President Obama delivered his State of the Union
address. Sean Carroll, Federal Field Associate of Environment California,
responded with the following statement:
"Tonight, President Obama backed up his bold words on addressing global
warming from his inaugural address by outlining clean energy solutions that
will pave the way towards a cleaner, healthier future.
"From Hurricane Sandy to the worst drought since the Dust Bowl, far too many
Americans have already been affected by extreme weather events that
scientists warn will grow more common and more severe unless we take action
to tackle global warming pollution now.
"We must cut carbon pollution that's fueling global warming, rein in our
energy use by making our homes and businesses more efficient, and ramp up
our production of truly clean, renewable energy sources like wind and solar
power.
"Americans have been asking for leadership on tackling global warming. Clean
energy solutions, like cutting our energy waste in half and expanding
renewable energy, as the president outlined, are critical pieces of the
puzzle. We are also counting on the president to clean up carbon pollution
from power plants, which will help the United States fulfill its obligation
to future generations.
"We look forward to working with the Obama administration to implement and
expand upon the president's plan to address global warming, as outlined
tonight in his State of the Union address."
Below is some helpful background information. I will be available at the
phone number listed above to answer questions.
BACKGROUND:
EXTREME WEATHER AND GLOBAL WARMING: Numerous studies have outlined how
global warming fuels extreme weather events, ranging from heavy downpours
and flooding to devastating droughts and deadly heat waves. Our
<http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/reports/cae/path-storm> In the Path of
the Storm report found that 4 out of 5 Americans live in counties that were
hit by at least one weather-related disaster between 2006 and 2011. And our
<http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/reports/cae/when-it-rains-it-pours>
When It Rains, It Pours report found that extreme rainstorms and snowstorms
are happening 30 percent more frequently on average today than they were in
1948, and dropping 10 percent more precipitation.
CLEANING UP THE LARGEST SOURCES OF CARBON POLLUTION: We know that the
largest sources of carbon pollution fueling global warming are our cars and
trucks and our power plants. The Obama administration made historic progress
toward cutting emissions from our cars and trucks in its first term when it
finalized clean car standards that will raise fuel efficiency standards to
54.5 mpg by 2025, easily the largest step the U.S. has taken to cut global
warming pollution. Now in its second term, the Obama administration is using
its Clean Air Act authority to develop carbon pollution limits for new power
plants, and is expected to soon propose carbon pollution limits for existing
power plants as well. More than 3.1 million Americans submitted public
comments in 2012 in support of the Obama administration setting strong
limits on carbon pollution from power plants.
BUILDING EFFICIENCY: Powering America's buildings accounts for 36 percent of
our nation's total energy use. And because much of this energy comes from
dirty and dangerous sources like coal, oil, and natural gas, powering
America's buildings is responsible for nearly one-third of our global
warming emissions. Too much of this energy is wasted because of poor
insulation, leaky windows, inefficient lighting, heating or cooling systems,
and poor construction techniques. By
<http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/reports/cae/building-better-america>
Building a Better America, we can reduce energy use in buildings 24 percent
and cut global warming emissions from building use 30 percent by 2030.
President Obama should use his existing executive authority to make our
nation more energy efficient as a necessary step in addressing global
warming. As first steps, he should direct federal agencies to undergo all
cost-effective retrofits and be leaders in energy efficiency, encourage the
Federal Housing Finance Agency to establish guidelines and rules to allow
for residential PACE financing, and make sure that appliance energy-savings
standards are set in a timely fashion.
WIND AND SOLAR POWER: To avoid the worst effects of global warming, we must
quickly and responsibly ramp up our production of clean, renewable energy
like wind and solar power. Wind energy is a true American success story and
is already powering 13 million homes across the country. According to a
report by Environment California Research & Policy Center,
Wind Power for a Cleaner America our production of
wind power avoids as much global warming pollution as taking 13 million cars
off the road and saves enough water to power a city the size of Boston each
year.
OFFSHORE WIND: Our country has enormous potential to harness the wind that
blows off our coasts to produce pollution-free, renewable energy. We are
getting closer than ever to having turbines spinning off our coasts. The
Department of Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has announced
lease sales notices for wind energy areas in waters off of Virginia, Rhode
Island, and Massachusetts and the Department of Energy is investing in seven
offshore wind pilot projects to spur innovation and development. President
Obama should continue to promote the responsible development of our offshore
wind resources.