Energy, Climate Change,
and Our Environment

The President has taken unprecedented action to build the foundation for a clean energy economy, tackle the issue of climate change, and protect our environment.

Energy and Environment Latest News

  • President Obama Announces Team to "Root Out Any Cases of Fraud or Manipulation in the Oil Markets"

    Posted by Jesse Lee on April 21, 2011 at 5:55 PM EDT

    President Barack Obama Holds a Town Hall Meeting at ElectraTherm, Inc. in Reno, Nevada

    President Barack Obama holds a town hall meeting at ElectraTherm, Inc. in Reno, Nev., April 21, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

    In his third of three town halls this week on getting our deficits under control through shared responsibility for shared prosperity, the President spoke at ElectraTherm in Reno, Nevada, a small renewable energy company.  There have been a lot of differences in the two approaches to our fiscal future, and at each stop he has focused on one in particular in the context of the bigger picture.  When he spoke at a community college on Tuesday, he touched on the need to continue investments in education; at Facebook HQ on Wednesday he talked about promoting innovation; and today he talked about the need to continue supporting clean energy.

    But as he said, while the biggest thing we can do to avoid having our kids go through the same endless cycle of gas prices bouncing up and down is to create a clean energy economy here at home, there are also some important steps he's taking right now to curb the strain on families:

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  • Winning the Future for Our Communities, Investing in Our Earth for Their Future

    Posted by Nancy Sutley on April 21, 2011 at 2:12 PM EDT

    Nancy Sutley Announcing Energy-Efficiency Grants

    Chair Sutley joins LA Department of Water and Power General Manager Ron Nichols, LA District 1 City Council Member Ed Reyes, and LA District 13 City Council Member Eric Garcetti in announcing energy efficiency grants to local non-profit organizations.

    This week, people all around the globe will come together to honor and appreciate our environment.  Since its establishment over 40 years ago, Earth Day in America has given us the opportunity to renew our commitment to protecting and preserving the natural treasures and resources vital to our health and prosperity.  The investments that make the water we drink and the air we breathe clean and healthy, and protect the health of the lands on which we work, farm, live, and play will continue to pay immeasurable dividends for generations to come.

    As I travel across the country visiting communities, students, educators, businesses and innovators building the path to winning the future, I am reminded of how interconnected a robust economy and a thriving natural environment are.  Our clean energy economy will harness and protect the power of the sun, the wind, our waters, our resources, and our Earth. To ensure their success we must also play our part.

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  • Flex Fuel Pumps and a Green Energy Economy

    Posted by Secretary Tom Vilsack on April 21, 2011 at 2:06 PM EDT

    As gasoline prices continue to rise across the country, USDA is working with farmers and entrepreneurs to secure our nation’s long-term energy future and give Americans more choices about where to spend their gas dollars: at home or abroad.

    For the past two years, USDA has worked to support the research, investment, and infrastructure necessary to build a nationwide biofuels industry that creates jobs in every corner of the country. 

    USDA has a long history of helping Americans with their energy choices. Our Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) has helped thousands of rural businesses and farmers improve the efficiency of their equipment or produce their own renewable energy by installing solar panels or wind turbines. 

    Now we are helping people understand that this popular program can also help gas stations install special pumps to provide biofuels to motorists across the county. 

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  • Open for Questions: Earth Day Live Chat from the South Lawn

    Posted by Katelyn Sabochik on April 19, 2011 at 6:06 PM EDT

    Update: The time for this event has been changed to 4:30 p.m. EDT on Thursday, April 21.  The post below has been updated to reflect this change.

    In honor of Earth Day, Nancy Sutley, Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, and Heather Zichal, Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, are hosting a special Open for Questions event live from the South Lawn of the White House.

    If you’ve got questions about what the Obama Administration is doing to protect our air and water or how we’re building a clean energy future, be sure to tune in:

    • When: Thursday, April 21 at 4:30 p.m. EDT
    • Where: Streaming live from the South Lawn of the White House at WhiteHouse.gov/live and Facebook
    • Who: Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley, Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Heather Zichal, and YOU!
    • Get Involved: You can submit your questions via our Facebook chat application during the chat or submit them in advance on our webform.

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  • We're in the Global Clean Energy Race to Win: Federal Investment in California Solar Energy Plant

    Posted by Secretary Steven Chu on April 18, 2011 at 3:57 PM EDT

    I have good news. Today, the Department of Energy offered a $2.1 billion conditional commitment  loan guarantee to support a concentrating solar thermal power plant near Blythe, California. This is the largest amount ever offered to a solar project through our the Department's Loan Programs Office.

    The loan will support two units of the Blythe Solar Power Project that will have a combined 484 megawatt generating capacity. These units are part of a larger project, sponsored by Solar Trust of America, that when completed will generate 1,000 megawatts of solar power, enough to power 95,000 homes a year.

    The project is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs and is estimated to avoid more than 710,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, which is equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions from more than 123,000 vehicles.

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  • Take an E-Trip to Alaska to Discuss Issues Facing the Arctic

    Posted by Andy Lipsky on April 18, 2011 at 2:43 PM EDT

    Tomorrow from 2-3pm EDT you can join the US Arctic Research Commission (USARC) and Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks for an interactive “Webinar” to discuss issues concerning the Arctic.  The Webinar will focus on initial efforts to develop a strategic action plan—called for by President Obama in his July 2010 National Ocean Policy—to address changing conditions in the Arctic.

    National Ocean Council staff member Dr. Mary Boatman and Dr. Cheryl Rosa of USARC will offer the preliminary outline being considered by an interagency team that is in the process of putting pen to paper for the Arctic strategic action plan.  Additionally, members of the public can offer their input on how best to address climate-induced and other environmental changes affecting the Arctic.

    Instructions to register for the Webinar and to participate are available here. For those unable to participate, an archive of the slide presentation and a podcast of the Webinar discussion will be available here shortly after its conclusion.

    This will be one of many such opportunities for the public to get involved in the implementation of our Nation’s first comprehensive National Ocean Policy, and your participation is encouraged!

    Andy Lipsky is an Ocean Policy Advisor at the Council for Environmental Quality

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