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Obama Administration Issues First National Climate Adaptation Strategy

The Obama administration set forth a national climate adaptation strategy

Source: US Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy

Marking a milestone in US environmental and natural resource management policy, the Obama Administration on March 26 released a national strategy aimed at conserving, enhancing the resiliency, and making sustainable use of the nation’s natural resources in the face of climate change.

Drawing on input, resources, and expertise of federal, state, and tribal government agencies as well as non-profit sector organizations and the American public, the National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants (NFWP) Climate Adaptation Strategy, “provides a unified approach – reflecting shared principles and science-based practices – for reducing the negative impacts of climate change on fish, wildlife, plants, and the natural system upon which they depend.”
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Solar Feed-in Tariffs Catching On in LA, Across the U.S.

Solar Feed-in Tariffs are catching on throughout the United States and CanadaRooftop solar power appears poised to move into the mainstream of US energy infrastructure as creative financing options, such as solar leasing, community solar and feed-in tariffs are gaining traction and building upon huge increases in solar photovoltaic (PV) production capacity and ongoing technological advances.

The multiple, cross-cutting benefits of spurring on local solar, wind and other renewable energy system installations aren’t lost on most Americans, or on some politicians. Los Angeles is due to hold its mayoral primary March 5. Significantly scaling up LA’s pioneering (at least in the US) solar energy feed-in tariff (FiT) is the centerpiece of mayoral hopeful Eric Garcetti’s campaign.

A city councilman representing LA’s 13th District, Garcetti says that he’ll scale up the Department of Water & Power’s (DWP) 100 megawatt (MW) FiT by a factor of 12 and bring 1.2 gigawatts (GW) of clean, renewable, locally produced rooftop solar energy to the City of Angels, according to a report from KCET’s Rewire. Read More→

National Wind Power Report Details Economic, Social, Environmental Benefits in US States

A national report calls on Congress to extend the production tax credit to allow wind energy continued growth and benefit for the economy and the environmentWith a December 31 deadline looming, Congress remains sharply divided over extending the federal wind power production tax credit (PTC), which grants wind power producers a tax credit of 2.2 cents/kilowatt-hour (kWh), and the federal wind power investment tax credit (ITC).

The US wind energy market and industry has been one of the few bright spots in an economy whose recovery from the depths of 2009 recession has been slow and still appears fragile. Various assemblages of private and public sector proponents have been urging Congressional representatives to renew the wind power PTC, focusing primarily on the boost to job creation and global economic competitiveness for the US in the key, fast growing clean and renewable energy sector.

Wind power growth is producing substantial benefits environmentally and socially as well, and the federal wind power PTC and ITC are seen as pivotal drivers, however. Federal support for clean, renewable energy sources helps set a foundation and a pathway to more responsible and sustainable development by helping wean the US economy off fossil fuels.

A new national report released Nov. 28 entitled, “Wind Power for a Cleaner America: Reducing Global Warming Pollution, Cutting Air Pollution, and Saving Water,” highlights the cross-cutting, multilevel gains and benefits fast-growing US wind power has and is yielding in states across the US, gains and benefits spurred forward in no small part by the federal wind power PTC and ITC.

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