2014: Kat4Obama’s Most Memorable Moments

by @Kat4Obama

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1. China Climate Deal

 

White House Fact Sheet

 

Building on strong progress during the first six years of the Administration, today President Obama announced a new target to cut net greenhouse gas emissions 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025.  At the same time, President Xi Jinping of China announced targets to peak CO2 emissions around 2030, with the intention to try to peak early, and to increase the non-fossil fuel share of all energy to around 20 percent by 2030….These actions will also inject momentum into the global climate negotiations on the road to reaching a successful new climate agreement next year in Paris.

The new U.S. goal will double the pace of carbon pollution reduction from 1.2 percent per year on average during the 2005-2020 period to 2.3-2.8 percent per year on average between 2020 and 2025.  This ambitious target is grounded in intensive analysis of cost-effective carbon pollution reductions achievable under existing law and will keep the United States on the right trajectory to achieve deep economy-wide reductions on the order of 80 percent by 2050….

The Administration’s steady efforts to reduce emissions will deliver ever-larger carbon pollution reductions, public health improvements and consumer savings over time and provide a firm foundation to meet the new U.S. target.

The joint announcement marks the first time China has agreed to peak its CO2 emissions. The United States expects that China will succeed in peaking its emissions before 2030 based on its broad economic reform program, plans to address air pollution, and implementation of President Xi’s call for an energy revolution.

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2. President Obama designates largest marine monument in the world off-limits to development — almost a half-million square miles

 

White House Fact Sheet

 

As part of this Year of Action, President Obama will sign a proclamation tomorrow to designate the largest marine reserve in the world that is completely off limits to commercial resource extraction including commercial fishing. The proclamation expands the existing Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, one of the most pristine tropical marine environments in the world, to six times its current size, resulting in 370,000 square nautical miles (490,000 square miles) of protected area around these tropical islands and atolls in the south-central Pacific Ocean. Expanding the Monument will more fully protect the deep coral reefs, seamounts, and marine ecosystems unique to this part of the world, which are also among the most vulnerable areas to the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification.

The recently released National Climate Assessment confirms that climate change is causing sea levels and ocean temperatures to rise. Changing temperatures can harm coral reefs and force certain species to migrate. In addition, carbon pollution is being absorbed by the oceans, causing them to acidify, which can damage coastal shellfish beds and reefs, altering entire marine ecosystems. To date, the acidity of our ocean is changing 50 times faster than any known change in millions of years.

In response to this growing threat, the President announced in June his commitment to use his authority to protect some of our most precious marine landscape just like he has for our mountains, rivers, and forests. The Administration identified expanding the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument as an area of particular interest because science has shown that large marine protected areas can help rebuild biodiversity, support fish populations, and improve overall ecosystem resilience.

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3. 260 million acres of public lands protected

 

See Dan Pfeiffer here and the White House Fact Sheet

 

Today, President Obama designated the pristine waters of Bristol Bay as off limits to consideration for oil and gas leasing.  This action safeguards one of the nation’s most productive fisheries and preserves an ecologically rich area of the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska that is vital to the commercial fishing and tourism economy and to Alaska Native communities.

Bristol Bay is at the heart one of the world’s most valuable fisheries, helping to provide 40 percent of America’s wild-caught seafood and support a $2 billion annual fishing industry.  The beautiful and remote area is also an economic engine for tourism in Alaska, driving $100 million in recreational fishing and tourism activity every year. Bristol Bay hosts the largest runs of wild sockeye salmon in the world, and provides important habitat for many species, including the threatened Stellar’s eider, sea otters, seals, walruses, Beluga and Killer whales, and the endangered North Pacific Right Whale.

Today’s decision to withdraw the area from all future oil and gas leasing extends indefinitely a temporary withdrawal that President Obama issued in 2010 and was set to expire in 2017.  This action builds on decades of local efforts to protect Bristol Bay from oil and gas development by Alaska Native tribes and organizations, as well as local seafood and tourism businesses that create jobs and strengthen Alaska and the nation’s economy. It also honors the legacy of Alaska residents like Harold ‘Harvey’ Samuelsen, a salmon fisherman who is legendary for his lifelong dedication to Bristol Bay and to creating economic opportunities for Alaska Native and rural communities.

The North Aleutian Basin Planning Area that includes Bristol Bay consists of approximately 32.5 million acres, a portion of which was leased in the mid-1980s but never developed due to litigation.  The previous Administration set in motion a new lease sale for 2011 that would have opened approximately 5.6 million acres – about one-fifth of the planning area – for drilling.

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4. Obama Administration Takes Major Step Forward for Offshore Wind Power in Massachusetts

 

National Wildlife Federation

 

The ever-growing need for viable, large-scale clean energy solutions to protect wildlife from the dangers of climate change places the Atlantic Coast at center stage—and today, the spotlight is on Massachusetts….

“National Wildlife Federation applauds the Obama Administration for taking this significant step forward for offshore wind power, and calls on Massachusetts’ leaders to seize this opportunity with a clear commitment to ensure that responsibly-sited offshore wind power plays a major role in the Commonwealth’s energy future.” – Catherine Bowes, Senior Climate & Energy Manager, National Wildlife Federation

Separate from the soon-to-be-spinning Cape Wind project, and the Rhode Island- Massachusetts Wind Energy Area leased last July, the Massachusetts Wind Energy Area is located approximately 12 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and 13 nautical miles southwest of Nantucket.

The 742,000 acre area has an estimated 5,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy generation potential—enough to power 1.6 million U.S. homes. It’s a critically-needed opportunity to diversify the Northeast regional energy mix, create significant new jobs and economic development, and protect wildlife and future generations from the dangerous effects of climate change.

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5. President Obama creates largest national monument of his Presidency, placing almost half a million acres in New Mexico off-limits to development

 

White House

 

The Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks area is important for its ruggedly beautiful landscape and the significant scientific, historic, and prehistoric resources found there. The abundant resources testify to over 10,000 years of vibrant and diverse human history of many peoples. Objects left behind by this multi-layered history and spread throughout this geologically and ecologically diverse landscape enhance the experience of visitors to the area and represent a vital resource for paleontologists, archaeologists, geologists, biologists, and historians.

Archaeologically rich, the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks area features hundreds of artifacts, rock art, dwellings, and other evidence of the Native peoples of the area. Three of the many rock art areas are in the Las Valles Canyon in the Sierra de las Uvas, the Providence Cone area in the Potrillo Mountains, and the Doña Ana Mountains. Scattered Paleo Indian artifacts, including those from the Folsom and Clovis cultures, represent the first people who lived in southern New Mexico and have been found in the Robledo and Potrillo Mountains as well as the Las Uvas Valley. The majority of the cultural items known to be in the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks area are from the Chihuahuan Archaic period between 8,000 and 2,000 years ago. Diverse rock art images, along with ceramic fragments, demonstrate that the area was the scene of many cross-cultural interactions as the region’s early occupants transitioned over time from roaming hunters to semi-permanent villagers….

The Organ Mountains are home to alligator juniper, gray oak, and mountain mahogany, as well as the endemic Organ Mountain evening primrose, Organ Mountains giant hyssop, Organ Mountains paintbrush, Organ Mountains pincushion cactus, Organ Mountain figwort, Organ Mountains scaleseed, night-blooming cereus, Plank’s Catchfly, and nodding cliff daisy, and likely the endangered Sneed’s pincushion cactus.

The area also supports diverse wildlife. Across the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks landscape, many large mammal species can be found, such as mountain lions, coyotes, and mule deer. The Organ Mountains were also historically home to desert bighorn sheep. Raptors such as the golden eagle, red-tailed hawk, and endangered Aplomado falcon soar above the area’s grasslands and foothills…

The protection of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks area will preserve its cultural, prehistoric, and historic legacy and maintain its diverse array of natural and scientific resources, ensuring that the prehistoric, historic, and scientific values of this area remain for the benefit of all Americans.

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President Obama jokes with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy and EPA staff members who worked on the power plant emissions standards, in the Rose Garden of the White House, June 2, 2014 (Photo by Pete Souza)

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6. EPA announces first national rule to provide for the safe disposal of coal ash from coal-fired power plants

 

EPA

 

Early in the morning on December 22, 2008, a dam failed at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Fossil Fuel Plant near Knoxville, spilling 1.1 billion gallons of coal ash over a roughly 300-acre area. The ash flooded into the Emory River and covered homes, putting people’s health and the environment at risk. A major gas line was ruptured, several houses destroyed and a nearby neighborhood evacuated. Coal ash is the waste produced from coal power generation, and it contains toxic elements like mercury, cadmium and arsenic. It poses significant health risks if it gets into drinking water or mixes with the air we breathe.

Today, Administrator Gina McCarthy signed a new rule to help ensure that this doesn’t happen again and that coal ash is managed safely. This new rule protects communities from coal ash impoundment failures, like the catastrophic Kingston, Tennessee spill, and establishes safeguards to prevent groundwater contamination and air emissions from coal ash disposal.

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And there is more to come: US and India to announce joint climate change action during Obama visit in January 2015 (The Guardian)

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These are just a few highlights. Of course there is much more to the story of what President Obama and his Administration are doing to protect our communities, economy and national security with his actions on climate and the environment; to maintain the safety of our air, water and food and other products; to fight pollution and mitigate the harm of climate change, and to save the irreplaceable natural and historical heritage of our environment.

We have so much for which to thank him, and I do, from the bottom of my heart.