Hill Heat

As Congress turns its eye toward global warming legislation this fall, Chairman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming will host Governor Dave Freudenthal of Wyoming, the CEO of American Electric Power, and other experts for a hearing exploring how to maintain coal as part of the energy mix for America and the world, while avoiding dangerous global warming. Chairman Markey and the rest of the Select Committee will learn about advanced coal technologies like carbon capture and storage, and how a framework for cutting emissions could affect the development and deployment of this technology and the future of coal-fired power plants.

Witnesses

• Governor Dave Freudenthal, Wyoming
• Michael Morris, Chairman and CEO, American Electric Power
• Carl Bauer, Director, Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory
• David Hawkins, Director, Natural Resources Defense Council’s Climate Center
• Robert Sussman, Partner, Latham & Watkins, LLP
• Stuart Dalton, Director for the Generation Sector, Electric Power Research Institute

09/06/2007 at 09:30AM

On Wednesday, September 5, 2007 the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment of the Committee on Science and Technology will hold a hearing to receive testimony on the use of coal to produce liquid fuel, the status of coal-to-liquid (CTL) technologies and what additional research, development and demonstration programs should be undertaken at the Department of Energy or other agencies to better understand the benefits and barriers to converting coal into transportation fuels.

The Subcommittee will hear testimony from six witnesses who will speak to a range of policies that warrant consideration before moving forward with the advancement of the production of synthetic transportation fuels from coal. Policies for consideration include carbon dioxide management, infrastructure improvements, water usage, energy security, energy balance of CTL technologies (energy used and produced), exhaust emissions, options for using coal with organically derived feedstocks to produce liquid fuels, coal production requirements, potential outcomes for consumers, and the appropriate level of federal investment in CTL technologies. They also will discuss the technical and economical challenges with meeting any desired policy objectives as well as the benefits and drawbacks of investing federal resources in CTL technologies.

Witnesses * Dr. Robert L. Freerks, Director of Product Development Rentech Corp., Denver, CO. He will speak to the state of development of CTL technologies using the Fischer-Tropsch process. He will highlight the benefits of the commercialization of the FT process and discuss some of the challenges.

• John Ward, VP, Marketing and Governmental Affairs Headwaters, Inc. South Jordan, Utah. He will discuss the growing global demand for oil and the need to explore alternative liquid fuel options using the nation’s abundant coal reserves. He will review the local and global economic benefits as well as the national security and environmental benefits.
• Dr. James Bartis, Sr. Policy Researcher RAND Corp., Arlington, VA . He will address economic and national security benefits of CTL technology as well as the technical challenges for addressing the carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the CTL process. He will also provide suggestions for federal activities needed to address the uncertainties surrounding CTL technology.
• David G. Hawkins, Director, Climate Center at Natural Resources Defense Council, Washington, DC. He will speak to the environmental concerns associated with the adoption of CTL technologies – in particular, the “well-to-wheel” emissions of these new fuels and the impact on global climate change. He will also address other energy strategies which still rely on coal, but help to reduce our nation’s carbon dioxide footprint at the same time.
• Dr. Richard D. Boardman, The Secure Energy Initiative Head, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID. He will discuss water resource management related to the production of liquid fuels from coal. He will also address the potential for producing liquid transportation fuels using coal with organically derived feedstocks.
• Dr. Joseph Romm, Center for Energy & Climate Solutions; Center for American Progress; former Acting Asst. Sec at Department of Energy during the Clinton Administration, Washington, DC. He will address the environmental policy considerations related to advancing CTL technology. He will focus on the role of CTL technology in a world with greenhouse gas constraints.

09/05/2007 at 10:00AM

As global warming rapidly intensifies, the prospect of much more extensive hunger worldwide becomes increasingly likely, especially in poor countries, due to drought, Katrina-like storms, glacial melting and sea level rise. These impacts will lead to crop failures and economic and social disruption on a massive scale.

To draw attention to this threat and its moral implications, the U.S. Climate Emergency Council is calling on thousands of caring citizens to voluntarily give up food for one day on September 4th, 2007. Other participants will fast even longer beginning on that date, some for weeks. Give up food for one day now to draw attention to the fact that all of us may have no food tomorrow unless we halt global warming.

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09/04/2007 at 12:00AM

Over the last several days Hurricane Dean whipped through the Caribbean before slamming into the Yucatan Peninsula and the Mexican mainland. While loss of life and damages are still uncalculated, Dean will join the ranks of Andrew, Charlie, Hugo, Rita. And of course, Katrina. Their names are seared into the minds of those who lived through them. The 100+ mile an hour winds and stinging sideways rain wreaked devastation – ripping roofs off houses, flattening whole buildings, tossing around cars as if they were toys, causing billions of dollars’ worth of damage, and taking lives. Recovery often takes years. Two years after Hurricane Katrina struck land on August 29, 2005, thousands of Mississippi and New Orleans residents have yet to restore their homes, businesses or lives. And some may never do so. Hurricanes gather and release nature’s fury, and the consequences are deadly. And now the actions of humans since the dawn of the industrial age will only propel future hurricanes’ power. There is an overwhelming scientific consensus that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere released by burning coal, oil and other fossil fuels has begun to warm the planet, including our oceans, and scientists have determined that warmer sea surface temperature can boost hurricanes’ ferocity, and may even increase their frequency. It is imperative that we do everything we can to prepare for the potential disasters.

In conjunction with the release of the report, Forecast: Storm Warnings, the Center for American Progress will conduct a forum that will discuss the impact of global warming on hurricane severity and frequency. In addition, there will be a discussion of necessary federal, state, and local policies that would increase the resilience of hurricane prone communities. The forum will feature:

• Mayor Richard Crotty of Orange County, Florida
• hurricane scientist Dr. Peter J. Webster
• John B. Copenhaver of DRI International
• Jane Bullock, former chief of staff of Federal Emergency Management Agency director James Lee Witt.

The urgency of this work grows every day as thousands of Americans relocate to coastal areas, but with the best science, local mitigation, and federal support, we can minimize the likelihood that future storms join the tragic roster of the deadliest hurricanes. Unfortunately, the global warming forecast is for storm warnings ahead.

1333 H St. NW, 10th Floor Washington, DC 20005

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08/27/2007 at 01:00PM

The 2007 Los Angeles Global Warming Forum will take place Thursday, August 16th at Cal State LA from 9:00am – 3:00pm.

Participants at the forum, which is being organized in collaboration with California State University, Los Angeles, will discuss the impacts of global warming on local resources, highlight local and regional initiatives to mitigate impacts, and discuss economic opportunities associated with taking action to improve energy efficiency. Also, exhibitors will display new energy efficiency strategies and new technologies at an expo.

On August 2nd, the House passed The Green Jobs Act of 2007, legislation introduced by Solis to invest in work force training for the green economy. The bill was passed as part of the House Democratic leadership’s energy reform bill – H.R. 3221, the New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security, and Consumer Protection Act.

Cal State University, Los Angeles Golden Eagle Ballroom (3rd floor) 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90032

• Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis (CA-32), member of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming
• Former Assemblywoman Fran Pavley
• Mayor of Long Beach, Bob Foster
• Van Jones, director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights

08/16/2007 at 09:00AM

John Dingell’s second global warming town hall in Michigan’s 15th District.

University of Michigan – Dearborn Social Sciences Building 4901 Evergreen Road Dearborn, MI 48124

08/08/2007 at 05:30PM

Chris Mooney, Author of “Storm World” and Washington, DC correspondent for Seed Magazine

Are hurricanes getting stronger, or more frequent? And what role does climate change play in the weather patterns that shape them? Join us as science journalist Chris Mooney, author of a new book on the subject, explores those questions and the scientific and political issues that surround them.

At The Front Page, 4201 Wilson Blvd, Arlington VA 22230

• 6:00-6:30 Buy your drink/meal if you so desire
• 6:30-8:00 Short presentation, followed by Q&A

Cafe Scientifique flourished first in the U.K. (see http://www.cafescientifique.org) as a way for the public and scientists to mingle and discuss science issues in an informal setting. At least 35 cafés now exist in the U.S.

ABOUT THIS CAFE: The National Science Foundation initiated Café Scientifique (Arlington) and its occasional cousin in Washington D.C. in April 2006 to make science more accessible and accountable by featuring speakers whose expertise spans the sciences and who can talk in plain English. Generally held on first Tuesdays at the Front Page in Arlington. To suggest topics or speakers, complete a survey on-site.

FIND OUR MORE: To hear about upcoming cafés sponsored by NSF, subscribe to the NSF e-mail list. Send a message to [email protected] . In the text, write “subscribe cafesci.” Don’t add a signature. (You can unsubscribe at any time.)

08/07/2007 at 06:00PM

During a Global Warming Town Hall meeting in Ann Arbor on Tuesday, August 7, Congressman John D. Dingell (D-MI15) will take questions regarding a carbon tax bill he intends to introduce as part of a multi-tiered approach to reducing carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions.

Under Dingell’s leadership, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce passed energy efficiency legislation that would remove from the atmosphere more than 10 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions (through the year 2030), which is more than the annual emissions of all cars on American roads today. The legislation is expected to pass the full House this week.

In the fall, Dingell also plans to develop a comprehensive, mandatory, economy-wide program with the goal of achieving as much as an 80 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. He is a co-sponsor of the Hill-Terry bill, HR 2927, which would mandate separate car and truck standards to meet a total fleet fuel economy standard between 32 and 35 mpg by 2022; increases up to 40 percent over current standards.

Pioneer High School Schreiber Auditorium 601 W. Stadium Blvd Ann Arbor, MI 48103

08/07/2007 at 03:30PM

Field hearing on Reducing Barriers to growth of Emerging Energy Technologies – Relationships between Federal, State and Local Governments.

08/07/2007 at 09:00AM

The House will consider amendments to HR 3221, the New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security, and Consumer Protection Act, and HR 2776, the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2007, in preparation for the votes on these bills.

08/03/2007 at 09:00AM