By, Jessica Zalin
Intern, Disaster Accountability Project

(Jessica is entering her 2L year and is president of the Environmental Law Society at Pace University School of Law in New York)

In the wake of the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, environmental groups throughout the nation have capitalized on the rise to prominence of energy concerns in the forefront of American consciousness.  The public’s heightened sensitivity to oil-related issues has afforded many the opportunity to lobby for critical energy and climate policy change, in the hopes of turning these vitally important, but otherwise under-appreciated issues into a plan of action.
In a Disaster Accountability Project survey of non-governmental organizations’ [NGOs] proposed solutions to the nationwide energy crisis, “comprehensive energy and climate legislation” seemed the overarching concern.

However, what “comprehensive” entails varied between groups.  Demands ranged from the universally desirable requests for clean and renewable energy development, emission caps, and reduction of climate change-causing pollutants, to the more stringent permanent creation of new cabinet positions to deal with the spill’s aftermath and complete moratoria on all offshore gas and oil drilling.

Several of the U.S. Government’s proposed solutions to our energy and climate problems have been endorsed by the environmental NGO community.  Many proposals were made long before the disaster in the Gulf occurred, but these ideas have risen to relative prominence since that time.  These are the ideas that have a chance of being implemented, the ones that have the possibility of affecting the way our nation handles its energy resources.

The Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources [CLEAR] Act, H.R. 3534, was proposed by Representative Nick Rahall II (Democrat, West Virginia) on September 8, 2009 and later amended on July 15, 2010.  The bill is supported by NGOs such as the Wilderness Society and The Nature Conservancy, among others.  The House Committee on Natural Resources considered the bill and after several amendments, passed it on to be considered by the House as a whole.  On July 30, 2010, the bill was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.

The CLEAR Act purports to amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, requiring a balanced approach to energy development that acknowledges both the importance of developing Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) resources and that any impacts to natural and human environments should be minimized.  It requires amendments to the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act to extend its applicability and increase its funding.  It promotes alternative energy development, and designates OCS regions for sustainable development of ocean and coastal resources.  It establishes an Ocean Resources Conservation and Assistance Fund to protect, develop and maintain the ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems.   It amends the Energy Policy Act (of 2005) to require data sharing between federal agencies to support OCS mapping, and finally, it establishes a Gulf of Mexico Restoration Task Force which would develop a restoration plan for the region incorporating the best available science within the year.

The American Clean Energy and Security [ACES] Act, H.R. 2454, was proposed by Henry Waxman (Democrat, California) and Edward Markey (Democrat, Massachusetts) on May 15, 2009.  The bill is supported by a number of environmental NGOs, including Defenders of Wildlife, Natural Resources Defense Council,  and the Sierra Club.  This bill passed a House vote on June 26, 2009, and has now been put on the Senate calendar for a pending vote.

The ACES key provisions seek to promote clean energy and efficiency, reduce global warming pollution, transition the U.S. to an independent clean energy economy, and provide offset credits for agriculture and forestry.  It purports to amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act to implement federal efficiency and renewable energy standards, requiring a percentage of all retail energy sold to come from renewable sources, and develop smart grid technologies.  It promotes greater energy and water efficiency in buildings, appliances, and transportation.  It designates greenhouse gases, establishes cap-and-trade emissions allowances, and provides for real reductions in industrial emissions. It directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to come up with a market to handle these allowances, providing for oversight and transparency within this market.  It establishes green jobs in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and climate change mitigation, and offers assistance to those working in this industry.  Finally, it dictates the prerogative of the federal government to conserve natural resources and facilitate adaptation to the impacts of climate change.

The American Power Act (APA), was proposed by John Kerry (Democrat, Massachusetts) and Joe Lieberman (Independent, Connecticut) on May 11, 2010.  This bill, introduced in response to and directly influenced by the Gulf oil spill, is supported by Union of Concerned Scientists and the Environmental Defense Fund.

The APA’s goals include promoting clean energy development, reducing greenhouse gas pollution, and handling the effects of climate change.  It advises the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to alter its application procedure and heightens the environmental impact statements required before any nuclear projects can be developed.  It assigns the Department of the Interior responsibility for determining the safety of offshore drilling operations, and requires a moratorium on drilling until DOI determination.  It establishes a carbon capture and sequestration process for coal power.  It recognizes that measures are needed to further accelerate clean energy development, and implements strategies for research and development.  It seeks to minimize greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, and establishes pollution reduction targets for the future.  It discusses cost containment in trading of greenhouse gas allowances and offset programs both for domestic and international programs.  It requires the EPA to monitor black carbon and coal-fired power plants to more stringently enforce the Clean Air Act.  Finally, it will foster adaptation to these programs through new groups such as a Natural Resources Climate Change Adaptation Panel, a National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center, and a National Fish and Wildlife Habitat and Corridors Information Program.

So many NGOs call for “comprehensive energy and climate legislation.”  Each of these bills provide just that, albeit with slightly different foci for each.  The CLEAR Act is focused upon the Outer Continental Shelf and alternative energy development thereof.  The ACES Act is concerned with development of clean energy technologies, and converting our national economy to one driven by clean energy and energy efficiency. The American Power Act discusses a number of different energy strategies individually, and seeks to keep these strategies from negatively affecting the world’s resources as they are developed.

Could any of these bills be the solution to America’s energy woes?  It is striking that none of these bills would have had a chance to succeed until this recent disaster struck.  It is only when the world is in crisis that the public begins to listen, that change can occur.