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

  • West Wing Week: "6 Principals"

    Posted by Julia Simmons on July 15, 2010 at 11:00 PM EST

    Thanks for checking out the West Wing Week, your guide to everything that's happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. This week, walk step by step with the President as he speaks about the economy in Las Vegas, celebrates 100 years of the Boy Scouts of America, meets with President Fernandez of the Dominican Republic, visits with the 2010 Principal of the Year award winners, announces the new Director of the Office of Management and Budget and much more.

    Find more video, photos, and information on the events featured in this episode below:

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  • President Obama on Advanced Batteries in Michigan: "A Symbol of Where America is Going"

    Posted by Jesse Lee on July 15, 2010 at 3:34 PM EST

    If you missed our post earlier on the future of electric vehicles and advanced batteries that the Recovery Act has helped shape, it’s well worth a read. As the President said during his visit to the advanced battery plant in Holland, Michigan, today: “This is a symbol of where Michigan is going, this is a symbol of where Holland is going, this is a symbol of where America is going.”

    In short, making America a player in emerging market for electric vehicles was one of dozens of examples of the Recovery Act not only putting people to work in the short term, but building a whole new foundation for America’s economy:

    That means that by 2012, the batteries will be manufactured here in Holland, Michigan. So when you buy one of these vehicles, the battery could be stamped “Made in America” -– just like the car.

    The President went on to put this plant in the broader perspective, and to remind everybody about the choice between moving forward toward recovery and this new foundation, or moving back to the time that led to this crisis:

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  • Tomorrow: Clean Energy Manufacturing Forum with Secretary Locke

    Posted by Katelyn Sabochik on July 15, 2010 at 3:27 PM EST

    Tomorrow from 10:30 AM EDT to 1 PM EDT, the White House will host a Clean Energy Economy Forum focused on clean energy manufacturing.  Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke will kick off the event with opening remarks followed by two panel discussions focusing on  strategies to advance the development and commercialization of new clean energy technologies, support the creation and growth of emerging industries and small and medium enterprises, promote exports, and train workers for the clean energy economy.

    You can watch the forum live tomorrow at WhiteHouse.gov/live.  During the question and answer portion of the panel discussions we’ll be taking some questions from the online audience so submit your questions via Facebook or our webform.
     

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  • Electric Vehicles, Advanced Batteries, and American Jobs: Another Piece of the Puzzle in Holland, Michigan

    Posted by Jesse Lee on July 15, 2010 at 12:47 PM EST

    It’s a small part of a big story that will impact how the world travels for generations to come – and the role American workers will have in that transformation.

    This afternoon the President is at a groundbreaking ceremony at Compact Power, Inc. a subsidiary of LG Chem Ltd., a battery plant in Holland, Michigan. The plant is yet another piece of the puzzle for turning electric vehicles from a dream that many presumed dead into a reality that we will all one day take for granted.  The plant is the ninth of nine new advanced battery factories to start construction as a result of the $2.4 billion in Recovery Act advanced battery and electric vehicle awards the President announced last August.  The project is expected to create hundreds of construction and manufacturing jobs in Holland.  Once fully operational, the Compact factory will produce battery cells to support 53,000 Chevy Volts a year. 

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  • Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy: Fueling Innovation

    Posted by Dr. Arun Majumdar on July 14, 2010 at 8:42 AM EST

    The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) is pursuing transformational solutions to our energy problems.  Part of the Department of Energy, ARPA-E is modeled after the famed DARPA program at the Department of Defense that led to the internet, GPS, stealth airplane technology, and many other success stories.   At ARPA-E, we are trying to hit clean energy home runs, not just base hits.  Our goal is to drive the sort of energy innovation that can help us take the lead in high-tech clean energy manufacturing and export clean energy products to the world.

    On Monday, we announced $92 million in funding for 43 advanced research projects. These projects focus on three areas that are critical to building a new energy future: grid scale energy storage, advanced power electronics, and energy efficient cooling systems.

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  • Traveling Across California to Celebrate America's Great Outdoors

    Posted by Nancy Sutley on July 12, 2010 at 6:20 PM EST

    We hit the road last week to visit locations across California with a focus on the America's Great Outdoors Initiative. We began Wednesday with Congressman Thompson at Yolo Wildlife Refuge in Davis. The well over 50,000 acres refuge is the product of California residents who came together to form a local and Federal, public/private partnership in order to preserve a critical habitat for migrating birds and create a beautiful space for schoolchildren to learn about the wonders of wilderness. After spending the early morning in the refuge's wetlands, we held a successful listening session at University of California, Davis, affording us the opportunity to hear the ideas of a few hundred Northern Californians.

    Yolo refuge

    CEQ Chair Nancy Sutley, Yolo Wildlife Refuge Manager Dave Feliz, EPA Region IX Associate Director Jovita Pajarillo, CEQ Associate Director for Policy Outreach Amy Salzman, and U.S. Representative Mike Thompson at the Yolo Wildlife Refuge.

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