Sustainable Bioenergy, Farms, and Forests - January 8, 2016

USDA Ends Fire Borrowing in Bid to Spur Congressional Action on Wildfire Funding

On January 6, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack discussed the 2015 wildfire season, the most destructive season on record.  During his remarks, Vilsack discussed a December announcement that the agency would halt the practice of fire-borrowing, or re-appropriating Forest Service funds mid-year to wildfire suppression. The move ramps up the years long tug-of-war between the Obama administration and Congress to find an appropriate solution to the growing issue of wildfire funding. 

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Headlines:

1. Big Oil to Cut Investment Again in 2016

2. Paper, Wood Products Manufacturers File Biomass Litigation on Clean Power Plan

3. USDA Report: Conservation-Practice Adoption Rates Vary Widely by Crop and Region

4. Opinion: We Need A New Green Revolution

5. Report: Prairie Power Project – Maximizing Wildlife Habitat and Biomass Production

 

 

Free Webinar: 

 

U.S. Carbon Policy Trends and Implications for the Biomass Industry

Hosted by the Northeast Woody/Warm-season Biomass Consortium and USDA NIFA AFRI Regional Bioenergy System Coordinated Agricultural Projects

Monday, January 12 1:00 pm EST
Speakers: Jessie Stolark and Laura Small, EESI
Pre-registration not required, access the webinar here.

The Clean Power Plan (CPP) is the keystone policy of President Obama's Climate Action Plan, an ambitious goal to cut economy wide greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. The CPP will reduce greenhouse gases from the power sector by 32 percent by 2030 through a variety of measures. While the rule was finalized last fall, 2016 will still see the unfolding of numerous legal challenges to the rule and finalization of the Federal Implementation Plan option (required by non-compliant states). This presentation will cover the history and precedence for the CPP, how EPA expects states to comply with the rule, opportunities for biomass stakeholders to engage with EPA and state air regulators on the rule, and the potential implications to the U.S. biomass industry. 

 

Upcoming Briefing:

 

Environmental Justice in the Clean Power Plan
Monday, January 25
11:00 am - 12:30 pm
2168 Rayburn House Office Building
C Street and South Capitol Street, SE
Please RSVP to expedite check-in 
 

A live webcast will be streamed at 11:00 AM EST at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting)

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing discussing how environmental justice (EJ) is addressed through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Clean Power Plan, the nation’s first-ever rules limiting carbon pollution from power plants (which are the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States). The Clean Power Plan will not only cut millions of tons of carbon dioxide emissions, but also hundreds of thousands of tons of particulate pollution that becomes soot and smog. Cutting these emissions will help prevent thousands of premature deaths, heart attacks, asthma attacks, and missed work days. Minority and low-income communities, which are more likely to be located in areas burdened with pollution, will particularly benefit from these emission reductions.

For questions or comments, contact Laura Small at [email protected].
 

 

 

To Contact the Editor: Jessie Stolark at [email protected]

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