

“Salt Lake City experiences very poor air quality, especially in winter,” says the city’s environmental manager, Renee Zollinger. This is due to an air inversion that sets in and traps pollutants in the valley. Air quality isn’t much better in the summer due to ozone production. “We frequently have the worst air quality in the nation, which is clearly a health concern. About half of the pollution that accumulates during those periods is from vehicle exhaust. These vehicle emissions also include a lot of greenhouse gases. “

To combat the air quality issue, the Salt Lake has initiated several outreach campaigns to reduce community vehicle emissions. Zollinger says that while these have been successful, “we felt that these programs…would benefit by stepping back and taking a holistic approach to identifying our audiences and their respective priorities, and then developing very tailored messaging that brings those groups into the effort.”

That’s where the EPA grant come into play, she says.

“The grant will allow us to collect data from surveys and focus groups to identify the perceptions of different audiences, especially those that have been difficult to reach so far,” Zollinger says.

The problem that Salt Lake City has is not different from many other communities. “We are still a very car-oriented population. The goal of the grant is to create more behavior changes. We have the infrastructure…We need to study the things that will change behavior,” she says.

Salt Lake City has a well-regarded light rail system, as well as heavy rail that runs north and south along the Wasatch Front, a robust bus system, and bike paths, she says. The city is building a bicycle transit center that will be located where the light and heavy rail intersect and will include showers, lockers and a bike repair shop.

If Salt Lake City can identify the triggers that make people change their environmental behavior, Zollinger believes that this data could help other communities with similar demographics.

Denver

In Denver city and county, the EPA grant will fund the Neighborhood Climate Prosperity Project. It is a four-pronged project that will target residential energy efficiency; small business energy concerns (mom-and-pop pizza shops don’t usually consider energy efficiency a top priority); sustainable transportation options such as bike sharing; and renewable energy challenges that include using wind and solar energy through local utility companies.

“We’ve already done some residential energy outreach,” says Matthew Marshall of the city’s Environmental Health Department. “We want to focus on low-income housing” so the project is sending out volunteers to go door to door, giving residents free street trees, CFL porch bulbs and information on recycling. The volunteers also are letting residents know about free programs such as the federal weatherization program. In some cases, they may be eligible for a new refrigerator and/or furnace.

The stimulus package gave Denver a good boost, Marshall says, but the grant money enables the city and county to provide even more services to its residents.

The Department of Environmental Health accomplishes its goals with the help of nonprofits such as Groundwork Denver and the Mile High Youth Corp to get the word out and in some cases, to do the energy retrofits needed. Groundwork Denver organizes the door-to-door effort. The Youth Corp trains young adults in job skills, in this case, green job skills, that enable them to do in-home energy audits that include installing low-flow toilet and faucet fixtures.

Sacramento

In Sacramento, the EPA grant will go to expanding river-friendly landscaping. Jeanette Watson, the lead environmental specialist with the Sacramento County Storm Water Program, and Dave Tamayo, the technical environmental specialist, were  both involved with the

River-friendly landscaping curbs run off in Elk Grove, near Sacramento

grant application. Sacramento already had a storm water project in the works. It focuses on reducing pollutants in storm water that come from landscaping. The project takes a holistic approach by coordinating with the different aspects of water pollution: solid waste, water conservation and air quality.

“The EPA grant will demonstrate the benefits of river-friendly landscaping,” says Watson. It will  focus on greenhouse gas reduction in terms of water conservation and better management of green waste, says Tamayo, noting that, “Water takes energy to deal with. If you save water, you save energy.”

By designing river-friendly landscaping, homeowners and businesses can control green waste, he says. For example, by reducing the turf area of a lawn and using plants that don’t require a lot of trimming, a resident can create a more energy efficient landscape. Gardening without the use of a lot of machinery is preferable. Shipping out yard waste – such as grass cuttings in the summer or leaves in the fall – requires energy. It also takes energy to process and then more energy to sell it back as compost or mulch.

“Leaving grass cuttings on the lawn, benefits the soil; and instead of raking and removing leaves, leave them on site and use as mulch for shrubs and trees. The leaves will also crowd out the weeds, retain water and reduce soil erosion,” he says.

“We realize, especially in Sacramento, the city of trees, that all leaves can’t be left on site. But if we can just establish practices. Whatever you can do, will make a significant improvement.

“Looking at the right design and maintenance practices, such as using the right plant in the right place,” makes a difference, he says.

Roger Dickinson, a Sacramento county supervisor, has been involved with lobbying for the creation of the Climate Showcase Community Grant from the start. Bringing more resources to the local level is key, he says. This is where actions need to be taken.

“Think globally, act locally” is his motto. “We’re very excited about this,” he says. “Climate change is the quintessential issue. Hopefully, [these grants] will be very smart for the environment.” Using basic landscaping and gardening techniques to reduce waste make sense, he says. “Our approach is to demonstrate techniques that work in reducing greenhouse gases and use this as a foundation for others who are building in the future.”

Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-Sacremento) is very pleased with the EPA grant. “This federal funding will support our efforts to continue reducing our community’s greenhouse gas emissions and thus serve a broader purpose in helping to preserve our local natural resources, improve the community’s health, and bolster our regional economy,” she says.

Cincinnati

The city of Cincinnati also will be augmenting an existing program, started in 2008 and called the Green Cincinnati Plan (GCP). Larry Falkin, director of the city’s Office of Environmental Quality, describes it as a road map to making the city more sustainable. The EPA grant will help fund the outreach and education elements of GCP, he says. “The grant will help us with the leg work to communicate the plan and help motivate participation.”

The GCP offers many recommendations to reduce the city’s greenhouse gas emissions and improve the environment and human health — and save residents money.

“We need to rely more on renewal energy, reduce the number of miles we drive, be conscious of land use such as living closer to our destinations, focus on reducing the landfill and look at our dietary choices and how they impact greenhouse gases,” Falkin says.

Like many of EPA communities, the GCP relies on voluntary measures to achieve its objectives, and counts on participants to act both altruistically and pragmatically.

The EPA created the competitive grant program in 2009 to help communities establish and execute climate change goals. The agency’s hope is that the grants will inspire others to replicate these models and find cost-effective methods to curb greenhouse gases. The first round of grants ($10 million) went to 20 communities, with five more communities to come, pending final review. An additional $10 million in funding will become available later this spring.

Copyright © 2010 Green Right Now | Distributed by GRN Network

In a blow to the nuclear power industry, Vermont’s State Senate is pulling the plug on the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant,  which has been beset by environmental problems ranging from missing fuel rods to the uncontrolled release of radiation.

The Vermont Yankee Power Plant (Photo: NRC)

The Senate voted this week (26-4) to not renew a requested extension of the plant’s 40-year license, which expires in March 2012. The vote came after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission acknowledged this week that yet another radioactive leak had occurred at the Yankee reactor in 2005. It also followed President Obama’s declaration of a new era for nuclear, beginning with $8 billion in federal loan guarantees for a large nuclear power plant near Augusta, Ga.

Vermont’s House of Representatives may vote on the issue, but if either chamber denies the extensive of the license, the plant must be closed. The Vermont Yankee Power Plant, licensed in 1972, is permitted until March 2012, according to the DOE.

The power of Vermont lawmakers to shutdown the facility is unique among states, and the move by the Senate marks the first time a state legislature has closed a nuclear plant, according to Greenpeace, which lauded the move.

“Vermonters sent a message to President Obama and the nuclear industry today,” said Greenpeace’s Nuclear Policy Analyst Jim Riccio. “The nuclear renaissance is dead on arrival.  We can retire old, decrepit and leaking reactors like Vermont Yankee and help usher in the energy revolution that America needs.”

“When Americans have the choice about the kind of energy they want in their communities, they don’t want nuclear,” Riccio said in a news release. “… Greenpeace is calling on Vermonter legislators to vote against relicensing in the house as well so that the message to America registers loud and clear.”

Said Vermont Organizer Jarred Cobb, “From farmers and schoolteachers to businesspeople and students, the people of Vermont are overwhelmingly in support of a energy future that relies on clean and safe renewables like wind and solar. The communities living in the shadow of Vermont Yankee have had to worry for too long about this aging reactor.”

Environmentalists are divided on whether nuclear power should play a role in a new clean energy economy. Some like that nuclear reactors do not emit carbon emissions, but many others fear that just the sort of leaks and difficulties faced by the Vermont Yankee Plant make nuclear power risky and damaging to the environment.

The Yankee Nuclear Power Plant, a boiling-water type reactor, is owned by Entergy.

From Green Right Now Reports

Plans are taking shape for Earth Hour 2010, the annual event in which landmarks around the world switch off their lights as a symbol of their commitment to resolving the issue of global warming.

This year’s event will be held at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 27. Among the participating global icons for 2010 are CN Tower in Toronto, Table Mountain in Cape Town, the Grand Palace in Bangkok and the world’s second tallest building, Tapei 101. U.S. landmarks that will go dark include the Golden Gate Bridge, Empire State Building, Mount Rushmore and the lights of Las Vegas.

The actions shown by cities of the world and their inhabitants are crucial to leading a low-carbon resolution to climate change, says Earth Hour Co-Founder and Executive Director, Andy Ridley. He noted that the C40, a climate leadership group of many of the world’s largest cities, says that cities are responsible for up to 75 percent of the world’s carbon emissions.

“So their role in addressing what is unequivocally the greatest threat to the planet today is absolutely vital,” Ridley said in a statement. “By turning the lights off their landmarks for Earth Hour, cities are reflecting the aspirations of their citizens as a community that has resolved to take action on global warming.”

Earth Hour began as a one-city initiative in Sydney in 2007, when 2 million people switched off their lights.  By 2009 it had grown into a global event that included the Great Pyramids, Eiffel Tower, the Coliseum, Christ the Redeemer statue, Buckingham Palace, Beijing’s Olympic Stadium and many more world-famous landmarks as 4,159 cities, towns and municipalities in 88 countries participated.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa today confirmed earlier reports that the city will partner with RecycleBank to launch an incentive program that will reward households for Blue Bin recycling. Initially, a pilot program will serve 15,000 single family homes along selected routes in the West Valley and North Central sections of the city.

The program is designed to encourage additional Blue Bin recycling.

In announcing the pilot program, the mayor said it is designed to encourage additional Blue Bin recycling, increase recycling rates and put meaningful savings in the pockets of participating residents.

“The City of Los Angeles has worked tirelessly to ensure that recycling is accessible to every single resident. Los Angeles’ ambitious environmental agenda is one of the reasons why we already recycle more than any other big city in America and why we will be the cleanest, greenest big city in America,” Mayor Villaraigosa said in a statement. “To reach our goal of zero waste, we are building innovative partnerships that will employ outside resources. We are proud to be the biggest city to work with RecycleBank, since the program will motivate residents to recycle more and will pump money directly back into the local economy.”

RecycleBank measures the amount of material recycled in a community and converts that amount into points that can be redeemed for rewards at hundreds of local and national RecycleBank Reward Partners. Rewards come in the form of groceries, gift cards, school supplies, restaurants, among other choices. RecycleBank works to involve local merchants so residents can enjoy savings while helping the local economy.

There also is an option to donate reward points to local schools through the RecycleBank Green Schools Program. National RecycleBank partners include retailers and brands such as Kraft Foods, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Bed Bath & Beyond, Ruby Tuesday and CVS/pharmacy.

The goal of the pilot program is to elevate environmental stewardship, personal responsibility and volunteer action in recycling on a community wide basis. Residents in the pilot areas must sign up for their personal RecycleBank account, either online or by phone, to begin earning reward points.

Officials said the 12-month pilot program will be studied by the City’s Department of Public Works’ Bureau of Sanitation, which implements the city’s solid waste recycling and collection programs. The City will evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the program in raising its leading 65-percent diversion rate of residential and commercial waste out of the nation’s 10 largest cities.

The City said no money from the its general fund will be used for the test. Citywide, the residential Blue Bin recycling program collects an average of 4,600 tons of recyclables every week or more than 240,000 tons annually.

Reward points will be earned on a community weight based approach with points and rewards shared equally with participating households on each collection route. Once a RecycleBank member, program participants can redeem their points online, where they can also learn about their personal environmental footprint through recycling. Participants can also access their account information by calling the toll free RecycleBank Customer Care Center, 1 (888) 727-2978.

Currently, RecycleBank services more than one million people across 25 states and also provides service in the United Kingdom. These households have cumulatively saved more than 4.3 million trees and more than 292 million gallons of oil through their recycling efforts, according to RecycleBank.

Even after monumental clean-ups that rescued the Great Lakes from acid rain and industrial dumping in the 20th Century, these national water resources continue to suffer environmental assaults.

Sewage overflows into the lakes — some 25 billion gallons of untreated sewage from 20 cities in 2008 — have resulted in waters that periodically test positive for dangerous levels of E coli in 2008, according to a report by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Asian Carp (Photo: US Fish and Wildlife Service.)

Lately, too, the lakes are under threat from the large and destructive Asian carp, an invasive species that has been making its way up rivers to Lake Michigan, where scientists say it could annihilate whole populations of native fish, creating havoc in the Great Lakes, and depleting food and fishing jobs. (The carp were imported decades ago by catfish farmers to clean their stock ponds; they escaped during Midwestern floods.)

Today, the EPA officially unveiled a five-year plan to help restore the Great Lakes, which supply 30 million people with water and support billions in fishing and recreational businesses.

“We have an historic opportunity to restore and protect these waters. This action plan outlines our strategy to protect the environmental, human health, and economic interests of the millions of people who rely on the Great Lakes,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “We’re committed to creating a new standard of care that will leave the Great Lakes better for the next generation.”

State governors were, predictably, pleased. Said Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle, co-chair of the Council of Great Lakes Governors, “Wisconsin is defined by the Great Lakes, and one of our greatest responsibilities is to preserve this important freshwater resource for future generations. This action plan sets a strong course of action as we confront tremendous challenges to not only protect, but also restore the Great Lakes.”

“We must protect and preserve our lakes for our families and outdoors enthusiasts, as well as the industries that rely on the waterways to transport their goods around the world,” added CGLC co-chair  Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, in the same news release.

The five-year action plan was developed by 16 federal groups on an inter-agency task force headed by Jackson. It will have five areas of focus, according to an EPA news release:

• Protection and cleanup of the most polluted areas in the lakes: The task force will work with state and municipal partners to clean up toxic hotspots so that critical “working waterways” are reclaimed for healthy fishing and recreation.

• Combating invasive species: The plan will take a “zero tolerance” approach toward invasive species, such as the Asian Carp, to keep them out of the lakes.

• Protection of high priority watersheds and reduced runoff from urban, suburban and, agricultural sources: Reducing runoff and pollution to help clean up Great Lakes beaches.

• Restoration of wetlands and other habitats: Restoration work will begin with an assessment of the entire 530,000 acre Great Lakes coastal wetland, which has never been done before, to help the task force identify and restore affected areas for healthier wildlife and habitats.

• Implementation of accountability measures, learning initiatives, outreach and strategic partnerships: The task force will work closely with the Great Lakes states, non-profits, stakeholder groups and Canada to protect and restore the lakes.

The initiative is slated to be funded with $475 million for a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative proposed this month by President Barak Obama. If approved, it would be the most significant investment in the Great Lakes in two decades, according to the EPA.

Martin J. Chavez, three-term former mayor of Albuquerque, has been named Executive Director of ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability USA, the nation’s largest membership organization for local governments committed to climate protection, sustainability, and clean energy.

ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability is an international association of local governments as well as national and regional local government organizations that have made a commitment to sustainable development. There is a growing national movement of U.S. cities, towns, and counties – from New York and LA to Oklahoma City – that are taking action to combat climate change, save energy, create green jobs, and make their communities more livable.

Chavez will direct ICLEI’s ongoing efforts to empower local governments with tools, resources, and expertise to achieve their goals.

“Mayor Chavez has very a strong record in the environmental, social justice, and economic development arenas,” Patrick Hays, ICLEI USA President and Board Chairman and Mayor of North Little Rock, Ark, said in a statement. “His drive and experience are perfectly suited to build and serve ICLEI’s 600+ local government members, and work with our federal and state partners.”

Chavez was considered one of the nation’s “greenest” mayors. He joins ICLEI during a period when the organization sais it is experiencing “unprecedented membership growth,” as more local governments seek help to lower their greenhouse gas emissions, plan for climate change, save energy and taxpayer dollars, create green jobs, and develop plans to improve sustainability and quality of life for their communities.

“ICLEI has a successful tradition of helping cities and counties do more and do better,” Chavez said in a statement. “I look forward to working with fellow local elected officials and professionals nationwide, and of course with the very dedicated ICLEI staff, to achieve measurable impacts in the years ahead.”

White roofs cut energy costs. (Photo: PRNewsFoto/The Dow Chemical Company)

From Green Right Now Reports

Philadelphia wants to rally its residents and stoke the spirit of friendly competition among neighborhoods to green up their streets. The RetroFIT PHILLY “Coolest Block” contest, announced today at City, will encourage residents to update their energy-hungry black rooftops.

“Our Greenworks Philadelphia goal is to retrofit 15 percent of the city’s row home roofs, and the ‘Coolest Block’ contest is jumpstarting this effort,” Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter said in a statement.

Organized under the auspices of The Energy Coordinating Agency of Philadelphia (ECA) and the City of Philadelphia, with product and technology contributions from The Dow Chemical Company and the financial support from The Dow Chemical Company Foundation, the contest invites row home owners to enter to win energy-saving cool roof, air sealing and insulation upgrades for their entire block.

“Row homes have charm and character, and have long been a unique architectural feature of the city,” said Liz Robinson, executive director Philadelphia’s ECA, “but most were built without the advantage of modern building science or materials. The initiative to make them more energy-efficient, and in effect ‘greener,’ can help to improve the quality of life for the residents while saving them money on heating and cooling bills.”

Traditional black asphalt roofs soak up the sun’s heat and allow its transfer between the exterior and the interior of the house. White roofs, on the other hand, bounce off solar energy to prevent it from being absorbed into the roof and house in the summer. They can reduce the amount of energy needed to cool the living space and bring the cost of cooling a home down by as much as 20 percent.

These white “cool roofs” also are a proven way to combat urban heat island effect. The roof’s exterior is 50 – 80 degrees cooler on hot summer days, helping to lower high temperatures and improve air quality. The urban heat island phenomenon, aggravated by the large expanses of asphalt and black top, combined with relatively little vegetation or green space, can lead to heat-related illnesses during heat waves.

Dow, a co-sponsor in this initiative, will provide insulation and air-leak prevention upgrades to the homes on the winning block . According to the U.S. Department of Energy, proper insulation and air sealing of the home can reduce heating and cooling costs by as much as 30 percent. Air infiltration – which often occurs between walls and floors, around windows and doors, and through other gaps and cracks – can account for as much as 40 percent of heat loss in homes, according to the Department of Energy.

Contest entrants will be judged on a range of criteria, but blocks with the highest resident participation have the best chance of winning. Any Philadelphia row home resident is eligible to enter, but must submit a group entry through one “block coordinator.”  The coordinator may be self-selected or may be one of the city’s “block captains” who volunteer to organize block activities on a regular basis. Entrants must also submit a brief profile of their neighborhood and the future they envision for it.

Entries will be reviewed by a panel of judges that includes representatives from local media, environmental organizations, and the building industry. The deadline for entry is April 5, 2010. The winning block will be announced by May 10, 2010. In June, the winning block will receive a block party to celebrate.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, and the state’s Attorney General and Agriculture commissioner, announced Tuesday that the state will challenge the EPA’s 2009 finding that greenhouse gases are endangering human health.

Texas has filed a Petition for Review of the EPA’s finding with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit , questioning the science behind the EPA’s finding and whether the agency should be allowed to regulate industries’ greenhouse gas emissions.

The move follows a similar one by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce last week, when the Chamber filed a petition against the EPA to stop the agency from regulating greenhouse gases. The Chamber says it favors greenhouse gas reductions, but that giving the EPA the authority to assess fines against polluters is the “wrong way” to do it.

The EPA responded to the Texas filing with this statement from Dr. Alfredo “Al” Armendariz, EPA Regional Administrator for Region 6:

“Todays action is not surprising. Texas officials have repeatedly expressed opposition to the EPA’s common sense approach to begin reducing harmful greenhouse gases. Texas, which contributes up to 35 percent of the greenhouse gases emitted by industrial sources in the United States, should be leading the way in this effort. Instead, Texas officials are attempting to slow progress with unnecessary litigation.

“EPA is confident the endangerment finding, which was issued as a result of a 2007 Supreme Court decision, will withstand legal challenge.”               

Both the Texas petition and the one filed by the U.S. Chamber express concern that regulating greenhouse gases — or in the case of the Chamber’s suit, assessing fines to violators –  will be costly for businesses.

Perry’s suit, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals, specifically cites industries that depend on fossil fuels and the livestock industry.

“This legal action is being taken to protect the Texas economy and the jobs that go with it, as well as defend Texas’ freedom to continue our successful environmental strategies free from federal overreach,” Perry said in a news release.

The EPA officially deemed greenhouse gases to be a threat to human health in 2009 after the U.S. Supreme Court found that the Bush Administration’s reasons for not regulating these pollutants to be insufficient. The EPA is charged with regulating air pollution under the Clean Air Act.

Environmental Defense Fund Texas Regional Director Jim Marston said Gov. Perry’s action against the EPA represents a step backwards for Texas.

“The lawsuit filed by Governor Perry is asking the Environmental Protection Agency to ignore the Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. vs. Massachusetts. Their action invokes memories of a sad time in Texas history from the ’50s, when Texas politicians sought to nullify decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court. Not only is it legally unsound, it puts Texas on the side of the 1950s economy, against the clean energy economy of the future.”

Perry and his co-filers, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, criticize the EPA’s “endangerment finding” on greenhouse gases, saying that the EPA wrongly relied heavily on the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which has recently come under fire for having miscalculated or exaggerated some of the effects of global warming. For instance, a finding that the Himalayan glaciers would be gone in a few decades turned out to be based on one scientist’s estimation, and not any peer-reviewed study.

Leaders with the global alliance of scientists, however, have defended the panel’s basic conclusion that the world is warming, pointing to Arctic ice melts and rising seas.

But Texas Attorney General Abbott says that controversies around the IPCC call into question the EPA’s greenhouse gas position.

“With billions of dollars at stake, EPA outsourced the scientific basis for its greenhouse gas regulation to a scandal-plagued international organization that cannot be considered objective or trustworthy,” Attorney General Abbott said.

According to the Texas news release,  “the International[sic] Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)… has been discredited by evidence of key scientists’ lack of objectivity, coordinated efforts to hide flaws in their research, attempts to keep contravening evidence out of IPCC reports and violation of freedom of information laws.”

The EDF defends the EPA, however, saying the agency drew on science from many sources, such as NOAA and the USDA, not just the IPCC.

“Some of the challengers have claimed that the scientific underpinning for EPA’s action is weak. In fact, EPA’s decision is based on a two hundred page synthesis of major scientific assessments by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Research Council, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Aeronautical and Space Administration, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, the National Snow and Ice Data Center, the NOAA National Climatic Data Center, CNA Corporation, and others.”
(The EPA “Technical Support Document for the Findings” is available at the EPA website on climate change.)

The EDF statement also notes that the U.S. Chamber has fought the Clean Air Act before, in 1997, when the EPA moved to regulate particulate and ozone pollution.

Then, the Chamber claiming that it would harm manufacturers, farm interests, cement makers, auto manufacturers, the pulp and paper mill industry, petroleum refiners, iron and steel firms, home builders, mining interests, and power companies, the EDF said.

“Today, millions of Americans have been protected with healthier air and the science is only more compelling in documenting the harm from particulate and ozone pollution.”

In its current petition against the EPA’s regulation of greenhouse gases, the Chamber says it would favor a Congressional bill on climate change over direct government regulation.

“The right way” to regulate carbon pollution, according to the Chamber’s news release “is through bipartisan legislation that promotes new technologies, emphasizes efficiency, ensures affordable energy for families and businesses, and defends American jobs while returning our economy to prosperity. ”

The House of Representatives passed a bill to address climate change last summer, but the Senate has remained stalled on the issue for months.