From the Editor
Believe it or not, there still is quite a flurry of activity in Washington D.C. regarding climate/energy legislation, but it’s buried underneath the health care debate headlines. You may remember that last June the House passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act (aka Waxman-Markey) by a vote of 219-212. The bill even had eight Republican votes — eight more “ayes” that President Obama’s stimulus had earlier last year.

The Waxman-Markey, which included controversial pieces such as a cap and trade system and a national energy code, failed to gain momentum in the Senate. Two separate bills – one an energy bill, one a climate bill – have failed to make it to the floor for a vote. With Republican Scott Brown’s victory for the Massachusetts Senate seat, the Democrats no longer have a supermajority in Congress and are exploring bipartisan options for climate/energy. Senators Lindsay Graham (R – S.C.), Joe Lieberman (I – Conn.) and John Kerry (D – Mass.) are working on a “tripartisan” climate/energy bill and insiders are hoping they’ll unveil a bill in the next few weeks.

On a separate track, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is working on greenhouse gas emissions regulations. Last December, EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced the “endangerment finding,” which rules that the current levels of six main greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, in the atmosphere “threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations.”

So, for facility managers and building owners, now is the time to get up to speed on what’s happening in Washington, D.C. While it’s hard to imagine a cap and trade system making it through the Senate at this point, other pieces of Waxman-Markey that may affect facility energy use (and energy bills) may.

As always, I’d love to hear from you. What’s your take on the activity in Washington D.C., regarding climate/energy? Do you see a climate/energy bill making it to President Obama’s desk in 2010?

Cheers,

Green Strategies
Ready or Not, Carbon Limits Likely
Few facilities will take a direct hit, but the effects of pending regulations will ripple out to all electricity consumers. Here is what you need to know about impending climate legislation.

In the News
Obama Asks for Climate/Energy Bill in State of the Union
President Obama made it clear that he still considers a comprehensive energy/climate bill a priority, but also offered a bipartisan carrot – mentioning the need for clean coal technology, nuclear, and offshore oil drilling. This article provides analysis.

Green Toolkit
Alliance to Save Energy’s Policy Page
This site offers comprehensive analysis of all the climate/energy bills being considered on the Hill. It also provides side-by-side analysis to show how provisions in Waxman-Markey are similar to or different from Senate climate/energy bills.

GreenTech Conference & Exposition

What’s Your Score? Benchmarking Energy Use through Energy Star

This presentation from GreenTech 2009 by Laurie Gilmer and Gregory Hughel of Facility Engineering Associates provides justification for and tips on how to use Energy Star tools to benchmark and reduce energy use in facilities.

Registration for NFMT 2010 is now open. The show will take place March 16-18, 2010 at the Baltimore Convention Center. Click here to register