The President's Plan to Cut Carbon Pollution and Address Climate Change
Friday, July 19, 2013
President Obama said in his Inaugural Address, the carbon pollution that causes
climate change isn't a distant threat and it's clear we have a moral obligation
to leave our children a planet that’s not polluted or damaged.The 12
hottest years on record have all come in the last 15 years. Asthma rates have
doubled in the past 30 years and the nation’s children will suffer more asthma
attacks as air pollution gets worse. Increasing floods, heat waves, and
droughts have not only taken a toll on our nation’s farmers but have also led
to rising food prices. Last year alone, there were more than 11 different
weather and climate disaster events with estimated losses exceeding $1 billion
each across the United States.
response to this challenge, President Obama laid out his Climate Action Plan.
The plan builds on the Administration’s efforts that have brought carbon
pollution to the lowest level in nearly 20 years, and takes an all-of-the-above
approach to develop homegrown energy and steady, responsible steps to cut
carbon pollution so we can protect our kids’ health and begin to slow the
effects of climate change.
can learn more about President Obama’s plan to tackle climate change by
checking out the infographic, the Climate Action Plan fact sheet,
or the blog post on the facts behind
the President’s plan. You can also learn about the effects of climate change in
your state by watching the President’s speechat Georgetown University
or watching his weekly address on confronting
the growing threat of climate change.
News & Events
Secretary Jewell Announces Approval of Three Renewable
Energy Projects in Arizona and Nevada
As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above energy strategy to
expand domestic energy production, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell
announced on June 3rd the approval of three major renewable energy projects
that, when built, are expected to deliver up to 520 megawatts to the
electricity grid – enough to power nearly 200,000 homes – and help support more
than 900 jobs through construction and operations. According to Secretary
Jewell, "These projects reflect the Obama’s Administration’s commitment to
expand responsible domestic energy production on our public lands and diversify
our nation’s energy portfolio.”
New Energy Efficiency Standards for Microwave Ovens Will
Save Consumers on Energy Bills
U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced on May 31st that the
Energy Department has finalized new energy efficiency standards for microwave
ovens. These efficiency standards, which will go into effect starting in 2016,
will save consumers nearly $3 billion on their energy bills through 2030.
Over the next 30 years, energy savings resulting from those standards
will dramatically reduce harmful carbon pollution, equivalent to taking over 12
million new cars off the road for one year.
Maine Project Launches First Grid-Connected Offshore Wind
Turbine in the U.S.
On May 31st, the Energy Department recognized the nation’s first
grid-connected offshore floating wind turbine prototype off the coast of
Castine, Maine. Led by the University of Maine and supported by a five-year
investment of $12 million from the Energy Department, this project represents
the first concrete-composite floating platform wind turbine to be deployed in
the world – strengthening American leadership in innovative clean energy
technologies that diversify the nation’s energy mix with more clean, domestic
BOEM to Auction Nearly 165,000 Acres Offshore Rhode
Island and Massachusetts for Wind Energy Development in July
As part of President Obama Administration’s all-of-the-above
energy strategy to continue to expand domestic energy production, Secretary of
the Interior Sally Jewell and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director
Tommy P. Beaudreau announced on June 4th that BOEM will hold the first-ever
competitive lease sale for renewable energy on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf
(OCS). The auction, scheduled to take place on July 31, will offer 164,750
acres offshore Rhode Island and Massachusetts for commercial wind energy
leasing. Together, these areas could support enough electricity to power more
than 1 million homes, a significant increase over what BOEM had originally
estimated last year.
Interior Releases First-Ever Comprehensive National
Assessment of Geologic Carbon Dioxide Storage Potential
The first-ever detailed national geologic carbon sequestration
assessment released on June 26, by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), showed
that the United States has the potential to store a mean of 3,000 metric
gigatons of carbon dioxide (CO2) in geologic basins throughout the country.
Based on present-day geologic and hydrologic knowledge of the subsurface and current
engineering practices, this assessment looked at the potential for CO2 storage
in 36 basins in the United States.