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Environmental and Energy Study Institute http://www.eesi.org
Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI)
1112 16th Street
NW
Suite 300
Washington, DC 20036Map thisEESI protects the climate by educating Congress, developing innovative policy solutions, and building broad coalitions to move America to efficient and renewable energy for a sustainable future. We promote environmentally sustainable societies through our focus on energy efficiency and renewable...
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sustainable Biomass and EnergyEESI’s strategy is to have agriculture -- substantively and politically – become part of any climate change mitigation strategy. Enormous opportunities exist for developing rural America ’s clean energy resources, including bioenergy (the production of electricity, useable heat, or liquid fuels from biomass), wind, solar, and energy efficiency. Yet there exists a tremendous knowledge gap among policymakers, farmers, and other key stakeholders about these opportunities. EESI seeks to educate policymakers about the potential economic development, energy security, and environmental benefits of tapping these resources. This requires building alliances between rural and urban policymakers by demonstrating that both constituencies stand to benefit from renewable energy development.
Energy & ClimateEESI’s Energy and Climate Program seeks to “change the political climate for climate change” and to help foster a low carbon energy revolution by supporting policy changes and strategies that will mitigate climate change while reaping the environmental, economic, national security and public health benefits of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. EESI 1) Promotes development and use of energy efficient technologies (in every sector) and renewable energy resources; 2) Educates policymakers about innovative climate change policies and actions on climate change being taken by private sector companies and key constituents; 3) Advocates energy efficiency and renewable energy policies and measures as cornerstones of national and state energy policy; and 4) Builds coalitions of vital stakeholders in consumer, business, environmental, religious, energy policy, governmental and academic organizations.
Energy and Smart GrowthEESI and the American Planning Association (APA) are in the second year of a three-year research and education project Planning Our Way to a New Energy Future to promote clean and efficient energy strategies for communities. The goal is to encourage improved energy efficiency and increased use of alternative energy technologies in communities, helping to address the serious challenges of climate change and to save taxpayer money and boost local economies.
InternsFriday, April 11, 2008 - Thursday, December 31, 2009Energy/Climate, Agriculture/Energy, Transportation/Smart Growth, Communications
EESI relies upon interns to provide substantive help to advance our environmental and energy policy agenda. In return, interns gain significant insight into the workings of Congress and the federal legislative process, knowledge of significant environmental and energy issues, and an understanding of a non-profit organization. Through EESI coalition building with other organizations, interns will witness how environmental and energy issues develop within the public policy arena. EESI internships offer invaluable career benefits and opportunities and may also be used for undergraduate, graduate, or postgraduate credit.
EESI recruits interns throughout the year on a rotating basis. Internship start and end dates are flexible. Some choose to intern during a Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall quarter. Internships require a commitment of 20-40 hours per week for a minimum of 10-12 weeks.
InternFriday, April 18, 2008 - Thursday, December 31, 2009EESI relies upon interns to provide substantive help to advance our environmental and energy policy agenda. In return, interns gain significant insight into the workings of Congress and the federal legislative process, knowledge of significant environmental and energy issues, and an understanding of a non-profit organization. Through EESI coalition building with other organizations, interns will witness how environmental and energy issues develop within the public policy arena. EESI internships offer invaluable career benefits and opportunities and may also be used for undergraduate, graduate, or postgraduate credit.
EESI recruits interns throughout the year on a rotating basis. Internship start and end dates are flexible. Some choose to intern during a Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall quarter. Internships require a commitment of 20-40 hours per week for a minimum of 10-12 weeks.
Advance clean, renewable energy policies with Congress Only proven efficiency and renewable energy (EE/RE)technologies can significantly cut greenhouse emissions in the critical next 8-10 years to avoid major changes to our world. We must show Congress that EE/RE technologies are real, available, cleaner, faster, and a better use of our resources -- and they make good business sense.
Biodiesel Industry Seeks Alternives to Soybean OilBiodiesel production plants around the country are shutting down or delaying construction thanks to the high price of soybean oil.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, the price of soybean oil has nearly doubled over the last year. Potentially making things worse for American biodiesel producers is the upcoming expiration of the $1 per gallon “blenders” excise tax credit, set to end on December 31, 2008. Although the vast majority of the biodiesel produced in the United States comes from soybean oil, a variety of alternative feedstocks do exist. The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) is trying to help the industry by working to develop alternative feedstocks and increase the oil content in currently used oilseed crops through breeding.
Study Predicts Climate Change Impact on TransportationA study recently released by the National Research Council found that transportation infrastructure in the United States will face a number of costly challenges in coming years as a result of global and regional changes in climate. Much of this would come as a result of potential increased flooding in coastal and low-lying areas due to increasingly intense storms and sea-level rise. The destruction of coastal wetlands that would normally reduce the impact of storm surges and rising population in coastal areas will exacerbate these effects, the report concluded.
The study recommends public and private actions to adapt to potential climate changes, including research into new design and planning techniques, identification and evaluation of new high-risk and high-impact areas, and increased coordination among local, state, and federal governments.
Clean MotionPublished monthly, this newsletter includes success stories, technology developments, policy updates, grant announcements, and other information relevant to deploying cleaner vehicles in the transportation sector with a focus on hybrids, plug-in hybrids, biofuels and idle reduction.
Climate Change NewsPublished weekly, this news update recounts the top climate change-related stories of the week and includes a list of upcoming events.
BCO: Bioenergy, Climate Protection, Oil ReductionPublished bimonthly, BCO is written to provide the most current information about biofuels, bioenergy and biobased products, and serve as a public forum. The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) hopes to build consensus within the environmental community regarding the potential benefits of biofuels – and particularly the expanded opportunities provided by cellulosic ethanol – with a special focus on climate protection.
Investment in Renewable Energy Reaches $100 BillionThe United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) says that new data in its report "Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Investment 2007" shows that investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency industries set a new record of more than $100 billion worth of transactions in 2006.
Food Prices Climbing from Higher Energy Costs Not Biofuelstestimony before the U.S. Helsinki Commission on May 6, Jetta Wong, Senior Policy Associate at EESI discussed the complexity involved in the rise in world food prices and how that relates to current biofuel production. Wong pointed out that although it is clear that the price of food is influenced by a number of factors, the fundamental cause is largely higher energy costs.
Wong noted that “because biofuels development has created a global market and brought a laser beam of attention to the relationship between energy, land use, and climate change, much of the media has jumped to point fingers at biofuels without doing due diligence on the issue.”
Report On Climate ModelsUS Climate Change Science Program Issues Report On Climate Models
On July 31, the US Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) announced the release of the report “Climate Models: An Assessment of Strengths and Limitations.” Developed under the leadership of the US Department of Energy (DOE), this report describes computer models of the Earth’s climate and their ability to simulate current climate change. The report also assesses the models’ ability to reproduce observed climate features and their sensitivity to changes in conditions such as atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide.
Study Links Melting Arctic to Climate ChangeOn August 1, scientists linked melting ice in the Arctic to global warming and predicted that combined with natural variability the Arctic could be ice-free within five years. Igor Polyakov, of the International Arctic Research Centre in Fairbanks, Alaska, explained, "A combination of these two forces leads to what we observe now and we should not ignore either force. There have been numerous models run that have looked at (the two forces) and basically they can't reproduce the ice loss we've had with natural variability. You have to add a carbon dioxide warming component to it." Permafrost in Siberia and Alaska are also at risk of melting, which may lead to the destruction of roads, bridges, railways and pipelines.
China Launches Environmental ExchangeOn August 5, China launched environment and energy exchanges in Shanghai and Beijing, as part of its efforts to cut emissions and conserve energy. The exchange will be a trading platform for environmental protection technology as well as sulfur dioxide and chemical oxygen demand emission permits. "The establishment of the environment and energy exchange can help transfer the past government-administrated energy allocation into the market," said Luo Xinyu, general manager of the Shanghai United Assets and Equity Exchange.
Global Warming Tied to Flooding RainsThe August 8 issue of the journal Science released a report linking global warming to more severe rainfall. "A warmer atmosphere contains larger amounts of moisture which boosts the intensity of heavy downpours," said Dr. Brian J. Soden, associate professor at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science. This could result in harsher floods, destruction of crops and an increased spread of diseases like malaria. “Such changes in extreme rainfall are quite important in my view, as flash flooding is produced by the extreme rain events,” said Dr. Anthony J. Broccoli, the director for the Center for Environmental Prediction at Rutgers University. “In the U.S., flooding is a greater cause of death than lightning or tornadoes, and presumably poses similar risks elsewhere.”
Report on How to Boost Cities’ Resiliency to Climate ChangeOn August 6, the United Nations announced the release of its guide, “Climate Resilient Cities: A Primer on Reducing Vulnerabilities to Climate Change Impacts and Strengthening Disaster Risk Management in East Asian Cities.” The guidebook explains the causes and effects of climate change and multi-hazard risk reduction, and was designed to help cities develop plans for effective disaster recovery and adaptation that can best protect cities during future climate events. This is especially important in East Asia, which the report cited as one of the world’s most vulnerable areas. “Ultimately, the cities hardest hit by climate change will be the ones least prepared,” said Neeraj Prasad, the World Bank’s Lead Environmental Specialist for the region. Some recommended measures include raising awareness of global warming’s impact, improving infrastructure and increasing the use of energy-efficient public transport use.
EPA Denies the RFS Waiver RequestOn August 7, 2008, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Stephen L. Johnson announced that EPA would deny a request submitted by the State of Texas to reduce the nationwide Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). Working with the Departments of Energy and Agriculture, EPA considered more than 15,000 public comments and determined that the RFS is not causing “severe harm” to the economy. This means that the total volume of renewable fuels mandated by law to be blended into the fuel supply will remain at 9 billion gallons in 2008 and 11.1 billion gallons in 2009.
Comment on USDA's Climate Change Strategic PlanOn August 6, 2008, the Office of the Chief Economist at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it is seeking comments regarding USDA's Climate Change Strategic Planning Priorities and goals for Research, Education, and Extension. In collaboration with the United States Climate Change Science Program, USDA released a scientific assessment, "The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture, Land Resources, Water Resources, and Biodiversity in the United States." USDA is requesting input on its efforts to create a strategic plan for climate change research, education, and extension. Comments must be received by September 19, 2008.
