Carbon cap bills go into deep freeze
August 12, 2010 - Politico - Darren Samuelsohn
When it comes to global warming, the environmental lobby is going on defense.
Stung by the failure to secure a Senate vote on climate and energy legislation and wary of a possible GOP-led Congress, leaders of some of the country’s most influential green groups are moving cash and staff away from cap and trade.
Environment America, the Sierra Club and the Union of Concerned Scientists, with more than 2.5 million members combined, now consider it their top job to defend the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to write climate rules against attacks in the courts and on Capitol Hill.
“The era of the big bill I think is over,” said an environmentalist whose group has not yet come out publicly on the issue.
The groups also are hoping to defend and expand on state and regional climate laws and compacts, including a carbon market for power plants operating in the Northeast and emerging systems in the West. And they will work at the state public utility commission level to make carbon dioxide emissions a crux in reviewing permits for new and existing coal-fired power plants.
The Sierra Club is spending $18 million and has 100 people across the country working on challenges to coal-fired electricity, said Michael Brune, the group’s executive director. He hopes to increase the budget to $25 million next year.
“We don’t think we can fight climate change without getting a comprehensive, economy-wide cap,” Brune said. “At the same time, we think in the short term, more significant gains can be achieved by focusing on other strategies.”
Kevin Knobloch, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists, doesn’t want to give up on cap and trade as the method of curbing carbon dioxide emissions, but said it’s apparent the next window for such a bill won’t be until 2013 — assuming President Barack Obama either wins a second term or a climate-friendly Republican takes office.
“My sense is you never say die, even if we have fewer climate champions than today, that we still need to work with Congress to get a cap in place,” Knobloch said. “But its probability is going to be quite low to achieve that until after the next presidential election.”
Meanwhile, the environmental community is split over any shift away from cap and trade.
Two green heavies — Environmental Defense Fund and the Natural Resources Defense Council — aren’t giving up the fight. Combined, they employ several dozen experts, from attorneys to economists to public-health scientists.
“We’re going to pursue all the ways we can to make that happen,” said Franz Matzner, NRDC’s climate legislative director. “That includes going for the big enchilada. It’s too early to assume that it’s off the menu.”
“You know us, we’re not letting go of anything,” said Tony Kreindler of EDF, which spent $20 million over the past two years fighting for a climate bill.
“No air pollution problem in history has been solved without a mandatory pollution limit,” Kreindler added. “We’re open to how you structure that. But at the end of the day, that’s very much our goal.”
The National Wildlife Federation, the country’s largest environmental group with 4 million members and supporters, considers it “Job No. 1” to defend EPA against lawsuits in the federal appeals court from a broad coalition of industry and conservative state leaders, including the attorneys general in Virginia and Texas.
But Jeremy Symons, NWF’s senior vice president, said that won’t preclude lobbying for a carbon cap. “It’s not a question of doing one or the other,” he said. “We’ll do both. But we’ll focus now first and foremost on defending the Clean Air Act.”
Brune and Anna Aurilio, director of Environment America’s Washington office, downplayed the idea of a major schism between the greens.
“There may be some disagreement around the edges around what can actually move,” Aurilio said. “But I don’t think it’s a huge split.”
“I think if there wasn’t a shift occurring in the environmental community, that’d be cause for great alarm,” Brune said.
“Individually and collectively, many of the national environmental organizations are reflecting on what worked strategically, what didn’t and whether or not there should be a shift in priorities and in strategies,” Brune added. “Different groups are in different states in the process. For some it’ll be easier. Others are more wedded to some form of cap. It might be more difficult for them.”
Environmentalists aren’t giving up on energy and climate legislation entirely. On Capitol Hill, the greens are pressing for new national standards on renewable energy, as well as more aggressive automobile fuel-economy limits and incentives for electric and natural gas vehicles.
That strategy shift could have a major impact, some longtime cap-and-trade advocates said.
“That would be significant,” said Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), who co-sponsored three major climate bills that have hit the Senate floor over the past decade. “I look forward to talking to them. I know they have the same goals. And they may be right about the political practicality.” Senate Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said cap-and-trade supporters have long faced tough odds.
“If there were 60 of [Sen. John] Kerry, or 60 of me, but we never had 60,” she said. “That’s our problem. “There’s many ways to get to this reduction in carbon pollution,” Boxer added. “And we’re willing to follow the 60 vote threshold and see where it leads us and how we do.” Even so, Lieberman and others make the argument that a carbon cap represents the least expensive option for dealing with emissions. And they note the origins of the issue started with former President George H.W. Bush, who campaigned 20 years ago for a cap-and-trade plan to fight acid rain. “Before we walk away from that mechanism, I’d like for us to think long and hard about it,” said Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.). For their part, industry officials welcomed the challenge from environmental groups in the courtroom as they go after power plants and other industries via the EPA. “It’s ironic because that’s what killed the prospect of the legislation to
begin with,” said Karen Harbert, a top energy official at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
“Certainly, from an economic perspective this is a very self-defeating approach. Continued balkanization of the regulations doesn’t contribute to a healthy economy.” American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard said the climate bill died because it lacked public support, something that won’t improve by pursuing a strategy that emphasizes EPA, states and power plant permits given concerns about other pocketbook issues. “If they push too hard, there’s potential for further backlash,” Gerard said. “As they continue to raise the specter that they’re threatening jobs and economic recovery, then I think they’ve failed to listen closely to what the public is saying.”
Coal-state Democrats and Republicans are also taking aim at EPA’s rule-writing authority. Sen. John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) predicted a floor vote as early as September on his bill to stop the agency’s efforts for two years to give Congress more time on comprehensive legislation. “At this point, there’s going to be a rebellion,” said Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.). “EPA is likely to see its powers substantially curtailed.”
August 12, 2010 – Today in Manufacturing.net
Beijing acknowledged that only foreign companies have been forced to scrap or change business deals under its anti-monopoly law but rejected complaints it's discriminatory ... continue
HATCH HAILS PASSAGE OF NASA BILL
August 12, 2010 - Mark Eddington – Mainstreet Journal
Legislation Helps Utah’s Economy and ATK, Solid Rocket Motor Jobs
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) today praised the Senate’s passage of the NASA Authorization Bill by unanimous consent, saying it “could save thousands of Utah jobs.”
Within the reauthorization legislation is language Hatch worked to get included which creates payload requirements for a new heavy-lift Space Launch System. Industry experts, whom Hatch has consulted with, say the payload requirements can only be realistically met by using solid rocket motors, which are made in Utah. In addition, the legislation requires NASA to use, as much as possible, existing contracts, workforces and industries for the Space Shuttle and Ares rockets. This puts Utah’s solid rocket motor industry in a good position for future work.
“After many months of work, the passing of the NASA Authorization Bill signals potential for maintaining our civilian solid rocket motor capability,” Hatch said. “The NASA bill doesn’t bring back Constellation, but it does establish payload requirements for a new heavy-lift Space Launch System, which should use solid rocket motors. This could save thousands of Utah jobs.”
Six months ago the Obama administration announced the cancellation of Project Constellation. To many this signaled an end of manned-space flight and the end of civilian solid rocket motor production. This news resulted in more than 1,600 layoffs in Utah.
“This is a significant turning point for one of Utah’s most important industries. I believe the outlook for workers who produce solid rocket motors is a little brighter today with the passage of this bill,” Hatch said about the bill, which was passed late Thursday evening.
HATCH INTRODUCES BILL: REDUCE FEDERAL EMPLOYEES TO 2009 LEVELS
August 12, 2010 – Mainstreet Journal - Mark Eddington
WASHINGTON –Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) introduced legislation today aimed at cutting the bloated federal government down to size. The Reduce and Cap the Federal Workforce Act would reduce and limit the number of civilian federal workers to February 2009 levels.
“If we are to get our deficit under control, we need to rein in the runaway growth of our federal government,” Hatch said. “Simply put, the federal government is growing at breakneck speed and it is time to apply the brakes before it bankrupts the nation and the taxpayers. My bill is a commonsense approach to putting a halt to big government.”
Hatch said the numbers show why his legislation is needed. From 1981 through 2008, the senator noted, civilian workers numbered between 1.1 million and 1.2 million. The Obama administration is forecasting the government’s workforce this year will reach 2.15 million and serve 310 million Americans.
“That is almost a fifty percent increase since 2008,” Hatch said. “In 1974, former President Gerald Ford said: ‘A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.’ Today, we have an administration that seems hell bent on doing just that. That is unacceptable.”
The legislation would require the following:
· Three months after enactment, the head of each government agency – other than the CIA, FBI, Secret Service and Executive Office of President – will report the number of civilian employees within that agency on Feb 16, 2009, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
· If the number of employees is greater than existed on Feb 16, 2009, then each agency (except the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security) must, through attrition, reduce the number of employees to Feb. 16, 2009, levels
· Once the number of employees reaches Feb 16, 2009, levels, the head of each agency must ensure that those numbers remain the same. Thus, a hiring of a full time employee would require the reduction of another employee.
· The OMB would publicly disclose the total number of federal employees, the number of federal employees in each agency, and the salary of each federal employee.
· The Director of National Intelligence can exclude any employee from the above requirements if the director determines that such a disclosure would pose a threat to national security.
Hatch’s bill legislation is supported by the American Conservative Union, Americans for Limited Government and Americans for Tax Reform .
August 12, 2010 – LateWire from Manufacturing.net
Labor Department says company job openings fell for the second straight month in June, a sign that hiring isn't likely to pick up in the coming months ... continue
August 12, 2010 – Today in Manufacturing.net
U.S. employment picture is looking bleaker as applications for jobless benefits rose last week to the highest level in almost six months ... continue
August 12, 2010 – LateWire from Manufacturing.net
President will sign a bill Wednesday that will help U.S. manufacturers by reducing and suspending some tariffs on certain materials they must import to make products ... continue
Note: he signed it yesterday.
TEXAS SUES OVER OFFSHORE DRILLING BAN
August 12, 2010 – Today in Manufacturing.net
Claiming the ban is unjustified, Texas attorney general sued the Obama administration Wednesday over its new deep-water offshore drilling moratorium ... continue
U.S. TRADE DEFICIT REPORT BAD NEWS FOR MANUFACTURING
August 12, 2010 – Today in Manufacturing.net
Trade deficit surged in June to the highest level since October 2008 as imports hit an all-time high and exports faltered, representing a setback for U.S. manufacturers ... continue
UTAH’S AVERAGE PRICE INCREASES 3 CENTS
August 12, 2010 – Mainstreet Journal
Gasoline Prices Creep Upward
SALT LAKE CITY, August 10, 2010 – Motorists are casting a wary eye at the pump as the latest report from AAA Utah finds the state’s average gas price is inching upward.
According to AAA Utah, Utah’s average gas price is up three cents to $2.90 a gallon compared to last month’s survey on July 13. Utah’s current price is one cent higher than a week ago and 30 cents higher than a year ago. In the lower 48 states, only California, Idaho, Nevada, New York, Oregon and Washington have average prices higher than Utah.
When comparing gasoline prices in the lower 48 states before taxes and fees are added, Utah had the highest price from March 24 through June 26. Since June 26, Utah has ranked in the top five states. In comparing prices at the pump for all 50 states, Utah’s average price has been above the national average since January 26, 2010.
The national average for regular is now $2.78, a 7-cent increase since last month’s AAA survey. The highest average price in the country is $3.54 in Alaska. California’s average of $3.18 per gallon is the highest price in the lower 48 states.
“Even though there has been a slight rise in the statewide average pump price over the past month, the overall up and down nature of prices across Utah reflects the mixed signals that exist when it comes to the economy and the demand for gasoline,” said AAA Utah spokesperson Rolayne Fairclough. “Uncertainly about the economy and forecasts for a highly active storm season continue to influence how investors look at oil as a commodity to invest in. These factors have helped to keep the price for a barrel of oil around the $80 mark.”
According to the Federal Highway Administration’s vehicle miles traveled (VMT) data, July and August are historically the months in which Americans drive the most miles. Fuel demand during these two months generally provides the support for higher fuel prices in the summer. Last week, the Department of Energy (DOE) report showed mixed energy demand data.
Gasoline demand topped 9.6 million barrels a day, the highest weekly figure of 2010 and the highest number since August 2007. The DOE report defied many analysts’ predictions, as crude oil supplies continue to rise amid the reported increase in demand.
There was no pattern recorded in the Utah cities survey by AAA. Some had increases, some decreases and some prices remained the same since last month’s report. Logan and St. George have the same average price this month as in July. The average price in Logan is $2.90. St. George’s price is $2.91. Provo, Salt Lake City and Ogden recorded increases. The average price in Provo is $2.86, a four-cent increase from July’s report. Salt Lake City’s average price of $2.85 is also four cents higher than a month ago. Ogden’s price increased two cents. The average price in Ogden is $2.84. Vernal recorded a drop of two cents this month. The average price in Vernal is $2.92. Moab recorded the greatest drop at seven cents. The average price in Moab is $2.92.
All of the surrounding states reported increases since last month’s AAA report. Idaho’s average price rose seven cents to $2.95 for a gallon of regular, self-serve gasoline. Montana’s price increased three cents to $2.89. Wyoming’s price rose but only by one cent to $2.78. Colorado’s price increased four cents to $2.71. New Mexico motorists saw a whopping 10-cent increase to the current average, $2.84. Arizona’s price inched up two cents to $2.78. Nevada’s current average price, $2.97, is four cents higher than last month.
The current average prices in destination cities in the west are: Los Angeles, $3.15; San Diego, $3.16 San Francisco, $3.27; Las Vegas, $2.87; Reno, $3.16; Phoenix, $2.77 Denver, $2.65 Boise, $2.93; Portland, $3.01; and Seattle, $3.11.
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