Climate Politics

Parsing Section 451 of the House stimulus package

Here are some thoughts on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act recently unveiled by House leaders -- specifically, the appropriation of Section 451 (aka "Subtitle E") from the 2007 Energy Bill.

For obvious reasons, we've been following this bill very closely, which not only provides $10 per MWh to waste heat recovery and high-efficiency cogeneration projects, but it also provides a nice suite of carrots to induce the states to reform their paleolithic electricity regulatory laws. Often these laws have long been perhaps the biggest barrier to reducing the carbon footprint of U.S. electricity generation and distribution.

For less obvious reasons, it's hard to get programs like this through the Congress. This is the result of some peculiarities of the way the federal government makes decisions to spend money:

1. Tax bills require one vote to enact (OK, technically three, since they have to be approved by both houses and then signed by the President, but it is a single vote on a single decision throughout). All other fiscal bills require two votes: the first authorizes the funding, and the second appropriates the money through the budget process. Since no vote is certain, this makes it much easier for regulators to get things done by tinkering with tax policy than through any other measure. In no small part, this is why the tax code is so full of complexity, loopholes, and social-engineering run amok. But I digress.


2. Any appropriation process must be "scored." This is the process by which the Congressional Budget Office estimates the cost of the legislation to the Treasury for the purpose of figuring out whether we can afford it. That's quite reasonable, but the nature of the process is such that it tends to ignore most of the upside because it does not readily differentiate between good and bad investments. (It is as if you made a decision to buy a stock based on the price per share without any consideration of whether it was likely to rise or sink in the future.) This becomes especially problematic when the economy sours, as the stimulative effects of investments are not readily quantified or evaluated precisely at the time when they are most needed.

Frustrating as this may be, the good news is that the limitations are well-understood by those inside the Beltway. Setting aside what the scoring rules say, here is what Section 451 will actually do for the U.S. economy ... with lessons broadly applicable to investments in all flavors of enhanced resource efficiency.

Senate confirms Obama's picks to run Energy, USDA, and Interior

Just hours after President Obama took the oath of office, the U.S. Senate confirmed three Cabinet members who will play a role in shaping energy and environmental policy, National Journal reported. By voice vote, senators approved Steven Chu as Energy Secretary, Ken Salazar as Interior Secretary, and Tom Vilsack as Agriculture Secretary.

Interior's Web gurus were quick to note the official installation of their new boss. The department's site features a photo of Salazar front and center on the homepage, along with a press release with background on the new secretary. As of late Tuesday afternoon, Energy and Agriculture hadn't updated their sites to reflect their new bosses.

Check out Grist's profiles of these Cabinet members:

• Steven Chu
• Ken Salazar
• Tom Vilsack

The Senate adjourned Tuesday without taking action on Lisa Jackson's nomination to run EPA or Nancy Sutley's nomination to run the Council on Environmental Quality.

President Barack Obama's call to action on energy and climate

Considering that this was an inaugural address, a speech whose aims are primarily rhetorical and visionary, our 44th president devoted more of his remarks to clean energy and global warming than anyone could have expected.

Yet it may be these muscular and optimistic lines that offer the greatest encouragement to the nation and the world:

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions -- who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

Obama believes the simple yet powerful words, "Make no small plans."

We can preserve a livable climate, but it will require the biggest of plans. It will require a memory of what we have accomplished in the past, most especially during World War II -- the only true model for the scale and speed of effort required.

Let's look at what he said specifically related to energy and climate, starting with the fourth paragraph:

The energy and climate challenge for Obama

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this day.

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The excitement here in D.C. is palpable. We have friends in town who brought their five-year-old and are walking down to the National Mall. My wife got an invitation to watch the whole thing from an office that overlooks the Capitol.

I'm an indoor type (Duh!) -- especially on a cold day with a wind chill that could only warm the hearts of anti-scientific global warming deniers. And someone needs to stay home with my 21-month-old daughter and blog.

She is so excited. She keeps saying "Where is Barack Obama?" and "Is Joe Biden here?" (Note: If you ask her who ran against Barack Obama, she'll answer "Grumpy old man." Go figure!)

So what is the great challenge for Obama?

Global warming, obviously, but what does he need to do?

Yes, he needs to pass a major climate bill and accelerate the deployment of cleantech. But those are really secondary challenges.

No, the single most important thing he needs to do is to change the political equation in this country.

Remember this?

Energy and environment front and center on White House website

The White House website made an apparently smooth transition from George W. Bush to Barack Obama today, and energy and environment get a starring role on the new administration's homepage.

There's nothing really new here; the details of the new president's environment and energy agenda were announced long ago. But it's good to see these issues taking center stage on day one of the Obama administration. Lest anyone doubt the significance of the change, Obama's agenda declares: "The energy challenges our country faces are severe and have gone unaddressed for far too long. Our addiction to foreign oil doesn't just undermine our national security and wreak havoc on our environment -- it cripples our economy and strains the budgets of working families all across America. President Obama and Vice President Biden have a comprehensive plan to invest in alternative and renewable energy, end our addiction to foreign oil, address the global climate crisis and create millions of new jobs."

Also included is the White House's intent to "Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050" and "Make the U.S. a Leader on Climate Change."

Finally, it appears blogging has finally made its way to 1600 Pennsylvania. The White House site now includes: www.whitehouse.gov/blog.

Obama references energy, climate challenges in inaugural address

President Barack Obama made a few points in his inaugural address that should bring smiles to the faces of environmental advocates.

Noting the goals he hopes to help achieve, Obama said: "We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories."

Later, he made a quick reference to climate change: "With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet."

In discussing international relations, he said: "To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow ... And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect."

Full text of the speech after the jump.

All eyes on ag chief Vilsack's undersecretary pick

There have been whispers recently from Washington, D.C., that indicate that the wheels of change are grinding to a halt even before the Inauguration of our next President takes place.

The recent nomination of former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack as Secretary of Ag was a disappointment to many in the sustainable ag and family farm community because of Vilsack's close relationship with agribusiness and his penchant for promoting biotech and corn-based ethanol. Despite some positive comments during his confirmation hearing regarding nutrition, local foods and climate change, many in the sustainable ag community remain skeptical, while some remain hopeful.

I've written previously, as have others, to place Tom's record in context; that he was the first Democratic governor of Iowa in 40 years and that during his governorship he had to contend with a Republican House and Senate.

This will not be the case when he heads the USDA with solid majorities in Congress, a call for "change in America" and support from the White House. There will be no one to blame for failing to put forward a progressive agenda for America's food and farm future.

Grist looks back at the WTF moments of the George W. Bush years

The Bush administration was hostile to government regulation and protective of business interests. That was their stated ideology on the campaign trail, and when elected, the president saw to it that his government acted on it. Fine. We get it. But the Bush environmental record is not entirely explicable through ideology. Some of the stuff […]

Inaugural opening ceremony/concert

Kate and I attended the opening ceremonies for Barack Obama's inauguration last night -- perched up in the press section right next to the stage, with a great view of, among other things, the first family.

You can read all about the event on numerous other sites. As you would expect, it was a spectacle, and like so much else in the Obama campaign, it treaded the razor's edge between absurd and inspiring.

There was little specifically green in it, aside from Jack Black (!?) reading inspirational quotes from Theodore Roosevelt about national parks. It was difficult to take too seriously, though, because Jack Black is funny even when he's not trying to be. (So was Steven Carell.)

There are a few memories that I'll take with me, though: