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Email from President Obama
Brian --
Yesterday, I visited Caminada Bay in Grand Isle, Louisiana -- one of
the first places to feel the devastation wrought by the oil spill in
the Gulf of Mexico. While I was here, at Camerdelle's Live Bait shop, I
met with a group of local residents and small business owners.
Folks like Floyd Lasseigne, a fourth-generation oyster fisherman. This
is the time of year when he ordinarily earns a lot of his income. But
his oyster bed has likely been destroyed by the spill.
Terry Vegas had a similar story. He quit the 8th grade to become a
shrimper with his grandfather. Ever since, he's earned his living
during shrimping season -- working long, grueling days so that he could
earn enough money to support himself year-round. But today, the waters
where he has worked are closed. And every day, as the spill worsens, he
loses hope that he will be able to return to the life he built.
Here, this spill has not just damaged livelihoods. It has upended whole
communities. And the fury people feel is not just about the money they
have lost. It is about the wrenching recognition that this time their
lives may never be the same.
These people work hard. They meet their responsibilities. But now
because of a manmade catastrophe -- one that is not their fault and
beyond their control -- their lives have been thrown into turmoil. It
is brutally unfair. And what I told these men and women is that I will
stand with the people of the Gulf Coast until they are again made whole.
That is why, from the beginning, we have worked to deploy every tool at
our disposal to respond to this crisis. Today, there are more than
20,000 people working around the clock to contain and clean up this
spill. I have authorized 17,500 National Guard troops to participate in
the response. More than 1,900 vessels are aiding in the containment and
cleanup effort. We have convened hundreds of top scientists and
engineers from around the world. This is the largest response to an
environmental disaster of this kind in the history of our country.
We have also ordered BP to pay economic injury claims, and this week,
the federal government sent BP a preliminary bill for $69 million to
pay back American taxpayers for some of the costs of the response so
far. In addition, after an emergency safety review, we are putting in
place aggressive new operating standards for offshore drilling. And I
have appointed a bipartisan commission to look into the causes of this
spill. If laws are inadequate, they will be changed. If oversight was
lacking, it will be strengthened. And if laws were broken, those
responsible will be brought to justice.
These are hard times in Louisiana and across the Gulf Coast, an area
that has already seen more than its fair share of troubles. The people
of this region have met this terrible catastrophe with seemingly
boundless strength and character in defense of their way of life. What
we owe them is a commitment by our nation to match the resilience they
have shown. That is our mission. And it is one we will fulfill.
Thank you,
President Barack Obama
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EPA’s Budget Proposal Seeks Efficiencies, Increased Environmental Protection
Budget proposal aligned with Administrator Jackson’s key priorities
WASHINGTON - The Obama Administration today proposed a budget of $10 billion for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This budget heeds the president’s call to streamline and find efficiencies in the agency’s operations while supporting the seven priority areas EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson outlined to guide EPA’s work.
“To meet our environmental challenges and ensure fiscal responsibility, we’re proposing targeted investments in core priorities. This budget cuts spending while promoting clean air, land and water, growing the green economy and strengthening enforcement,” said Administrator Jackson. ”The president’s budget is focused on creating the conditions that help American families, communities and small businesses thrive. Clean air, clear water and green jobs are rebuilding the foundations for prosperity in communities across the country.”
Budget Highlights:
Cleaning up communities: This budget includes $1.3 billion to address Superfund sites that may be releasing harmful or toxic substances into the surrounding community. Cleaning up these sites improves communities’ health and allows for these properties to be used for economic development.
In addition, $215 million is provided to clean up abandoned or underused industrial and commercial sites that are available for alternative uses but where redevelopment may be complicated by the presence of environmental contaminants. Revitalizing these once productive properties, known as brownfields, helps communities by removing blight, satisfying the growing demand for land, and enabling economic development. EPA will focus its efforts on area-wide planning and cleanups, especially in under-served and economically disadvantaged communities.
This budget also offers $27 million for EPA’s new Healthy Communities Initiative. This initiative will address community water priorities; promote clean, green, and healthy schools; improve air toxics monitoring in at-risk communities; and encourage sustainability by helping to ensure that policies and spending at the national level do not adversely affect the environment and public health or disproportionally harm disadvantaged communities.Improving Air Quality: In addition to the funding provided through the Healthy Communities Initiative, this budget includes $60 million to support state efforts to implement updated National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). EPA proposed stricter air quality standards for smog and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and will work with states to help them meet those standards in the years ahead.
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Building Strong State and Tribal Partnerships: This budget includes
$1.3 billion for state and tribal grants. State and local governments
are working diligently to implement new and expanded requirements under
the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. New and expanded requirements
include implementation of updated NAAQS and addressing emerging water
quality issues such as nutrient pollution. In addition to the $25
million for greenhouse gas permitting and $60 million to support state
efforts to implement updated NAAQS, the $1.3 billion for state and
tribal grants includes $45 million for states to enhance their water
enforcement and permitting programs. In order to help tribes move
forward with implementation of environmental programs, $30 million is
budgeted for a new competitive Tribal Multi-media Implementation grant
program. To further enhance tribal environmental management
capabilities, this budget also includes an additional $9 million for
Tribal General Assistance Program grants.
Taking Action on Climate Change: This budget contains more than $43
million for additional efforts to address climate change and work
toward a clean energy future. EPA will implement the greenhouse gas
reporting rule; provide technical assistance to ensure that any
permitting under the Clean Air Act will be manageable; perform
regulatory work for the largest stationary sources of greenhouse gas
emissions; develop standards for mobile sources such as cars and
trucks; and continue research of carbon capture and sequestration
technologies.
Protecting America’s Waters: This
budget broadens efforts to clean up America’s great waterbodies. It
provides $63 million for efforts to protect and restore the Chesapeake
Bay and $17 million for the Mississippi River Basin to respond to
non-point source control recommendations of the Nutrients Innovation
Task Group and implement recommendations outlined in the Gulf of Mexico
Hypoxia Action Plan.
This budget also invests $3.3 billion to maintain and improve
outdated water infrastructure and keep our wastewater and drinking
water clean and safe. This is in addition to $6 billion in funding
provided to states through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
(ARRA).
Assuring the Safety of Chemicals: This budget
calls for $56 million for chemical assessment and risk review to ensure
that no unreasonable risks are posed by new or existing chemicals. This
budget also invests $29 million (including $15 million in grants
funding) in the continuing effort to eliminate childhood lead
poisoning, and $6 million to support national efforts to mitigate
exposure to high-risk legacy chemicals, such as mercury and asbestos.
Expanding the Conversation on Environmentalism and Working for Environmental Justice: This budget contains $8 million for environmental justice programs. It targets increased brownfields investments to under-served and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods, and proposes $9 million for community water priorities in the Healthy Communities Initiative, funds that will help under-served communities restore urban waterways and address water quality challenges. EPA is committed to identifying and addressing the health and environmental burdens faced by communities disproportionately impacted by pollution. This commitment is fulfilled through the agency’s efforts to give people a voice in decisions that impact their lives and to integrate environmental justice in EPA programs, policies and activities.
More information: http://www.epa.gov/budget
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Every 13 seconds, U.S. Poison Control Centers receive a call about
someone being exposed to a poison. Forty percent of those cases involve
a child under three years of age. According to the American Association
of Poison Centers, more than 50 percent of over two million exposure
incidents each year involve children under six years of age. (more) |
Environmental justice means the fair treatment and meaningful
involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin,
or income with respect to environmental policies. The Faces of the
Grassroots contest is an opportunity to publicly exhibit creativity
with environmental justice stories, and connect with others working to
raise awareness of the movement. (more) |
Februray 2010
EPA Tip of the Month
2010 State of the Union Address
President Obama laid out his plan for moving our nation forward in 2010. He made a bold call for clean-energy jobs, saying, "the nation that leads the clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the global economy. "And America must be that nation."Legislative initiatives and policies.
The following items were
mentioned by the President as potential policy changes, legislative
initiatives, or goals coming out of the address:
* Fees on the country's largest banks (to follow up on the Trouble Assets Relief Program)
* Giving $30 billion from recovered TARP money to community banks to extend credit to small businesses.
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Job creation
Building clean energy facilities. Giving rebates to Americans who make their homes more energy-efficient.
Slash tax breaks for companies that send jobs overseas
(giving those breaks to companies that create jobs in the U.S.)
Focus on clean energy
Building nuclear power plants.
Exploring off-shore areas for oil and gas
Investment in advance biofuels and clean coal technologies.
Comprehensive energy and climate bill to make clean energy profitable. (more)
President Obama stated to us in an email the next morning.I just finished delivering my first State of the Union, and I wanted to send you a quick note.
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We face big and difficult challenges. Change on the scale we seek does
not come easily. But I will never accept second place for the United
States of America.That is why I called for a robust jobs bill without delay. It's why I
proposed a small businesses tax credit, new investments in
infrastructure, and pushed for climate legislation to create a clean
energy economy.It's why we're taking on big banks, reforming Wall Street, revitalizing
our education system, increasing transparency -- and finishing the job
on health insurance reform.
It's why I need your help -- because I am determined to fight to defend
the middle class, and special interest lobbyists will go all out to
fight us.
Help me show that the American people are ready to join this fight for the middle class -- add your name to a letter to Congress today:
http://my.barackobama.com/SOTU
We have finished a difficult year. We have come through a difficult decade. But we don't quit. I don't quit.
Let's seize this moment -- to start anew, to carry the dream forward, and to strengthen our union once more.
President Barack Obama
Paid
for by Organizing for America, a project of the Democratic National
Committee -- 430 South Capitol Street SE, Washington, D.C. 20003. This
communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's
committee.
This email was sent to: brian@tlcearth.org0 |
WASHINGTON
– Research management experts from across federal science agencies will
gather in Washington, D.C., Oct. 28-29, to discuss approaches for
identifying research priorities, exploring research performance
management, and assessing the impact of completed research. The goal of
the meeting is to develop a collaborative framework to ensure future
research and development dollars are spent wisely and in a coordinated
manner.“We are bringing together a host of research management
experts to discuss best practices for research and development
investments” said Lek Kadeli, EPA’s acting assistant administrator for
the Office of Research and Development.
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“The efficiencies we seek
through this collaborative effort are a critical component of a
vibrant, green economy. ” The workshop, co-sponsored by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and George
Washington University, will bring together federal agencies, industry,
and academia to identify efficiencies and management strategies that
could be applicable to other research and development agencies.
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The DRS2CH4 Digester.
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The Obama administration launched a clean-energy blitz Tuesday, with
President Barack Obama sweeping into this Central Florida hamlet to
unveil $3.4 billion in stimulus grants for advanced electricity-grid
projects and Vice President Joe Biden traveling to his home state of
Delaware to open an electric-automobile plant. The administration Tuesday released a list of about 100 companies and
communities in 45 states and territories that will receive federal
subsidies to modernize the electric grid. The administration promised
the projects would create "tens of thousands of jobs."
When
combined with funds from utility customers, the federal program is
expected to inject more than $8 billion into grid-modernization efforts
nationally, administration officials said. Even so, that represents
just a fraction of what would be needed to bring the entire U.S.
electrical grid into the digital age….
Tuesday's twin events,
and last Friday's presidential visit to a wind-energy-testing lab in
Boston, signal a renewed push on energy issues by the Obama
administration, after weeks during which energy and climate change have
taken a back seat to fights over health care and future strategy in
Afghanistan. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held its
first hearing Tuesday on long-stalled climate-change legislation… Article from The Wall Street Journal. |
Tree-free Paper
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Carbon Trading
Is carbon trading "offsetting" a scheme? Another escape hatch for
businesses to avoid making real reductions in their polluting
activities? Read report from CNN under subtitle Cap and trade |
Administrator Lisa P. Jackson to Address EPA Beyond Translation Forum on Expanding the Idea of Environmentalism
Congressman
Pedro Pierluisi and Department of Housing Assistant Secretary Mercedes
Marquez to discuss environmental concerns in the Hispanic community
WASHINGTON
-- U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson is scheduled to host the
agency’s second National Beyond Translation Forum on October 26, 2009
in Washington, DC. Administrator Jackson has
identified expanding the conversation on environmentalism as one of her
top priorities. This forum aims to bring the agency and Hispanic
stakeholders nationwide together to discuss the best ways to address
critical environmental issues and develop stronger partnerships. This
year’s theme is “EPA and the Hispanic Community: Working Together to
Protect our Health and the Environment -- At Places Where We Live,
Work, Learn and Play.”
 REGISTER TODAY AT: (click here)
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Business Week
Green Collar Jobs link
Desigo V4 delivers an optimized control strategy for thermoactive building components
Thermoactive
building component systems (TABS) enable energy efficient cooling and
heating of buildings whilst at the same time providing a comfortable
room climate. The new version 4 of the Desigo building automation and
control system from Siemens Building Technologies Division provides an
innovative and unique application with separate heating and cooling
curves for the control of such systems.
The
thermoactive building component systems are proven technology for
thermal climatization of rooms. When planned and installed by experts,
they perform well with regard to comfort and energy efficiency.
Nevertheless, handling the control technology of the TABS is
challenging due to the system dynamic, and conventional control
strategies only fulfill comfort and efficiency targets poorly if at all
when used for these systems. |
The Siemens Building
Technologies Division tackles this problem with innovative control
strategies that were researched and developed in collaboration with the
Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research EMPA and
the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts using extensive
simulations and laboratory tests. Over the same period, our customers have reduced carbon
dioxide emissions by 210 million tonnes using our products and
solutions.
The new strategies were implemented
in an application for weather-controlled heating and cooling groups for
inert thermal emission and absorption systems that are included in
Version 4 of the Desigo building automation system. In order to fulfill
the required comfort conditions and efficiency targets, separate
heating and cooling curves are used for this application. The heating
and cooling limits can be adjusted individually as required.A
particular advantage of this application is the pump module with which
an energy efficient cycle operation of zone pumps can be achieved. Such
operation reduces pump runtimes massively and savings of over 50
percent can be made in transport energy. If room temperature control is
also required it can be quickly configured thanks to the transparent
and modular application assembly. As with all approved Desigo
applications the user can also refer to the corresponding visualized
Desigo Insight system diagram.With the new TABS control
strategies in Desigo V4, the customer profits from a high level of room
comfort with low energy consumption. The application enables
year-round, fully automatic operation and can be easily configured and
controlled. |
 Desigo is part of Siemens’ Environmental
Portfolio. In fiscal 2009, revenue from the Portfolio totaled about €23
billion, making Siemens the world’s largest supplier of ecofriendly
technologies. In the same period, our products and solutions enabled
customers to reduce their CO2 emissions by 210 million tonnes.
Background information: Thermoactive Building Component Systems (TABS)
Large
area, component integrated heating and cooling emission systems are
designated as TABS. These systems use the concrete core - mostly floor
slabs - for thermal climatization of buildings. Due to the
comparatively large transfer surfaces, system temperature
differentiations can remain low. That means that the material must only
be moderately heated or cooled when heating or cooling respectively.
Heating and cooling cycles can also be delayed by relatively large time
periods because the activated thermal storage unit of such systems is
very large. With careful, integrated planning, these advantages enable
energy efficient and sustainable systems ranging from energy generation
and distribution to use by the consumer.
Desigo V4 delivers an optimized control strategy for thermoactive building components (0.07 MB)
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