Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and the members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted to restore Clean Water Act protections for all of the nation's lakes, streams, and wetlands last week, earning the praise of the National Wildlife Federation and conservationists nationwide.

 

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America

's waters are closer to again having the comprehensive Clean Water Act protections that Congress intended," said Jan Goldman-Carter, Wetlands and Water Resources Counsel, National Wildlife Federation. "This bill restores critical protections for our nation's increasingly-precious fresh water resources while respecting private property rights and continuing longstanding Clean Water Act exemptions for agriculture and forestry."

New Yorkers now need only crane their necks for a reminder of the need for new energy practices in America.

Deutsche Bank recently unveiled a seven-story 'carbon clock' in Manhattan to keep a ton-by-ton tally of the amount of carbon dioxide being pumped into the atmosphere.

The counter, devised by MIT scientists, reflects the growing need for emission reform: the spinning numbers show that carbon is being added to the atmosphere at a rate of about 800 tons per second.

The American Clean Energy and Security Act has 140 new proponents: Baptist leaders from 26 states and the District of Columbia. The ministers, members of the Baptist Center for Ethics, recently signed a letter urging passage of the bill, citing "the moral demands to care for the earth and its poorest inhabitants." Signers included leaders in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Robert Parham, executive director of the Baptist Center for Ethics, previously endorsed the bill in an editorial on the BCE Web site. In it, he reminded readers that their faith "calls (them) to care for creation and the poor in the concrete, not in the abstract":

"Protecting the environment protects the marginalized. One realistic step toward protecting both is supporting the House climate bill."

With lawmakers moving forward on a bold new piece of climate legislation in the House, a green job boom seems to be on the horizon.

A report released last week finds that investing in a clean energy economy should help alleviate a soaring unemployment rate and improve job prospects across a wide range of sectors and experience levels.

The Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (PERI) report focuses on job creation and the investment opportunities that stand to emerge in a clean energy economy.

The report concluded that blue collar workers would be among the biggest beneficiaries of a nationwide clean energy boost. Workers with "relatively low educational credentials" stand to gain the most. An estimated 870,000 of the predicted 1.7 million (net increase) jobs arising from the move to a clean energy economy will be accessible to workers with high school degrees or less.

In addition to generating new opportunities for blue collar workers, a clean energy economy is projected to bring about a drop in the overall unemployment rate and a raise in per capita earnings for current low-income workers.

The total bounty of a clean energy economy is projected to include a 300 percent improvement in job opportunities over those found in fossil fuel fields and a significant reduction in day-to-day living costs for members of low-income households.

"One has to hope it will influence how people think about particular legislative proposals."

 

-- White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director John Holdren, confirming the need for new energy legislation following the release of a major report on the impact of global warming.

More than 100 conservation leaders from around the country met in New Orleans last week to push for the restoration of iconic U.S. waters such as the Chesapeake Bay, Coastal Louisiana, Florida Everglades, Great Lakes, Gulf of Maine, Long Island Sound, Puget Sound, and others.

“Restoring American’s great waters will benefit the country’s economy and environment—and will be vital in addressing the impacts of global warming,” said Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, the host of the summit.

A preliminary analysis by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy indicates that the American Clean Energy and Security Act could help save approximately $3,900 per household and generate scores of new jobs by 2030 by mandating more efficient energy production and usage.

According to the ACEEE, the savings that result from more efficient energy use will be reinvested locally, which will generate economic activity and produce about 650,000 jobs over the next 21 years. The transitional costs of cap-and-trade legislation will be mitigated by energy companies' efficiency investments, which will in turn help American consumers save money.

With legislators moving toward a powerful new statement on the future primacy of clean energy practices, the American job market appears to be following suit.

According to a report by the Pew Charitable Trusts, the number of jobs in America's clean energy economy grew nearly two and a half times faster than the number of overall jobs between 1998 and 2007. The Pew study represents the first empirical 50-state survey of recent clean energy job growth, as well as a potent indicator of the economy's direction in years to come.

Pew found that jobs in the clean energy economy grew at a national rate of 9.1 percent between 1998 and 2007, versus traditional job growth of just 3.7 percent. At the state level, a similar pattern emerged: clean energy economy job growth outpaced overall job growth in 38 states and the District of Columbia over the same period. The Pew report found that the clean energy sector stands to expand further in the future, prompted by raised consumer demand, venture capital additions, and policy reforms at the state and federal levels.

According to Pew, "a clean energy economy generates jobs, businesses and investments while expanding clean energy production, increasing energy efficiency, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, waste and pollution, and conserving water and other natural resources."

The U.S. Global Change Research Program is set to release a comprehensive report today on the impact of global warming in the United States.

The report culls the best available climate science to present a realistic, detail-oriented assessment of two divergent emissions scenarios:  one in which we continue to overload the atmosphere with global warming pollution by using outdated, dirty fossil fuels, and one in which we deploy clean technology like wind, clean cars, and more efficient energy use to reduce emissions, create jobs, and protect our children and grandchildren from the worst consequences of climate change.

According to Amanda Staudt , climate scientist, National Wildlife Federation, the report is sweeping in its implications: "It's a clarion call for immediate action," she said. "This report basically describes a state of emergency. It says we need to act quickly and decisively. Every state is going to be affected, and every sector of the economy."