Ken Salazar Speaks on Offshore Drilling Video

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar says he's hopeful that the energy plan will include cap and trade, which many have dismissed as dead. Sen. John Kerry supports the new plan that Obama announced this morning (watch that here) largely because it is a energy plan that will attract the 60 votes needed to pass climate change legislation. Read republican reaction to the plan here. Environmentalist groups have mixed reactions.

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Al Gore Speaks to Katie Couric on Cap and Trade

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Tea Partier Explains Global Warming

This video is hilarious and also sad. We have to teach our children to be smarter than this.
Al Gore did a lot to bring awareness of global warming, but because he was such a polarizing figure, politically, he pushed certain people, like this woman in the video, off the deep end. It's not his fault, of course. It's the denier mentality. People deny science and reason for the purpose of perpetuating an ideology.
We've seen the deniers in action lately, denying evolution, denying landing on the moon, and denying Obama's birth place.

Republicans Wish Obama Well BUT

In the republican weekly address, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels says republicans really do wish Obama well (contrary to what Rush, Newt and the noisiest republicans say).

But this week, attacking the "Pelosi bill," (Henry Waxman introduced the bill) Daniels says the climate change bill is going to cost too much. He says it will double energy bills and cause major job losses.

Then he tries to appeal to ignorant people with the old: excuse me for being a practical Midwesterner who doesn't want to get run over by the liberals from California.

Cap and trade (read cap and trade 101) will cost us but not as much as republicans say. They've grossly exaggerated the costs (get a fact check here) because they still think Americans are mostly ignorant and will have a Pavlovian response whenever they mention taxes.

It will cost us more in the long run if we don't reduce our carbon emissions. Honestly, I don't think republicans have read any of the science because they simply don't believe in man-made climate change and those that do believe in global warming don't think anything can be done about it.

I don't think they've bothered to learn about environmental issues because it's just not their thing. Caring about the environment is NOT a core republican principle.

Read the latest version of the House energy bill here. The fact is we're going to have to have short term hurt for long term gain, something that Americans are still reckoning with. 

Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, calls republicans out on their scare tactics. In this case, he's responding to the republicans' new fear mongerer in charge, Dear Newt. Read about the 2007 cap and trade report Waxman talks about here:

Watch Waxman talk about the energy bill with Bloomberg News here.

Obama's Speech at Georgetown April 14

Full Speech:

Transcript

Steven Chu Rocks Capitol Hill

Steven Chu testified at his confirmation hearing today before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Here is the rest of Obama's green team.
Green types are excited about Chu and today, he got rock star treatment:

Only on Capitol Hill - and maybe an elite physics department near you - does a Nobel-winning scientist garner round-the-corner lines, an overflow crowd and a cascade of flashbulbs when he steps out in public.

That was the reception this morning for Steven Chu, the physicist and director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Labratory, when he showed up in a Senate committee room this morning for a hearing on his nomination as Barack Obama's energy secretary.

Hillary Clinton may have the bigger star power in the confirmation world today, as she prepares for a committee grilling on her nomination as secretary of state. But here in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, packed with energy lobbyists and non-profit executives, Chu is the one basking in a warm, bipartisan welcome.

Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), who chairs the energy committee, opened the floodgates of praise for Chu's academic and scientific record, saying he uniquely possesses "the vision and insight necessary to forge an energy policy for the 21st century."

The committee's top Republican, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, told Chu "It's probably fair to say that you are uniquely poised in your ability to bring with you your background that relates the science and the technology" of the energy department. read more at The Swamp.

Chu vows to fight climate change. Notice that "climate change" is now being used more often now than "global warming." That may have to do with the fact that scientists are taking into consideration all of the affects of climate change on the Earth such as wildfires, flooding... not just global warming. Obama's science head John Holdren calls it "global disruption." Here's Chu:

"Climate change is a growing and pressing problem. It is now clear that if we continue on our current path, we run the risk of dramatic, disruptive changes to our climate in the lifetimes of our children and grandchildren," Chu said at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Chu said the Obama administration will seek to impose a cap-and-trade system to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Under such a system, power plants, oil refineries and other industrial facilities would have to buy and sell pollution permits to spew global warming emissions. Reuters.

Obama Energy Plan to Kick Oil Addiction

Here is what Obama announced today in Lansing. See video here. Here is the text of his speech.

Barack Obama's New Energy Plan For America - Upload a Document to Scribd

Read this document on Scribd: Barack Obama's New Energy Plan For America

The highlights:

Providing short‐term relief to American families facing pain at the pump
Helping create five million new jobs by strategically investing $150 billion over the next ten years to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future.

Within 10 years, saving more oil than we currently import from the Middle East and Venezuela combined.

Putting 1 million Plug‐In Hybrid cars – cars that can get up to 150 miles per gallon – on the road by 2015, cars that we will work to make sure are built here in America.

Ensuring 10 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025.

Implementing an economy‐wide cap‐and‐trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.

Cap And Trade Explained

Obama talks a lot about cap and trade to reduce greenhouse gas and George Bush denies the existence of greenhouse gas. 

ChelseaGreen explains: 

One of the tools described in the previous section—carbon capping—deserves special attention, in part because it has several permutations, and in part because it’s likely to be adopted in some form.

Carbon capping comes in three varieties: cap-and-giveaway, cap-and-auction, and cap-and-dividend. All start with descending caps. The differences among them lie in who pays whom, and how leaky the caps are.

In cap-and-giveaway, permits are given free to historic polluters. This is called “grandfathering.” The more a company polluted in the past, the more permits it gets in the future—not just once, but year after year. As the descending cap raises the price of fossil fuels, everyone pays more, and the companies that get free permits keep his extra money. Their profits and stock valuations soar, while energy users bear the costs.

Here's more: Cap and Trade 101

This is how you know cap and trade is good, Humanevents, one of the anti-Obama hate sites, is opposed to cap and trade, just like Bush. They like to laugh about Al Gore and anything that resembles wisdom. 

Obama Talks Small Politics Video

"People are used to seeing promises broken."

Obama on Energy and Gas Prices Video

from obama's Blueprint for change
AT A GLANCE
Tackle Climate Change
Obama will implement a cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the level recommended by top scientists.

Create Millions of Green Jobs
Obama will invest $150 billion over ten years to deploy clean technologies, protect our existing manufacturing base and create millions of new jobs.

Reduce Dependence on Foreign Oil
Obama will reduce oil consumption overall by at least 35 percent, or 10 million barrels of oil, by 2030.

THE PROBLEM
Foreign Oil
America’s 20-million-barrel-a-day oil habit costs our economy $1.4 billion a day, and $500 billion in 2006 alone. Every single hour, we spend $41 million on foreign oil.

Climate Change
As a result of climate change, glaciers are melting faster; the polar ice caps are shrinking; trees are blooming earlier; more people are dying in heat waves; species are migrating, and eventually many will become extinct.

BARACK OBAMA’S PLAN
Reduce Carbon Emissions 80 Percent by 2050
Cap and Trade: Obama supports implementation of a market-based cap-and-trade system to reduce carbon emissions by the amount scientists say is necessary: 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. Obama’s cap-and-trade system will require all pollution credits to be auctioned. A 100 percent auction ensures that all polluters pay for every ton of emissions they release, rather than giving these emission rights away to coal and oil companies. Some of the revenue generated by auctioning allowances will be used to support the development of clean energy, to invest in energy efficiency improvements, and to address transition costs, including helping American workers affected by this economic transition.

Confront Deforestation and Promote Carbon Sequestration: Obama will develop domestic incentives that reward forest owners, farmers, and ranchers when they plant trees, restore grasslands, or undertake farming practices that capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Invest in a Clean Energy Future

Invest $150 Billion over 10 Years in Clean Energy: Obama will invest $150 billion over 10 years to advance the next generation of biofuels and fuel infrastructure, accelerate the commercialization of plug-in hybrids, promote development of commercial-scale renewable energy, invest in low-emissions coal plants, and begin the transition to a new digital electricity grid. A principal focus of this fund will be to ensure that technologies that are developed in the U.S. are rapidly commercialized in the U.S. and deployed around the globe.
Double Energy Research and Development Funding: Obama will double science and research funding for clean energy projects including those that make use of our biomass, solar and wind resources.

Invest in a Skilled Clean Technologies Workforce

Obama will use proceeds from the cap-and-trade auction program to invest in job training and transition programs to help workers and industries adapt to clean technology development and production. Obama will also create an energy-focused Green Jobs Corps to connect disconnected and disadvantaged youth with job skills for a high-growth industry.

Convert our Manufacturing Centers into Clean Technology Leaders
Obama will establish a federal investment program to help manufacturing centers modernize and Americans learn the new skills they need to produce green products.
Clean Technologies Deployment Venture Capital Fund

Obama will create a Clean Technologies Venture Capital Fund to fill a critical gap in U.S. technology development. Obama will invest $10 billion per year into this fund for five years. The fund will partner with existing investment funds and our National Laboratories to ensure that promising technologies move beyond the lab and are commercialized in the U.S.

Require 25 Percent of Renewable Electricity by 2025

Obama will establish a 25 percent federal Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) to require that 25 percent of electricity consumed in the U.S. is derived from clean, sustainable energy sources, like solar, wind and geothermal by 2025.

Develop and Deploy Clean Coal Technology

Obama will significantly increase the resources devoted to the commercialization and deployment of low-carbon coal technologies. Obama will consider whatever policy tools are necessary, including standards that ban new traditional coal facilities, to ensure that we move quickly to commercialize and deploy low carbon coal technology.

ENERGY
Support Next Generation Biofuels
Deploy Cellulosic Ethanol: Obama will invest federal resources, including tax incentives, cash prizes and government contracts into developing the most promising technologies with the goal of getting the first two billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol into the system by 2013.

Expand Locally-Owned Biofuel Refineries: Less than 10 percent of new ethanol production today is from farmer-owned refineries. New ethanol refineries help jumpstart rural economies. Obama will create a number of incentives for local communities to invest in their biofuels refineries.

Establish a National Low Carbon Fuel Standard: Barack Obama will establish a National Low Carbon Fuel Standard to speed the introduction of low-carbon non-petroleum fuels. The standard requires fuel suppliers to reduce the carbon their fuel emits by 10 percent by 2020.

Increase Renewable Fuel Standard: Obama will require 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels to be included in the fuel supply by 2022 and will increase that to at least 60billion gallons of advanced biofuels like cellulosic ethanol by 2030.

Set America on Path to Oil Independence: Obama’s plan will reduce oil consumption by at least 35 percent, or 10 million barrels per day, by 2030. This will more than offset the equivalent of the oil we would import from OPEC nations by 2030.
Increase Fuel Economy Standards: Obama will double fuel economy standards within 18 years. His plan will provide retooling tax credits and loan guarantees for domestic auto plants and parts manufacturers, so that they can build new fuel-efficient cars rather than overseas companies. Obama will also invest in advanced vehicle technology such as advanced lightweight materials and new engines.

Improve Energy Efficiency by 50 Percent by 2030

Set National Building Efficiency Goals: Barack Obama will establish a goal of making all new buildings carbon neutral (that is, producing zero emissions) by 2030. He’ll also establish a national goal of improving new building efficiency by 50 percent and existing building efficiency by 25 percent over the next decade to help us meet the 2030 goal.

Establish a Grant Program for Early Adopters: Obama will create a competitive grant program to award those states and localities that take the first steps to implement new building codes that prioritize energy efficiency.
Invest in a Digital Smart Grid: Obama will pursue a major investment in our utility grid to enable a tremendous increase in renewable generation and accommodate modern energy requirements, such as reliability, smart metering, and distributed storage.

Restore U.S. Leadership on Climate Change

Create New Forum of Largest Greenhouse Gas Emitters: Obama will create a Global Energy Forum that includes all G-8 members plus Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa –the largest energy consuming nations from both the developed and developing world. The forum would focus exclusively on global energy and environmental issues.

Re-Engage with the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change: The UNFCCC process is the main international forum dedicated to addressing the climate problem and an Obama administration will work constructively within it.

OBAMA RECORD

Renewable Fuels
Obama has worked on numerous efforts in the Senate to increase access to and use of renewable fuels. Obama passed legislation with Senator Jim Talent (R-MO) to give gas stations a tax credit for installing E85 ethanol refueling pumps. The tax credit covers 30 percent of the costs of switching one or more traditional petroleum pumps to E85, which is an 85 percent ethanol/15 percent gasoline blend. Obama also sponsored an amendment that became law providing $40 million for commercialization of a combined flexible fuel vehicle/hybrid car within five years.

CAFE

Obama introduced a bold new plan that brought Republicans and Democrats, CAFÉ supporters and long-time opponents together in support of legislation that will gradually increase fuel economy standards and offer what the New York Times editorial page called “real as opposed to hypothetical results.”
For More Informationnformationnformation about Baracarack’s Plan
Read the Speech

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