Obama Executive Order: Federal Government Must Triple Renewable Energy In 7 Years

[kpete]

Source: Think Progress


...............................

Obama now seems to be making good on those statements. On Thursday, the administration released an executive order http://assets.nationaljournal.com/pdf/131205_EOenergymanagement.pdf directing the federal government to triple its use of renewable energy by 2020, which would bring the government’s renewable energy usage to 20 percent. The order will apply to all federal agencies, including the military.

The Associated Press, which obtained a copy of the executive order before it was published, noted that the federal government itself occupies approximately 500,000 buildings and operates 600,000 vehicles, and purchases more than $500 billion per year in goods and services. The order does not disclose the cost of the transition, but says the goal will be reached “to the extent economically feasible and technically practicable.”
The top priority for federal agencies is installing agency-funded renewable energy on-site at federal facilities, and retaining renewable energy certificates, or RECs. An REC is a certificate that represents the environmental value of one megawatt-hour of electricity. In buying a REC, the government essentially pays a little bit of money in order to claim and keep track of the clean benefit of the electricity produced.

Obama has pledged to address climate change during his second term, and in a June speech detailed a three-tier plan for the administration. That plan would cut carbon pollution in America, lead international efforts to cut global emissions, and prepare the U.S. for the costly impacts of climate change. President Obama framed the action as a moral obligation to do what we can for “the world we leave our children.”

“This is the global threat of our time,” Obama said in June. “And for the sake of future generations, our generation must move toward a global compact to confront a changing climate before it is too late. That is our job. That is our task. We have to get to work.”

Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/12/05/3024081/obama-order-federal-government-triple-renewable-energy-2020-2/

[onehandle]

1. Damn Nanny State! nt

[riqster]

2. What! Not 100%????

That damned corporate whore DLC Third Way sellout, olive-garden-eating, pit-bull-porn-watching Obama, he's useless!!!! I'm SERIES!!!!



(yes, )

[awoke_in_2003]

3. Off to greatest. nt

[northoftheborder]

4. Great move.

[Orsino]

5. If it mostly comes from bioethanol, I won't be impressed.

Now, carbon-neutral? That would be something.

[mcp37]

7. I hate to say it

but we've got a whole nation to tow behind us. Baby steps are sometimes the only way to go. I get it, I walk to work 2.5 miles one way and back again every day but not everyone can do that. I can take the bus but I & my girlfriend choose to walk unless the weather is bad. Then we take the bus. Not everyone has that option. What Pres. Obama is doing is setting the best example he can. Change doesn't happen over night. We have to show how it can work through doing it. I think that is what we are seeing here. I would love to see us move to trains and pubic transit and foot traffic friendly areas but that is going to take time. Action is the best way to show the value of your actions. WE as the convinced have to show everyone else the value in what we do by doing it.

[Orsino]

8. Well, don't hate to say it. Seems valid.

I think we're long past too-little-too-late measures, but when specifics are revealed, perhaps we'll see significant action in the works.

[mcp37]

10. I agree.

We just have top get the general population to go along with us. That takes us showing the relevancy of our position by show it benefits!

[kristopher]

12. Obama has been strong on wind and solar.

On Nov.15th they announced a reduction in the ethanol mandate for 2014 from the scheduled 18 billion gal to 15 billion gal.

I'm all in for renewables and follow the policies pretty tightly. Given the circumstances he's had to work with, I've been extremely pleased with the actions the Pres has taken. He has done everything I can think of within the exclusive authority of the Executive Branch to promote clean energy,

[Hekate]

6. KnR

[groundloop]

9. That'll only happen if we hold onto the White House

Otherwise the use of renewable energy will be eliminated in January of 2017 and we'll be back to square 1 (again).

[2naSalit]

11. Hope it becomes a reality. nt

[contrarian22]

13. conflicting signals this week

WH wants more renewable energy and fines them for creating it. Remember parks and recs department fined Duke energy several millions for bird deaths from it windmills?

[Doctor_J]

14. Can he sign an executive order that might do some good in, say, a year?

Stuff like this sounds good but is silly and pretty meaningless.

[kknackjr]

15. Meanwhile on the other side of the aisle

Climate change denial is still status quo. We are lucky to be getting 8 years worth of damage control with Obama but in 2016 it's back to the nailbiting game to see what climate change denier and anti-environmentalist corporate puppet is competing to run our nation. Always be looking and thinking ahead!

[Coyotl]

16. A small beginning

[nomorenomore08]

17. Countries like Germany and Denmark get, what, 25-30% of their power from non-fossil-fuel sources?

And if there weren't so many backward idiots gumming up the works, I'm sure we could do the same here.

[okaawhatever]

18. Obama also snuck a carbon tax increase into a microwave oven document back in June. It will

affect several things. Fox news jumped all over it, but few other news sources mentioned it. I think he knows making a big deal out of anything that will hurt big oil only brings serious political backlash. It will have an impact on how the Keystone pipeline is judged by making the cost to the environment in dollars much higher now.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-12/tougher-regulations-seen-from-obama-change-in-carbon-cost.html