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EESI Moves & "Greens" Its New Office Space
After 24 years on Capitol Hill, we moved our offices to 1112 16th
Street, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC on April 1. In preparing
for the move, we looked for opportunities to reduce our carbon
footprint and be even gentler to the earth. For example, we installed
a shower to encourage employees to ride bikes to work. We
designed walls with clearstory windows to bring natural lighting to
interior spaces. We specified the use of low VOC paint and
installed biobased carpeting thanks to a discount offered by Interface
Flor. Offices have motion sensor light switches to reduce energy
usage; and we immediately installed compact fluorescents light bulbs
where applicable. We replaced more of our old CRT monitors with
energy efficient LCD monitors. The mover provided reusable,
stackable boxes so we avoided packing in disposable cardboard. We
will, of course, continue our previous practices of recycling and
reusing as much as possible; using 100% post-consumer recycled,
chlorine-free copy paper; buying environmentally friendly cleaning
products; using bio-based cutlery, cups and plates for meetings;
providing public transportation benefits to staff and interns; and
more. We send a special thank you to all of the donors who
contributed to our "Operation Green Office" to make many of
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EESI Testifies Twice before Congress
 EESI Executive Director, Carol Werner, testified Feb. 7,
2008 at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources hearing on biofuels.
We expressed strong support for the expanded Renewable Fuel
Standard (RFS) enacted as part of the Energy Independence and Security
Act of 2007 (EISA). The RFS calls for a total of 36 billion
gallons of renewable fuels by 2022, with 21 billion gallons of this to
be derived from advanced biofuels (i.e., derived from biomass other
than cornstarch) which will be required to meet a 50-60 percent
reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions compared to
gasoline. Carol discussed the importance of the greenhouse gas
(GHG) screens as a way to guarantee that the RFS accomplishes real
carbon reductions. She also discussed the importance of fixing
the definition of 'Renewable Biomass' in the RFS regarding the use of
woody biomass from federal lands; currently the definition excludes any
thinning materials. Carol Werner made the argument that broad
exclusions rule out a large quantity of feedstocks that do not induce
a land use change, while not protecting
forest lands from some of the most prevalent dangers such as wildfire
and urban encroachment. Instead, the opportunity
was missed to allow biomass utilization to be used as a tool to
increase the quality of sustainable forestry and achieve a number of
management objectives, such as fuel reduction, habitat management, and
other types of restoration forestry, which provide multiple values to
the country's forests.
On May 6, Jetta Wong, EESI's Senior Policy Associate of the Sustainable Biomass and Energy Program, testified before the U.S.
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (the "U.S.
Helsinki Commission") regarding the complexities involved in the
rise in food prices and that the fundamental cause is largely higher
energy costs, documented by an April 2008 study by Texas A&M
University. Much of the media has jumped to point fingers at
biofuels without doing due diligence on the issue. Rather, a
number of demand and supply factors are currently influencing world
food prices including production shortfalls due to severe drought
(especially in China and India), diminishing commodity stock levels,
soaring energy costs, the falling dollar, changing demand due to new
consumption patterns, speculation in financial markets, bans on grain
exports by numerous countries, as well as the production of biofuels from
agricultural commodities. She said, "It is critically important
that sustainable biomass be considered a part of the strategy to not
just reduce energy costs, which it is doing now, but also to revitalize
agriculture, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and restore the United
States as a world leader." She noted that sustainable
biomass can use a wide variety of locally appropriate feedstocks,
including agriculture residues, wood wastes, forest thinnings and other
waste materials that do not induce a land use change, along with using
sound production practices at the appropriate scale. |
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Plug-ins Come to Capitol Hill
In celebration of Earth Day, EESI helped organize a plug-in hybrid
electric vehicle (PHEV) "ride-and-drive" on the Capitol Mall
on Sunday April 20, 2008, the House side on April 22 and the Senate
side on the 23rd. There were two versions of the same vehicle, a XH-150, which is a modified 2007 Saturn Vue Greenline
SUV developed by AFS Trinity Corp., based in Bellevue, Washington, that
gets up to 150 miles-per-gallon equivalent. Its energy storage system
combines lithium-ion batteries with ultracapacitors. Adding
ultracapacitors allows the vehicle to achieve top speeds and rapid
acceleration in electric-only mode equal to a conventional hybrid. For
a typical daily commute of 40 miles round trip, the vehicle does not
use its internal combustion engine at all. (AFS Trinity is an
EESI Associate.)
EESI Senior Policy Associate Fred Beck contacted staff at both General Motors and the
US Post Office about the event - which paid off. The top Post
Office buyer and four of his staff spent over an hour with the AFS
Trinity team. Additionally, GM's top man in DC dropped by and
went for a very long drive. A shift to manufacturing flexible-fuel
PHEVs could revitalize the American auto industry by positioning
domestic automakers as leaders in this emerging technology. A
September 2007 Harris National Study found that more than one quarter
of vehicle owners would consider purchasing a PHEV as their next
vehicle. Nissan recently announced they plan to have a PHEV in
the market by 2010. |
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EESI - World Travelers & Advisors
EESI Senior Policy Associate Jetta Wong went to Berlin, Germany
in December to give a presentation at an international
conference entitled Agrofuels: Opportunity or Danger? A Global Dialogue
on U.S. and EU Agrofuels and Agriculture Policies and their Impacts on
Rural Development in North and South. In August 2007, Carol Werner
went to Brazil to give a presentation at the Biofuels and the
Promise for Sustainable Energy conference organized by Pace
University. Recent website visitors have come from 115
different countries ranging from Australia to India and Germany to
South Africa. Staff also has met with and made presentations to
delegations from many countries including Indonesia, Sweden, Estonia,
Brazil and Finland. (see sidebar for other EESI
conference and event presentations.)
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Getting Ready for the New Administration
The National Energy Center for Sustainable Communities, in
partnership with The Johonson Foundation, held several leadership
summits over the past two years to review the nation's sustainable
development goals in light of global warming, and to build a five-year
action plan. EESI Executive Director, Carol Werner, has been a participant in this series of
National Climate Summits held at Wingspread. Ideas and principles from
this process have been utilized by the Presidential Climate Action Project to develop a
non-partisan plan for presidential leadership in the first 100 days of
a new administration - The Presidential Climate Action Plan
(PCAP). PCAP represents a specific and comprehensive
blueprint for bold leadership, rooted in climate science and designed
to ignite innovation at every level of the American economy, rooted in
the conviction that we must build an innovative, environmentally-sound
economy for the new realities of the 21st Century. That economy must
achieve three goals for this and future generations: security,
opportunity and stewardship. The first version of the plan is
available from the PCAP website, and the Project welcomes
feedback. The website includes a wealth of other materials
including The Wingspread Principles on the US Response to Global
Warming. EESI will be conducting a briefing on PCAP once it is
finalized.
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Forestry Update
Our woody
biomass initiative continues to develop on a number of fronts.  Our discussion series has expanded, bringing our total
number of participants to 246 - representing foresters, land managers,
academics, researchers, environmental NGOs, public decision makers, and
energy producers. We continue to engage this network on a number of
topics, including forest sustainability, feedstock assessment,
environmental impacts, upcoming research, etc. Based on their
input, we have compiled a list of the most pressing research needs and
knowledge gaps. A particularly important issue to many of our contacts
is the definition of renewable biomass in the Renewable Fuel Standard
(RFS), enacted as part of the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act
(EISA). Even though the RFS contains "screens"
requiring fuels to meet standards of life-cycle carbon reduction,
the definition excludes feedstocks coming from all federal
forests and many private forests.
Most small community groups, land-based conservation organizations, and
other organizations involved in on-the-ground management of natural resources
see the inherent value in biomass utilization. On a daily basis, these
groups face the consequences of catastrophic wildfire, development
pressures, and stagnant or declining rural economies. These groups see
building markets for biomass as a positive force that could bring jobs
back to working landscapes, provide paying alternatives to development,
and allow communities to take an active role in sustainable stewardship
of the forest resource for a multitude of values. These groups
understand that the least sustainable forest is the one you can't
afford to keep. We have a broad array of organizations with very
significant professional and academic expertise and a great deal of
history and experience as part of our working group. Working with
the Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition, the National Woodland
Owners Association, and others, we plan to bring together a loose
coalition of interested groups and individuals to explore this issue
further and identify key elements of a renewable biomass definition
that could achieve a high level of consensus while incentivizing good
environmental stewardship. |
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Climate Change Legislation Briefly Debated by Senate
The long awaited debate on the Boxer-Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of
2008 (S. 3036) ended alm ost before it began. The legislation
would cap emissions of greenhouse gases from covered sources at 19 percent
below current levels by 2020 and 71 percent below current levels in
2050 through a market-based trading program for businesses to
meet the cap. Debate began on June 2 and June 6, by a vote of 48-36, the Senate fell short of the 60 votes necessary to
invoke cloture (cut off a filibuster) on the bill. Of the 16 Senators not present to
vote, six entered
statements indicating they would have voted 'yes.' While the
debate never addressed key issues and amendments that will be critical to any future
climate change legislation, 54 Senators in all spoke up for the need
to advance serious legislation on global warming, surpassing the 43 votes garnered in previous climate change votes (2003 and 2005). This
included 10 Senators who had not supported cap-and-trade climate legislation in prior
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State Incentives for Advanced Biofuels
With the goal of determining what incentives best
support the commercialization of environmentally sustainable,
low-carbon, advanced (non-corn starch based) renewable fuel
technologies, EESI has undertaken a project to produce a State
Policymakers Guide to  Advanced Biofuel Incentives. EESI will be examining existing state
policies that help deploy advanced biofuels, such as California's low
carbon fuel standard and the University of Tennessee Biofuel Initiative.
The guidebook will include the top incentives that are most
effective in enhancing the economic viability of advanced biofuel
technology projects and include information about complementary
policies, so that states can position themselves to
help meet federal biofuels mandates. |
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Congressional Staff Discussion Series
 Working with the offices of Senators Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Robert
Menendez (D-NJ), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA), EESI is co-sponsoring a
series of informal conversations about renewable energy
technologies. The series is designed to help Senate staffers
better understand how different renewable energy technologies work and the possibilities they present. After each briefing, the speaker presentations will
be made available on the EESI website at archives.eesi.org. The first
meeting, held May 16, 2008, explored the potential of concentrating
solar power.
A small group of energy experts will lead each interactive discussion,
and will answer a variety of questions, including:
- How
does the technology work?
- Where
is it currently used and where can it be deployed?
- How
much of our energy could we get from the technology?
- What
are the upfront costs and long term benefits?
- How
many design, construction, operation, & maintenance jobs are
created?
EESI also is working with the House Renewable Energy and
Energy Efficiency Caucus to coordinate a similar discussion series this
summer and fall. |
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New Partners for Planning, Energy & Climate Change
Project
Piggybacking on the New Partners for Smart Growth Conference in
Washington, DC in February 2008, EESI and our partner - the American
Planning Association (APA) - convened a meeting of people interested in
our three-year project, Planning and Climate Change: Mitigation and
Clean Energy Strategies. Planners have a real opportunity to
effect change through their strategic position as advisors to
policymakers in towns, cities, counties, and regions across the
county. We had a lively  discussion, which provided valuable input
on how to help planners better integrate energy and climate change into
their daily work. We continue to research and compile leading
documents, publications, and other resources we are using to build a
database of best practices, which will help guide planners as they
address energy and climate issues in their work. We also briefly
reviewed results from our second survey of planners' knowledge on the
topic. Just a few of the findings include:
- Awareness
of energy issues is steadily increasing among planners.
- Climate
change has become the top motivator for communities to address
energy concerns, and citizen interest continues to be a major
factor.
- The
biggest obstacles to moving forward on energy planning actions
continue to be a lack of political interest and the complexity of
the issue.
- Planners
know more about alternative energy topics and technologies than
they did in 2005, but say additional education is needed.
- Most
communities have not yet integrated energy concerns into their
zoning ordinances and development review procedures.
The meeting was part of EESI's work to build a national
network of planners and allied interests who are working to address
energy and climate issues at the local and regional level (aka the
Planners Energy & Climate Network). For more information on
the survey results or other project-related information, go to http://www.planning.org/energy.
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Advancing High Performance Buildings
Accounting for more than 40 percent of total US annual energy  consumption and greenhouse gas
emissions, buildings are a critical component of a low-carbon
future. Energy-efficient buildings that use renewable energy
represent one of the most important and cost-effective solutions for
mitigating climate change. However, being "green" is
not enough. If a green building is destroyed or rendered
nonfunctional during a storm, how valuable is it? Low-energy
buildings must also meet other critical attributes such as durability,
occupant health and safety, accessibility, and affordability if they
are to be valuable to the people who own them, use them, finance and
insure them.
Congress has sought to address this issue by defining a "high
performance building" in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Sec. 914)
and EISA '07 (Sec. 401). EPAct required the buildings industry to
assess standards that relate to high performance buildings (this effort
is almost complete) and a new technical assistance and grant program to
support the development of voluntary consensus-based standards for high performance buildings that
are based on the findings of the assessment. EISA required the General
Services Administration to set up a new office on high performance
buildings and set goals for commercial buildings and requirements for
federal buildings to be carbon neutral by 2030. EESI is working
with policymakers, industry organizations, product manufacturers, and
many others to look at a variety of policy options that will decrease
the total energy used by buildings, while at the same time improving
the health, safety, comfort, and productivity of building
occupants. Our May 14 briefing on High Performance Manufactured
Housing presented the potential of high quality factory-built
housing to serve a dual role as disaster-relief shelter AND long-term
affordable housing. (See our website for more information.)
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International Parliamentarians Discuss Renewable Energy at
EESI-organized Luncheon
 Working with the House and Senate Renewable Energy and
Energy Efficiency Caucuses, EESI helped organize a parliamentarian
luncheon on March 5, 2008, in conjunction with the Washington
International Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC). Parliamentarians
from Germany, Spain, Melanesia-Solomon Islands, Romania, New Zealand,
Portugal, Greece, Argentina, and Brazil, gathered with their peers from
the House of Representatives to discuss what their countries can do,
and are doing, individually and globally to advance renewable  energy
and energy efficiency. Issues discussed included international
agreements and trade, mandatory vs. voluntary targets for energy from
renewables, feed-in tariffs vs. renewable electricity standards, and
the need to raise public awareness and familiarity with existing
renewable energy technologies.
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Briefings and Events
 In 2007, EESI reached more than 4,300 attendees through
our record-breaking 35 Congressional briefings and other events.
Attracting a sizable and wide-ranging audience including Congressional
staff, media, businesses, environmentalists, government officials and
others, EESI briefings are an invaluable addition to the policymaking
process. In addition to providing reliable information,
they create issue visibility, spur hearings, develop Congressional
leadership, attract media coverage and affect policy positions.
Because of EESI's reputation for high quality, balanced events, we are
able to feature top-notch scientific, policy and industry
presenters. Thus far in 2008, we have reached an average briefing
audience of 110, with 15 briefings and events under our belt.
Since our last issue of EESI Update, we have organized the
following events:
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New Staff at EESI
EESI has named Ellen Larson Vaughan to fill its newly
created position of Policy Director. Vaughan will be helping develop
and manage an Institute-wide effort to contribute to the design and
adoption of policies that control U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, with a
focus on the role that green buildings and energy efficient and
renewable energy technologies can play. "Ellen brings considerable
policy experience as well as great knowledge of the building sector.
This will be critical as EESI addresses energy and climate change
challenges and opportunities in 2008," said Carol Werner, EESI's
Executive Director. Vaughan has over 20 years of experience in
energy policy, building design/construction, and government relations.
Previously, Vaughan worked for Steven Winter Associates, a building
systems and architectural/engineering consulting firm, where she
functioned as the Program and Policy Manager of the Sustainable
Buildings Industry Council.
EESI also has hired Meghan Condon as a Fellow with our Sustainable
Communities and Transportation Program, starting May 7. Meghan
comes to us prepared to hit the ground running, having interned for the
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG), working with
former EESI staffer Naomi Friedman, to develop its Regional Climate
Change Initiative. Meghan conducted original research on regional
sustainability/smart growth/climate change efforts that was shared with
the U.S. EPA, the Board of Trade, and the Delaware Regional Planning
Commission. Megan holds a degree in urban and regional planning
from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Laura Parsons is EESI's new Communications Coordinator. Our
former Communications Coordinator, Leanne Lamusga, recently moved to
Chicago. Laura joined EESI in summer 2007 as an intern in the
Sustainable Biomass and Energy Program. Most recently, she has been
working as an independent contractor on EESI's state low-carbon
biofuel policy guidebook, which will be published in late summer.
Laura previously worked for the Federal Aviation Administration
and has a degree in mathematics. |
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EESI Update and EESI's other
valuable work in energy, climate change, agriculture, transportation
and smart growth are made possible through financial support from
people like you. Your tax-deductible contribution will help EESI
develop innovative policy solutions for a cleaner, safer, healthier
world. EIN: 52-1268030. For more information, contact Ruth
Lampi at rlampi@eesi.org or 202-662-1887.
Environmental and Energy Study Institute is a non-profit
organization established in 1984 by a bipartisan, bicameral group of
members of Congress. EESI protects the climate by educating Congress,
developing innovative solutions, and building broad coalitions to move
America to efficient and renewable energy for a more sustainable
future.
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Join Our Mailing List
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EESI New Staff
Ellen Vaughan, Policy Director
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Meghan Condon,
Fellow, Sustainable Communities & Transportation |
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Laura Parsons, Communications Coordinator |
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EESI "Out and About"
1/16/08
- National Council on Science and the Environment, "Climate change:
Science and Solutions"
2/20-21 - Power-Gen Renewable Energy Conference, Las Vegas, NV, ran three
sessions
1/28/08 - Harvesting Clean Energy Conference (Pacific Northwest) on RFS
and other federal issues.
2/4/08 - Association of State Energy Research & Technology Transfer
Institutions (ASERTTI) Conference, the role of USDA in energy
2/5/08 - National Association of Regional Councils - National Conference
of Regions, "The Federal Debate and National Impact: Energy, Climate
Change, Global Warming"
2/22/08 - School presentation on Climate Change
2/25/08 - South Carolina biomass Council, presentation on federal biomass
policy
3/2/08 - Clean Cities Energy Independence Days, "climate &
Transportation Policy Primer"
3/3/08 - Energy, Climate and Environmental Conference at the House of
Sweden, "Renewable Resources and the Bioenergy Challenges"
3/3/08 - Biomass Coordinating Council meeting
3/5/08 - Washington International Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC),
session on sustainable biofuels
3/6/08 - WIREC side event "Engaging Stakeholder Involvement"
3/6/08 - Rocky Mountain Land Institute, Denver, CO "Planning for a
New Energy and Climate Future"
3/10/08 - National League of Cities, National Congressional City
Conference, "Going Green" Gets a Boost: New Federal Funds for
Local Initiatives"
3/10/08 - Delegation from Estonia -biomass technologies and policy
3/25/08 - North Carolina Biomass Council meeting on the Farm Bill and
federal biomass policy
4/22/08 Growing Cooler Symposium, University of Maryland, "Federal
Policies to Promote Energy-Smart Development"
4/29/08 - American Planning Association National Conference. Las Vegas,
"Planning and Climate Change: Goals, Plans and Policies"
5/7/08 - National Brownsfields Conference, Detroit MI,
"Redevelopment as a Response to Climate Change"
5/27/08 - Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments at an Ethanol
Regional Impacts Workshop
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Creative Supporters
Using www.acleanfight.org, individuals are encouraging their friends and others to donate their tax refund to EESI and other groups. Couples
are using the occasion of their marriage to raise money for EESI by
registering their wedding with the "I Do Foundation" website
and encouraging donations to us in lieu of wedding gifts or favors.
Other EESI enthusiasts are using social networking sites to share their passion about us and our
cause with their friends. Some donors have included EESI in their
estates; a number have donated stock, an some used Groundspring.com to make a monthly pledge to EESI. CommonThreadz.org, working with artist Matthew Curry, will use proceeds from the sale of an original alternative ener gy design, limited edition t-shirt to provide a school uniform to an orphan or vulnerable child in a developing country and benefit EESI. Go to commonthreadz.org and click on shop.
How would you like to give? For ideas on how you can
help build a renewable energy future by supporting EESI, click here, mail a check to the address below, go to EESI support, or call Ruth Lampi at 202-628-1400.
1112 16th St,
NW, # 300, Washington, DC 20036 |
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Reaching Out
We
are revising our website. The new EESI website will be a content
management system (CMS), making it easier for users to find exactly what
they want - a critical improvement because our website is so content
rich. As part of the process, we collected data on how visitors use
our current website. Many visitors find us through search engines
while looking for specific topics, such as biomass energy, green collar
jobs, Congressional appropriations, and the low carbon fuel
standard. Our most popular web pages are those for our programs,
newsletters, and recent briefings. Currently popular pages include
our FY09 budget analyses, as well as our cellulosic ethanol, hydropower,
nuclear loan guarantee, and renewable portfolio standard briefings.
We are still getting dozens of calls about SEER 13 (air conditioning
efficiency standards) generated by a fact sheet we produced in 2002 (it
is listed at the top of most web searches on the topic). Under the
initiative of a recent intern, EESI also has created pages on Good2gether.com and Change.org. If you visit any of these
pages, be sure to look us up!
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EESI 4-Star Rating
Charity
Navigator, America's premier charity evaluator, has given EESI its top
4-star rating for two consecutive years, indicating that EESI excels at
efficiently and effectively managing its finances to ensure that your
contributions are spent wisely and have the greatest impact possible.
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