Climate 411

How the President Can Address Climate Change Right Now

By Sharyn Stein / Published: January 4, 2013

When Foreign Policy magazine decided to run a series on “10 problems Obama could solve right now,” they turned to EDF’s Gernot Wagner.

His contribution: a list of ways the President can address climate change — without Congressional approval.

Gernot acknowledges that:

“President Obama isn’t going to halt the rise of the oceans in his second term.”

But he outlines steps the President can take right now.

At the top of his list:

 “The president can start by setting an example in his own house, quite literally. Based on Executive Order 13514, signed in October 2009, Obama established a 28 percent emissions-reduction goal for the federal government by 2020. While working toward this goal, the administration should take the opportunity to implement a tried-and-true market approach: Follow the lead of some big corporations like Microsoft and make each part of the government financially accountable for its greenhouse gas emissions by putting a price on carbon dioxide — at least the roughly $20 per ton established by the federal government’s own interagency working group as the single best value. That would allow the government to meet its overall target the most cost-effective way possible”.

Other key ideas:

  • Use existing legal authority under the tried-and-true Clean Air Act to cut power plant pollution, both from new and existing sources.
  • Build on the success of strengthening greenhouse gas and fuel-economy standards for cars and extend them to heavy and medium-duty vehicles, ranging from 18-wheelers to commercial delivery trucks.
  • Get methane leakage under control. Natural gas can have half the climate impact of coal, with the emphasis on “can.” Methane leakage could actually make it worse, and President Obama has the power to ensure that’s not the case.

Read more in Foreign Policy’s article.

Also posted in Policy / Read 1 Response

EPA Updates Standards to Reduce Levels of Deadly Soot Pollution in Our Air

By Mandy Warner / Published: December 14, 2012

America took a big step toward cleaner, healthier air today.

Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its long-awaited updated standards for fine particulate matter.

EDF was among the many health and environmental groups applauding the life-saving new standards.

Fine particulate matter is often referred to as soot, although it actually comprises a broader array of fine particles. It gets into the air we breathe — some of it directly emitted from cars and trucks, some of it resulting from factories and power plants hundreds of miles upwind – and then can lodge in our lungs and cause a variety of heart and lung problems, especially in children and seniors.

In fact, soot is one of the deadliest types of air pollution. It can cause heart attacks, asthma attacks, and premature death. Recent studies have found that soot is potentially associated with autism as well.

A letter signed by over 650 health and medical professionals stated:

Fine particulate air pollution is cutting short the lives of tens of thousands of Americans each year. Studies have shown fine particulate air pollution is shortening lives by up to six months …

Numerous, long-term multi-city studies have shown clear evidence of premature death, cardiovascular and respiratory harm as well as reproductive and developmental harm at contemporary concentrations far below the level of the current standard ..

Infants, children and teenagers are especially sensitive, as are the elderly, and people with cardiovascular disease, lung disease, or diabetes. The new EPA standards should be set at levels that will protect these sensitive people with an adequate margin of safety, as required by the Clean Air Act.

States have a variety of tools to meet the updated and strengthened standards. They include:

  • Mercury and Air Toxics Standards – these national standards for power plants are already being implemented, and will help reduce soot as well as mercury
  • Lower Sulfur Gasoline for Cars — EPA could put these standards in place as soon as next year to help clean up soot
  • Air Toxics Rules for Cement Plants and Boilers — EPA is expected to finalize these soon. They will provide further soot emission reductions across the country
  • Diesel Emission Reduction Act — this highly successful, bi-partisan program can, if funded by Congress, reduce emissions from dirty diesel engines across the country while also providing economic benefits
  • Reducing Emissions from Shipping – the U.S. is part of an international program that will play an important role in reducing soot, especially for coastal areas
  • Cross State Air Pollution Rules — a robust cross-state air pollution program would reduce the power plant emissions that drift across state borders. Those emissions contribute to air quality problems, both locally and in downwind states. Over the summer, a deeply divided court struck down EPA’s “good neighbor” program that would have addressed this problem. We need a strong replacement program as soon as possible.

Those are just a few of the tools we can use to reduce the soot pollution in our air. They are all highly cost-effective, and broadly supported.

Many of them are being challenged in the courts and Congress, however — so we still have a lot of work to do. We must ensure that EPA can implement the programs that will reduce dangerous pollution like soot.

Some industrial interest groups are opposing the soot standards, but a lot more groups are cheering today’s announcement. The breadth of the support for this life-saving measure is tremendous.

Leading health groups including the American Lung Association, the American Heart Association, American Thoracic Society, the National Association of County and City Health Officials, and the March of Dimes have all expressed strong support for stronger soot standards.

They’ve been joined by a wide variety of other groups, representing moms, African Americans, faith communities, doctors and health professionals, teachers, environmental justice advocates, state leaders, communications workers, Hispanics, nurses, conservation and sportsmen groups, and business communities.

It’s rare to see an issue that can bring so many different people together. But it seems all of them recognize the importance of clean air.

I find it inspiring to be part of such a broad coalition, united by the common cause of improving the health and lives of every American.

This holiday season, I am grateful for the promise of cleaner air for all Americans, for the opportunity to work on an issue that unites so many diverse people, and for the reminder that clean air is not just an environmental or health right but an essential human right.

Also posted in Clean Air Act, Health, Policy / Comments are closed

EDF’s Business-Friendly Suggestions for Fighting Climate Change

By Sharyn Stein / Published: November 12, 2012

We’ve been hearing the same question a lot lately – what should President Obama do in his second term to fight climate change?  

In today’s online Harvard Business Review, EDF’s Eric Pooley has some thoughts on that subject. He’s laid out a five-point plan to help us address climate change.

Those points range:

[F]rom no-brainer ideas almost everyone can agree on to ambitious items that would require Congressional action

And they all have one thing in common – they are business friendly.

As Eric puts it: 

It is worth remembering that strong business support helped secure passage of the House climate bill in 2009, and though that effort failed in the Senate, no serious legislation can move without the backing of men and women in the engine room of the American economy. To be politically viable, climate solutions must be economically sustainable.

Here’s the (very) short version of Eric’s plan:

  • Feed the conversation
  • Reduce climate accelerants
  • Start a clean energy race
  • Use the Clean Air Act
  • Put a price on carbon

If you’d like to read the whole plan, you can find it here: A Business-Friendly Climate Agenda for Obama’s Second Term

Also posted in Climate Change Legislation, Economics, Extreme Weather, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Policy / Comments are closed

EDF Congratulates the President on Re-Election Amid Increased Need for Climate Action

By Shira Langer / Published: November 7, 2012

EDF would like to congratulate President Obama on his re-election. In the wake of super storm Sandy and with the election campaigns behind us, it is more important than ever for the president and elected officials to address the increasing threats from climate change, a pivotal issue of our time.

In a statement, EDF President Fred Krupp said:

“Congratulations to President Obama on his re-election to a second term, and to all of those who will be serving in the 113th Congress. We look forward to working with them to solve our country’s most pressing environmental problems, including global climate change. As the President declared last night, ‘we want our children to live in an America … that isn’t threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet.’

“Exit polls confirm that for millions of American voters, Hurricane Sandy and climate change were decisive factors in this election. As the historic storm just reminded us, we have no time to waste; we must get serious about climate solutions in order to protect our loved ones and communities from terrible impacts — extreme weather disasters, droughts, heat waves, and other dangerous consequences of global warming. Especially in the wake of Sandy, which demonstrated that doing nothing about climate change is much costlier than taking action, this issue clearly should be a top priority for our leaders in government.”

Earlier this week EDF VP Nat Keohane discussed the pressing challenges and priorities for the next president in regard to climate action in Bloomberg Businessweek.

He said:

“…The magnitude and urgency of the challenge have not diminished. If we needed any reminder of that fact, Hurricane Sandy should have provided it—especially coming on the heels of devastating drought, record-breaking temperatures through the spring and summer, and a record low in the extent of Arctic sea ice.

“…Addressing global warming will be politically challenging—but presidents are not elected to do the easy things, and political realities are not set in stone. The first step to tackling climate change is to start talking about it, not just once in a while but routinely, as a fact of life rather than a special-interest issue.

“The next president must build public understanding of the issue, connecting the dots between our own actions and the extreme weather we are already seeing. He must engage folks from across the political spectrum on the possible solutions. And he must be willing to spend political capital to get something done.”

See Keohane’s full Bloomberg Businessweek article for specific steps the president could take to address the growing threat of climate change.

Also posted in Climate Change Legislation, Policy, What Others are Saying / Comments are closed

Court Briefs Filed Today in Appeal of Life-Saving Mercury and Air Toxics Standards

By Pamela Campos / Published: October 23, 2012

Today, attorneys for large power and coal companies will file briefs in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. challenging EPA’s new life-saving Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for coal- and oil-fired power plants.

These vital clean air standards will prevent as many as 11,000 premature deaths and 130,000 asthma attacks each year, and bring health benefits as high as $90 billion per year starting in 2016.

The standards, which have already survived a challenge in Congress, were announced in December 2011. They are supported by the American Nurses Association, the American Lung Association, the American Heart Association, the NAACP, leading power companies, and the Consumers Union.

Our nation has been working towards reducing emissions of toxic mercury, acid gases, and heavy metals from power plants for over twenty years. While other sources of mercury emissions, such as municipal and hospital incinerators, have since reduced their emissions of mercury by over 90%, power plants continue to poison air, water, and food with nerve-damaging mercury.

We have the technology to protect the health of our children and our communities from toxic air pollution.

17 states have successfully established standards reducing toxic emissions from power plants — and our country is well positioned to provide the control technologies necessary while creating American jobs. Numerous power companies have indicated they can comply with the standards and many have lowered their estimated cost of compliance. A variety of independent studies have found that the standards will not harm electric reliability.

Power plants are responsible for the lion’s share of many toxic pollutants in the U.S., including 50% of all mercury pollution, 77% of acid gases, and 62% of arsenic. Protecting the standards that will clean up these dirty plants is essential for all of us.

EPA will file its brief in response on January 22, 2013, and the states, public health and environmental groups that support the rule, including EDF, will file their response on February 21, 2013.

We’ll be updating our site with the key filings from this case, so keep an eye on our webpage for updates.

Also posted in Clean Air Act, Health, Policy / Comments are closed

I’m Pro-Climate and I Vote

By Sam Parry / Published: September 20, 2012

The climate isn’t interested in political stump speeches. And, sadly, too many politicians and media elites don’t seem to care that much about the climate – at least based on the miniscule attention this monumental issue has garnered so far on the campaign trail.

We need to change that dynamic, and this election season gives us an important opportunity to speak out.

Regardless of your political leanings, one fact should be obvious – if we are ever going to pass strong, lasting national climate and energy legislation to slash America’s global warming pollution, we need to work with liberals, conservatives, and moderates to build sustainable public support.

The good news is that the vast majority of Americans agree that climate change is an important issue and that our leaders should address it. We should leverage this and put pressure on political candidates about the need to seriously confront the climate crisis.

Between now and November 6th, in every community across the country, there will be political rallies, townhalls, campaign events, voter registration drives, get-out-the-vote canvassing, election phone-banking, and more. Take advantage. Participate in these events and talk with your neighbors – and, when possible, directly with political candidates – about the importance of addressing climate change in a serious, comprehensive way.

Whether your elected officials are climate deniers or climate action advocates, they need to hear from you. Because, one thing is certain, in politics, the squeakiest wheels get the environmentally friendly, biodegradable lubricant.

Let’s be squeaky wheels. Let’s declare ourselves Pro-Climate Voters. And let’s commit to using this political campaign to get our message across.

Here are some ways you can help get the message out:

  1. Get involved in your local campaigns. Every city and town in the country has some way to connect with political parties and get involved in local campaign events. And the internet makes it extremely easy to connect locally and sign up to volunteer.
  2. Do your homework. Find out where your candidates stand on climate change and incorporate that into your conversations, i.e. “I really like candidate ___. But I wish he/she understood the importance of climate action.” Or, “I’m really pleased that candidate ___ is such a strong supporter of climate action.”
  3. Speak out. As you engage with people on the campaign trail, talk about the fact that you are a Pro-Climate Voter. Regardless of your positions on other issues, make this part of your conversations with your neighbors.
  4. Strength in numbers. If you have the opportunity to attend a campaign rally or event, make a handheld sign declaring yourself a Pro-Climate Voter. It helps if you can drag friends and family to events to stand next to you with their own Pro-Climate Voter signs.
  5. Use social media. Echo your support for climate action via online social media by commenting on political candidates’ Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and other online channels. Believe us, these comments are closely monitored by campaign staff. With enough comments, we will get their attention.
  6. Keep it simple. You don’t have to be a climate scientist to understand the basics. Carbon dioxide is a heat-trapping gas. We emit CO2 into the atmosphere with every gallon of gas guzzled or pound of coal burned. CO2 has increased in our atmosphere by about a third since the Industrial Revolution. The planet is getting hotter and will continue to warm unless we substantially reduce carbon (and other greenhouse gases). Not one of these statements is in dispute.
  7. Be respectful. People of many different backgrounds may agree or disagree with you on climate change. It serves no purpose to get into a shouting match. An easy standby if you encounter a climate denier is to ask simply, “What if you’re wrong? What if climate change is as bad as the scientists project? What then? Maybe we should think about that too?”

Finally, keep in mind, we won’t win this issue unless and until we win over some folks who are skeptical and get others who are apathetic to at least start engaging. You’re never going to convince everyone, but through respectful dialogue, we can buttress climate action champions and perhaps begin to make changes across the spectrum.

One way or the other, 2013 will be a very important year for climate action. By doing our part, we can apply political pressure on the campaign trail and increase the odds of breakthrough action.

Posted in News / Read 1 Response