On October 5, 2009, President Obama issued an executive order, FEDERAL LEADERSHIP IN ENVIRONMENTAL, ENERGY, AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE, that sneak-previewed policies toward reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the rest of his time in office. The 15-page executive order, divided into 20 sections, provided strict guidance for all agencies in the executive branch and their interactions with outside organizations. Portions of the executive order follows:
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release October 5, 2009
FEDERAL LEADERSHIP IN ENVIRONMENTAL, ENERGY, AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and to establish an integrated strategy towards sustainability in the Federal Government and to make reduction of greenhouse gas emissions a priority for Federal agencies, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Sec.…
Continue Reading“‘The Altamont is killing more eagles than the local population can reproduce,’ says [Doug] Bell [wildlife program manager at the East Bay Regional Park District] who does research on golden eagles. ‘It’s taking out more youngsters than they can produce and replace themselves with. Their population is going down the drain’.”
The wind energy company that received a controversial extension this March to continue operating hundreds of old wind turbines in the Altamont Pass is now planning to shut them down, according to an email KQED has obtained. The company might also be replacing them with fewer new turbines, a move that would make its operation safer for birds.
Altamont Winds, Inc. (AWI), one of the largest operators in the East Bay’s Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area, told the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in an Oct.…
Continue Reading“The potential for traditional geothermal power plants is limited by the scarcity of areas in the United States where geothermal energy is available, and by the diminishing supply of water as the geothermal resources age. In California, waste water has been used to augment the natural supply of water.”
Electricity has been produced successfully from geothermal sources for decades. The first successful geothermal power plant dates at least from 1911 in Larderello, Italy.
Today, in the United States, there are successful geothermal power plants in California and in Nevada.
The potential for traditional geothermal power plants is limited by the scarcity of areas in the United States where geothermal energy is present, much less commercial, and by the diminishing supplies as geothermal resources age. In California, waste water has been used to augment the natural supply of water.…
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