Obama says climate change is make-or-break issue
Posted on June 29, 2013 at 7:13 pm by Associated Press in Climate Change, Electricity, Environment
President Barack Obama gestures during a speech on climate change at Georgetown University on Tuesday,
June 25, 2013, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is trying to frame climate change as a make-or-break political
issue, urging Americans to vote only for those who will protect the country from environmental harm.
He says people in the United States already are paying a price for climate change, including in lost lives and
hundreds of billions of dollars.
“If you agree with me, I’ll need you to act,” Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address. “Remind
everyone who represents you, at every level of government, that there is no contradiction between a sound
environment and a strong economy — and that sheltering future generations against the ravages of climate
change is a prerequisite for your vote.”
In his remarks released Saturday but recorded at the White House before his trip to Africa, Obama is trying
to persuade the public to help sell his climate change plan for him.
That plan, released last week, is bypassing Congress after years of efforts to get lawmakers to pass
legislation to deal with the issue.
At the core of Obama’s plan are new controls on new and existing power plants that emit carbon dioxide,
heat-trapping gases blamed for global warming. The program is intended to boost renewable energy
production on federal lands, increase efficiency standards and prepare communities to deal with higher
temperatures.
None of the measures in Obama’s plan requires congressional action.
Republicans and some Democrats have denounced the plan as a job-killing “war on coal,” and opponents
could try to undercut Obama’s plan or hinder it through legal action if Americans don’t seem to be on board.
“The question is not whether we need to act. The question is whether we will have the courage to act before
it’s too late,” Obama said.
Obama has also pledged that the U.S. will lead other nations in a “coordinated assault” to reduce pollution.
But he acknowledged Saturday in a town hall meeting with young people in Johannesburg that the U.S. and
other wealthy countries must shoulder a disproportionate part of the burden.
His proposal to cut off U.S. subsidies for coal-fired power plants overseas, for example, includes exemptions
for the poorest countries where no better technology is available.
“The United States cannot do it by itself,” Obama said in South Africa. “I expect it’s going to be your
generation that helps lead this, because if we don’t, it’s going to be your generation that suffers the most.”
In the Republican address, Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas says there are troubling, unanswered questions about
the implementation of Obama’s health care law.
“We must put an end to the fear and uncertainty,” Roberts says. “Those ‘bumps’ and ‘glitches’ the president
talks about? It’s a train wreck, folks, and we have to get America out of the way.”
Obama opens 2nd-term drive against climate change
Pablo Martinez Monsivais
President Barack Obama speaks
during his meeting in the Roosevelt
Room of the White House in
Washington, Monday, June 24, 2013,
with CEOs, business owners and
entrepreneurs to discuss immigration
reform. From left are, Cecilia Muñoz,
direcor of the White House
Domestic Policy Council, the
president, senior White House
adviser Valerie Jarrett, National
Economic Council Director Gene
Sperling, and Dilawar Syed, CEO Yonja Media Group. Obama hosted the meeting to discuss the importance of
commonsense immigration reform including the Congressional Budget Office analysis that concludes
immigration reform would promote economic growth and reduce the deficit.
Josh Lederman, Associated Press
June 26, 2013
WASHINGTON (AP) — Appealing for courageous action "before it's too late," President Barack Obama
launched a major second-term drive Tuesday to combat climate change and secure a safer planet, bypassing
Congress as he sought to set a cornerstone of his legacy.
Abandoning his suit jacket under a sweltering sun at Georgetown University, Obama issued a dire warning
about the environment: Temperatures are rising, sea level is climbing, the Arctic ice is melting and the world is
doing far too little to stop it. Obama said the price for inaction includes lost lives and homes and hundreds of
billions of dollars.
"As a president, as a father and as an American, I'm here to say we need to act," Obama said. "I refuse to
condemn your generation and future generations to a planet that's beyond fixing."
At the core of Obama's plan are new controls on new and existing power plants that emit carbon dioxide —
heat-trapping gases blamed for global warming. The program also will boost renewable energy
production on federal lands, increase efficiency standards and prepare communities to deal with higher
temperatures. Obama called for the U.S. to be a global leader in the search for solutions.
But Obama's campaign will face extensive obstacles, including a complicated, lengthy process of
implementation and the likelihood that the limits on power plants will be challenged in court. Likewise, the
instantaneous political opposition that met his plan made clear the difficulty the president will face in seeking
broad support.
"There will be legal challenges. No question about that," former EPA Administrator Christie Whitman said in
an interview. "It's a program that's largely executive. He doesn't need Congress. What that does, of course, is
make them (Congress) madder."
Obama also offered a rare insight into his deliberations on whether to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline,
deeming it in America's interests only if it doesn't worsen carbon pollution. Obama has faced intense political
pressure from supporters and opponents of the 1,200-mile pipeline from Canada to Texas.
Declaring the scientific debate over climate change and its causes obsolete, Obama mocked those who deny that
humans are contributing to the warming of the planet. "We don't have time for a meeting of the flat-earth
society," Obama said.
The Capitol Dome is seen behind the Capitol
Power Plant in Washington, Monday, June 24,
2013. The plant provides power to buildings in the
Capitol Complex. President Barack Obama is
running out of time to make good on his lofty vow
to confront climate change head-on, and Congress
is in no mood to help. The executive actions and
regulations Obama announces Tuesday will take
years to implement.
Obama's announcement followed years of
inaction by Congress to combat climate change. A
first-term effort by Obama to use a market-based
approach called cap-and-trade to lower
emissions failed, and in February a newly re-elected Obama issued lawmakers an ultimatum in his State of the
Union: "If Congress won't act soon to protect future generations, I will."
Four months later, impatient environmental activists reveled in the news that Obama was finally taking matters
into his own hands, announcing a series of steps that don't require congressional approval.
"This is the change we have been waiting for," said Michael Brune, who runs the Sierra Club, an
environmental group. "Today, President Obama has shown he is keeping his word to future generations."
Republicans on both sides of the Capitol dubbed Obama's plan a continuation of his "war on coal" and "war on
jobs." The National Association of Manufacturers claimed Obama's proposals would drive up costs. Republican
Rep. Shelley Moore Capito of the coal-heavy state of West Virginia slammed what she called Obama's
"tyrannical efforts to bankrupt the coal industry."
"The federal government should leave us the hell alone," said Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson,
whose agency handles Texas' environment and energy markets.
Even industry groups that have been friendly to Obama and supportive of his climate goals, such as the Edison
Electric Institute, which represents power plants, signaled their apprehension by calling for "achievable
compliance limits and deadlines." Evan Vucci
President Barack Obama gestures during a speech on climate change, Tuesday, June 25, 2013, at Georgetown
University in Washington. Obama is proposing sweeping steps to limit heat-trapping pollution from coal-fired
power plants and to boost renewable energy production on federal property.
Obama said the same arguments have been used in the past when the U.S. has taken other steps to protect the
environment. "That's what they said every time," Obama said. "And every time, they've been wrong."
Obama broke his relative silence on Keystone XL, explicitly linking the project to global warming for the first
time in a clear overture to environmental activists who want the pipeline nixed. The pipeline would carry
carbon-intensive oil from Canadian tar sands to the Texas Gulf Coast refineries and has sparked an intense
partisan fight.
"Our national interest would be served only if this project does not significantly exacerbate the problem of
carbon pollution," Obama said.
The White House indicated Obama was referring to overall, net emissions that take into account what would
happen under alternative scenarios. A State Department report this year said other methods to transport the oil
— like shipping it on trains — could yield even higher emissions.
"The standard the president set today should lead to speedy approval of the Keystone pipeline," said Brendan
Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.
Announcing he will allow more renewable energy projects on public lands, Obama set a goal to power the
equivalent of 6 million homes by 2020 from sources like wind and solar, effectively doubling the current
capacity. The set of actions also includes a new set of fuel efficiency standards for heavy-duty trucks,
more aggressive efficiency targets for buildings and appliances, and $8 billion in federal loan guarantees
to spur innovation.
By far the most sweeping element — and the one likely to cause the most consternation — is new limits on
carbon dioxide pollution from power plants. The administration has already proposed rules for new coalfired plants, but they have been delayed amid industry concerns about the cost. A presidential memorandum
Obama issued Tuesday directs the EPA to revise and reissue the new plant rules by September, then
finalize them "in a timely fashion."
The key prize for environmental groups comes in Obama's instruction that the EPA propose rules for the
nation's existing plants by June 2014, then finalize them by June 2015 and implement them by June 2016 —
just as the presidential campaign to replace Obama will be in full swing.
Rather than issue a specific, uniform standard that plants must meet, the EPA will work with states, power
sector leaders and other parties to develop plans that meet the needs of individual states and also achieve
the objective of reducing emissions.
Associated Press writers Matthew Daly and Jim Kuhnhenn in Washington and Ramit Plushnick-Masti in
Houston, contributed to this report.
Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP
AP sources: Obama to limit carbon at power plants
By JOSH LEDERMAN, Associated Press | June 24, 2013 | Updated: June 24, 2013 8:54pm

The Capitol Dome is seen behind the Capitol Power Plant in Washington, Monday, June 24, 2013. The plant
provides power to buildings in the Capitol Complex. President Barack Obama is running out of time to make
good on his lofty vow to confront climate change head-on, and Congress is in no mood to help. The executive
actions and regulations Obama announces Tuesday will take years to implement. Photo: Carolyn Kaster


WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's national plan to combat climate change will include the
first-ever regulations to limit carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants, as well as increased
production of renewable energy on public lands and federally assisted housing, environmental groups briefed on
the plan said Monday.
In a major speech Tuesday at Georgetown University, Obama will announce that he's directing his
administration to allow enough renewables on public lands to power 6 million homes by 2020, effectively
doubling the capacity from solar, wind and geothermal projects on federal property. He'll also say the U.S. will
significantly expand production of renewable energy on low-income housing sites, according to five individuals
briefed on the plan, who were not authorized to discuss it publicly ahead of Obama's announcement and spoke
on condition of anonymity.
The far-reaching plan marks Obama's most prominent effort yet to deliver on a major priority he laid out in his
first presidential campaign and recommitted to at the start of his second term: to fight climate change in the U.S.
and abroad and prepare American communities for its effects. Environmental activists have been irked that
Obama's high-minded goals never materialized into a comprehensive plan.
In taking action on his own — none of the steps Obama will announce Tuesday require congressional approval
— Obama is also signaling he will no longer wait for lawmakers to act on climate change, and instead will seek
ways to work around them.
The lynchpin of Obama's plan, and the step activists say will have the most dramatic impact, involves limits on
carbon emissions for new and existing power plants. The Obama administration has already proposed controls
on new plants, but those controls have been delayed and not yet finalized. Tuesday's announcement will be the
first public confirmation that Obama plans to extend carbon controls to coal-fired power plants that are
currently pumping heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere.
"This is the holy grail," said Melinda Pierce of Sierra Club, an environmental advocacy group. "That is the
single biggest step he can take to help tackle carbon pollution."
Forty percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, and one-third of greenhouse gases overall, come from electric
power plants, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the Energy Department's statistical
agency.
Obama is expected to lay out a broad vision Tuesday, without detailed emission targets or specifics about how
they will be put in place. Instead, the president will launch a process in which the Environmental Protection
Agency will work with states to develop specific plans to rein in carbon emissions, with flexibility for each
state's circumstances. Under one scenario envisioned by the Natural Resources Defense Council, an
environmental group, states could draw on measures such as clean energy sources, carbon-trapping technology
and energy efficiency to reduce the total emissions released into the air.
Obama also will announce more aggressive steps to increase efficiency for appliances such as refrigerators and
lamps, according to people briefed on the plan. Another component of Obama's proposal will involve ramping
up hydropower production from existing dams.
Heather Zichal, Obama's senior energy and climate adviser, told environmental groups Monday that Obama is
working with Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan on a target for renewable energy to
be produced at federally assisted housing projects.
She framed the Obama's efforts in the U.S. as part of a broader, global movement to combat climate change,
trumpeting the role the U.S. can play in leading other nations to stem the warming of the planet.
Paul Bledsoe, who worked on climate issues in the Clinton White House, said Zichal renewed a pledge Obama
made in in his first year in office, during global climate talks in Copenhagen, to cut U.S. carbon emissions by
about 17 percent by 2020, compared to 2005 levels.
"This is a policy fulfillment of what the president has been talking about and trying to accomplish for five years
or more," said Bledsoe, now a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
One key issue Obama is not expected to address Tuesday is Keystone XL, a pipeline that would carry oil
extracted from tar sands in western Canada to refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast. A concerted campaign by
environmental activists to persuade Obama to nix the pipeline as a "carbon bomb" appears to have gained little
traction. The oil industry has been urging the president to approve the pipeline, citing jobs and economic
benefits.
Obama raised climate change as a key second-term issue in his inaugural address in January, but has offered
few details since. In his February State of the Union, he issued an ultimatum to lawmakers: "If Congress won't
act soon to protect future generations, I will."
The poor prospects for getting any major climate legislation through a Republican-controlled House were on
display last week when Speaker John Boehner responded to the prospect that Obama would put forth controls
on existing power plants by deeming the idea "absolutely crazy."
"Why would you want to increase the cost of energy and kill more American jobs?" said Boehner, R-Ohio,
echoing the warnings of some industry groups.
Sidestepping Congress by using executive action doesn't guarantee Obama smooth sailing. Lawmakers could
introduce legislation to thwart Obama's efforts. And the rules for existing power plants will almost certainly
face legal challenges in court. The Supreme Court has upheld the EPA's authority to regulate greenhouse gases
under the Clean Air Act, but how the EPA goes about that effort remains largely uncharted waters.
Even if legal and political obstacles are overcome, it will take years for the new measures to be put in place,
likely running up against the end of Obama's presidency or even beyond it. White House aides say that's one
reason Obama is ensuring the process starts now, while there are still more than three years left in his final term.
Under the process outlined in the Clean Air Act, the EPA cannot act unilaterally, but must work with states to
develop the standards, said Jonas Monast, an attorney who directs the climate and energy program at Duke
University. An initial proposal will be followed by a months-long public comment period before the EPA can
issue final guidance to states. Then the states must create actual plans for plants within their borders, a process
likely to take the better part of a year.
Then the EPA has another four months to decide whether to approve each state's plan before the implementation
period can start.
Associated Press Writer Matthew Daly contributed to this story.
Texas heat brings power plants out of mothballs
ELECTRICITY USE
4 power plants revived to combat record heat
Houston-area units among those firing up to boost grid
TOM FOWLER
, HOUSTON CHRONICLE | August 16, 2011

Photo By Nathan Lindstrom :/For the Chronicle
NRG Energy's SR Bertron power plant has two units that are being taken out of mothballs. The units have 292
megawatts of power and are expected to help the state meet its needs as record heat and drought grip the area.
Photo: Nathan Lindstrom :, For The Chronicle
Four mothballed power plants will come back online in the coming weeks to help ensure Texas' main electric
grid can handle demand for the rest of the summer.
Two Houston-area plants owned by NRG Energy and two near Dallas owned by Garland Power & Light will
return to service at the request of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.
NRG says the two natural gas-fired units at the SR Bertron plant in Deer Park along the Ship Channel should be
up and running by Sept. 1. The units, with a combined generating capacity of 292 megawatts, were taken offline
in 2010.
Garland Power & Light's two natural gas-fired units, with a combined capacity of 122 megawatts, could be
online as early as next week, said utility spokeswoman Elizabeth Kimbrough.
A megawatt is enough to power about 200 Texas homes during the summer months, when air conditioning use
is at its peak, according to ERCOT.
A combination of record high temperatures and a large number of plants going offline for unplanned
maintenance in recent weeks drove the state's main electric grid into crisis several times.
The state set a power use record on Aug. 2 and on Aug. 4 came close to rolling blackouts for what would have
been just the fourth time in 21 years.
Hot weather came early this summer and has been much more intense than grid operators expected, leading to
longer running times for many power plants and more frequent maintenance problems.
Cooling issues
The drought that has gripped much of Texas has not yet forced power plants to cut back operations, but ERCOT
CEO Trip Doggett said it may become an issue later this summer.
Several plants have had problems when the temperature of water in cooling reservoirs didn't drop enough
overnight, leading to less efficient operations.
"Without rainfall in the near future, we anticipate increased generation outage rates because of power plant
cooling water issues," Doggett said.
ERCOT is required to make sure Texas has enough power plant capacity online to ensure a safe margin between
supply and demand, but it generally can't force a company to run a power plant.
In some parts of the country companies receive what are called capacity payments throughout the year to have
power plants ready and available.
But ERCOT is an energy-only market, meaning market prices for power are supposed to provide the incentive
for plant operators to keep units online.
In the case of the four units coming back online, ERCOT will pay the costs of taking them out of mothballs and
cover their fixed costs, such as staff, maintenance and fuel.
ERCOT will call on the units only when necessary to avoid emergencies, so they won't displace units that are
online and bidding into the wholesale market, Doggett said.
"We don't know if, or how much, these units will be needed, but if needed, the cost will be minor when divided
by the 23 million consumers in the region and when compared to the much higher costs and problems from
statewide rolling blackouts, which these units will help avoid," Doggett said.
Electricity managers also can increase the margin between supply and demand by reducing demand.
Rolling blackout plan
Two statewide programs designed to prevent rolling blackouts call for industrial customers to drop nearly 1,300
megawatts of demand in an emergency.
Smaller demand reduction programs aim at residential customers.
Austin Energy, the city-owned utility for the state capital, provided free digital thermostats to nearly 90,000
homes in exchange for permission to reduce their air conditioning twice per hour for 10 minutes at a time from
4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
An Austin Energy spokesman said the program reduced peak demand by 35 to 45 megawatts.
TXU Energy has a similar program in the Dallas area.