It’s Getting Hot In Here

The nation’s first carbon capture and sequestration scheme is sneaking its way through the West Virginia Department of Environmental “Protection.” This is right on time with the Senate’s attempt to sneak in $4.6 billion for Clean Coal in the Stimulus Package. This Carbon Capture and Sequestration boondoggle needs to stop before it starts.

Mountaineer Power Plant as seen from Ohio

We need your help to stop it! Please comment on this faulty permit by Friday.

“Clean Coal” may sound like fun to folks till it shows up in your backyard.  Please support the communities in WV and nearby Ohio who are fighting this permit! 

This particular scheme — est. $70 million– will only capture around 1% of the plant’s emissions.  The permit does not show the contours of the strata the CO2 will be injected into nor does it mention how surrounding water will be impacted.  If this permit is approved, it will be approved without knowing where and how the CO2 will migrate.  

This Friday, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection will close the comment period on American Electric Power’s permit application to capture and geologically sequester Carbon Dioxide emissions from its Mountaineer Power Plant. Please take a moment to visit www.crmw.net/CCS_Comments.php to tell the DEP not to approve this permit.

Continue reading ‘Carbon Sequestration Begins in the US, Act Now’

Here are excepts from my latest post at HuffingtonPost. Head here for the full post…

When it comes to the geography of climate politics, it doesn’t break down along the much-ballyhooed “red state/blue state” divide. It’s really more about coal states vs. clean states, as John Broder reports in yesterday’s New York Times. That’s a rift that risks dividing Senate Democrats as climate policies move forward in the 111th Congress.

By coincidence or design, most of the policy makers on Capitol Hill and in the administration charged with shaping legislation to address global warming come from California or the East Coast, regions that lead the country in environmental regulation and the push for renewable energy sources.

That is a problem, says a group of Democratic lawmakers from the Midwest and Plains States, which are heavily dependent on coal and manufacturing. The lawmakers have banded together to fight legislation they think might further damage their economies.

…

Broder notes, “This brown state-green state clash is likely to encumber any effort to set a mandatory ceiling on the carbon dioxide emissions”… that is, unless climate advocates heed the concerns of the “Technology Fifteen.” That’s the group of moderate Democratic Senators who have banded together to ensure that the concerns of their “middle America” states are not ignored in the upcoming climate debates. Continue reading ‘The Geography of Climate Politics’

This morning I was reading an excellent article on ClimateWire (sorry, subscription only!) titled “ The anti-coal campaigner broadens his reach”. It was largely about Bruce Nilles, director of the Sierra Club’s National Coal Campaign and the excellent work they have done stopping proposed coal plants across the county.

But the second half of the article focused an on another part of the anti-coal movement – the grassroots efforts fighting coal and the complimentary tactics of direct action. Says Kimberly Kirkbride (actually of Blue Ridge Earth First!)

“What we do is completely complementary with them,” said Kirkbride, an activist with Rising Tide North America, whose members have been arrested at coal protests. “If you look at history, the most successful campaigns had the paper jammers working the legal side [like the Sierra Club] and the people on the ground pushing the limit.”

As we are gearing up for the Capitol Climate Action March 2nd (the largest civil disobedience for the climate is US history!), I’ve been contemplating the role of non-violent direct action and civil disobedience in our movement. Not that I doubt it – any honest analysis of virtually every social movement has clearly demonstrated that such tactics are effective, and necessary. While such tactics weren’t always popular at the time and made some moderates uncomfortable – few people look back thinking people like Ghandi or Rosa Parks were “too extreme” in their actions. Continue reading ‘Taking Action: Do our tactics unite or divide us?’

In this episode we view some highlights from President Barack Obama’s inauguration address, meet the new US envoy on climate change, check out the revamped website and watch the new amazing Power Shift promo video.

So, my friends and community back in Austin have been dealt a hard blow the past few months by a former comrade of theirs, Brandon Darby, turning FBI informant.

I blogged on this a few weeks ago, but more has come out and I wanted to share it.

The Austin Chronicle published a long and detailed account of the Brandon Darby story titled “From Revolutionary to rat:The uneasy journey of Brandon Darby.” Please check it out.

Also, to put it in context of climate and environmental activism I regularly blog on here, these are all climate justice advocates who risked their lives to bring relief and solidarity to New Orleans in the dark days after Hurricane Katrina. Not only did the Bush administration fail to evacuate residents of New Orleans, properly house them after the fact or protect them from white racist militias gunning down African-Americans throughout the city, but instead use their resources to spy on the organizers who actually did something.

I also want to note that as more and more news articles and documents from the government emerge, it’s becoming clearer that Darby was not recruited to stop these two young men at the RNC (he even states he accidentally stumbled into that), but to spy on community organizers like Scott Crow and Lisa Fithian.

Anyway, my friend Scott Crow had initially spoke out against accusations that Brandon Darby was an informant, but has now put out another statement about it.

Cross-posted from WattHead – Energy News and Commentary

Today, Barack Obama announced several measures to increase America’s energy independence and reduce the threat of global climate change. In a speech delivered at the White House, President Obama said, “These are extraordinary times,” adding, “At a time of such great challenge for America, no single issue is as fundamental to our future as energy.”

After briefly discussing the nation’s economic challenges, Obama went on to link today’s challenges to our dependence on oil and fossil fuels:

“America’s dependence on oil is one of the most serious threats that our nation has faced. It bankrolls dictators, pays for nuclear proliferation and funds both sides of our struggle against terrorism. It puts the American people at the mercy of shifting gas prices, stifles innovation, and sets back our ability to compete.

These urgent dangers to our national and economic security are compounded by the long-term threat of climate change, which, if left unchecked, could result in violent conflict, terrible storms, shrinking coastlines, and irreversible catastrophe.”

President Obama noted that every US president from Richard Nixon on has promised efforts to secure America’s energy independence, saying:

“Year after year, decade after decade, we’ve chosen delay over decisive action. Rigid ideology has overruled sound science. Special interests have overshadowed common sense. Rhetoric has not led to the hard work needed to achieve results and our leaders raise their voices each time there’s a spike on gas prices, only to grow quiet when the price falls at the pump.”

Mr. Obama said that today, “America has arrived at a crossroads,” adding that it is now the nation’s time to “choose whether to risk the peril that comes with our current course or to seize the promise of energy independence. And for the sake of our security, our economy and our planet, we must have the courage and commitment to change.”

President Obama then promised, “It will be the policy of my administration to reverse our dependence on foreign oil while building a new energy economy that will create millions of jobs.”

Continue reading ‘Obama: “No single issue is as fundamental to our future as energy”’

A friend and writer I admire, Jen Nedeau, recently posted this question on Change.org’s Women’s Rights blog. It’s an important question I’ve not seen discussed here or in places the green economy dialogue is taking place around Washington.

What I like is that Jen’s approach is not a divisive one, but rather a perspective that wants to ensure that the question is being asked and that green jobs truly are an economic opportunity for all.  Looking forward to reading the thoughts of this community.

**cross-posted from http://womensrights.change.org/ editor Jen Nedeau**

Green jobs are the 21st century version of the New Deal to many supportive of Obama’s economic stimulus plan. But have you realized that most of the green jobs – building infrastructure in particular – will likely be given to men?

Continue reading ‘Green Jobs = Good for the Environment, Bad for Women?’

Obama will also speed efforts to set federal fuel economy standards.

Cross-posted from WattHead – Energy News and Commentary

BREAKING NEWS: President Barack Obama will grant California and 13 other states the authority to regulate global warming pollution from cars and light trucks, setting standards that would require cars and trucks sold in those states to achieve higher fuel efficiency.

According to the New York Times:

President Obama on Monday will direct federal regulators to move swiftly to grant California and 13 other states the right to set strict automobile emissions and fuel efficiency standards, two administration officials said Sunday evening.

The directive makes good on an Obama campaign pledge and marks a sharp reversal from Bush administration policy. Granting California and the other states the right to regulate tailpipe emissions is one of the most dramatic actions Mr. Obama can take to quickly put his stamp on environmental policy.

The presidential orders will require automobile manufacturers to begin producing and selling cars and trucks that get higher mileage than the national standard, and on a faster phase-in schedule. The auto companies had lobbied hard against the regulations and challenged them in court.

The Washington Post also reports on the story here:

On Dec. 19, 2007, then-EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson blocked the efforts of California and more than a dozen other states to limit automobiles’ carbon dioxide emissions, arguing that President George W. Bush had addressed the issue by signing a law that same day raising the corporate average fuel-efficiency standard to 35 miles per gallon by 2020. But California’s tailpipe emissions rules would have effectively required even greater fuel-efficiency increases, by seeking to cut vehicles’ greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent between 2009 and 2016, something American automakers have resisted.

WattHead – Energy News and Commentary has reported on the long, long saga of the California Tailpipe Emissions Standards since California initially adopted the standards back in October 2005. We’ll continue to bring you the latest news in this ongoing story.

Continue reading ‘BREAKING: Obama Lets California and 13 States Regulate Global Warming Pollution from Cars and Trucks’

Dear fellow Climateer,

Did you attend Power Shift 2007?  Are you one of the thousands who can’t wait until Power Shift 2009?  Did you spend the past year organizing for climate victories, helping elect progressive, climate champions to office, running Power Vote campaigns, or registering your peers to vote (and turning them out in record numbers)?

If you answered yes to any of the above, please help me tell your story!

My name is Jesse Jenkins and over the next four weeks I’m writing a series of stories for publication at ItsGettingHotInHere.org, Huffington Post, WattHead – Energy News and Commentary, DailyKos, and of course the Power Shift 2009 blog.  I want to highlight and share stories of engaged, active and excited young climate and energy activists.

In the comments section below, or in an email to me (watthead.blog@gmail.com), please answer as many or as few of the questions below as you’d like.
Continue reading ‘Tell Your Power Shift Story!’

Just days after the inauguration of President Barack Obama, the new administration is already getting to work on cleaning up some of the weak rulings from the last eight years. For those of us in Minnesota and South Dakota, the change is already being felt as the air permit for South Dakota’s Big Stone II coal plant was revoked earlier today.

The proposed Big Stone II coal plant was located right on the border of Minnesota, and 45% of its electricity would have crossed the border. However, by locating the plant in South Dakota, Otter Tail Power and the other applicants avoided the stronger Minnesotan regulations. South Dakota’s regulators approved the environmental permits for the project months ago.

The final permit needed was a Certificate of Need from the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) of Minnesota for a powerline going from Big Stone II to eastern Minnesota. High voltage powerlines in Minnesota have always been contentious, since the 1979 powerline battle (fought over the CU line, which now brings coal to Minnesota from North Dakota…very familiar). The Big Stone II line has been characterized as the “first major transmission project” in Minnesota since that time, although a number of smaller projects have been completed. After delaying the decision on the Big Stone II line, the PUC commissioned an independent study to determine if the dirty coal power would be the cheapest for Minnesotans. The reviewers, Boston Pacific, released their report in October, which stated that Otter Tail Power’s cost estimates for future coal power were far too low, considering an impending carbon price. Additionally, two administrative law judges both recommended to the PUC that the project be nixed. Despite this evidence (and the overwhelming organizing effort of local youth and green groups, too many to name), last week the PUC voted 5-0 in favor of building the powerline.

But what a difference a week can make. Today, Obama’s EPA revoked the original OK given for the South Dakota air permit, citing worries about the plant’s contributions to global warming and inadequate emissions monitoring. This action took place on the dead last day for review for the plant’s application. Talk about good timing!

It’s unclear whether this will spell the end to Big Stone II, a coal plant five years in the making, or the powerline, which could be rerouted or extended to bring dirty energy from another proposed coal plant near Selby, SD (“It’s probably going to be the cleanest coal plant in the nation”). Otter Tail Power has 90 days to submit a revised application. Yet this is surely a good sign for activists across the country working to stop carbon-spewing projects like this one. Let’s hope it’s the first of many.

The press release from Clean Water Action and the Sierra Club can be read below.

Continue reading ‘Obama EPA Overturns Big Stone II (SD/MN) Air Permit’