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UPDATES ON KEY POLICY AREAS FROM SCB'S POLICY TEAM

Energy Policy and Scientific Integrity

Since May, climate change has continued to attract substantial policy activity. Two decades after first warning the United States about the effects of "greenhouse" gases, Dr. James Hansen returned to Congress to call for chief executives of major fossil fuel companies to be put on trial for high crimes against humanity and nature. In his testimony before the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on 23 June, Hansen accused the fossil fuel executives of intentionally disseminating misinformation about global warming. We also witnessed Al Gore challenging the United States to be carbon-free in ten years. T. Boone Pickens introduced us to the Pickens Plan, which promotes alternatives to oil, including natural gas, wind, and solar. Pickens, who is contributing billions of dollars of his own money to the plan, asked the government to either join in or "clear the path" for private investors. At SCB's annual meeting in July, author Bill McKibben spoke about the need for action to reduce atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide from the current 387 parts per million to 350 parts per million, which Hansen and others now estimate to be the maximum concentration at which ecological and economic losses will be irreversible.

At the end of July, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer and three members of her committee called on the head of the Environmental Protection Agency to resign. They contended that the agency's administrator had based agency decision-making on political considerations rather than scientific evidence or the rule of law, and asked the Attorney General to investigate whether the administrator had lied to the committee or obstructed its investigations. The Judiciary Committee of the Senate heard the administrator's testimony the next day. The administrator stated in sworn testimony that one decision, his denial of a request by California for a waiver of the Clean Air Act that would permit the states to set rigorous standards on emissions from motor vehicles was his alone. However, the agency's former associate deputy administrator testified that the decision was influenced by pressure from the White House. For more information, see http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/presidentbush/2008/07/boxer-to-epa-di.cfml or http://yubanet.com/usa/Senator-Barbara-Boxer-Calls-for-Resignation-of-EPA-Administrator-Johnson.php.

Solutions for the Low Carbon Economy

On 22 July 2008, Paul Epstein (Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School) and several other experts held a briefing for the House and Senate to discuss issues surrounding the energy future and economy of the United States. The main focus of the briefings was a new report that examines power generation and end use technologies. The report lists technologies that the authors believe are currently safe, practical, and relatively affordable versus technologies for which the authors think further study is warranted.

According to the Harvard study, nuclear fission requires further study despite its potential as a non carbon-based method for generating power. The greatest uncertainty associated with nuclear power was potential for safe, long-term storage of nuclear waste. Major uncertainties associated with coal with capture and storage of carbon dioxide include mining accidents; landscape reconstruction; pollution from mercury, nitrogen oxide, and particulate emissions; and the effects of storing large amounts of carbon dioxide. In 2005, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change also questioned the probability that underground storage of carbon dioxide might lead to groundwater contamination, alterations in microbial communities, and limestone fractures. See http://chge.med.harvard.edu/programs/ccf/healthysolutions.cfml for summaries or a full copy of the report.

Geothermal Energy

"The Future of Geothermal Energy," a 2006 publication from an interdisciplinary committee led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, identified enhanced geothermal systems as a long-term, practical solution for the nation's energy needs. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, this the first study in 30 years to address geothermal energy in detail. The report examines the environmental and economic feasibility of using an Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS). EGS requires deep drilling (more than 1500 meters) into hot rock areas, the establishment of water flow through fractured rock sections, and the capture of resulting steam by power generators at the surface. This technology already is being utilized at a geothermal plant in northern California, where drilling has extended beyond 3000 m. Technically, EGS is similar to the extraction processes already being utilized by oil and gas industries, providing the opportunity to accelerate EGS development with increased investments from these two industries. The 400 page report is available at http://geothermal.inel.gov/publications/future_of_geothermal_energy.pdf.

Disparate Subsidies in Senate Energy Appropriations Bill

Every year, the U.S. Congress passes 12 appropriation bills, which provide the legal authority to spend U.S. Treasury funds during that fiscal year. To determine how the funds are allocated within each bill, the Appropriations Committee for both the House of Representatives and the Senate is divided into 12 subcommittees composed of members of both political parties. The subcommittees each focus on a different section of the federal government, such as defense, homeland security, and agriculture, and so forth. The majority of federal energy spending is controlled by the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill. Other significant subsidies are provided in the tax code.

On 14 July, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee approved funding legislation for fiscal year 2009. The bill provides more than $33 billion to the nation's energy development and infrastructure through the Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Interior, and Department of Energy. Large disparities continue to exist between federal funding for research on nuclear ($877 million) and fossil fuels ($803 million) versus more sustainable technologies (e.g., $229 million for solar energy and $65 million for industrial technologies). Despite President Bush's recommendation to reduce funding for the program, the bill provides $2 billion to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy within the Department of Energy. As a point of comparison, last year the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service received $150 million from the Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2008 to address listing and recovery of endangered species. To view the Fiscal Year 2009 Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations legislation in its entirety visit http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110_cong_reports&docid=f:sr416.110.pdf.

World Bank

As reported in previous newsletters, staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee have consulted with SCB and others during this Congress to improve environmental assessments and performance of foreign development programs.

In July 2001, the World Bank Organization approved its first formal environmental strategy, placing the environment within the institution's poverty reduction mission. Since then, the Bank Group has been increasing involved in ecological issues, and has become the largest joint source of environmental financing. However, a recent internal independent evaluation of the organization's $400 billion of investments over the past 15 years found that the World Bank's claims of environmental sustainability often are not implemented, in large part because of lack of accountability at the ground level. The report cited poor understanding of the drivers of environmental status and trend, competing priorities within the organization, lack of attention to long-term sustainability, and uneven treatment of major environmental issues in relation to bank lending activities. The report also found that, although the World Bank's response to natural disasters has been respectable, there is little funding for preventative measures in areas where natural disasters tend to recur. The World Bank Report is available on The World Bank site .

Clean Energy Technology Fund

The Senate Appropriations Committee addressed the environmental issues surrounding the World Bank Organization in a new clean energy technology section of the fiscal year 2009 appropriations bill for the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. The bill, which was passed on 18 July, recommends that the United States contribute $200 million to an international clean energy technology fund. Financing will be approved only for zero-carbon renewable technologies (essentially excluding coal) consistent with the objectives of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change. Because the World Bank continues to fund projects that emit large amounts of carbon, and lacks certain carbon accounting transparency, the committee would require that the fund be hosted elsewhere if the Treasury Secretary cannot certify that the Bank has taken certain steps by October 2010. The committee also wants assurances that full carbon accounting is made publicly available for all of the World Bank's assessments of proposed and approved lending activities.

Senators Request Green Stimulus Measures

On 21 July, 31 senators requested that the Senate Appropriations Committee dedicate additional funding for programs designed to improve the economy through green initiatives. The senators primarily focused on funding for three programs. The first program, Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants, would support local projects to save money and energy in cities by improving efficiency, increasing the use of renewable energy, and reducing greenhouse gases. Second, the senators requested that the Green Jobs Workforce Training Program, designed to give Americans the skills needed to redefine our energy economy, receive $125 million. Third, the senators requested additional funding for the Weatherization Assistance Program, which helps low income families reduce energy bills by increasing home efficiencies.

Cameron Kovach, SCB Policy Intern

Cameron is a student in wildlife ecology and conservation at the University of Florida. He plans to attend law school and to pursue a career in environmental law, and ultimately, politics.

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