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

  • Celebrating Our Environment on National Public Lands Day

    Posted by Nancy Sutley on September 28, 2010 at 7:28 PM EDT

    This weekend, to celebrate the 17th anniversary of National Public Lands Day, CEQ staff, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, and I joined D.C. volunteers to help preserve the beautiful Aquatic Gardens at Kenilworth Park.

    public lands day sutley

    CEQ staff join Chief of Staff Jon Carson and Chair Nancy Sutley to volunteer on Public Lands Day

    We spent the morning working with youth groups who put a lot of elbow grease into planting trees, removing debris and spreading mulch.  By the end of the day an estimated 170,000 Americans across the country, working on over 2,000 community projects had made $15 million in national improvements, answering President Obama’s call to serve.

    lpj and ns plant trees

    EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and CEQ Chair Nancy Sutley join youth volunteers planting trees

    In order to protect our national treasures, we need to work together at the local, state, and Federal level and to build partnerships between the public sector and the local community.  Improving our public lands not only enriches our natural environment, but gives Americans a place to exercise, relax and enjoy the beauty of our country.  Our public lands belong to all of us.  Let’s keep dedicating time and energy to making sure we protect and enjoy them. 

    Nancy Sutley is Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality

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  • Educating the Next Generation of Environmental Stewards

    Posted by Leigh Jenkins on September 27, 2010 at 10:55 AM EDT

    Cross posted from the Ed Blog.

    Last week, the Department of Education held the national Sustainability Education Summit: Citizenship and Pathways for a Green Economy at the Washington Plaza Hotel in Washington, D.C. Approximately 300 participants spent two days discussing ideas and proposals for a national agenda to advance a sustainable economy through education. Participants came from federal agencies, higher education, career and technical education, community colleges, K-12 education, business, and environmental organizations. Congress requested that the Department organize the summit in the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008.

    On Tuesday, the conferees were addressed by US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan who stated that the Department of Education had “been mostly absent from the movement to educate our children to be stewards of our environment” and had not “been doing enough in the sustainability movement.” But the Secretary further stated, “I promise you that we will be a committed partner in the national effort to build a more environmentally literate and responsible society.” The Secretary went on to speak to the issue of the central role educators must play in promoting a culture of change in our schools and in our communities. “President Obama has made clean, renewable energy a priority because, as he says, it’s the best way to ‘truly transform our economy, to protect our security, and save our planet.’”

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  • National Ocean Council Gathers Steam

    Posted by Rick Weiss on September 24, 2010 at 7:54 PM EDT

    What singular set of global resources can provide jobs, food, energy, ecological services, recreation, and tourism while also playing a critical role in transportation, trade, and national security? The answer, as explained in an Executive Order signed by President Obama this summer, is the world’s oceans, our Nation’s coasts, and the Great Lakes. That Order created the National Ocean Council, whose Deputies met for the first time today in the latest move toward implementing—as ordered by the President—the recommendations of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force and developing coastal and marine spatial plans that will build upon and improve existing Federal, State, tribal, local, and regional planning processes. To learn more, check out the National Ocean Council site and today’s blog post by the Council’s co-chairs, OSTP Director John Holdren and Council on Environmental Quality chair Nancy Sutley.

    Rick Weiss is Director of Strategic Communications and Senior Science and Technology Policy Analyst at the Office of Science and Technology Policy

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  • Ocean Council Moving Full Steam Ahead

    Posted by John P. Holdren and Nancy Sutley on September 24, 2010 at 4:20 PM EDT

    The last two months have been busy for the National Ocean Council (NOC).  Internally, staff has been building a governance structure that will support the Council as it works to ensure the stewardship of our oceans, coasts and Great Lakes.  At the same time, we have engaged in a variety of stakeholder outreach and planning efforts.  Our goal is to ensure a comprehensive, transparent process as we implement the President’s historic Executive Order.  

    As NOC co-chairs, we are excited about the great energy and enthusiasm that was on display at today’s inaugural Deputy Committee meeting, at which members discussed Deputy-level responsibilities and reviewed key action materials that will be vital to moving the NOC forward.  The Deputy Committee is charged with executing the National Policy objectives and includes 25 senior-level officials from Federal agencies, departments, and White House Offices identified in the Task Force’s final recommendations.  The meeting was productive and suffused with a real commitment to achieve the goals laid out in the Executive Order.

    Among the key organizational and outreach milestones the NOC has reached so far:

    • NOC staff, representative agencies, and offices have met and continue to meet with many of the stakeholders, experts, and interest groups previously engaged by the Ocean Policy Task Force.  This includes convening 16 roundtable briefings to describe the final recommendations and how they differ from those in the Task Force’s interim documents. 
    • Six of the eight dedicated NOC staff members have now reported aboard from their sponsoring Federal agencies.
    • We sent Governance Coordinating Committee (GCC) nomination request letters to state and tribal officials including Governors, state and local government organizations, federally recognized tribes, and national and regional tribal organizations.  This is the first step toward creating an 18-member GCC that will work with the NOC.
    • An interagency workgroup is designing a National Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning Workshop. 

    All Americans are stakeholders in our Nation’s ocean and coastal resources. We look forward to implementing the President’s vision to make the most of these precious resources, and we will continue to use this blog as a tool to keep you apprised of our progress.

    Dr. John P. Holdren is Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy

    Nancy Sutley is Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality

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  • A Saturday in the Outdoors

    Posted by Secretary Ken Salazar on September 24, 2010 at 11:50 AM EDT

    Ed. Note: In honor of National Public Lands Day, Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson will also visit Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, located along the banks of the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C., and join volunteers as they plant trees, install logs for erosion control, and collect lotus plants to help preserve and enhance the National Park’s environment. In addition to the events the Department of the Interior has planned, the National Forest Service has75 volunteer opportunities in National Forests throughout the country. To learn more about National Public Lands Day visit: www.publiclandsday.org.

    Tomorrow I will join more than 170,000 volunteers across the country as we roll up our sleeves to help preserve and improve our nation’s public lands.

    At 2,200 sites across the country – from neighborhood green spaces to city parks, and from our beaches to our national parks – we’ll be celebrating two important occasions: National Public Lands Day and National Hunting and Fishing Day.

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  • Promoting a Sustainable and Healthy Environment for All Americans

    Posted by Nancy Sutley on September 22, 2010 at 6:40 PM EDT

    EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson and I hosted a meeting today at the White House to reconvene the Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice.  With a focus on promoting a healthy and sustainable environment for all Americans, work is underway in agencies across the Obama Administration in the area of environmental justice.  Today’s meeting included enthusiastic participation from five Cabinet Secretaries and senior officials from a wide range of Federal agencies and offices, illustrating our commitment to reinvigorating and addressing the environmental and public health threats that many American communities and families face.

    EJ Meeting - Nancy, LPJ

    CEQ Chair Nancy Sutley, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Attorney General Eric Holder, and HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan discuss environmental justice issues in September.

     

    We recognize at the highest levels of the Administration that too many low-income and minority communities shoulder a disproportionate amount of pollution and environmental degradation, and often the children in these communities suffer the most.  More information about the meeting today and the steps we have planned for the future can be found on the EPA website.

    EJ meeting

    Senior Administration Officials gather to reconvene the Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice.

     
    Nancy Sutley is Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality

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