Climate Change Solutions

Guest writer: Climate Change Legislation & Electricity Bills

8/6/2010

By: Richard Jensen, Ph. D.
Professor of Economics

University of Notre Dame

The debate about climate change legislation has provided estimates of the increase in annual electricity cost that range from $219 to $5 per household. Some have even estimated that the average electricity bill will decrease by $120 by the end of the decade.

 

Under this legislation, firms must buy permits for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. This will increase their costs, at least initially, and they will pass as much of this as they can to customers in higher prices. Burning coal to produce electricity is a major source of CO2 emissions, and over 90% of electricity in Indiana is produced with coal, so just how much this legislation will cost is critical to us.

 

Perhaps I can demystify this confusing disparity. Estimates like this are an attempt to predict the future. This requires making assumptions about how people will behave as consumers and producers in the future. In these cases it is common to have a range of estimates. The climate scientists of the IPCC estimate that the increase in average temperature by the year 2100 could be as little as 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit or as much as 14.4  degrees. This variation results from different assumptions about human behavior as well as complex physical interactions. The more people act to mitigate climate change, the lower the estimated temperature increase.

 

Similarly, the highest estimates of future electricity bills assume we do not respond to the higher prices resulting when firms buy pollution permits. But people will adapt. We always do. When gasoline prices spiked after Katrina, people eliminated unnecessary trips, car pooled, and bought fuel-efficient cars. If climate legislation passes, and prices rise, consumers will have even greater incentive to conserve electricity, turning off lights, unplugging appliances, using CFL bulbs, and installing energy-efficient windows and appliances. Inventors and entrepreneurs will have a greater incentive to develop renewable and clean energy. If these efforts are widespread and succeed, electricity bills could indeed fall. It is worth remembering that the costs of reducing sulfur dioxide emissions under a cap-and-trade system were less than originally predicted.

 

However, these adaptations cannot be taken for granted. Replacing household appliances and conducting R&D is costly, and takes time. Therefore any climate change legislation must be comprehensive – not only limiting CO2 emissions, but also providing relief for households which can ill afford higher electricity bills, subsidies for conversion to energy-efficient appliances, and relief for small businesses and workers adversely affected by the cost increases.

 

It is also essential to provide federal funding to the scientists who are at the forefront of clean energy R&D. Historically, innovation has been a primary driver of economic growth. The green revolution in agriculture prevented famine in many countries, and gave us the potential to feed everyone. With the right policies and incentives in place, a second green revolution in renewable energy could end our dependence on fossil fuels and their adverse environmental effects, and be an engine of economic growth for the next generation.

 

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Less Pollution & More Savings at the Pump

7/1/2010

Cleaner Cars, Less Reliance on Oil, Better Mileage, More Jobs,
Less Pollution and More Savings at the Pump

 

                                                By:      Howard A. Learner

                                                            Executive Director,

                                                            Environmental Law & Policy Center

The BP oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has awakened many Americans to the dangers of our addiction to oil. The latest polls show that most Americans want to find cleaner and safer ways to power their cars and heat their homes. The good news is that a shift to more fuel efficient cars and trucks will both improve the environment and boost our economy.

The BP oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has awakened many Americans to the dangers of our addiction to oil. The latest polls show that most Americans want to find cleaner and safer ways to power their cars and heat their homes. The good news is that a shift to more fuel efficient cars and trucks will both improve the environment and boost our economy.

 

Under the new federal greenhouse gas reduction and fuel economy standards that were finalized in Spring, the average fuel economy for passenger cars will increase from 27.5 mpg in 2009 to 37.8 mpg by 2016 – an improvement of almost 40 percent. Building cleaner cars will reduce lifetime greenhouse gas pollution from vehicles produced between 2012 and 2016 by more than 655 million tons. That’s a big step forward.
 

 

The shift toward cleaner cars provides an opportunity for new manufacturing centers and product lines in Indiana, as automakers develop more efficient technologies and better pollution controls. In Elkhart, for example, former RV builders will now be manufacturing electric vehicles for Think motors.  Think is planning to produce about 20,000 vehicles annually in Elkhart by 2013.  Likewise, just outside of Indianapolis, EnerDel will soon employ up to 1,400 people manufacturing batteries for electric vehicle.
 

 

Indiana’s pool of highly trained autoworkers will be building the cars – and the economy – of the future.  These good manufacturing jobs are “green jobs” for our future.

 

The new federal technology-forcing and innovation-encouraging standards for the cars of the future are expected to save as much as 11.6 billion gallons of gasoline per year by 2016. That's equivalent to half the oil that the U.S. imports from Saudi Arabia each year. That reduction in gasoline purchases will save consumers around $35 billion annually at the pump if gas costs $3 per gallon.

 

The transition to cleaner cars should be accompanied by deploying modern technologies to clean up and diversify our electricity generating sources. Driving an electric car doesn’t help clean up the environment as much if it’s charged by electricity generated by older, highly-polluting coal plants.  We can and should use clean power to charge plug-in hybrids and other electric vehicles.  Let's build charging stations powered mostly by wind and solar energy.
 

 

Solar energy is most available on the hot, sunny afternoons when power market prices are highest and the power is needed most. If electric vehicle charging stations are powered by solar, the pollution equation works well. Let's try to locate charging stations in places where there is good solar access. The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission and the Legislature should also adopt robust “net metering” rates and standards for the charging stations to sell valuable solar-generated power back into the grid when it is not fully used for charging cars.

 

Indiana can and should be a leader in gaining the jobs of the future from building new, cleaner cars that increase our energy independence, reduce pollution and save us money at the pump. Getting cleaner, more efficient cars on the roads is a key step forward for reducing our oil dependence. As the BP oil spill disaster unfortunately reminds us daily, business as usual is not the right path for our economy and environment.  Let's be smarter and do better.

 

Howard A. Learner is the executive director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center, the Midwest’s leading environmental and economic development advocacy organization.  www.elpc.org and www.globalwarmingsolutions.org

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High Speed Rail is a Winner for the Public

2/19/2010

By: Howard A. Learner, Environmental Law and Policy Center

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Now's the Time for Midwest Solar

10/28/2009

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Midwest High-Speed Rail: On the Fast Track

8/7/2009

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Seizing Green Economy Opportunities for Indiana

3/19/2009

By: Howard A. Learner, Environmental Law and Policy Center

Energy, environmental, employment, economic and national security goals are converging. President Obama and Congress are moving toward realigning our nation to accelerate clean energy development to create new jobs and achieve significant greenhouse gas pollution reductions. The federal economic stimulus legislation provided robust financial incentives for renewable energy development and energy efficiency improvements, and upcoming energy policy legislation should provide more support. Clean energy development is a win-win-win for job creation, economic growth and better environmental quality.  Here are three major opportunities:

Energy Efficiency: Making our homes, businesses and public buildings more energy efficient is a no-brainer. We really can’t afford costly energy waste in today’s economy when household budgets and businesses’ bottom lines are very strained. Retrofitting buildings with more efficient lighting, heating and cooling, windows and other equipment will create new good-paying electrical, plumbing, carpentry and other construction jobs.

Energy efficiency reduces utility bills, thus helping both businesses’ bottom lines and household budgets. It plugs the billion dollar energy drain that is leaking Indiana’s money to states that produce natural gas. Energy efficiency is the best, fastest, cleanest and cheapest way to meet power needs and avoid global warming pollution. 

The economic stimulus legislation provides $20 billion more for energy efficiency, including block grants to the states and increased weatherization assistance. The energy efficiency industry is poised for rapid growth in Indiana and nationally.

Wind Power is the nation’s fastest growing energy resource. Indiana has strong wind power generating potential in areas northwest of Lafayette, northwest of Indianapolis and east of Muncie. For a nice map of windy areas, please see http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/images/windmaps/in_50m_800.jpg

Huge wind turbine blades and towers are increasingly being made near the installation sites in the Midwest to ease transportation and logistics. States with supportive policies are gaining more business, and Indiana is well-positioned to benefit from the national renewable energy standard being considered by Congress. For a list of Indiana wind energy businesses, see http://energy.sourceguides.com/businesses/byGeo/US/byS/IN/byP/wRP/wRP.shtml.

New Higher-Speed Passenger Rail:  The economic stimulus legislation includes $9.3 billion for high-speed rail and improved Amtrak service. The Midwest high-speed rail network will connect 11 major cities within a 400-mile radius of Chicago and the mid-sized cities in between. Modern, fast, comfortable and convenient trains can work for the Midwest as well as the East Coast.

The new Chicago – Lafayette – Indianapolis – Cincinnati rail service corridor has been designated as a priority by the federal government and is part of the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative. These new trains can improve transportation mobility, pull together the regional economy, create jobs and help the environment by reducing pollution. Business groups, labor unions and the Environmental Law & Policy Center are all on board and working together. Let’s get this new rail service going – it’s time for Governor Daniels and other Indiana political leaders to step up with stronger support.

Solving global warming problems is our generation’s moral, business, policy, political and technological challenge. Fortunately, clean energy development and cleaner transportation strategies can help meet this challenge in ways that are good for jobs, good for the economy and good for the environment. 

The global economy is transforming with the rapidly growing trillion dollar clean energy technology sector. Lots of jobs and money are at stake. Indiana should seize the strategic opportunities and use its competitive advantages to help lead the growing green economy of the future.

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Making the New Green Deal Happen Now

1/29/2009

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Gearing Up to Advance the Green Economy

11/14/2008

     

By: Howard A. Learner, Environmental Law and Policy Center

It’s time to gear up to seize the opportunities to advance a greener economy and cleaner environment with the new Administration and new Congress.  In previous blog posts, I’ve discussed how Indiana and other Heartland states can become business and economic winners in growing the new green economy. When it comes to public policy changes, Indiana and other Midwest and Great Plains states are also linchpins to reform.

Twelve Midwest and Great Plains states contain many of the key swing senators and representatives. They will have a disproportionate role in determining whether national global warming legislation is strong or weak.  We live and work in the most pivotal region in the most important country in the world when it comes to solving our global warming problems.  We need to understand how clean energy development and global warming solutions work well in these key swing states. Here are some policy changes that can be achieved with the new Obama Administration and new Congress:

Þ    National policies to significantly boost energy efficiency standards.  In a tight economy, we really can’t afford to waste energy and pass up energy cost savings. Energy efficiency is the best, fastest and cheapest way to reduce global warming pollution. It makes even more sense to save energy dollars and avoid pollution when household budgets are tight and businesses’ bottom lines are suffering.

Þ    Enact a national Renewable Energy Standard policy that ramps up wind and solar power, and other clean energy to be 10% of the nation’s energy supply by 2012 and 25% by 2025.  This is a win-win-win: stimulating our stalled economy through development in both urban and rural communities, creating new green jobs, and improving environmental quality for everyone.  Let’s end the partisan filibustering that has held back wind and solar power and, instead, achieve consistent and strong federal policy support.

Þ    Put America on a leadership path for solving global warming problems: it is the moral, business, economic, policy, political and technology challenge of our generation. It’s time for Congress to enact strong federal legislation to reduce global warming pollution and provide stronger incentives for clean energy solutions.

But let’s not kid ourselves; achieving this agenda won’t be easy. Ideological opponents are seizing on our country’s economic crisis as a reason to put off action.  But the scientists tell us that we must start now to seriously reduce global warming pollution.  We can’t just hit the “pause” button and hold off on corrective actions until the economy gets better.  Besides, energy efficiency saves us money, and clean energy solutions can create jobs and grow the green economy.

Keep an eye on what’s happening with American automakers pivoting to market plug-in electric hybrids and other clean cars sooner than previously advertised, accelerated deployment of clean wind power, technological breakthroughs with solar energy, advancements in new, more efficient battery technologies, and a lot more energy efficient homes, businesses and public buildings.   

 

American technological innovation and leadership is focusing on cleaner energy and cleaner car technologies that can provide environmental solutions that can create the jobs of the future and grow the greener economy of the future.  Let’s gear up to achieve positive change for America’s environment and greener economy.

Howard A. Learner is the executive director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center, the Midwest’s leading environmental and economic development advocacy organization.  www.elpc.org and www.globalwarmingsolutions.org

 

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Smart Strategy in Troubled Times

9/28/2008

By: Howard A. Lentfer, Environmental Law and Policy Center

 

 Let’s face it.  America’s economy is bad shape.  Some will seize upon the troubled times to argue that we should cut back on investing in clean energy and environmental protection.  But that’s the wrong direction both for today and for the future.

 

For today, energy efficiency makes even more sense in tight times for our bank accounts.  Businesses can’t afford to waste energy and drain their bottom lines from high energy bills, while causing more pollution to our environment.  Improving energy efficiency is an investment that can achieve a healthy return. Smart businesses are finding that the return on their energy efficiency investments is a profit-center.

 

The Alliance to Save Energy explains this well.  “Industry accounts for one-third of all energy use in the U.S. Energy-intensive industrial plants typically have enormous energy bills, sometimes running into the millions of dollars annually. Energy efficiency improvements offer the potential for a significant return on investment for the industrial energy consumer in the form of lower utility bills, as well as for the public in the form of reduced pollution and energy prices.”

 

The same is true for improving energy efficiency in our homes.  “Investing in a home on your street could be more profitable than investing on Wall Street,” says the energy team at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.  These days – no kidding!  Energy efficiency lightens the load on our energy bills and bank accounts.  It’s a safe and sound investment.

 

Take a look at the following chart showing the high profitability of energy efficiency upgrades. http://hes.lbl.gov/hes/profitable_dat.html   That sure looks pretty good right now. 

 

The U.S. is beginning to invest more heavily in clean renewable energy technologies and cleaner, more fuel efficient cars of the future.  Let’s not give up and stop investing in these clean technologies of the future and cede the next generation’s global leadership to other countries that do invest.  Do we really want to stay dependent on foreign oil by not producing cars here that can get 50 miles per gallon or better? 

 

America should invest more in upgrading energy efficiency because it saves us money, creates jobs and avoids pollution today and over the next ten years.  America should invest in getting more plug-in electric hybrids and other clean cars on the road as soon as possible, achieving technological breakthroughs with solar energy and greater utilization of wind energy, and gaining advances in new, more efficient battery technologies.  In today’s challenging economic times, these investments are even smarter and more sensible.

Howard A. Learner is the executive director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center, the Midwest’s leading environmental and economic development advocacy organization.  www.elpc.org and www.globalwarmingsolutions.org

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CFL's - A Building Block for Global Warming Solutions

8/15/2008

 

By: Howard A. Learner, Environmental Law and Policy Center

The naysayers keep arguing that reducing global warming pollution is too expensive, too hard, will cost too much money and will irreparably harm our economy.  We’ve heard this refrain before.  Seat belts supposedly will dramatically increase the costs of cars, make no safety difference and Americans won’t use them.  Catalytic converters supposedly won’t really reduce pollution and will make cars unaffordable.  Reducing sulfur dioxide that causes acid rain supposedly will cost electric utilities $2,000 - $3,000 per ton, cause electric rates to skyrocket and not help the environment very much.

 

Well, look what happened:  Seat belts are an incidental car cost component, have saved many, many, many lives, and all of us have gotten used to snapping on our seat belts because it’s sensible, as well as legally required.  Catalytic converters have, indeed, reduced a lot of air pollution from cars, and there aren’t many complaints today.  Both have avoided added health costs and insurance costs.

 

The federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, which set up the cap-and-trade program to reduce sulfur dioxide pollution from coal plants, triggered a wave of technological advances, as well as simple at-the-coal-plant engineering tweaks and fixes, that have reduced acid rain, leading to demonstrable environmental improvements in our rivers, lakes and forests, as well as less public health harms.  Sulfur dioxide pollution credits are trading today around $150 per ton, instead of the utilities’ inflated arguments that they would cost 15-20 times more.  (Yes, Indiana would be better off if more utilities had installed scrubbers on their coal plants, rather than switching to lower-sulfur western coal.)

 

So when you hear that economic disaster will somehow befall the United States if we step up and act to help solve our global warming problems, think about the facts, the above history, and Americans’ capacity for technological innovation, especially when given the right mix of regulatory and financial market incentives.

 

No, it won’t be easy.  And, it won’t always be cheap, and it may be painful for some of the more polluting industries and their workers.  But it won’t always be difficult and costly.  Let’s look at one good example. 

 The Indianapolis Zoo is right on target with its My Carbon Pledge goal of engaging people to “change one million incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs in the state of Indiana in 2008.”  Here’s happens when Americans convert their old incandescent bulbs to CFLs.

 First of all, you know the basic numbers.  CFLs use 75% less electricity than incandescent bulbs to produce the same amount of illumination (thereby saving you money on your electricity bills), avoid CO2 and other pollution from coal plants (thereby improving our health and environment), and last 7-10 times longer than incandescent bulbs (thereby sparing us time and energy to reach up to keep changing those ceiling bulbs).

 Second, because of various state and proposed federal laws, as well as market factors, incandescent bulbs are likely to be largely phased out over the next five years.  When you go to shop at Loew’s (the My Carbon Pledge co-sponsor), most of what you’ll being seeing on the shelves are modern CFLs, not incandescent bulbs.

 Third, here are the numbers that might knock your socks off.  Residential consumers account for about 40% of the electricity demand in many communities, and lighting accounts for about 20%-25% of their electricity use.  That means around 8% of overall electricity demand is due to residential lighting.  Replacing incandescent bulbs with CFLs, which use 75% less electricity, will thereby reduce overall electricity demand by about 6%.  Since coal plants are responsible for about 40% of the region’s global warming pollution, this one residential sector change alone – which saves people money – will reduce overall CO2 pollution by about 2.5%

 That doesn’t even take into account what business, city halls, hospitals, schools, park facilities, religious houses of worship, and sports stadiums can do with more efficient lighting.  A quiet market revolution is taking place through sophisticated lighting technologies and more efficient appliances, computers, motors and controls. We're at a tipping point, as higher energy prices and technological advances kick in.

As I mentioned in my blog last month, commercial lighting technologies today are much more energy efficient, with high-tech control systems and ballasts. The paybacks are robust, and financing is widely available for building improvements. It is practically property management malpractice to ignore these opportunities in downtown office buildings. Constructing new buildings without state-of-the-art energy efficiency makes little economic sense.

What’s more:  Super-efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are coming into the market. They are far more efficient than incandescent bulbs, last longer than CFLs and can produce light in any color. LEDs are now marketed as a high-end product, but prices will soon be falling.

Of course, CFLs, LEDs and other lighting efficiencies, alone, won’t be nearly enough progress to solve our global warming problems.  But they are a good start, and this is indicative of additional opportunities and technological innovations that can advance global warming solutions that are good for the economy, can create new green jobs and are good for the environment. 

 

What’s next?  Keep an eye on what’s happening with Detroit automakers pivoting to market plug-in electric hybrids and other clean cars sooner than previously advertised, technological breakthroughs with solar energy, and advancements in new, more efficient battery technologies.  It won’t be easy, but we can get going faster and further on global warming solutions than the naysayers are arguing.

Howard A. Learner is the executive director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center, the Midwest’s leading environmental and economic development advocacy organization.  www.elpc.org and www.globalwarmingsolutions.org

 

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Energy Efficiency Strategies

7/18/2008

By: Howard A. Learner, Environmental Law and Policy Center

Implementing modern, clean energy efficiency technologies is the best, fastest and cheapest way to meet Indiana’s home and business power and heating needs and help solve global warming problems.

Smart energy efficiency strategies and equipment can save money for consumers while avoiding pollution. More energy efficiency keeps money circulating in Indiana's economy, rather than paying for natural gas and the coal that is purchased from out-of-state.

 

Last year, Illinois enacted legislation with energy efficiency performance standards that are among the nation's best. The two major electric utilities – Commonwealth Edison and Ameren – are now required to implement and ramp up cost-effective programs designed to achieve a 2% overall net annual reduction in electricity demand by 2015. This is smart policy and savvy environmental and economic development strategy for Illinois.  This policy makes equal sense for Indiana.

At the same time, a quiet market revolution is taking place through sophisticated lighting technologies and more efficient appliances, computers, motors and controls. We're at a tipping point, as higher energy prices and technological advances kick in.

For example, commercial lighting technologies today are much more energy efficient, with high-tech control systems and ballasts. The paybacks are robust, and financing is widely available for building improvements. It is practically property management malpractice to ignore these opportunities in downtown office buildings. Constructing new buildings without state-of-the-art energy efficiency makes little economic sense.

Today's incandescent light bulbs will be replaced largely by compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) over the next five years. The European Union is phasing out incandescent bulbs. Many manufacturers will soon stop marketing them here. CFLs use 75% less electricity to achieve the same illumination, and they last longer. This one market transformation alone can reduce electricity demand by about 10%.

Super-efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are coming into the market. They are far more efficient than incandescent bulbs, last longer than CFLs and can produce light in any color. LEDs are now marketed as a high-end product, but prices will be falling.

The impacts of federal appliance efficiency standards are kicking in as people replace old air conditioners, refrigerators, furnaces, washers, dryers and other equipment in their homes and businesses. New models are much more energy efficient — usually 25% or more.

 

The computing power revolution is now an efficiency revolution, as well. Laptops, desktops and other electronic equipment are designed to be more energy efficient, while battery technology improves.

Who has money or energy to waste while adding more global warming and other pollution?   Let's seize the strategic opportunities to make Indiana an energy efficiency leader to save money and reduce pollution.

 

Howard A. Learner is the executive director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center, the Midwest’s leading environmental and economic development advocacy organization.  www.elpc.org and www.globalwarmingsolutions.org

 

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Midwest High-Speed Rail Network Developmt

6/20/2008

By: Howard A. Learner, Environmental Law and Policy Center

There is a seismic shift in our transportation sector. Airlines are reducing capacity and raising fares.  Earlier this month, General Motors finally recognized publicly what many others have realized for a long time:  there is a structural transition as consumers shift from buying gas guzzlers to cleaner, more fuel efficient cars.  Gas prices at the pump now exceed $4.00 per gallon and are draining consumers’ wallets and our regional economy. 

 

It’s time to jumpstart development of a Midwest high-speed rail network, which would link Indianapolis to Chicago and to Cincinnati and Louisville.  This is a badly needed positive solution to the wrenching changes in the airline and automobile industries, high gas prices, consumer demands for cleaner energy, and businesses repositioning to operate in a “carbon-constrained” economy.  It is a win-win-win:  good for business, good for jobs and good for the environment.

 

Modern, fast, comfortable and convenient high-speed trains operating at 100 to 125 mph can be time-competitive on a door-to-door basis. They can pull together and grow the regional economy and bolster the Midwest cities’ business centers. They make sense for business travelers:  You can get productive work done while on a train. They help leisure travelers get around the Midwest more easily.  Trains pollute less than cars and airplanes on a per-passenger-mile basis, so further rail development can help alleviate our global warming problems.

 

Let’s face it: The Midwest’s transportation system doesn’t work very well and constrains our regional economy.  Business air travelers’ frustration with flight delays, security hassles and poor service is palpable. Highway congestion gets worse by the day, costing all of us more wasted time, dirtier air and more of our dollars at the gas pump.

 

High-speed rail works well in Europe and Asia, and also on the East Coast linking Boston, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington D.C.  With airlines cutting flights and fares going up, better intercity rail service is smart and affordable, and, now, also a necessary transportation option to enable people to move around the Midwest.

 

But there’s an obstacle on the tracks that blocks progress on the plans of Indiana and 28 other states currently planning rail projects. There is currently no federal program to help advance these plans, as there historically has been for highways and aviation. That must change.

 

In the absence of federal support, Illinois and some other states have stepped up to support improved rail service. In 2006, Illinois appropriated new state funds to expand rail service between Chicago, Springfield/St. Louis, Champaign/Carbondale and Quincy.  That broke the ice for a next wave of upgraded rail service and capacity. The result:  ridership has almost doubled.

 

Recognizing that rail eases congestion, reduces our use of costly fuel and improves air quality, it’s no wonder that nine state transportation departments have committed to build a Midwest high-speed rail network.

 

But the states can’t do it alone. That’s not how high-speed rail is succeeding on the East Coast, where Acela Express ridership is booming and reaching about 3 million passengers annually. A strong federal-state partnership is needed in the Midwest to develop high-speed passenger rail and increased capacity to move more freight by rail.

 

The public and our economy clearly demand greater mobility and more travel options. Now is the time for the Midwest’s state leaders to get together with the Congressional delegations to generate the necessary political and financial support for high-speed rail development linking the Midwest’s cities.  The Federal transportation bill is coming up in 2009 and 2010, and we need to be ready to go.

 

Let’s make the region’s interstate passenger rail transportation system faster and better. High-speed rail is a key global warming solution and increasingly necessary to provide a dependable connection for Indianapolis to the rest of the Midwest.

 

Howard A. Learner is the executive director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center, the Midwest’s leading environmental and economic development advocacy organization.  www.elpc.org and www.globalwarmingsolutions.org

 

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What it Takes to Lead the Green Economy

5/20/2008

Indiana:  What It Takes to Lead the Growing Green Economy

By:  Howard A. Learner

Executive Director,

Environmental Law & Policy Center

 

Indiana is well-positioned to be a center of the rapidly growing green economy if it seizes the strategic opportunities.  That requires savvy policy and business development actions before other states leap far ahead.  What’s at stake:  the jobs of the future as the global economy transitions to clean energy technologies for global warming solutions.

 

Solving global warming problems is our generation’s fundamental challenge.  The presidential candidates and Congress are moving toward realigning our nation to achieve enormous greenhouse gas pollution reductions. Cleaning up the energy sector is a necessary solution in a “carbon capped” economy.  We can increase Indiana’s economic competitiveness and gain jobs by increasing energy efficiency, reducing pollution and becoming a renewable energy technology leader.

 

Þ    Energy Efficiency:  Making our homes, businesses and public buildings more energy efficient is a win-win-win for jobs, economic vitality and environmental protection.  Retrofitting buildings with more efficient lighting, heating and cooling, windows and other equipment will create new good-paying electrical, plumbing, carpentry and other construction jobs.

 

Energy efficiency reduces utility bills, thus helping both businesses’ bottom lines and household budgets.  It plugs the multibillion energy drain away from Indiana’s economy to states and foreign countries that produce oil and natural gas.  Energy efficiency is the best, fastest and cheapest way to meet our power needs and avoid global warming pollution.

 

Energy efficiency building code legislation is a vital first step, followed closely by more energy efficiency programs akin to those producing utility bill savings and pollution reductions in many other states. It’s time to move forward.  We shouldn’t leave potential energy efficiency gains on the table.

                                                       

Þ    Wind power is the nation’s fastest growing energy supply.  Today’s taller wind turbines enable Indiana to harvest significant wind power resources, particularly in the northwest portion of the state.  Enactment of an Indiana renewable energy portfolio standard – requiring utilities to purchase wind power, biomass energy and solar power as part of their energy supply mix provided to consumers – would jumpstart clean energy investment and development in Indiana by expanding the local market. 

 

Illinois and 25 other states have adopted these wind-friendly renewable energy policies and look what’s happening:  Illinois has the second most wind power under development – 6,000 megawatts – of any state.  That’s more than $10 billion of capital investment in rural areas of the state, new property tax revenues and a good deal of new job creation, along with the environmental benefits.

 

Indiana is home to White Construction, based in Clinton, which is one of the largest wind power construction companies in the country.  However, the largest economic upside in wind energy development is in the manufacturing of wind turbines and their components.  Indiana is missing out on these manufacturing jobs.

 

Other Midwest states are seizing these opportunities.  Iowa and the Dakotas have attracted nine wind equipment manufacturing plants providing skilled labor jobs.  Toledo, Ohio has historically been a glass-producing center for the auto industry.  That expertise and capacity is now being refocused to produce glass for solar photovoltaic panels, while Timken and other Ohio manufacturers produce ball bearings and mechanical parts for the wind industry.  Indiana has an established manufacturing base in steel fabrication and casting that could likewise gain much from the boom in Midwest wind power installations.

 

Let’s seize the strategic opportunities and Indiana’s competitive advantages to be a center of the growing green economy of the future.

 

Howard A. Learner is the executive director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center, the Midwest’s leading environmental and economic development advocacy organization.  www.elpc.org and www.globalwarmingsolutions.org

 

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The Debate is Over...It's Time to Act

4/18/2008

By: Howard A. Learner, Environmental Law and Policy Center

Solving our global warming problems is the moral, business, economic, policy, political and technological challenge of our generation.  The scientific debate is over. We know what the problems are.  Now we need to act on the solutions—fast.

The Midwest is the most pivotal region in the most important country in the world when it comes to solving our global warming problems.  Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin account for 25% of the carbon dioxide (CO₂) pollution in the United States and 5% of the world’s total.  The Midwest, alone, is responsible for more global warming pollution than any country other than China, India, Japan and the former Soviet Union.

Why is there so much global warming pollution here?  It’s because the Midwest has the nation’s largest concentration of highly-polluting coal plants and is the hub of the nation’s transportation industry and infrastructure.  The energy and transportation sectors together produce about 70% of the CO₂ pollution. 

What can we do about it?  When Willie Sutton was asked why he robbed banks, he replied:  “Because that’s where the money is.”  Reducing global warming pollution means focusing where the pollution is:  the energy and transportation sectors. 

Today’s innovative clean energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies can help avoid pollution from coal plants.  Studies show that we can flatten out electricity demand by implementing highly cost-effective, energy efficient lighting, heating, cooling, refrigeration and motor technologies that cost 2.5 cents per kilowatt-hour or less.  That’s much cheaper than generating, transmitting and distributing electricity by other means. 

Wind power currently supplies about 3% of the Midwest’s power.  Illinois and Minnesota have enacted renewable energy standards requiring utilities to ramp up to provide 25% of the electricity supply from clean wind power, solar power and biomass energy.  We have the technology to supply more electricity through clean renewable energy development that avoids CO₂ and other pollutants.

Economic analysis by the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory shows that implementing a Midwest clean energy development plan can create 209,000 net new jobs and create almost $20 billion of net economic growth by 2020.  We can be smart and achieve environmental progress and economic development together.

New technologies can produce cleaner cars that get better mileage and reduce CO₂ pollution by 50%.  There are plenty of “low-CO₂” hybrid cars now on the roads that achieve 45 mpg (or more!).  We have the technologies to clean up dirty diesel trucks and use cleaner bio-based fuels.  It’s time to implement them and reduce pollution and lessen our nation’s dependence on foreign oil.

Making our energy and transportation systems more efficient will reduce global warming pollution, improve our air quality and protect peoples’ health, and safeguard our forest and water ecosystems, wildlife and biodiversity.  We can help Lake Michigan and Indiana’s rivers stay at the level that nature intended, instead of the artificial changes – both flooding and drought – that global warming will cause.

All of us can be part of these solutions.  The electric utility industry should clean up its coal plants and start supporting more public investments into energy efficiency programs.  They should support policy standards requiring that clean renewable energy be used for much more of the power supply.  At home, at businesses and on farms, let’s put energy efficiency technologies and wind power into action. 

The American auto industry should manufacture cleaner cars and trucks with modern technologies and stop opposing “clean car” standards that have already passed in 13 states. Do we really want to keep tying our Midwest economy to mostly building SUVs and large low-mpg cars as their sales are plummeting?   Let’s make sure that Indiana and the Midwest states are positioned to gain the “green collar” jobs of the future building the modern hybrid and other clean-tech cars of the future, rather than only the high polluting – low mpg cars of the past. 

It’s also time to move forward with modern intercity high-speed rail and better local rail transit to reduce highway congestion and global warming pollution.  High-speed rail is working on the East Coast, Europe, Japan and many developing countries.  But here, the Amtrak train between Indianapolis and Chicago takes more than five hours – that’s an hour longer than by bus.  Indiana and several other Midwest states have created the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative.  Let’s get modern, fast, comfortable and convenient trains running between the major cities of the Midwest.  This isn’t rocket science.  It’s an investment in sensible transportation that’s good for the environment, good for business and good for pulling together the regional economy.  It’s a good option for frustrated air travelers.

We can advance strategic solutions that create momentum, produce results and leverage progress nationally and internationally. Governors Blagojevich, Culver, Doyle, Granholm and Pawlenty have created blue-ribbon task forces to recommend policy actions aimed at significantly reducing global warming pollution.  Those are good steps.  It’s time for Indiana.

Indiana and the Midwest are a central source of our global warming problems and can be a fulcrum for sustainable environmental policy and technological solutions that make good sense for our environment, economy and national energy security.  We’re running out of time to solve our global warming problems.  Let’s work together to move forward now.

Howard A. Learner is the executive director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center, the Midwest’s leading environmental and economic development advocacy organization.  www.elpc.org and www.globalwarmingsolutions.org

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