Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming: Press Releases

Press Releases

Markey: With China and India on Board, No Excuse for U.S. Carbon Inaction 9 Mar 2010, 6:00 am

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Chairman Ed Markey, 202-225-4012

WASHINGTON (March 9, 2010) – Following today’s announcement that China and India have signed onto the Copenhagen Accord, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), co-author of the Waxman-Markey clean energy and climate bill that provided the Obama administration with emission reduction targets, issued the following statement:

“Now that China and India have joined the process, there is no longer any excuse for U.S. inaction on establishing a national plan to create clean energy jobs and cut carbon pollution.

“The House has passed the Waxman-Markey bill. The Obama administration has provided leadership. It is now up to the U.S. Senate to continue this process, and I am encouraged by their progress.

“This is the most complicated political transaction in the history of the world, and we are getting closer every day to completing it.”

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Source: Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming: Press Releases |

Hearing 3/10: Clean Energy Jobs and Consumer Savings from the Recovery Act 8 Mar 2010, 6:00 am

Select Committee Hearing: Clean Energy Jobs and Consumer Savings from the Recovery Act

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act invested in projects that create clean energy jobs while helping families save money on their energy bills. These investments in renewable energy, efficiency, weatherization and new technology development have established robust American energy industries, such as advanced battery technology to power cars and trucks.

On Wednesday, Chairman Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming will explore some of the clean energy results from the Recovery Act, and discuss how an American-made clean energy future can continue.

For more information on the Clean Energy items in the Recovery Act, please click here.

WHAT: Select Committee Hearing, “The Clean Energy Recovery: Creating Jobs, Building New Industries and Saving Money.”

WHERE: 2141 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C., and online.

WHEN: Wednesday, March 10, 2010, at 9:30 a.m.

WITNESS LIST:      
Lisa Patt-McDaniel, Director, Ohio Department of Development
Bryan Ashley, Chief Marketing Officer, Suniva Inc.
Paul Gaynor, Chief Executive Officer, First Wind Holdings LLC
Mary Ann Wright, Vice President and Managing Director, Business Accelerator Project, Johnson Controls, Inc.
Brian M. Johnson, Federal Affairs Manager, Americans for Tax Reform & Executive Director, Alliance for Worker Freedom 

Source: Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming: Press Releases |

Markey: Clear Need for Clean Energy Jobs 5 Mar 2010, 6:00 am

Passing Clean Energy Bill in Congress Will Create Millions of Jobs in America

Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), co-author of the Waxman-Markey clean energy jobs bill, today released the following statement in response to President Obama’s remarks on clean energy jobs:

“If we want to put more Americans to work in clean energy jobs, then Congress must continue its work to pass a clean energy strategy for America.

“Independent studies have shown that a clean energy bill like Waxman-Markey could create nearly 2 million clean energy jobs. With global competition for clean energy technologies heating up, now is the time for us to demand clean energy jobs that will be Made in America and Stay in America.

“The Senate is working on their own version of clean energy jobs legislation. Congress will continue to work so more Americans will have work.”

Source: Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming: Press Releases |

Snowmisunderstanding 2 Mar 2010, 6:00 am

Get the facts on Snowmageddon, Snowpocalypse as well as the Snowless Olympics.

This year, record snowstorms have hit the Mid-Atlantic and the East Coast. Meanwhile, it was so warm in British Columbia that the Winter Olympic Games needed to truck in snow in order to hold their events. So how does this relate to climate change? Here are some key facts:

First, global warming does not mean the end of winter.

Global warming doesn’t change the tilt of the earth that is responsible for our seasons. February will still have snowstorms.

Second, the snowstorms along the East Coast do not disprove global warming. More powerful storms and heavier precipitation –including snow –are consistent with climate change.

In fact, more powerful snowstorms are exactly what many scientists have predicted would happen as the planet warms. TIME Magazine recently reported:

“The 2009 U.S. Climate Impacts Report found that large-scale cold-weather storm systems have gradually tracked to the north in the U.S. over the past 50 years. While the frequency of storms in the middle latitudes has decreased as the climate has warmed, the intensity of those storms has increased. That’s in part because of global warming — hotter air can hold more moisture, so when a storm gathers it can unleash massive amounts of snow. Colder air, by contrast, is drier; if we were in a truly vicious cold snap, like the one that occurred over much of the East Coast during parts of January, we would be unlikely to see heavy snowfall.”

The truth is the amount of precipitation falling in heavy downpours has increased 20 percent in the United States and 67percent in the Northeast over the last 50 years. This heavy precipitation can be costly, as we witnessed in 2008 when a 500 year flood hit the Midwest, and in 2009 when parts of the Southeast experienced record-breaking floods.

Third, weather and climate are different.

Weather is the mix of conditions (wind, temperature, cloudiness, humidity, etc.) occurring over the short-term (minutes to months). Climate is the average weather occurring over many years. Between weather and climate, there are other cycles like El Nino, which occurs every few years.

This is an El Nino year, which helps explain the snow and chilly temperatures seen in Southern states. As the Los Angeles Times points out:

“The cold weather spells in the East have been linked with an “El Nino” year and a shift in the arctic oscillation that sent a jet of cold air down into the Eastern United States and elsewhere, all cyclically occurring events regardless of the overall trend in average planetary temperature, as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration pointed out recently.”

“Lost in the hype over the East Coast cold snap around the Christmas holidays was the fact that at the same time, parts of Alaska were unseasonably warm. And the record cold that descended as far south as Florida in January? Globally, January 2010 was the warmest January on record, based on satellite data that date to 1979, according to AccuWeather.com.”

So while some global warming deniers have tried to use the recent snow storms as a way to disprove climate change and slow action on Clean Energy Jobs legislation in Congress, the readings on the thermometer tell a far different story. We just had the hottest decade on record, beating a record set in the 1990’s which shattered the record set in the 1980’s. This is a dangerous trend, one that mirrors increases in carbon pollution around the globe. It’s time to get serious about confronting this problem by moving to clean energy with the speed of an Olympian.

Source: Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming: Press Releases |

Markey: NEPA Update Takes Bedrock Law, Looks Skyward at Heat-Trapping Emissions 18 Feb 2010, 6:00 am

In response to the Obama administration’s Council on Environmental Quality updating the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to include review of climate change impacts from projects that emit sizeable quantities of heat-trapping emissions, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), chair of twin climate and energy panels, issued the following statement:

“This action updates one of our nation’s bedrock laws to look skyward at the heat-trapping emissions that are endangering our planet.

“Our actions are altering the planet’s climate and this update to the law reflects this immutable fact.aEUREUR

“This is yet another signal of President Obama’s commitment to establishing a comprehensive climate and energy strategy that will create jobs while cutting pollution.”

Source: Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming: Press Releases |

Clean Energy Recovery 18 Feb 2010, 6:00 am

The Recovery Act, a key component of America’s tectonic shift away from foreign oil, should be celebrated for what it has saved — jobs, money and energy.

By making smart investments in clean energy technology and cutting taxes for 95 percent of Americans, the Recovery Act kept America on track to double our renewable energy output. It also funded critical efficiency and weatherization projects that save families and small businesses money on their electricity bills.

Manufacturing an End to Foreign Oil

Prior to the Recovery Act, countries like China and South Korea controlled the market for advanced battery technology that will power fuel efficient cars of tomorrow. In fact, 98 percent of the world’s advanced battery production is being done in Asian countries. The Recovery Act looked to America’s manufacturing muscle and our technology prowess to jumpstart battery production jobs here in America. Thus far, $2.4 billion in grants have been awarded to companies and educational institutions in over 20 states to fund 48 new advanced battery and electric auto projects – creating an entire new domestic industry and supercharging our market share from less than 2 percent to as much as 20 percent.

An additional $300 million in grants have been awarded to 25 cost-share projects to expand the nation’s fleet of alternative fuel vehicles. This will put 9,000 alternative fuel and energy efficient vehicles on the road further reducing our reliance on foreign oil.

Renewable Energy = Renewable Savings

Beating Wall Street’s recession-based projections, the wind industry grew its capacity nearly 40 percent in 2009, blowing past expectations that existed prior to the passage of the Recovery Act. Investing in solar projects at schools and government buildings helped lower energy costs on local community budgets and taxpayers. The $10 billion efficiency investment in federal buildings alone will save taxpayers $2 billion a year  – creating renewable savings based on renewable energy.

Families Warm on Savings

The impact of the Recovery Act can truly be felt at home. Improving the energy efficiency of millions of U.S. homes will save working families an average of $350 on their energy bills per year, cutting their costs by nearly one third. Thus far, the Weatherization Assistance Program has created over 8,500 jobs for local contractors, plumbers and electricians.

Smart Grid + Smart Growth = Smart Future

Building a smart energy grid will empower consumers with information and tools to control their energy bills while providing a platform for wind, solar and geothermal energy to reach more families. $3.4 billion in grants have been awarded to small businesses, utilities, manufacturers and towns to fund smart energy grid projects that will support tens of thousands of jobs and benefit consumers in 49 states.

The Recovery Act not only invests in our communities, it reshapes how we travel between them. Investing $16 billion in high speed rail and mass transit projects will not only create jobs, it will reduce the amount of oil we import and minimize traffic congestion by taking cars off the highway.

A Change in Direction

For years, America has been governed by an energy policy that invested in foreign oil and fossil fuels without looking to new technology solutions and alternatives that reduce carbon pollution.  

Source: Environmental Law Institute

When the Recovery Act was passed our nation faced the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the nation was bleeding jobs at an alarming rate and foreign competitors were capitalizing on decades of inaction from the United States in the clean energy industry. History will remember the Recovery Act as an emergency response, but the future still has a lot riding on its success.

Source: Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming: Press Releases |

Markey Welcomes Obama Call for Passing Comprehensive Clean Energy & Climate Legislation 16 Feb 2010, 6:00 am

Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), chair of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming and chair of the Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment, which has jurisdiction over the Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission, issued the following statement following President Obama’s announcement of $8 billion in funding for the nuclear loan guarantee program:

“President Obama continues to look to the energy sector as the vehicle for driving job creation.” said Rep. Markey, adding, “The President made it clear that passing comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation, like the House passed Waxman-Markey clean energy bill, is critical to American leadership in developing new technologies and industries to compete with China, India and other nations.”

The United States has not built a new nuclear power plant in three decades, due to huge cost overruns, safety concerns, and waste disposal problems that made nuclear power economically uncompetitive — leading investors to shun nuclear power due to its high risks and poor financial performance. Recognizing the ongoing financial challenges facing the nuclear industry, the Waxman-Markey legislation included a Clean Energy Bank to help provide financing support for new reactors, as well as other non-carbon energy sources such as wind, solar, and efficiency.  In recognition, the Nuclear Energy Institute supported the Waxman-Markey legislation’s key provisions when the bill was debated on the House floor last June.

Chairman Markey also noted that in today’s nuclear loan guarantee announcement, President Obama reiterated the need to address the issue of how to safely dispose of the dangerous radioactive waste generated by nuclear power, as well as the need to ensure that the nuclear industry is held to the highest and strictest safety standards.

 “While nuclear energy will play a competitive role in a low carbon economy, the issues of waste disposal and the inherent uncertainties in putting taxpayer dollars on the line for a nuclear power plant design that hasn’t yet been deemed to be safe to the public must be dealt with.” Markey said. “The process needs to be closely monitored to ensure public safety so that public dollars are responsibly provided only when the reactor is truly safe and shovel-ready.”

In letters exchanged with Department of Energy Secretary Stephen Chu, Markey has been advocating for public safety, financial protection for tax payers regarding the loans guarantees, while pointing out design flaw issues. Those letters can be found here.

Source: Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming: Press Releases |

POSTPONED Hearing 2/11: Clearing the Smoke – Black Carbon Pollution 5 Feb 2010, 6:00 am

PLEASE NOTE: THIS HEARING HAS BEEN POSTPONED AND MORE INFORMATION WILL BE AVAILABLE SHORTLY.

Select Committee to hold hearing on impacts and solutions to black carbon pollution

Black carbon is a particle pollutant — a component of soot and smoke — that is emitted during the burning of fossil fuels and biomass. Finding solutions that reduce black carbon pollution is an important step in the fight against climate change.

The Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming will hold a hearing entitled: “Clearing the Smoke: Understanding the Impacts of Black Carbon Pollution.”

WHAT: Select Committee hearing on Understanding the Impacts of Black Carbon Pollution
WHEN: TBA
WHERE:  2175 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington DC, Capital Complex and on the web at globalwarming.house.gov
WHO: Witnesses to be announced

Source: Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming: Press Releases |

Markey: President Showing aEURoeGroundedaEUR? Commitment to Clean Energy Development 3 Feb 2010, 6:00 am

Biofuels from the Ground, and Carbon Capture Underground, Will Grow American Energy Independence, Says Chairman

Today the Obama administration announced several new rules, reports and initiatives that signal the president’s continued commitment to developing home-grown American clean energy. President Obama announced new rules on meeting the renewable fuels requirement from the 2007 energy bill, a proposed rule on biomass assistance for farmers and energy producers, a strategic report on commercialization of biofuels, and the creation of a new interagency task force on carbon capture programs.

Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), chair of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, and co-author of the 2007 energy bill and the House-passed Waxman-Markey climate and energy bill, issued the following statement:

“Whether it’s biofuels that come out of the ground, or carbon emissions that we pipe underground, the president is showing that he is committed to the creation of a home-grown, American clean energy economy.

“We can create biofuels that come from plants or waste, but don’t take food off our plates. We should be running our cars and trucks on home-grown biofuels, not Middle East fossil fuels. The Obama administration is committed to making this a reality.

“Carbon capture and storage is another necessary technology America must develop if we are to deal with our dual challenges of energy and economic security. China and India are building coal plants at an increasing clip, and if America does not create the technology to capture and dispose of carbon emissions, they will.

“Now is the time for a ‘grounded’ energy and climate policy that takes the plants, the wind, the sun, and the other American resources that surround us everyday and turns it into home-grown clean energy jobs. Today the Obama administration is showing they believe in this ‘grounded’ energy policy.”

Source: Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming: Press Releases |

Markey Introduces Increase in Low-Income Energy Assistance 2 Feb 2010, 6:00 am

Crisis Approaches as Heating Oil Prices, Demand for Help Both Increase

A perfect storm of economic hardship, rising heating oil prices, and increased demand for home energy assistance could result in a serious home energy crisis for millions of Americans this year and beyond. In response to this looming threat, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today introduced legislation that would increase the level of funding for and expand availability to the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, creating a vital safety net for millions of Americans.

“Our economy may finally be heating up, but the effects of a recession, periods of cold weather and rising energy prices are still having a chilling effect on millions of American families,” said Rep. Markey, chair of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming and the Energy and Environment Subcommittee in the Energy and Commerce Committee. “Expanding LIHEAP’s funding and availability is absolutely vital.”

The bill, the Energy Assistance for American Families Act, would increase the authorized funding level for LIHEAP to $7.6 billion per year for fiscal years 2011 to 2014, an increase of $2.5 billion over the last authorized level, enacted in 2005. The bill would also extend the expanded eligibility levels to families whose incomes total up to 75 percent of their state’s median income level.
 
According to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA), states assisted 8.3 million households last year, a more than 33 percent increase in the number of households served from the previous year. In addition, in large part due to the economic downturn, NEADA estimates that 10 million households may apply for assistance this year. However, 10 million households still represents less than one-third of all households that are eligible for help. Increasing the authorized LIHEAP funding level will allow states to meet this increased demand and to continue to provide meaningful aid.
 
Energy prices are also on the rise — average household expenditures on heating oil this winter are expected to increase to $1,911 from $1,864 last winter, according to the Department of Energy.

Source: Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming: Press Releases |