Encouraging news on climate action by the President

President Obama put smiles on the faces of climate activists across the country last week when he announced his executive order to limit global warming emissions from the federal government.

The President announced on March 19 that the federal government must cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 40 percent over the next decade from 2008 levels. Here's why this is significant: The federal government is the largest consumer of energy in the nation. The federal portfolio of 360,000 buildings, 650,000 fleet vehicles, and $445 billion spent annually on goods and services provides abundant opportunities for energy conservation and efficiency.

The feds will avoid emitting 26 million metric tons of GHGs—the equivalent of taking 5.5 million cars off the road.

For those of us extremely concerned about climate change, this in itself is great news. But for those somehow less concerned about the problem, an important co-benefit of this action is that it will save taxpayers up to $18 billion in avoided energy costs. 

PennFuture sees this important action by the President as the latest indicator that he views climate change as a legacy issue. He announced his Clean Power Plan last June, and then his important agreement with the Chinese in November in which both the U.S. and China will significantly reduce emissions in the next ten to fifteen years.

The President's executive order last week is just his latest important step in the right direction.

Now, if Congress would just do the right thing and legislate a price on carbon, we could all rest a bit easier.

Until then, hail to the chief for his leadership.

Joy Bergey is PennFuture's federal policy director, based in Philadelphia. She tweets @joybergey .

KXL: A bad day for tar sands means a good day for climate sanity

He did it. He said he would and, to our great relief, he did. That is to say that last evening, President Obama vetoed the bill that Congress sent to him which would have greenlighted the development of the Keystone XL pipeline. (Read the Washington Post coverage.)

I'm feeling both great relief and a sense of celebration. Extraction and processing of Canada's tar sands, and then shipping them through a highly risky pipeline through the heart of the U.S. mainland only for all of the resulting fuels to be sent overseas, has been called "the dumbest energy idea ever." I agree.

Why would this country take all the environmental risks for so few jobs (35 permanent jobs) and no new energy sources for domestic consumption (don't believe those who say otherwise)?

Huge thanks to the President for seeing sense and vetoing this bill -- as he had been promising to do.

  Lena Moffitt and NWFers gathered at the White House to thank

 Pres. Obama just hours after he vetoed the bill.

A big shoutout to my good friend and colleague, Lena Moffitt, who is federal policy manager for National Wildlife Federation's Climate and Energy Program, and has led on this issue for years.  (PennFuture is proud to be NWF's Pennsylvania affiliate). When I heard news of the veto from Lena yesterday afternoon and asked her reaction, she said with a big smile, "The President's building a climate legacy, and there's no room for KXL in it!"

I was late waking up to the threats of this ridiculous pipeline proposal; it wasn't until about three years ago that, thanks to savvy, insightful folks like Lena who were way ahead of me, I learned just how daft this pipeline idea is. Thank you, @LenaMDC, for opening my eyes. (Read the guest blog post that Lena wrote for us back in December, in which she exposes the flaws in the economic arguments in support of the pipeline.)

We can't relax just yet -- the President will still need to reject one more permit request.  We're certainly hopeful that President Obama will stick to his guns and kill this pipeline for good.

Joy Bergey is PennFuture's federal policy director, based in Philadelphia. She tweets @joybergey.

Making a city more energy efficient

This post is contributed by Ana Chirinos in PennFuture's Pittsburgh office. Chirinos is a Green Cities Fellow working with the Black and Gold City Goes Green campaign.

ReEnergize Pgh is a coordinated effort to reduce home energy consumption throughout Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. It is made up of non-profits, utilities, environmental awareness groups, municipalities, energy auditors and community organizers, all with the common goal of increasing demand for energy efficiency services. 

This year, ReEnergize Pgh started an Energy Ambassador program. It's a take on traditional block captains but with a green twist.  An Energy Ambassador is someone who has been identified as a community leader. This person has roots in their area and the capacity to inspire and motivate others. Energy Ambassadors share information about various sustainable initiatives. They also organize energy efficiency workshops, open house home energy audits, appliance exchange programs, and other green opportunities.

Energy Ambassadors work with PennFuture's Black and Gold City Goes Green campaign to coordinate Neighborhood Blitzes in their community. This partnership between ReEnergize Pgh and Black and Gold helps to further the community goals of the Pittsburgh Climate Action Plan. 

There are 16 Energy Ambassadors in 14 communities across the Pittsburgh area. This is a widespread community engagement and education campaign, adaptive to neighborhoods of different demographics, and intentional about connecting people directly to energy efficiency resources. Energy Ambassadors are essential because of their ability to convey information in an appropriate way to people in their neighborhood. 

Overall, the mission of these Energy Ambassadors is to decrease energy waste, resulting in a measurable reduction in a community’s carbon footprint. While quantifiable metrics are important, the potential for community engagement may be the most important point in such a program. After all, taking a wasted resource and making it a community asset is paramount in the transformation to a sustainable community.

First Energy deactivating two coal-fired power plants--the future of energy in the U.S.?

On Tuesday, First Energy Corp. announced plans to deactivate two coal-fired power plants in Pennsylvania. The Hatfield's Ferry Power Station in Masontown, Pa., and Mitchell Power Station in Courtney, Pa., will not be active after October 9. First Energy cites the cost of compliance with new and future environmental standards such as the Environmental Protection Agency's Mercury Air Toxic Standards, and the declining cost of electricity due to cheap and plentiful natural gas, as the reasons for the shut downs. There could be another issue at play, however. As reported by Anya Litvak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, persons familiar with the electricity market believe the reason for the closures is a general lack of demand for electricity.

Both facilities had previously been under consideration for retrofits to turn them into coal and natural gas powered plants but, instead, will join the nine other facilities First Energy plans to close. 

There is little doubt that the Hatfield's Ferry and Mitchell power stations are contributors of harmful pollution in southwest Pennsylvania, and nearby residents will breathe easier after the closures. In 2006, PennFuture filed a lawsuit involving the Hatfield's Ferry Power Station due to its inability to comply with federal standards for particulate pollution. The suit was successfully settled, and the facility was ordered to take aggressive action to come into compliance.

First Energy claims that after the shut downs, nearly 100 percent of its power generation will come from non- or low-emitting sources, with 13 percent from renewables. Hopefully, we'll see them bump up that 13 percent as the country's appetite for coal continues to decline.