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Council on Environmental Quality Blog

  • Leading the Way in Sustainability

    Posted by Nancy Sutley on October 5, 2009 at 7:02 PM EDT

    This morning, I was proud to gather with a group of cabinet secretaries and other senior officials as President Obama signed a new Executive Order on Federal Sustainability. The Executive Order challenges agencies to lead by example in energy and environmental performance and gives them 90 days to set a 2020 greenhouse reduction goal. It also sets targets for efficient, sustainable buildings, petroleum use reduction in fleets, water efficiency, waste reduction, purchasing green technologies and product, and supporting sustainable communities.
    By fulfilling this Executive Order, the Federal government will demonstrate that economic performance and a healthy environment go hand-in-hand. And by putting Federal purchasing power to work – more than $500 billion per year in goods and services – the government can build on the momentum of the Recovery Act to help turn good entrepreneurial ideas into great American enterprises that create jobs.
    I’m sure I speak for everyone who’s been a part of this effort when I say that we’re ready to put these ideas into practice, starting today.
    President Barack Obama participates in the CEQ Executive Order signing in the Oval Office, Oct. 5, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)President Barack Obama  participates in the CEQ Executive Order signing in the Oval Office, Oct. 5, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
    Nancy Sutley is the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality.

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  • The Task Force in the Ocean State

    Posted by Nancy Sutley on September 25, 2009 at 5:00 PM EDT

    After a very successful couple days in Rhode Island with members of the Ocean Policy Task Force, I am heading back to Washington. The public meeting went very well, with a few hundred people turning out for the event and a wide variety of ocean issues raised. In addition to those who joined us in person, many more chose to watch online or listen by phone. Holding these meetings has provided us with an invaluable perspective on the regions and all of the comments will be taken into consideration as we draft these final recommendations to President Obama.
    Today in Rhode Island we visited the Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge and The Coastal Institute, which provided a wonderful opportunity for us to learn even more about the challenges and opportunities in the ocean and coastal areas along the East Coast.
    I would like to give a special thanks to the other members and representatives of the Task Force who traveled to Rhode Island including NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Vice Admiral David P. Pekoske of the U.S. Coast Guard, Laura Davis from the Department of the Interior, Ira Leighton from the Environmental Protection Agency, and Dr. Sharon Hrynkow from the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences.
    The Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force is still taking public comments and look forward to our upcoming events in the Pacific Islands on September 29, and in Cleveland and New Orleans in October.
    Nancy Sutley is the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality
     

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  • Touring the Arctic

    Posted by Nancy Sutley on August 18, 2009 at 3:07 PM EDT

    This week I have joined other Administration officials for an Arctic Observance tour to learn more about how climate change is affecting the Arctic region.  We left Washington, DC early Monday morning with our team, which includes Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco, U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen, Deputy Assistant to the President on Energy and Climate Change Heather Zichal, and DOI Deputy Secretary David Hayes, and received a detailed briefing about the specifics of our trip to Alaska and what to expect in the coming days. 
     
    Upon our arrival in Nome, we were greeted by local officials, citizens and members of our armed forces. Immediately following, we met with local scientists on coastal erosion affecting the region.
     
    Today we flew to Fairbanks and went to the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, for presentations on the diversity of the Arctic Ocean and how climate change is impacting the region. Later today we will travel to the Permafrost Tunnel, a unique research facility that allows scientists to study the composition and behavior of ice structures and frozen bioorganics dating over 40,000 years old! Over the next three days we will continue our journey andmeet with local leaders, citizens and scientists who will share their knowledge on these issues.

    Our outreach in Alaska will culminate on Friday August 21st with the first in a series of Ocean Policy Task Force Public Meetings in Anchorage.  The President has charged the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force with developing a recommendation for a national policy that ensures protection, maintenance, and restoration of oceans, our coasts and the Great Lakes. It will also recommend a framework for improved stewardship, implementation options, and effective coastal and marine spatial planning. These public forums are a key component to establishing a comprehensive ocean policy.
     

    You can find more information on the Ocean Policy Task Force Public Meeting in Anchorage here.
     
    You can also follow the Coast Guard’s blog, photos, Twitters, Facebook, and YouTube videos about our trip.

    Nancy Sutley is the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality.
     

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  • Chair Sutley Speaks at LULAC National Convention

    Posted by CEQ on August 13, 2009 at 10:44 AM EDT

    On July 15th, Chair Nancy Sutley spoke at the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) National Convention about the importance of building a new clean energy economy that will create enormous economic opportunities for Latinos and all Americans alike. LULAC is the oldest and largest Hispanic civil rights organization in the country.
    "We can work to build an industry where we provide opportunities to the Latino American community, a critical part of the American workforce," said Chair Sutley. "Building a new clean energy economy will create enormous economic opportunities for Latinos, and it is important that people throughout the country become a part of the green economy.
    For nearly a century, LULAC has tackled many of the challenging issues Latinos have faced in a wide variety of areas, through community-based programs. Chair Sutley was honored to participate in this conference.
    While in Puerto Rico, she also had the opportunity to tour the San Juan Bay Estuary Program, one of 28 national estuaries recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency. EPA’s National Estuary Program was established by Congress in 1987 to improve the quality of estuaries of national importance and to develop plans for attaining or maintaining water quality in an estuary.
    San Juan Bay is the first tropical island estuary to take part in the program. It contains coral communities, seagrass beds, and mangrove forests, which are all designated critical habitats, and it is the home of seventeen endangered plant species and eight endangered animal species. The estuary also houses 160 bird, 19 reptile/amphibian, 124 fish, and 300 wetland plant species.
    CEQ Chair Sutley at LULAC(Photo by Luis Nuno Briones)



    CEQ Chair Sutley at LULACPhoto by Luis Nuno Briones)



    CEQ Chair Sutley at LULAC(Photo by Luis Nuno Briones)

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  • CEQ's New Site

    Posted by Nancy Sutley on July 21, 2009 at 11:59 AM EDT

    Check out the new and improved White House Council on Environmental Quality website! Our hope is to keep visitors informed on what is happening at CEQ and CEQ’s environmental priorities and activities. One of the major duties of the Council is to foster and promote environmental quality to meet the conservation, social, economic, and health goals of the Nation. Through our site, you can find up-to-date news on CEQ projects and announcements. The site gives some insight into areas we are focusing on in the environment and provides opportunities to give CEQ feedback and input on environmental initiatives.
    Nancy Sutley is the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality.

     

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  • Clean Energy Week

    Posted by CEQ on June 23, 2009 at 2:56 PM EDT

    As part of Clean Energy Week, on June 23, 2009, Chair Nancy Sutley and Van Jones, Special Advisor for Green Jobs at the Council, visited Charlottesville, VA, to demonstrate the development of the city’s innovative revolving loan program for energy efficiency upgrades.
    During Clean Energy Week, Cabinet Secretaries and agency heads participated in events highlighting the President’s commitment to building a clean energy economy that will generate millions of green jobs, break our dependence on foreign oil, reduce the threat of deadly pollution and restore America’s role as a global leader in the clean energy industry.
    The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes unprecedented investments in clean energy that will jump-start our economy and build the clean energy jobs of tomorrow, including funding for renewable energy projects, for energy efficiency and weatherization, as well as for a bigger, better, and smarter transmission grid that will move renewable energy from the rural places where it is produced to the cities where it is mostly used.
    To view your state’s Recovery Act funding for weatherization and energy efficiency funds go to: www.energy.gov