Pelosi Paints the Capital Green

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

To mark Earth Day, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi introduced a plan to paint green the marble columns of the Capitol with energy efficiency and environmental initiatives. She calls it the “Green the Capitol Initiative.”

Pelosi’s plan involves 15 distinct steps to conserve energy and reduce waste, and is aimed specifically at congressional offices. Among Pelosi’s 15 measures are the use of compact florescent light bulbs, recycling used office items, and conserving electricity by powering off lights and computers while not in use. Additionally, Speaker Pelosi is encouraging the use of public transportation and the conservation of basic office supplies.

“The Capitol, which has always served as a beacon of freedom, is now a shining example of sustainability.” Pelosi said. She continued that the House has reduced its carbon emissions by 72 percent recently. She continued that if all Congressional offices adopt this plan, it will result in a savings of $1 million in energy costs and will cut energy consumption in the Capitol by nearly 10 percent.

Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-Oreg.), who Pelosi called “the main instigator” of the green plan, believes that Congress is setting a good example for the rest of the country. He said, “If we model the behavior we want the rest of America to follow, it has a profound effect.”

Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) said that one of the first things he did when coming into Congress was institute a recycling program in his offices. He grinned at the savings

“Just during the transition from the 110th to 111th Congress, Congress saved over 60,000 pounds of paper. Lujan joked with the Speaker, “I was going to bring an example of that, but I couldn’t forklift it in, just to give an example of what we’ve truly saved.”

Pelosi called it the moral responsibility of Congress. Her office is encouraging all members to adopt these “green” plans. “I think most members of the Congress are doing some of this,” but she could not give exact numbers on who has implemented all of these recommendations. “The Speakers office is doing all of this,” Pelosi said proudly of the recommendations.

Global warming creates opportunities

By Suzia van Swol-University of New Mexico, Talk Radio News Service

From Ph.D’s to GED’s, there are new jobs and new sectors that Van Jones, Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation with the White House Council on Environmental Quality, says are available through the green movement.

The Obama administration anticipates a $645 billion revenue from a cap and trade system which is projected to be set in place by 2012. The plan puts a limit on the amount of greenhouse gas an oil or electric company can emit, and anything exceeding a set “cap” results in companies buying pollution allowances or credits from companies who have not exceeded their limits.

Republicans believe that the middle and lower class Americans will be the ones suffering from such a plan because of the raised prices in electric bills. Republicans also worry that it is important to heal the economy before tackling a green revolution.

The Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant is specifically designed to get money for energy efficiency in cities. Jones said that he will be working closely with the Office of Management and Budget to make sure that money intended for creating green jobs is actually put into the community. “All monies are to be distributed consistent with
equal opportunity and other policy objections of the administration,” said Jones.

Jones said that cities account for 75% of our green house gas emissions “which means that we cannot beat global warming without greening our cities.”

Fixing buildings that leak too much energy requires jobs because “buildings don’t weatherize and retrofit themselves,” Jones said, adding that

“Everything that is good in the fight against global warming is also a job or a contract, therefore it’s good for people.”

Udall: Green is the new red, white, and blue

By Suzia van Swol, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

At the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on the future directions of energy research and development, Ranking Member Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Ala.) said that, “If we are going to be the leader in energy technology, investment in Research and Development (R&D) is a must, and the two are certainly not mutually exclusive.”

The legislative proposal considered today will not only reauthorizes the research and development components of the energy policy act of 2005 but it doubles the authorization funding from 2009 to 2013.

Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu emphasized the importance of the U.S. becoming less carbon intensive and less dependent on foreign oil. “In the near term, President Obama and this Congress have already taken key steps to passing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009,” which Chu says will help put people to work at making homes more energy efficient. “Getting this money into the economy quickly, carefully, and transparently is the top priority for me.” said Chu.

Chu also stated that funding needs to be increased in the sciences because, “we need to do more transformational research at the DOE to bring a range of clean energy technologies to the point where the private sector can pick them up.” He stated that this will help to make abundant, affordable, low-carbon bio-fuels a reality.

Senator Mark Udall (D- Colo.) remarked that there is a need for a long term R&D investment, and it is clear that National Labs will start playing an important role in regard regard to energy efficiency. He went on to state that, “There is a saying that has been making the rounds for the last years, which is green is the new red, white and blue, in other words, one of the most patriotic things we can do is to develop this new energy economy, and maybe we will see you sitting on a poster; “Sam needs you”.”

Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) said that clean coal and nuclear power are far more important than maybe some people appreciate. He stated that, “Now we are going to have spent nuclear fuel sitting around in pools all over America and also tell the nuclear power industry, we have no way of either reprocessing or storing spent nuclear fuel around America, and we expect nuclear power to be an integral part of this nations energy future.” McCain went on to question the need for funding research when the Europeans and Japanese are already doing it in a safe and efficient fashion.

Send me some sun from the west

During a conference call briefing, Rhone Resch, President and CEO of
the Solar Energy Industries Association and Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association announced the release of a joint
publication, "Green Power Superhighways: Building a Path to America's
Clean Energy Future."

The plan for the proposed "green super highways" is to develop a new
infrastructure to take advantage of the potential power in the
southwest. "There is a very important reality that has to be
addressed. Although the U.S. is home to an inexhaustible amount of
renewable energy, much of these resources are not located in areas
where the electricity is needed most." said Resch.

Bode stated that the concept of having a new high-tech electron highway
is critically important in order to make a new economy work. "It's
technically feasible because the technology for high voltage lines is
very efficient," said Bode, and "the bottom line is we are not asking
for money, we're asking to remove policy barricades that are holding
us back."

Resch stated that there is a critical role that the federal government
needs to play in insuring that these new transmission lines are placed
in the right locations, in an expedited manner, and that they are
financed properly. "We are using 19th and 20th century technologies to
tackle 21st century challenges," concluded Resch.

by Suzia van Swol, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

High demand, but very low funding for transportation investments

Virginia governor Tim Kaine and Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters spoke at the State Summit on Innovative Transportation Funding and Financing.

Kaine said that every state is struggling to find funding for infrastructure. He said that Virginia has the third largest state-managed road system, but is underinvested in rail and public transportation. He said that with Virginia’s great dependence on roads, the aging highway system, and rising construction costs, new funding solutions are necessary. He predicted that gas prices would continue to rise, making investments in alternative transportation an urgent initiative.

Secretary Peters also said that every state is struggling to keep up with the demand for transportation investments. She said a population that is increasingly against raising taxes, especially the gas tax, makes finding funds very difficult. She said that Americans do not believe that an increase in the gas tax will translate to more efficient transportation. To help with the funding crisis, she plans to increase state rather than federal control of transportation funding and decrease federal restrictions on toll roads.