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IN TODAY'S AUDIO REPORT: The State of the Union: Obama does not back off the push for clean energy --- but will the Senate listen?; Big new funding for high speed rail ... PLUS: How much will it all cost? ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA': SEC calls for climate risks to be disclosed to investors; Budget freeze turns focus to Big Ag subsidies; California firsts: solar water heater subsidies and first-in-the-nation mandatory 'green' building codes; Ford CEO on the future of green cars; Honda tests Solar Hydrogen Fuel Pump ... PLUS: Even Plants May Not Like a Warmer World....

Info/links on those stories and all the ones we talked about on today's episode follow below...

• STATE OF THE UNION: Obama Pushes for Clean Energy:
• In State of the Union, Obama panders to conservatives on “clean energy” (Grist)
• READ IT: Transcript of President Obama's State of the Union speech, Jan. 28, 2010 (NY Times) [emphasis added]:
  
  Next, we need to encourage American innovation.
  ...
  But to create more of these clean energy jobs, we need more production, more efficiency, more incentives. And that means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country... making tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development... continued investment in advanced biofuels and clean coal technologies. (Applause.) And, yes, it means passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America. (Applause.)
  ...
  I know that there are those who disagree with the overwhelming scientific evidence on climate change. But here's the thing --- even if you doubt the evidence, providing incentives for energy-efficiency and clean energy are the right thing to do for our future -– because the nation that leads the clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the global economy. And America must be that nation. (Applause.)
  ...
  But at a time of record deficits, we will not continue tax cuts for oil companies, for investment fund managers, and for those making over $250,000 a year. We just can't afford it. (Applause.)
• READ THIS, TOO: Text of GOP Response: Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) (Boston Globe)
• Sen. Kerry to Enviros: Be More Like Tea Partiers (Kate Sheppard, Mother Jones)
• WATCH: How Republicans in Congress Really Feel About Science (Video): Obama noted the "overwhelming scientific evidence on climate change"--and Republicans in Congress responded by laughing out loud. (Treehugger)
• Obama State Of The Union: Addresses Clean Energy Jobs, Support For Climate Bill (Huffington Post Green)
• Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC): “The idea of not pricing carbon, in my view, means you’re not serious about energy independence. : "The odd thing is you’ll never have energy independence until you clean up the air, and you’ll never clean up the air until you price carbon.”
• Cap-and-trade death knell, revisited and revised (Dave Roberts, Grist)
• Adviser: White House Committed to Climate Bill (Politico)
• Obama eager to help advance climate bill: President Barack Obama said on Wednesday he wants to advance a climate bill that has been stalled in the U.S. Senate, but he did not say it had to include a cap-and-trade market for emissions blamed for warming the planet. (Reuters)
• Obama Announces Funding for High-Speed Rail:
• President Obama delivers on American High-Speed Rail (U.S. Dept. of Transportation)
• WITH MAPS!!: Obama Taps High-Speed Rail Winners: Florida, California, Illinois and More (Streets Blog NY)
• High Speed Rail’s Gator Aid (The Vine)
• MORE MAPS!!: Superfast Bullet Trains Are Finally Coming to the U.S. (Wired)
• Fast Track to the Future: A High-Speed Rail Agenda for America (Progressive Fix)
• Rail Stimulus: Good Politics, But Don't Expect Bullet Trains (The New Republic's The Vine)
• Just Don't Call It A "Tax":
• Just Don't Call it a Carbon Tax: A new study in Psychological Science ["A dirty word or a dirty world?" pdf] shows that Republicans and Independents would approve a "carbon offset" identical in every way to a "carbon tax" as long as it isn't called a tax. (Mother Jones)
• You Say Offset, I Say Tax? Study Suggests Labels and Political Affiliation May Influence Preferences (Association for Psychological Science)
• Study: Carbon Price May Be Worth It On Health Grounds Alone (The New Republic's The Vine)
• Haiti still needs YOU to TAKE ACTION: Building a Better, Stronger Haiti (Planet Green):
  
  Donate to non-profit organizations who are working to:
  1. Help build Haiti's economy
  2. Microfinance
  3. Help reforest and replant
  4. Help the animals of Haiti
  5. Help rebuild and reconstruct a stronger Haiti
  6. Help bring renewable energy like solar lanterns to Haiti
  7. Help provide clean water

'GREEN NEWS EXTRA': More green news not covered in today's audio report...

• SEC Issues Ground-Breaking Guidance Requiring Corporate Disclosure of Material Climate Change Risks and Opportunities (CERES)
• In 3-2 Vote, SEC requires companies to disclose climate risks to investors (Climate Progress)
• Budget Freeze Focus Turns to Farm Subsidies (Environmental Working Group)
• California Greening: State's New Green Building Codes Have Some Crying Foul: 'An Example of the Law of Unintended Consequences' (SolveClimate)
• California to Subsidize Solar Water Heaters (NY Times)
• Honda Tests Solar Hydrogen Fuel Pump (Detroit News)
• MNN exclusive: Bill Ford of Ford Motor Co. on the future of green cars:: Bill Ford carried the eco-flag when it wasn't popular, but the industry has now caught up with his namesake company. (Mother Nature Network)
• Even Plants May Not Like a Warmer World (Time Magazine)

                 

Article Categories: Environment, Green News