Energy

Environmentalists Wary of Obama’s Interior Pick

WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama's choice to lead the Interior Department, Senator Ken Salazar of Colorado, will inherit an agency demoralized by years of scandal, political interference and mismanagement.

Posted in after bush, conservation, Energy, Environment, mining, Politics

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 8, 2008
1:48 PM

CONTACT: Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)

California Will Create Green Economic Stimulus Package by Implementing AB 32

California Will Create Green Economic Stimulus Package by Implementing Global Warming Solutions Act, New Study Says

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - December 8 - California will create a green economic stimulus plan that will serve as a national model by implementing the historic Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32), according to a new study released today.

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Posted in Energy, Environment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 8, 2008
1:00 PM

CONTACT: Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Erin Allweiss, 202-513-6254 or 202-277-8370 (cell)

NRDC Finds That Ford, GM Can Meet Nation’s Most Progressive Global Warming Standards

Congressional Bailout of Auto Makers Must Include Highest Efficiency and Fuel Standards

WASHINGTON - December 8 - General Motors and Ford are now positioned to comply with California's landmark global warming standards if they are applied nationwide, according to new data released today by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). These new findings are critical as Congress considers a major bailout of the auto industry.

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The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, nonprofit organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has 1.2 million members and online activists, served from offices in New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Beijing.

Posted in bailout, Energy, transportation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 4, 2008
3:21 PM

CONTACT: Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
Aaron Huertas, 202-331-5458

Auto Industry Aid Must Be Linked to Better Fuel Economy, Union of Concerned Scientists Expert Will Tell Congress Tomorrow

WASHINGTON - December 4 - David Friedman, an auto expert with the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), will testify tomorrow at a House Financial Services Committee hearing that Congress should link any U.S. auto industry financial assistance to vehicle performance standards that will provide a return on taxpayer investment, strengthen the industry, curb U.S. oil dependence, and help prevent the worst consequences of global warming.

The hearing will start at 9:30 a.m. in room 2128 in the Rayburn House Office Building.

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The Union of Concerned Scientists is the leading U.S. science-based nonprofit organization working for a healthy environment and a safer world. Founded in 1969, UCS is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and also has offices in Berkeley, Chicago and Washington, D.C. For more information, go to www.ucsusa.org.

Posted in Energy, transportation

'2025' Report: A World of Resource Strife

A new report by the National Intelligence Council (NIC) on the emerging strategic landscape, "Global Trends 2025," has attracted worldwide attention because it forecasts a future environment in which the United States wields less power than it does today and must contend with a constellation of other, newly ambitious great powers.

Posted in Energy, resource wars, water

MoveOn – Fan Club or Force?

I'd gone to a couple of MoveOn anti-Iraq War events in the past, but it wasn't until last week that I actually attended my first MoveOn meeting. The past events seemed modestly successful, but left me unsure of the organization's capacity outside of cyberspace. This meeting, on the other hand, was downright impressive. There were about a hundred people gathered at a downtown San Francisco restaurant. The group was mostly young, probably to be expected since the event was initially organized by the Young Democrats and only opened to oldsters when other meetings rapidly fil

Posted in Activism, beyond obama, Energy, healthcare, Afghanistan, Iraq

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 25, 2008
11:08 AM

CONTACT: Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
Lisa Nurnberger, 202-331-6959

Science and Environmental Organizations Present Obama Transition Team With Prescription for First 100 Days and Beyond

Statement by Kevin Knobloch, Union of Concerned Scientists

WASHINGTON - November 25 - The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), the nation's leading science-based policy organization, joined with more than two dozen environmental groups to produce a 340-page prescription detailing the steps the new Obama administration should take to jumpstart the economy, protect the environment, and enhance national security. The organizations, which have a combined membership of millions across the country, delivered the document to the Obama transition team late yesterday afternoon.

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Posted in beyond obama, Energy, Environment

Obama's Toughest Challenge

Of all the challenges facing President Barack Obama next January, none is likely to prove as daunting, or important to the future of this nation, as that of energy. After all, energy policy -- so totally mishandled by the outgoing Bush-Cheney administration -- figures in each of the other major challenges facing the new president, including the economy, the environment, foreign policy, and our Middle Eastern wars. Most of all, it will prove a monumental challenge because the United States faces an energy crisis of unprecedented magnitude that is getting worse by the day.

The U.S.

Posted in coal, Energy, oil

Energy: Can Obama Keep It Clean?

As pretty much every poll prior to the election told us, the American public still ranks environmental concerns way down the list of challenges they want their next president to address, while the economy and energy consistently rank near the top. But even as the financial crisis consumes Americans' minds, there remains a looming environmental crisis.

Posted in beyond obama, Energy, green economy

Al Gore Group Urges Obama To Create US Power Grid

WASHINGTON - Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection has some environmental advice for the incoming Obama administration: focus on energy efficiency and renewable resources, and create a unified U.S. power grid.

On Thursday, the group Gore founded rolled out a new media campaign to push for immediate investments in three energy areas it maintains would help meet Gore's previously announced challenge to produce 100 percent clean electricity in the United States in a decade.