Increased wind speed late yesterday started putting oil on Gulf Coast beaches about 10:00pm last night. Our colleagues at the Gulf Restoration Network are working hard to deal with the oil onslaught. The federal government is stepping up their response and making sure we all know they are. White House political chief David Axelrod announced this morning that they are putting off any new drilling until the administration conducts an “adequate review.” Let’s hope that means at least an immediate moratorium for the Atlantic coast and the Arctic, where drilling could go forward this summer. (Could you imagine a similar spill scenario that occurs under Arctic sheet ice? With no oil booms, skimmer boats, 100-ton steel caps or airplanes dumping “dispersants” in sight?) Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida has already announced he will introduce legislation to ban drilling off the coast of Florida, and Senate Dems are becoming more vocal against the starkly illustrated threats of drilling. It seems like the political currents might be shifting.

Ocean currents are themselves fascinating forces of nature. The currents and internal waves in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank are what help to make New England’s ocean so incredibly productive. The currents are corridors of life for all ocean wildlife from migrating whales to free-floating larvae. They also connect the kelp on the coasts to the deepwater corals in far offshore canyons. CLF has fought hard in the past and again in recent years to make sure Georges Bank was protected from oil drilling, but really Georges Bank is just as threatened by oil drilling that occurs off the coast of Maryland, not to mention across the Canadian border.  So, when you are looking south to the unfolding disaster in the Gulf of Mexico don’t forget to look to the north to see what our Canadian neighbors are proposing.

As if New Orleans hasn’t suffered enough, Yahoo News and the Times Picayune are now reporting that the Crescent City’s residents are being assaulted by the odor emanating from the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  Apparently strong winds are blowing fuel-scented fumes into the city from the massive oil slick that is now just a few miles from the Louisiana coast.  Yahoo News quotes one resident as saying that “it smells like it’d smell if a bus was in front of you blowing out exhaust fumes right in your face.”

It’s pretty hard to chant “Drill, baby, drill” when you are gagging on the fumes from a nasty oil spill.  I hope Louisiana’s Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu, a longtime apologist for the oil industry and agitator for more off-shore oil exploitation will spend some time with her constituents being forced to breathe in the noxious stench that her petroleum patrons have unleashed through their carelessness.

What is there to say about the latest oil spill disaster? My first few attempts at writing would have had to been translated into cartoon epithets  – “^%*) BP oil $#(*^~ %&#*!!”

What we did predict and now know is that: A) the impacts will continue to get worse, B) the experts who promised time and again that they could handle a spill of this type clearly have no clue how to stop the mess or clean it up, and, C) the government that was supposed to provide adult supervision oversight has largely left it to the industry experts. However, the oil industry safety awards program was cancelled this week so they could focus on the tragedy at hand.

As best we know around 5000 barrels of oil a day are flowing out now. Recent predictions are that it could wash across the Gulf of Mexico, into the Florida Keys and up the Atlantic coast of Florida. Over 30% of the “chemical dispersant” that exists in the world is being used in the Gulf of Mexico right now. The Coast Guard is experimenting with open sea burning of several hundred gallons of oil at a time. BP Oil says they are spending $6 million a day on the spill. Wow. Six million a day. That’s a lot of money. I wonder if it includes this week’s American Petroleum Industry lobby week?

An hour ago in the White House Rose Garden President Obama promised the full effort of the US Government to help clean up the spill. Pay now or pay later, friends. The cost of oil is very predictable and always going up.

Yesterday, Interior Secretary Salazar gave us a glimpse of our clean energy future by announcing his approval of the Cape Wind project. CLF has worked tirelessly on this project for many years, and the decision was momentous for our organization and others in the environmental, labor and business communities who recognize Cape Wind’s enormous potential for our region and our country.

However, as Governor Patrick cautioned a room of enthusiastic Cape Wind supporters after the announcement, thoughtful people can and will disagree on projects like Cape Wind. It is both an asset and a challenge for New England that our landscape, and even our seascape, is small. Every project will impact somebody. By virtue of our physical proximity we are, quite literally, all in this together. And so, more than any other region in the country perhaps, New Englanders must have a shared vision for our energy future.

That future, as Secretary Salazar said poignantly yesterday, will be built on clean energy. We will have more wind power, off- and on-shore. We will have more solar and geothermal power, where it makes sense. We will increase energy efficiency, which makes sense everywhere. We will reduce our use of fossil fuels in general and coal in particular. We will grow our economy, create new jobs and support a high quality of life and the environment.

New England is the perfect place to start. We are good at using our landscape in thrifty ways to live well and in close connection to nature. CLF is committed to a vision of an energy future that will meet our reasonable needs, keep the lights on at reasonable cost, and cause minimal harm to the environment. It is a vision we believe that most New Englanders will embrace. As with Cape Wind, we will not stop until that vision becomes reality. Then we will show the rest of the nation and the world how it’s done.

Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,
John Kassel

On this 40th anniversary of Earth Day, I’m going to cut right to the chase. Earlier in the month, a generous donor issued CLF a challenge: If we reach 400 donations by Midnight on Earth Day, he will donate $40,000 to our most vital work—like climate change and clean energy.

Here’s the clincher: We are exactly 38 donations short of our goal, and only a few hours remain until our deadline.

That is why we need you to act now—your donation of just $10, or whatever you can afford, will bring us one huge step closer to our goal. How else can you turn a gift as small as $10 into $40,000 for New England’s environment?

Here’s what we’ll do with your gift:

• Hold Dominion Energy responsible for cleaning up Salem Harbor Station and paying millions of dollars in penalties retroactively.
• Advocate for renewable energy initiatives, like the 130-turbine Cape Wind project.
• Continue to put pressure New England’s on dirtiest coal plants—and hold polluters accountable for violations of the federal Clean Air Act and state environmental standards
• Push for policies that support greater energy efficiency through a process known as decoupling, lowering energy demands and CO2 emissions in New England.
• Reduce our region’s carbon footprint. CLF will advocate for the adoption and implementation of a Northeast and Mid-Atlantic “Low Carbon Fuel Standard”— potentially cutting our region’s carbon dioxide emissions by a staggering 29 million metric tons annually.
• Defend the precedent-setting California Low Carbon Fuel Standard from attacks in federal litigation.
• Ensure that New England continues to lead the country. Fighting alongside congressional staff, senators and representatives to prevent federal legislation that undermines the ability of New England states to lead in clean car standards.

But we can’t accomplish any of this without you.

On this Earth Day, secure a giant victory for New England’s environment by helping us win $40,000! 38 donations are needed—please help us close the gap!

In the spirit of the Federal rebates for efficient appliances discussed in a prior post this  message just came in from Jack Ruderman, the Director of the Sustainable Energy Division at the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission:

Friends – I am delighted to report that the Commission is now accepting applications for the residential solar hot water rebate program.  Two rebates are offered:  a State rebate of $600, $750, or $900 depending on system output, and a federal appliance rebate of $750 per system.  The State rebate is funded by New Hampshire’s Renewable Energy Fund, while the federal rebate is funded with federal stimulus funds made available by the Office of Energy and Planning.  There is enough funding available from both sources to provide rebates for up to 660 systems over the next two years.

We anticipate that this program will lead to a surge in demand for solar water heating systems and will create new jobs in the alternative energy sector, while also reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and cutting emissions of greenhouse gasses.  This program will complement the Commission’s existing rebate program for residential solar electric and wind systems, which to date has received 285 applications for renewable energy systems across the state, and has created new business for 129 alternative energy businesses and electricians.

The Commission’s Order approving this program is attached.   The rebate applications are posted on the Commission’s website and can also be accessed directly with these links: State Solar Water Heating Application; Federal Solar water Heating Application; Step 2 Solar Water Heating Application

Many thanks to all of the stakeholders who participated in the public comment process and provided valuable input and feedback on the design of this program.

And please stay tuned – we will be bringing additional rebate programs on line over the next several months – one for commercial scale renewable energy systems and another for residential wood pellet heating systems.

Happy Earth Day!

Note that Mr. Ruderman tells us that only 660 systems will be paid for across New Hampshire by this program so if you want to heat your water without burning some fossil fuels then act now.

As implementation of the energy efficiency funding in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act continues to roll forward a window is about to open that will allow buyers of energy efficient appliances to receive substantial rebates.

There is real concern that these programs could prove so popular that the window for getting the rebates will open and close very quickly.  Some states, like Massachusetts, are offering the opportunity to reserve a chance to reserve the rebates  ($250 per dishwasher, $200 per refrigerator, $175 per clothes washer and $50 per freezer) in advance – the Online Reservation Tool to make that happen is scheduled to “go live” at 10:00 AM on April 22, although you can check at the same web page to see what stores are pre-qualified (pretty much all appliance sellers, although note that Boston neighborhoods like Dorchester are listed separately in the alphabetical list of stores) and what models will earn you a rebate.

Some states, like Rhode Island, have given out all their rebate funds – in that case people replacing appliances ruined in flooded basements may have played a role.

To see what the story is in your state click on your state on this map on the U.S. Department of Energy Website.

And if you are buying an energy efficient appliance after these particular rebates are exhausted (they only work in pre-qualified physical stores) or just want to pick up some really cool light bulbs be sure to take a look at the CLF online store operated by the Energy Federation featuring the best of all such stuff and where every purchase benefits CLF.

If President Obama can make the case that “insulation is sexy stuff” in a moment captured on video then we can say that providing the residents of Massachusetts with the chance to save money while staying warm in the winter is sexy as well.

The situation is simple – the federal government sets minimum efficiency standards for furnaces.  If a state wants to have tougher rules, ensuring that furnaces sold in that state use less fuel and produce less global warming pollution, it must ask permission from the feds to do so.  Massachusetts has done so.

CLF submitted a letter in support of this request by Massachusetts.  Among other things we noted the high numbers of renters in Massachusetts compared to the national average and how renters can’t choose the furnace that heats their home, making minimal efficiency standards all the more important.

Ok, we admit this isn’t really sexy.  But it is very important and CLF is proud to be doing this kind of effort in alliance with the consumer advocates at the National Consumer Law Center (who happen to be housed in offices right across the street from CLF’s Boston office) and the experts at the Appliance Standards Awareness Project.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens’ announcement that he will retire from the United States Supreme Court will bring some much needed attention to the larger issue of judicial nominations under the Obama Administration. 

These days, it is hard to  find a good word to say about the ultraconservative majority of the United States Supreme Court that Justice Stevens has tried, with limited success, to counterbalance.  That’s especially true for those who care about clean water (query: because clean water is fundamental to human survival and prosperity, shouldn’t we all care about clean water?)  In a few short years, the Roberts’ Court’s rulings have managed to seriously undermine and restrict one of America’s most important and successful laws–the Clean Water Act. 

For example, the NewYork Times recently reported on the chaos one of the Court’s rulings has created:

Thousands of the nation’s largest water polluters are outside the Clean Water Act’s reach because the Supreme Court has left uncertain which waterways are protected by that law, according to interviews with regulators.   As a result, some businesses are declaring that the law no longer applies to them.  And pollution rates are rising.

A majority of these Justices seems intent on handing down a death sentence to the Clean Water Act

In another example from 2009, Coeur Alaska v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Corps., the Court badly misinterpreted the CLEAN WATER ACT to reach the conclusion that a gold mining operation was entitled to a permit allowing it to discharge “210,000 gallons per day of mining waste into Lower Slate Lake, a 23-acre subalpine lake in Tongass National Forest,” even though the ” ‘tailings slurry’ ” would “contain concentrations of aluminum, copper, lead, and mercury” and would “kill all of the lake’s fish and nearly all of its other aquatic life.” 

President Obama has an important opportunity, actually I would argue it’s a responsibility, to rebalance the federal judiciary after years of ultraconservative domination and transformation.  (If you want to understand how the judiciary was so effectively radicalized by the right, read Jeffrey Toobin’s book “The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court.”).  The administration’s slow pace and cautious character in nominating people to fill court vacancies has been drawing criticism since November of last year as evidenced by this New York Times editorial.  Unfortunately, recent reporting in the L.A. Times indicates that President Obama still hasn’t made much progress due to a combination of White House inattention and timidity and Republican obstructionism in the Senate.

Terrible judicial decisions, like those discussed above, are turning this country’s essential environmental protection laws on their heads and at the same time putting the public health and environmental sustainability of this country at great risk.  America has some excellent environmental laws.  To be sure, we need to make them stronger to deal more effectively with newly-understood challenges like global climate chaos.  But when we have judges who are ideologically unwilling to affirm the pollution-controlling principles set forth in the laws, we have no hope of achieving the level of environmental protection essential for our continued national prosperity.  

If we want to ensure that our environmental laws work to keep us healthy and happy, we must urge President Obama to follow the lead of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in appointing judges like the late Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas. 

Former Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas understood the purpose of our environmental laws and the values that motivated their enactment by bi-partisan majorities of Congress

Justice Douglas truly understood the values that informed Congress’ adoption of such successful laws as the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Wilderness Act.  In his 1961 memoir “My Wilderness; East to Katahdin,” Douglas expounded on the value of rivers as public resources:

“Rivers are choice national assests reserved for all the people.  Industry that pours its refuse into rivers and the other commercial interests that use these water highways do not have monopoly rights.  People have broader interests than moneymaking. Recreation, health, and enjoyment of aesthetic values are part of man’s liberty.  Rivers play an important role in keeping this idea of liberty alive.”

For this and all the other ideas of liberty that are threatened by a judiciary dominated by radical conservatives, we must take action.  Call or email the White House and ask president Obama to find us the men and women who will follow in the tradition of Justice Douglas, and help the president fight to get them appointed to the federal courts.