Friends,

Transition activities continue to move forward, if even more slowly on the energy/enviro front than on the other priority agencies. It does look like decisions on energy and environment issues are starting to take shape though and may even occur this week. Environmental union groups are now attacking one of the EPA favorites – New Jersey's Lisa Jackson – (I have the press release should you need it) and over the weekend, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius withdrew her name from cabinet consideration at Energy/USDA – much to the chagrin of many state public officials and residents who were hoping to ship her off to Washington. That leaves MI Gov. Granholm and Google's Reicher at the front of the line among several others for Energy. We can continue to let you know what we hear.

There are many activities this week (listed below) including a couple of Congressional hearings on last-minute regulatory action and the green stimulus proposals. Of course, there continues to be significant focus on the details of the auto industry proposals and negotiating the details. One good event this week might be the AEI forum on the regulatory challenges facing the next administration that features the current OMB ORIA head Susan Dudley and two of her predecessors Sally Katzen and John Graham.

As a final note: I love my friends at the Environment Defense Fund, but even I was surprised to hear their take on the recent problems with California's climate economic analysis outlined below. An EDF report suggested state policymakers just disregard the group of independent economists that said the state's climate analysis "cooked the books." My friends, you would never let me get away with a spin like that. I hope they didn't print any hard copies of the report for distribution as that would be a waste of valuable carbon sinks, offsets that California and the US will need to meet future overburdsome climate policies.

Call with any questions.

Frank Maisano

(202) 828-5864

c. (202) 997-5932

IN THE NEWS

Economists: CA Purposed Skewed Economic Study Results on Climate Impact – For those who doubt that climate proposals will have an economic impact, last week produced another story of cooking the books on climate. A review by state-commissioned, credible economists said California's analysis was deeply flawed and intentionally skewed to improve the economic effects of its climate change plan. The state's analysis released in September said there would be a slight net increase in gross state product and individual earnings due to climate change policies through 2020. The experts included RFF's Dallas Burtraw, UCLA's Mathew Kahn, Harvard's Bob Stavins, Gary Yohe of Wesleyan University and Janet Peace and Liwayway Adkins of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. Our friends at EDF may take the cake though by boldly released a report saying despite these overstatements and "cooking the books, California should just disregard the internationally acclaimed economists. It appears that this is what the climate issue has come down to for them. Just Do It, costs be damned… To see the full study:

http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/scopingplan/economics-sp/peer-review/peer_review_comments_arb_responses.pdf

Wind Developer Submits for Permit to Consider Wind Project in National Forest – Wind developer FreedomWorks plans to submit for a Forest Service special uses permit today to construct a met tower in the George Washington Jefferson National Forest located in western Virginia's Rockingham and Shenandoah Counties, as well as West Virginia's Hardy County. Upon approval, studies can begin to determine feasibility of 215 MW utility-scale wind energy project. Late last week, the renewable energy developer headquartered in Harpers Ferry WV, received final confirmation from the Forest Service that National Forest System lands are subject to EPAct 2005 and EISA 2007 requirements and therefore allow consideration of special use permits for testing for proposed Shenandoah wind energy project. FreedomWorks' coordinated plan with Forest Service includes scientific approach to measure and verify key milestones during the study. FreedomWorks current schedule plan is to complete feasibility testing in 2010.

President-Elect Obama Drops Windfall Profits Tax – Our friend David Ivanovich at The Houston Chronicle through some enterprising reporting has reported that President-elect Barack Obama has quietly shelved a proposal to slap oil and natural gas companies with a new windfall profits tax. An aide for the transition team acknowledged the policy shift last week, after a small-business group discovered the proposal — touted throughout much of the campaign — had been dropped from the incoming administration’s Web site. While the policy enacted in the Carter Administration was an absolute disaster -- costing the industry $38 billion in revenue and the nation as much as 1.3 billion barrels of domestically produced oil as industry players moved activity overseas to avoid the tax, these facts haven't prevented officials from both parties from screaming about windfall profits taxes when gas prices ran up to new highs through out the summer of 2008. While this might be today's position though with gas prices around $1.60/gal and oil at less than $50/barrel, the question is will it still be next spring/summer when the hearty perennial – the annual politician parade and hand wringing about increasing gas prices – occurs again as prices increase due to the usual summer demand increase.

Fill in the Blank Report on Coal – The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy released another report this week from Synapse analyst David Schlissel this time on the Plant Washington coal plant in Georgia. Of course, their argument is that the risks and costs of building Plant Washington are too high for the Georgia Co-ops that are starved for new power to meet growth. What Schlissel says is uninteresting and even irrelevant typical environmental drivel – that is until you place it over previous reports by Synapse and Schlissel. Then a remarkable resemblance takes shape. It appears that similar studies and testimony have been provide on Cliffside in NC, Big Stone in SD, Holcomb in Kansas. And it also appears that coal is replaceable too, as Schlissel has many reports and testimony addressing of the risks of nuclear power plants as well. In fact he was the "expert witness" opposed to the Calvert Cliffs expansion in Maryland this summer. By the way, I am a strong advocate of wind projects as you know, but despite Schlissel's musings in the report about renewables, they are unlikely to have a large impact in Georgia.

EIA Says Emissions Slightly Increase, Intensity Decreases – The Energy Information Administration released its annual report of greenhouse gas emissions from the energy and industrial sectors saying they slightly increased from 2006 to 2007. The report found that total greenhouse gas emissions from energy and industry increased by 1.4% from 2006. Further showing the linkage between emissions and economic output, economic output increased 2% during the same time. Greenhouse gas intensity, a measure of how much greenhouse gas is used per million dollars of domestic product, decreased by 0.6% from 2006. Greenhouse gas intensity has decreased 9.8% from 2002 to 2007. Given the economic slowdown of 2008, it is expected that emissions will actually decline when EIA reports on 2008 next December. The Energy Information Administration report is available at: ftp://ftp.eia.doe.gov/pub/oiaf/1605/cdrom/pdf/ggrpt/057307.pdf.

GAO Report Highlights Lessons Learned on Climate Program – The Government Accountability Office released a new report last week saying that the United States could learn from and improve on the European Union Emission Trading System and the United Nation's Clean Development Mechanism when designing a system for regulating greenhouse gas emissions. The primary effect of the first ETS phase was to establish a functioning carbon market for allowances, but its effects on emissions, the European economy, and technology investment are less certain. It did reveal lessons about three key aspects: 1) accurate emissions data are essential to setting an effective emissions cap and achieving the intended environmental objectives; 2) a trading program should cover a long enough time period to influence technology investment decisions; and 3) the method of allowance allocation can have important effects for government and regulated industries. To see the report: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09151.pdf

Study Says Biofuels Cause More Emissions – A new study in the inaugural Global Change Biology Bioenergy by researchers from the University of Illinois says perennial grasses like switchgrass that could be used for fuel are significantly better at sequestering carbon than annuals like corn. Plant biology professor Evan DeLucia studied how different biofuel feedstock plants affect levels of carbon stored in soil. Their analysis showed that converting native land (grassland or forest) to sugarcane dramatically reduced soil carbon, creating a carbon deficit that would take decades to repay. While perennial grasses add carbon to the soil each year, DeLucia said, it could take up to a century for the sugar cane to rebuild soil carbon to former levels on native land. Harvesting the corn residue for cellulosic ethanol production also reduced the carbon in the soil. The more plant residue was removed, the more the soil carbon declined. Planting perennial grasses on existing agricultural lands had the most beneficial effect on soil carbon, the researchers found. The finding "seems to walk you right into the food for fuel debate," DeLucia said, referring to the controversy over using agricultural land for fuel production. But because the U.S. is already devoting about 20 percent of its corn crop to ethanol production, he said, it would make sense to eventually use that land to produce a much higher yielding biofuel feedstock that has the added benefit of increasing organic carbon in the soil. DeLucia and his colleagues will present their findings next week at the 2008 Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.

Austin Announces Major Smart Grid Effort – The City of Austin, Austin Energy, The University of Texas' Austin Technology Incubator, the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) unveiled the Pecan Street Project, a bold effort to design a new, clean energy infrastructure, business model and proving ground for tomorrow's energy technology. Corporate partnerships with Dell, GE Energy, IBM, Intel, Oracle, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Freescale Semiconductor and GridPoint are part of the effort. Austin is not the only city embarking on a "utility redesign" or "smart grid" project. But because Texas has its own grid, modifications to the power system do not require federal approval. And because the City Council is Austin Energy's board of directors, Austin is in a unique position to implement technology changes more quickly and offer its electric grid as a real-world proving ground for tomorrow's clean energy technology. The project scope includes designing a system that 1) delivers plentiful, reliable and affordable energy to Austin's growing population, 2) is responsible with Texas' most precious natural resources, like air and water 3) can eliminate the need for more power plants, 4) produces a power plant's worth of energy, generated within the city limits via renewable resources, and that 5) Austin intends to share with cities across America and around the world. This project will help cities map out the creation of the infrastructure it will take to power their economies and preserve the environment. In addition to the corporate partnerships announced today, the Pecan Street Project will be tapping the expertise of SEMATECH, the world's leading advanced technology consortium, to help structure the clean energy RandD consortium.

Colorado Study Confirms Low Grid Integration Costs for Wind – A new study by EnerNex adds to the body of peer-reviewed literature confirming that the cost of integrating wind energy with the electric grid is quite low. The study examines the cost of meeting 20% of electricity needs with wind energy on Xcel’s Public Service Company of Colorado system. The new results add to earlier phases of the wind integration study, released in May 2006, which found that 10% and 15% wind penetrations could also be attained at low cost. Dozens of peer-reviewed wind integration studies in the U.S. and Europe have reached the same conclusion: there are no insurmountable technical barriers to the reliable integration of wind energy, and the cost of adjusting power system operations to accommodate wind energy is typically low. Most studies have found that these costs are under $0.005 per kWh of wind ($5 per megawatt-hour, MWh), or about 10% of the typical wholesale price of wind energy. The Colorado study found that wind integration costs are $3.51 per MWh in the 10% wind penetration scenario, $4.77 per MWh in the 15% scenario, and $5.13 per MWh in the 20% wind scenario. Like other wind integration studies, this latest study found that system operators can take steps to reduce wind integration costs. The study confirmed that wind forecasting significantly reduces wind integration costs, as does making the power system more flexible.

ON THE SCHEDULE THIS WEEK:

OH Gov. Strickland Headlines AWEA Supply-Chain Conference – The American Wind Energy Association’s Second Supply Chain Workshop will be held in Cleveland, Ohio today and tomorrow. The event has a powerful program where attendees will learn the fast facts on wind turbines – the parts needed and how companies can start supplying this growing industry. Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, Governor of Ohio, as well as Ohio State House Speaker Jon Husted will be participating in this workshop program. In addition, this morning there was a pre-conference seminar that detailed the anatomy of a turbine and help suppliers see first-hand where they themselves can enter into the wind industry supply chain. To see the complete program agenda visit: http://www.awea.org/events/supplychain2/agenda.html.

Utility Group Release Report on Electricity Competition – COMPETE, national advocacy coalition of electricity stakeholders will hold a discussion on a new report at the National Press Club's Lisagor Room at 1:30 p.m. today highlighting the evidence supporting electricity competition as the best vehicle to meet many of our nation's energy challenges. Participants will include report authors Michael Schnitzer and Frank Huntowski, directors of the NorthBridge Group, as well as former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Commissioner Bill Massey.

Schlichtmann to Headline Press Club Newsmaker on Air Quality – The National Press Club will hold a Newmaker event with my friend and Clean Air Trust Chair Frank O'Donnell and "A Civil Action" plaintiff attorney Jan Schlichtmann tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. in the Zenger Room addressing America's air quality crisis by reducing tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. O'Donnell and Schlichtmann will also be joined by Sabertec CEO William J. O'Brien to explore the environmental and human health consequences of greenhouse gas and toxic particulate material (PM) emissions from vehicle tailpipes -- acid rain, crop degradation, global warming, urban smog, cancer, respiratory disease, asthma and premature death -- and practical solutions that individuals can adopt to reduce the environmental impact of their vehicles. Panelists will analyze America's resistance to embracing global emissions reductions standards, such as the Kyoto Protocol and the European Emissions Standards, and outline potential Obama administration policy, including vehicle emissions regulations and full enforcement of the Clean Air Act.

Paterson to Headline Long Island Business Meeting – NY Gov. David Paterson will headline an executive breakfast and trade show for the Long Island Association tomorrow morning in Woodbury, NY at the Crest Hollow Country Club. Paterson, who will soon need to appoint a new Senator to the seat of Secretary of State nominee Hillary Clinton, is expected to discuss energy among a number of important topics. The Long Island Association is a business and civic organization that works to improve the Long Island.

Interior to Hold Meetings on OCS Issues – The Department of Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) will hold a meeting of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Policy Committee tomorrow and Wednesday at the Washington Dulles Crowne Plaza Hotel. Agenda includes MMS Environmental Studies. This presentation will provide an update on environmental studies awarded by the MMS in FY2008 and those proposed for FY2009; OCS Scientific Committee Update. The meeting will also focus on the current and future domestic energy supply, unconventional onshore and deepwater potential, as well as a 5-Year Program 2010-2015. Oil and gas leasing offshore for 2010 to 2015 will also be discussed, as well as revenue sharing and former moratoria areas.

Regulators, Utility Experts Highlight Efficiency Conference – InfoCast is holding its Energy Efficiency Summit East 2008 tomorrow and Wednesday at the Almas Temple Club in Washington, D.C. addressing a broad array of energy efficiency issues. Speakers will include financial, policy and utility experts on demand side management, conservation and other efficiency issues. Craig Glazer, vice president of federal government policy at PJM Interconnection as well as Dennis O'Brien, commissioner at the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission will lead a panel discussion on regulators' perspectives on encouraging energy efficiency and demand management.

Experts Focus on Nuclear Outlook at CSIS – The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) will hold a Discussion on the global outlook for nuclear energy tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. in its conference center. Speakers will include Janice Dunn Lee, deputy director-general of the Nuclear Energy Agency at Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development; Richard Meserve, president of the Carnegie Institution for Science; Carol Kessler, director of the Pacific Northwest Center for Global Security at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Robert Pearce, director of AP1000 Business Development at Westinghouse; Sharon Squassoni, senior associate at the Nonproliferation Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; and Daniel Poneman, principal at the Scowcroft Group.

Chamber to Host Infrastructure Conference – With all the discussion of a new green infrastructure spending package, the US Chamber's National Chamber Foundation and the Let’s Rebuild America initiative will hold a day-long forum tomorrow to address how and where America can take the infrastructure challenge. This event will feature keynote remarks from top leaders of business and government, as well as panelists with diverse experience rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure. Additionally, the Let’s Rebuild America initiative will issue a call to action to our next administration and new Congress, urging immediate action to repair our aging infrastructure systems. Speakers will include Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu and Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, among many others.

Enviros Session to Address National Carbon Tax – Several environmental groups will hold a briefing on a phased-in, national carbon tax as a policy option for addressing climate change tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. in B318 Rayburn. The briefing is sponsored by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), the Carbon Tax Center, the Climate Crisis Coalition, Friends Committee on National Legislation and Friends of the Earth and will focus on the environmental, economic, economic-efficiency, logistical and political benefits of a national carbon tax, particularly one that is phased-in and revenue-neutral. Many economists have called for enactment of a carbon tax as the simplest, easiest to administer and most transparent approach to carbon pricing, despite the conventional wisdom that a "cap and trade" regime is key to a political consensus. Indeed, there have been numerous cap and trade bills introduced in the Congress, including the Boxer-Lieberman-Warner bill that was brought to the Senate floor for a vote late last spring. Speakers for this event include on CT Rep. John Larson, muzzled, noted "Tax expert" James Hansen of NASA's Goddard, James Hoggan of Canada's David Suzuki Foundation, Gilbert Metcalf of Tufts University and former U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs Robert Shapiro. The Session will be moderated by Brent Blackwelder of Friends of the Earth.

Auto Bailout Focus of Select Energy/Global Warming Committee – Fresh off its renewal for the new Congress, the House Select Energy Independence and Global Warming Committee will hold a hearing on the energy independence implications of the auto bailout proposal tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. As one who has followed the auto industry for years, I an anxious to hear Chairman Markey's take. I suspect he'll say they should have been building green cars many years ago. But remember, they were also hearing from people that we soon would be hitting $200/barrel for oil (remember that Goldman Sachs testimony). Oops, looks like they missed on that one. One needs to also remember that in SUVs, car companies made tens of thousands per vehicle. Perhaps making all that profit allowed them to give union and company workers too generous benefits packages that has really come back to haunt them, but that has nothing to do with energy independence. Another important point: the margins are virtually nothing on smaller vehicles and even losses on some advanced technologies. Just a couple of thought to keep in mind.

AWEA To Hold Webinars on New Wind Agenda – The second of the wind industry's webinars on its newest publication, Wind Energy for a New Era, will be held tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. (register at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/864388738). The first one was held last week and provided an overview of the policy agenda to key policy-makers on the transition team, in the new Administration and in Congress. The policies it addresses are designed to help wind energy remain on the pathway to 20% wind power by 2030. They include a national RES, a long-term PTC extension, measures to promote an interstate transmission highway designed to maximize deployment of renewable energy, climate legislation that appropriately values carbon-free electricity generation, an initiative to facilitate wind power project and transmission siting and accelerated research and development. The Wind Energy for a New Era overview and other supporting resources are available at www.awea.org/NewWindAgenda.

Senate Energy to look at Green Stimulus Opportunities – The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on investments in clean energy and natural resources projects and programs to create green jobs and to stimulate the economy on Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. in 366 Dirksen. Witnesses will include our good friend and noted energy expert Kevin Book of Friedman Billings Ramsey, GridPoint's Steve Hauser, Joe Loper of the Alliance to Save Energy; Maryland Energy Assn. Director Malcolm Woolf, Bracken Hendricks of the Center for American Progress, University of Oregon sustainability expert Cassandra Moseley, Mark Limbaugh, former assistant secretary of water and science at the Interior Department and Denis Galvin, former deputy director of the National Parks Service.

AEI to Host Current Former Regulators to Discuss Regulations – The American Enterprise Institute will hold a forum on regulations and oversight on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. in AEI's Wohlstetter Conference Center featuring a distinguished group of scholars and practitioners that will answer key questions and offer advice to the new administration on designing better regulations. Participating in the discussion will be Cary Coglianese, director of the Program on Regulation at the University of Pennsylvania Law School; Susan Dudley, the current administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) at the Office of Management and Budget; two former OIRA administrators, John Graham (2001-2006) and Sally Katzen (1993-98); and Resources for the Future senior fellow Richard Morgenstern. Robert W. Hahn, executive director of the AEI Reg-Markets Center, will moderate. This follows at AEI event this morning where Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Robert Hahn of AEI; Daniel Botkin of the Center for the Study of the Environment, Irwin Stelzer of the Hudson Institute and Peter Passell of the Miklen Institute held a discussion on "Oil Drilling and U.S. Energy Policy."

Anti/Pro Nuclear Groups to Host Debate at Press Club – The Institute for Energy and Environment Research – opponents of nuclear power projects – and Clean and Safe Energy Coalition will hold a debate at the National Press Club's Lisagor Room on Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. featuring Arjun Makhijani, president of IEER and Patrick Moore, co-chairman CSEC and co-founder of Greenpeace. IEER recently released analysis in October that said energy conservation would be less expensive than building a nuclear plant as San Antonio's CPS is considering.

Metro Wash to Hold Climate Event – Climate Communities will hold a news conference at the National Press Club's Holeman Lounge on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. featuring activities in the Metropolitan Washington area.

Virtual Energy Forum Set For Second Run – The Virtual Energy Forum is a two day online-only event that will be held on December 10 and 11^th and will focus on how leading companies can adopt better energy management practices to cut costs, while at the same time adopting clean energy alternatives -- presenting alternative energy technologies, policies, and best practices in a live, interactive environment. The event is designed to meet the needs of corporate energy executives in a way that is not possible with physical events, webinars or other means. The first Virtual Energy Forum, which took place on June 10th and 11th, received extremely positive responses from attendees, sponsors and partners alike and was featured in CNN's Situation Room. Speakers for this month's event include FERC Chair Joe Kelleher, Duke's Jim Rogers and National Grid's David Manning, among many others. For more information, go to: http://www.virtualenergyforum.com/

China's Oil Industry Focus of WCEE Event – The Women's Council on Energy and the Environment's will host Bo Kong, a rapidly rising star in the field of Chinese energy policy at a brown bag lunch forum on Thursday at the US Energy Assn at 8:00 a.m. to discuss Chinese energy policy with an emphasis on the oil sector and the challenges that it is facing as it looks to expand worldwide. Kong, who recently was awarded his PhD from John Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), is currently the Director of SAIS's Global Energy and Environment Initiative and an Adjunct Professor with the University. Mr. Kong also serves as a columnist with ChinaStakes.com and as a consultant with Ayrlie Partners, LLC and the Sentia Group where he provides expert analysis on the economic, political, and security dimensions of Chinese energy policy. In addition to studying at SAIS, Mr. Kong has also holds degrees from Chinese Universities in Nanjing, Beijing and Tianjin. Mr. Kong is also the author of several journal articles, op-eds, and reports and will be releasing his first book "China's International Oil Policy" in 2009.

Wilson Center to Discuss Competitiveness, Education Issues – The Woodrow Wilson Center (WWC) will hold a workshop on Thursday morning on "Partnering for American Competitiveness," and government-university-industry research partnerships for innovation and workforce development. Featured speakers include Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman, House Science and Technology Chairman Bart Gordon, William Wulf of the University of Virginia; Deborah Wince-Smith of the Council on Competitiveness and William Kirwan, chancellor of the University System of Maryland, among others. As you know last year Bingaman, Gordon and retiring Sen. Domenici lead efforts to pass legislation on the subject.

Select Warming Committee to Look at Final Bush Regulations – The House Select Energy Independence and Global Warming Committee will also hold a hearing on Thursday focused on any final regulations that the Bush Administration. The hearing will focus on the ramifications of the White House's last-minute regulatory rule changes to energy and environmental policies. Hopefully it will have more substantial than the silly, laughable "report" the Committee Staff put out a month or so ago on the subject. As you know, we have several experts on the real details and importance of these issues should you need comment.

Ceres Report to Focus on Tech Companies Carbon Practices – RiskMetrics and Ceres will release a new report on Thursday scoring 63 of the world's top tech and consumer product/services companies on their climate change governance practices. Doug Cogan, lead report author of RiskMetrics will be joined by Ceres' Mindy Lubber and Dell's Tod Arbogast for a conference call.

Group to Launch Climate, Economics Website – E.P. Systems Group will hold an event at the National Press Club's Zenger Room at 10:00 a.m. to announce the launch of ClimateChangeEconomics.net, a website of objectives resources and tools dedicated to addressing the carbon intensity of our economy through effective climate change policy. E.P.'s Peter Meyer and Kristin Yount will be joined by Iowa State Senator Joe Bolkcom and Adam Schaefer, executive director of the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators.

Coal Symposium Set for Purdue-Calumet – Purdue University in Calumet's Energy Efficiency and Reliability Center in conjunction with the PU-West Lafayette's Energy Center at Discovery Park and the Indiana Center for Coal Technology Research will hold a Coal Symposium Thursday and Friday at PU-Calumet's Conference Center in Hammond, Indiana. I will be speaking at the conference as well. U.S. produced coal supplies 49% of the basic energy needs for the nation's total electricity demand, providing secure, sustainable, and cheap supplies for the U.S. economy. In Indiana coal supplies 95% of the energy needs to fuel the state's electric power generators. As we look towards diversifying power generation technologies and the sources of basic energy supplies the dependence on coal will be staying with us for many decades yet to come, until alternative, appropriate, safe designs are operational. How to promote therefore the use of clean coal technologies in coming years is of importance to us all. To see more information, go to: http://www.purdue.edu/dp/energy/events/CCTR_Meetings_Dec_2008/

THE WEEKS AHEAD:

Commissioners to Look at Changes for PA Wind Project – The Fayette County Commissioners are expected to vote next week on enacting the planning commission's recommendations to amend the County Zoning Ordinance that will enable wind projects to keep with current industry standard requirements as they are built. Earlier this year, a county panel rejected changes which has now become a lawsuit. A summary of the changes include Tower heights of up to 300’ as opposed to 250’, property line setback issues and sound levels not to exceed 55 dBA/dBC down from 70dB, among other issues.

Spencer to Discuss PDO, Warming at Marshall Event – The George Marshall Institute will hold a Noon forum on Monday December 15^th featuring former NASA scientist Dr. Roy Spencer of the University of Alabama-Huntsville at the Capitol Hill Club. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assumes that there are no long-term natural sources of energy imbalances in the Earth's radiative budget that would cause natural periods of global warming or global cooling. But recent satellite evidence suggests that the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) does indeed change the Earth's energy balance. When that PDO-related forcing is put into a simple climate model, along with the 100-year history of the PDO, a global temperature history results which is very similar to that observed, including 75% of the centennial temperature trend. This suggests that the IPCC's claim of high confidence in global warming being manmade is misplaced. Dr. Roy Spencer is a principal research scientist for University of Alabama in Huntsville. In the past, he has served as Senior Scientist for Climate Studies at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where here he directed research into the development and application of satellite passive microwave remote sensing techniques for measuring global temperature, water vapor, and precipitation. He currently is the U.S. Science Team Leader for the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) on NASA's Aqua satellite. Dr. Spencer is the recipient of NASA's Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement and the American Meteorological Society's Special Award for his satellite-based temperature monitoring work.

AGU Sets Fall Meetings for San Francisco – The American Geophysical Union will hold its annual Fall meeting in San Francisco on December 15-19 at the Moscone Center. The event is always chalk full of science and climate related events and usually includes some major announcements. Here is a link: http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm08/

CA's Nichols Climate Event Rescheduled – Resources for the Future and the Commonwealth Club of California has rescheduled a discussion entitled “A New Climate of Change” from Tuesday November 18 until sometime in next January. The event will still be held in Washington, DC. The full-day event will include a keynote address by Mary D. Nichols, chairman of California’s Air Resources Board.

Press Club to Host Oil CEO for Luncheon Speech – James Mulva, Chairman and CEO of ConocoPhillips, will address a National Press Club luncheon on January 13. Stay tune for more.