Climate Capsule Week of July 7, 2009

Highlight of the Week

Momentum Continues as Senate Gears Up for Major Energy Legislation

Just two weeks after the House passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act, the Senate is preparing to build on their victory with a broad base of bipartisan support.

A series of hearings and meetings scheduled for this week is aimed at yielding legislation comparable to the so-called Waxman-Markey bill before the Sept. 18 deadline imposed by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on all committees. So far, progress has been swift.

Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, expressed confidence that his colleagues will answer the call for a clean energy economy: "we can enact a system which will not unduly burden anyone, but will put us on a track to reducing greenhouse gas emissions over the next seven decades."

Conservation experts echo the belief that the Senate will be able to finish the job the House started.

“The Senate comes back from the 4^th of July recess gearing up to fight for energy independence,” said Joseph Mendelson, director of global warming policy at the National Wildlife Federation. "They're going to take action before the leaves change."

Contact: Tony Iallonardo at 202-797-6612 or iallonardot@nwf.org.

Oxfam Says Climate Change Will Ravage Global Food Supply

According to a major anti-poverty organization, unchecked global warming will exacerbate a crisis already being called "the defining human tragedy of this century": hunger.

Oxfam International says that global warming will bring crop failure, erratic storms, droughts, and a shift in growing seasons, thus increasing the pressure on millions of already-suffering people worldwide to produce the food they need to survive.

The report, "What Happened to the Seasons?" comes as leaders of the G8 nations prepare to meet in Italy this week to discuss food scarcity, climate change, and other issues.

Oxfam surveyed farmers around the world and found that changing growing seasons are already affecting the planned planting and harvesting of subsistence crops. For example, nations that depend on rice, the world's most common food, are among the hardest hit, as yields of the staple crop are predicted to decline by 10 percent for every 1 degree C rise in temperature in some poor countries.

Happening This Week

Wednesday, July 8:

Hearing on U.S.-UAE civilian nuclear agreement, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, 10:00 AM, 2172 Rayburn

Wednesday, July 8:

State Energy and Climate Actions: Agriculture, Forestry and Waste Management, The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), Center for Climate Strategies (CCS) and the Office of Senator Roland Burris (D-IL), 2:00 PM, 385 Russell

Thursday, July 9:

Quote:

"Most people here in the Senate believe the issue is real. They believe action is appropriate to put a price on carbon."

—Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, forecasting open minds and positive action in the Senate on new energy legislation.

Economic Message of the Week
Green Retrofitting Gives New Life to Iconic Buildings

An increasing number of premium property owners are going green to help restore the luster of their biggest moneymakers and satisfy efficiency-minded tenants.

Among the improvements being made to old buildings are the addition of advanced water systems, the use of recycled carpet and tile, and the plugging of porous surfaces.

Some of the most iconic buildings in the U.S. are part of the trend: the Empire State Building was outfitted with thousands of new insulating windows and more efficient lights earlier this year, and the Sears Tower in Chicago will soon be furnished with solar panels, wind turbines, and garden spaces to absorb sunlight.

While the shift toward more earth-friendly practices can be traced partly to a growing awareness of environmental causes, it is also grounded in pure dollars and cents; many well-heeled tenants will no longer consider a properties without U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, and the implementation of green technologies often leads to significant energy savings for owner and occupant alike.

The overhauls facing some properties figure to save millions of dollars in energy and upkeep, but the cost to tenants is minimal. "If one extra tenant comes and looks at the building, if the owner gets an extra penny or so a foot, then at the end of the day it's paying for itself," said Transwestern management group's Allan Skodowski.

EPA Grants California Emissions Enforcement Standards

The Environmental Protection Agency announced last week that it is granting a waiver request that will allow the state of California to enforce emissions standards for new vehicles.

EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said the decision is "consistent with the Clean Air Act" and "reinforces the historic agreement on nationwide emissions standards developed by a broad coalition of industry, government and environmental stakeholders earlier this year."

A previous waiver request, made in 2005, had been denied on the grounds that California allegedly didn't need its emissions standards to meet "extraordinary conditions." Under President Obama, the EPA re-assessed the request and determined it would be a step forward.

The new standard continues a trend of vehicle emissions reform in the Obama administration. In May, President Obama announced a national policy for increasing fuel economy and reducing emissions for all new automobiles in the U.S.

Global Warming Report Sounds Alarm for Flood-Prone Communities

The United States is seeing more heavy storms and major floods, and it seems global warming is partly to blame.

The National Wildlife Federation is set to release “Increased Flooding Risk: Global Warming’s Wake-Up Call for Riverfront Communities,” a report detailing how global warming is causing more heavy rainfall events even as America’s over-reliance on levees and other old strategies for taming rivers sidesteps flooding issues. The report offers a new course of action for confronting the realities of global warming and shielding flood-prone communities from the consequences of unnaturally heavy rainfall.

Perspectives will be provided regarding the latest scientific research on global warming and flooding, the national flood insurance program, and recommendations for how to cope with projected changes and how to avoid the worst impacts of global warming.