Iowa Global Warming

President Barack Obama is expected today to tout his administration’s effort to accelerate the creation of renewable-energy jobs in his first trip as president to Iowa, the nation’s No. 2 wind energy producer.

Obama, speaking at a wind turbine tower plant housed in the former Maytag appliance factory in Newton, will urge Congress to move forward on legislation to spur that initiative.

The noon event at Trinity Structural Towers marks a turn toward energy and domestic economic policy for Obama, who has spent the last several weeks traveling overseas and focusing on diplomatic and global economic issues.

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President Barack Obama is expected to be in Iowa next week.

Obama will arrive in Newton on Wednesday – Earth Day – to talk about energy, a White House spokesperson told The Des Moines Register.

The visit will give Iowa a chance to highlight its accomplishments in renewable energy, as well as broadcast a message to the president and the nation on what Iowans would like for the future, state officials said.

“It’s quite an honor for him to be in Iowa, and especially Newton,” said Rep. Paul Bell, D-Newton.

Newton lost nearly 2,000 jobs when Whirlpool Corp. bought and closed Maytag Corp., an appliance maker with a 115-year history in Newton. Since then, the town has “become very much a player in wind energy,” Bell said.

Two companies have since moved in: Trinity Structural Towers, which makes wind turbine towers and created 160 jobs in Newton, and TPI Composites, which makes wind turbine blades and created 500 jobs.

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Climate was part of the discussion at the G-20 Leaders’ Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy in London Wednesday. The first summit, which was held in Washington D.C. in November made little mention of climate issues, but G-20 leaders at the London summit wanted to take the opportunity to outline some concerns that will be addressed at the United Nations Climate Change conference in Copenhagen in December.

Though it only comprised two of the 29 points in the final communiqué, the environment and how it is connected to financial issues was a concern to the G-20 countries represented. Discussion was not specific, but centered on the necessity of an agreement in Copenhagen. President Obama highlighted the need for the US to serve as a leader with regard to climate.

Though there was some criticism of the lack of specificity concerning climate issues, many feel it was a great step forward that climate was discussed at all at a summit centered on the economy. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown stressed the importance of “working together” in Copenhagen “based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.”

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In Obama’s highly anticipated speech to congress last night, the President reiterated his desire to drive economic recovery by investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency policies. Furthermore, quelling worries over what his specific approach to greenhouse gas emissions would be, he asked congress to deliver a long-awaited “market based carbon cap.”

Though the speech focused more broadly on three differing areas of Obama’s campaign platform, the environment regularly took precedence over health care and education, giving yet another sign that this administration’s approach will focus much more specifically on issues of clean energy and energy efficiency.

The affirmation of Obama’s continued commitment to the environment was perhaps most notably apparent in his request for a national carbon cap. Many have been wondering in recent weeks what form the administration’s greenhouse gas emission policy would take; the two most obvious choices being either a carbon-cap system or a carbon tax. Last night, however, speculation was cast aside as Obama clearly requested a cap-and-trade system.

“I ask this Congress to send me legislation that places a market-based cap on carbon pollution and drives the production of more renewable energy in America,” he said. “That’s what we need.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 13, 2009

Recovery Act Invests $9.3 Billion to Expand High-Speed Rail in America

The final version of the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act now before Congress includes an unprecedented $8 billion investment in high-speed rail. In addition, Amtrak will receive $1.3 billion to rebuild trains and improve its capacity.

“We commend President Obama and Congress for helping to get America moving again with modern trains,” said Howard Learner, Executive Director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center. “Investing in high-speed rail projects will put people to work quickly, create new economic opportunities, increase mobility and reduce traffic congestion and pollution.”

The $8 billion made available through the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be awarded competitively to states to improve passenger rail service, primarily on those corridors where 110 mph service is proposed. Funds can also be used on conventional rail projects that relieve congestion. The Midwest is very well positioned, with federally designated high-speed rail corridors radiating out in a hub-and-spoke network from Chicago to St. Louis, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, Madison and the Twin Cities.

“The Environmental Law & Policy Center has long called for the development of a Midwest high-speed rail network. Governors and state Departments of Transportation have embraced high-speed rail as modern, fast, comfortable and convenient. We have done the homework and prep work. These projects are now ready to build,” said Learner. “We look forward to working with the states to meet Congress’s challenge to rebuild America with cleaner transportation.”

“Congress has moved on the right track toward economic recovery,” said Learner. “Investing in modern, high-speed rail is an important down payment on America’s transportation future.”

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NOTE: Due to very high web traffic, the bill itself is difficult to download from Congress’s
website. ELPC has made the documents available on its website at: http://elpc.org/american-recovery-and-reinvestment-information

The Environmental Law and Policy Center is the Midwest’s leading public interest environmental legal advocacy and eco-business innovation organization.

www.elpc.org

In a formal announcement made from the East Wing of the White House early Monday morning, President Obama said that he would like the EPA to formally reconsider an application set forth by 14 states to voluntarily impose their own auto greenhouse gas emission standards. The directive comes as a sharp departure from the policies put forth by the previous administration, and is a victory for environmentalists everywhere.

The announcement came alongside an order to the Department of Transportation to begin redrafting federal MPG standards.

As it now stands, federal authority eclipses state’s rights to pass their own restrictions on auto emissions. A point of contingency during the Bush administration, the federal law was upheld under the assumption that auto companies would not be able to meet the stricter standards proposed, or would be unable to split their production lines to cater to each state individually.

If the EPA overturns the decision, as it is expected to do, states like California, New York, Massachusetts and 11 others will be granted the right to regulate the amount of greenhouse gas emitted by vehicles purchased in their state. California, already a leader in air quality standards, is expected to be one of strictest states of all.

You can read more about it here (New York Times) and here (Wall Street Journal)

Republican governors, battling climate change in their states and fed up with the GOP’s inability to organize in Washington, are urging their congressional colleagues to start the new Congress with unprecedented dedication to addressing global warming.

“It’s been enormously frustrating,” said Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, a Republican who recently signed up his state for the Western Climate Initiative, a bloc of states committed to reducing greenhouse gases 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.

“We would not need the Western Climate Initiative if it were not for the foot-dragging nature of Congress,” Huntsman said. “If Republicans had identified this problem earlier and tackled it aggressively, we would all be working together.”

The resounding defeat for the GOP at the polls in November made it painfully obvious that voters also were tired of the party’s division and, in some cases, dismissal of man-made global warming. Even Republican political guru Karl Rove warned party leaders in a post-election Newsweek column to “avoid mindless opposition.”

“Voters ages 18 to 29 voted Democratic by a 2-to-1 margin,” he wrote. “A market-oriented ‘green’ agenda that’s true to our principles would help win them back.”

Heeding that warning, a handful of Republicans are preparing to jump-start the climate debate this year by offering alternatives to Democratic proposals for carbon emissions reduction and renewable energy investment, some of which could be included in the new economic stimulus package being assembled at the urging of President-elect Barack Obama.

“Obama is attractive to young people, but that doesn’t mean Republicans can’t still get in the game,” said Republican pollster Whit Ayres. “You don’t have to dominate on this issue, but you need to have a more compelling message. Most Americans believe that mankind is contributing to the problem, so denying the existence of climate change is a losing position.”

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What happens in the United States always matters enormously to Canadians, but I cannot remember the last time the inauguration of a new president generated so much interest.

When President-elect Barack Obama takes his oath of office, Canadians will sincerely wish him well, because we know that our safety and prosperity are inexorably linked to yours.

The health of the American economy is the No. 1 preoccupation in Canada, just as it is in your country. Our economies are deeply intertwined, and we cannot hope to thrive if you do not. We fervently hope that America’s commitment to open trade will be part of any strategy the new administration adopts to cope with the current crisis. Recourse to protectionist measures would not only harm all of America’s trading partners, chief among them its North American Free Trade Agreement partners, but also America itself by weakening export markets for its own products.

Canadians will also be keenly interested in the path Obama charts to tackle climate change. America is uniquely placed to induce a paradigm shift in our societies. Your position as a role model may have suffered of late, but for millions of people, American-style prosperity is still the standard to emulate. If you set ambitious targets for yourselves and invent a new, greener version of the “American way of life,” the ripple effects will be felt everywhere. Your willingness to lead is also our only hope of persuading emerging economies to carry a greater, if not entirely equal, share of the burden.

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There’s much to like in Obama’s plan. But there are two important ways he may have to go further. Most economists agree that what finally pulled the U.S. out of the Great Depression was military spending for World War II. Some liberals argue that if the Roosevelt administration had not abandoned a Keynesian stimulus strategy in 1937-38, the U.S. might have gotten out of the depression without a war. But in 1936, unemployment was still at 16.9 percent; by 1942, after two years of war spending, it was 4.7 percent, strongly indicating that it was war spending that did it. I am not suggesting that the United States start a world war in order to solve the world’s economic problem. But I am suggesting a strategy that could be called the fiscal equivalent of war.

It would consist not merely of updating or repairing the nation’s infrastructure, but in undertaking massive new investments that would expand the scope of American industry, and address other urgent problems in the process: global warming, over-reliance on petroleum, and the need to revive America’s domestic manufacturing capabilities–not just to provide jobs, but also to provide tradeable goods that can reduce the country’s current account deficit.

One area that is ripe for such investment–and that is not, from what I have seen, a declared priority of the Obama administration–is high-speed rail. Amtrak’s Acela trains–the closest thing we have to one–average less than 100 mph between Washington D.C. and Boston, whereas trains in Western Europe and Japan go more than twice as fast. Many of them also run on electricity. They would be the most energy-efficient and quickest means of getting between places like Boston and New York, or Los Angeles and San Francisco. But they would require a massive investment. For instance, installing high-speed rail in the Northeast corridor could cost about $32 billion, while California’s high-speed rail system would require up to $40 billion. A system that would address the other areas of the country could easily raise the cost to the hundreds of billions. The House transportation and infrastructure committee has currently proposed $5 billion in stimulus funds for intercity rail–not even a down payment on what it would cost to convert the U.S. to high-speed rail.

Investing in high-speed rails would be very expensive, but unlike tax cuts–the benefits of which can be siphoned off in the purchase of imported goods–the money spent would go directly to reviving American industry and improving the country’s trade balance. That doesn’t just mean jobs creating dedicated tracks or new rail stations: Though the U.S. abandoned train manufacturing decades ago to the French, Germans, Canadians, and Japanese, this kind of production could be undertaken by our ailing auto companies or aircraft companies–if the federal and state governments were to place orders. And building trains that would run on electricity would be a paradigmatic example of the “green jobs” that Obama often touts.

Excerpt from a larger article – read the full story here

What a day, again. I’m ready to ‘crash’ right now, but the effort expended over the past few days is worth it. Florida is the new college football champion – which wouldn’t be something I’d blog about, other than I was talking about it with Gov. Culver a couple of hours ago. Talking football with the Gov is fun, after all, he knows the sport. But more fun was talking about the future of renewable energy and passenger rail service in Iowa. He’s (obviously, and also thankfully!) a champion for wind energy, and is really positive about extending rail service in the Midwest rail network into Iowa. Nice – but he’ll still need support to get it done. As soon as there’s a need for your help I’ll let you know. Be ready!

The reason I’m so tired, though, is because we’ve continued to work on expanding our network and making new and exciting possibilities a reality – to the point that we’re opening a new office! Our staff and ‘volunteer stakeholders’ (what I like to think of as ‘our superstars’) have got so much going on that we’re moving into a new place right now. Which means we’ve needed a lot of new office gear. It’s a done deal now, the office is full and furnished. And I’m exhausted.

One last thing of note, though. As I write this, I’m watching IPTV political coverage about the economic recovery package. Listening to Pres-elect Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and now Senate Minority Leader McConnell (full disclosure – I went to the McConnell School of Political Leadership in college), there are a lot of opinions about how far to go to help the economy. Most are pretty encouraging. Overall, I think the incoming President has a good grip on how to keep the economy afloat while looking out for our future.

Iowans, especially, seem to ‘get it’ – spending tens of billions on things that don’t ensure the safety of our planet and country OR even ensure we stay competitive in the world’s developing new energy economy would be insanity. Iowans are still keeping it real.

As tough as things look, there’s an opportunity to spend money on not only saving jobs, but also keep us innovating and keep our children’s futures in mind. To do otherwise would be, well, crazy. But we’re going to need your help to make sure the folks we’ve elected to represent us understand… don’t be crazy – be proactive, and be looking out for our future. If not before, now is the time.

Andrew