EPA’s African-American Leaders Round Table

EPA Office of Public Engagement African American Round Table
With: Heather Foster, Associate Director, Office of Public Engagement, The White House
And: Michelle DePass, Assistant Administrator, Office of International & Tribal Affairs,
EPA Bi-monthly Round Table Series
Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Heather Foster

Theme: How can the EPA better engage the African-American community around environmental issues?

Particpants addressed the need to:

* better understand how EPA news specifically impacts particular constituents. How does EPA work affect moms, kids and families? 

* better translate what the EPA does and explore how that can be turned into jobs.

* provide EPA information regularly, particularly regarding the status of rulemaking.

* prepare groups with talking points to better inform our public.

* better package the information in order to be delivered with more impact.

* continue to have people that look like us sitting at tables discussing.

* utilize black media to help carry our message.

* Examine a framework to do better at connecting local activists/organizations with their respective communities.

* make things more relevant to communities and the people that live in them.

* develop some kind of EPA Boot Camp and do something similar with the younger generation especially.

* find more creative ways to connect to people and send out information, using multiple channels (social media, churches).

* put a little pressure on the non-profits and their CEOs to start connecting with each other and reaching out into their communities more.

(EPA)

Comparing Keystone XL Pipeline Decision To Ending Slavery Is Stupid

PRESIDENT'S CORNER

By Norris McDonald

Environmentalists exasperate me sometimes.  Some wealthy liberal donor environmentalists do this when they write, speak or act stupid.  Some wealthy liberal donor environmentalists are stupidly comparing President Obama's decision on the Keystone XL Pipeline to Abraham Lincoln's push to end slavery.

You're not helping your case here wealthy liberal donor environmentalists.  In fact, you're making the president laugh at you.  Me too.  Such a comparison is stupid beyond belief.  Stupid beyond 'stupid is as stupid does.'  If you're going to try to pimp race to somehow guilt trip the president, do NOT compare a pipeline to ending slavery.  I really should not have to complain about this.  But sometimes you just cannot let stupid pass.  (Wash Post, 5/10/2013)

Wilderness Act 50th Anniversary Photo Contest

SIGNED INTO LAW in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson, the Wilderness Act was a triumph for all who enjoy the open landscapes of America and the natural heritage they represent. 

Today, more than 100 million acres are protected by the National Wilderness Preservation System to ensure these areas remain ecologically sound and environmentally pristine and for future generations.




In 2014, the Wilderness Act will reach its Golden Anniversary. In tribute to this milestone, Wilderness50—a coalition of government agencies, nonprofit groups, foundations, and other supporters—have joined together to celebrate the 50-year mark through numerous educational events, including the "Wilderness Forever" nationwide photography competition and print exhibition at the Smithsonian.

The Wilderness50 coalition, distinguished panel of judges, the Smithsonian Institution, and the team at Nature’s Best Photography now invite photographers at all levels of experience to enter the new "Wilderness Forever" photography competition. This nationwide call for entries seeks your best photos and personal stories and experiences within America’s protected wilderness areas (go to the official list link at top, right).
About the Exhibition:

CATEGORY WINNERS and a selection of Highly Honored photos will be displayed in a 2014 print exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, one of the most widely respected and highly visited museums in the world. In addition, all winning images will be published in a special publication produced to commemorate this golden anniversary event and promoted nationwide through other electronic, print, and event promotions. Each of the four contest categories will have a Pro, Amateur, and Student winner, plus Honorable Mentions. See the Entry Guidelines for complete details and categories: Download the Entry Guidelines PDF

Questions? Call 703-467-9783 or Email: wilderness@naturesbestphotography.com.


Press Release: Download the PDF

(Nature's Best Photography)

Russia To Help Ghana Develop Nuclear Industry

 

Russia is to help Ghana develop its nuclear industry the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum has announced. It said in a statement issued in Accra on Saturday that the Ministry was scheduled to go into an agreement with the State Atomic Energy Corporation of Russia - ROSATOM - on the specifics of joint projects facilitating the implementation of plans by Ghana to develop a nuclear industry.

This would take place in June when a team of Ghanaian officials participate in the International Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Power for 21st Century to be held in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation.

The Director General of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Professor Benjamin J. Botwe Nyarko, said the move was a follow-up to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the Ministry of Energy and ROSATOM last year in which the parties agreed to establish bilateral cooperation in the field of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

The ROSATOM team included Yury A. Sokolov, Vice President, Director-Department of Global Nuclear Infrastructure and Dmitry Bazhenov, Chief Expert, Marketing and Business Development Department. It was accompanied by Igor Degtyarev, Minister-Counsellor of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Accra.

Mr. Degtyarev told the Minister that Russia was willing to assist Ghana in developing other power generation alternatives, such as nuclear, and expressed the hope that they would meet at the Conference. (African Scientific Institute) 

Civil Rights Act & Wilderness Act: 50th Anniversaries

Civil Rights Wilderness Act 50/50

AAEA is implementing a program callled Civil Rights Wilderness Act 50/50 (CRWA5050) to recognize these two very important laws.  CRWA5050 will include increasing African American participation in wilderness areas.  Such participation will include field trips, creek bank stabiliztion, campground monitoring, wildfire mitigation and wildlife observation.

AAEA already operates a program in California called Compton-To-Catalina, which is supported by Southern California Edison.  We also attempted to build a wood-chip to electricity plant in Mississippi, which was designed to utilize a renewable resource and increase employment in one of the most depressed areas in the United States.  Such programs seek to both mitigate wildfires and create employment. The CRWA5050 Program will expand upon these concepts.  AAEA intends to participate in the planning and celebration of the two landmark laws.

The National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Land Management, and the Society for Wilderness Stewardship are planning a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act.  These four federal agencies are responsible for managing the National Wilderness Preservation System and are joining with other national wilderness organizations to spotlight and celebrate the nation’s wilderness.

Full Text of the Agreement among the agencies

The 50th Anniversary National Wilderness Conference is on Oct. 15-17 in Albuquerque, N.M.

Follow the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act on Facebook and visit the official website.

July 2, 2014 is the 50th anniversay of the signing of the Civil Rights Act and Sept. 3, 2014 is the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Wilderness Act.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Pub.L. 88–352, 78 Stat. 241, enacted July 2, 1964) is a landmark piece of civil rights legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against racial, ethnic, national and religious minorities, and also women. It ended unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and by facilities that served the general public (known as "public accommodations").

Powers given to enforce the act were initially weak, but were supplemented during later years. Congress asserted its authority to legislate under several different parts of the United States Constitution, principally its power to regulate interstate commerce under Article One (section 8), its duty to guarantee all citizens equal protection of the laws under the Fourteenth Amendment and its duty to protect voting rights under the Fifteenth Amendment. The Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, who would later sign the landmark Voting Rights Act into law.

The bill was called for by President John F. Kennedy in his civil rights speech of June 11, 1963, in which he asked for legislation "giving all Americans the right to be served in facilities which are open to the public—hotels, restaurants, theaters, retail stores, and similar establishments."

President Lyndon B. Johnson signing Civil Rights Act

The Wilderness Act of 1964 (Pub.L. 88–577) created the legal definition of wilderness in the United States, and protected 9.1 million acres of federal land. The Wilderness Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 3, 1964.

The Wilderness Act is well known for its succinct and poetic definition of wilderness:

“A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.”

When Congress passed and President Lyndon Johnson signed the Wilderness Act on September 3, 1964, it created the National Wilderness Preservation System. The initial statutory wilderness areas, designated in the Act, comprised 9.1 million acres of national forest wilderness areas in the United States of America previously protected by administrative orders. The current amount of areas designated by the NWPS as wilderness totals 757 areas encompassing 109.5 million acres of federally owned land in 44 states and Puerto Rico (5% of the land in the United States). (Wiki, Wiki, Pew)

President Lyndon B. Johnson signing Wilderness Act

President Obama Nominates Mel Watt To Federal Housing Finance Agency

Mel Watt

President Barack Obama has nominated Mel Watt, a longtime Democratic congressman from North Carolina, to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which oversees government-controlled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  FHFA regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the bailed-out mortgage financiers that together own or guarantee about half of all outstanding U.S. home loans.

Watt was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1992, where he has served on the chamber’s financial services committee. On the banking panel, he perhaps is best known for trying to stamp out predatory lending. He’s also championed access to home loans for low-income borrowers and those with spotty credit.

He has served North Carolina's 12th congressional district since 1993. An attorney from Charlotte, North Carolina, Watt previously served one term as a state Senator and served as campaign manager for former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt.

Watt is a graduate of York Road High School in Charlotte. He was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1967 with a BS degree in Business Administration. In 1970, he received a JD degree from Yale Law School and was a published member of the Yale Law Journal.

Watt practiced law from 1970 to 1992, specializing in minority business and economic development law. He has been a partner in several small businesses.

Mel is married to Eulada Paysour Watt, an educator. They have two sons, Brian and Jason, both of whom are graduates of Yale University and have earned graduate degrees.  (Wiki, Mel Watt, Huffington Post)

President Obama Nominates Anthony Foxx As Transportation Secretary

President Obama on Monday nominated Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx (D) as his next transportation secretary. 

He was first elected to the Charlotte City Council in 2005, and was elected mayor on November 3, 2009, winning 51.5% of the vote.  He won a second term on November 8, 2011, winning more than two-thirds of the vote.

Originally elected at the age of 38, Foxx is the youngest mayor of Charlotte, and is the first Democrat to hold the office sinceHarvey Gantt left office in 1987.  He is Charlotte's second African American mayor, as well as its first newly-elected mayor since 1995. On April 5, 2013, he announced that he will not seek reelection as Mayor in 2013.

He graduated from Davidson College, where he was the first African American student body president, with a degree in history, in 1993, and earned a law degree from New York University School of Law in 1996.

After law school, Foxx returned to Charlotte to work for a short time at the Smith, Helms, Mullis, and Moore law firm, and left to become a clerk for Judge Nathaniel R. Jones of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. Later he worked for the United States Department of Justice and the United States House of Repressentatives Judiciary Committee.  In 2004, he was the campaitn manager for Representative Mel Watt.

In 2001, he returned to Charlotte to work as a business litigator for Hunton & Williams. While a member of the city council, he retained his position as a litigator at Hunton & Williams, switching to part-time status.  In 2009, he left Hunton & Williams to join DesignLine Corporation, a hybrid electric bus manufacturer, as its Deputy General Counsel.

Foxx is married to Samara Ryder, also an attorney; they have two children. (Wiki)

Trees Show Income Inequality In Washington Area

Trees turn out to be a telling barometer of income inequality in the Washington area, data shows.

New data on the region’s tree canopy show a stark divide between the region’s lower- and higher-income neighborhoods. 

More than a quarter of residents in areas with typical household incomes below $60,000 live with fewer trees and more open space to grow them. In places where typical household incomes are above $120,000, some 60 percent of residents live in leafy neighborhoods that are well-planted, the analysis shows.

A clear fault line has emerged, beginning at upper 16th Street in Northwest and following the Potomac River south of the city. In the Northwest quadrant of the city and into the Virginia and Montgomery County suburbs, trees are abundant and the land well-planted. To the east, in the lower-income areas of the District and into Prince George’s County, the tree canopy is much sparser and there is far more open land.

In the lower-income areas of the District — which has one of the highest levels of income inequality among the nation’s cities — nearly 40 percent of residents who make $60,000 or below live in places with fewer trees and more empty spaces.

Meanwhile, 80 percent of residents in upper-income areas live in well-planted neighborhoods, data show.  (Wash Post, 4/25/2013)

Can Whites Discuss Black-On-Black Violence?

John Bennett and Robert Huber Think They Should

When Robert Huber published a controversial article, “Being White in Philly,” in Philadelphia Magazine, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter objected, even after previously inviting a conversation on race in public statements.

Bennett observes:

But in response to Huber’s article, the mayor “expressly suggested that the speech in the article was unprotected, and therefore punishable outright.” The mayor’s official condemnation letter claimed that the article presents “negative stereotypes” of blacks. Nutter did not quote any “negative stereotypes” in the article, nor did he provide any examples of “negative stereotypes” on the part of anyone interviewed in the article. Nutter simply said the article arose from Huber’s “misguided perception of African-Americans … as an ethnic group that, in its entirety, is lazy, shiftless, irresponsible, and largely criminal.” 

(Read the full article)

Dick Gregory: My Mentor and Role Model

PRESIDENT'S CORNER

By Norris McDonald

I've met many celebrities in my life, from presidents to Hollywood, but my favorite is Dick Gregory.  Why?  Because of who Dick is and the way he carries himself.  Being an Inside The Beltway creature, I've met people over the years who have trouble walking through regular doorways because their heads are so big.  Yet Dick has never exhibited any hint of being overly impressed with himself.  In fact, he goes out of his way to make you feel good about yourself.  And Dick isn't even a politician.  Politicians are expert at this too, but you know they are acting. 

Dick Gregory is the Godfather of Environmental Justice.  Dick was out talking about the environment before the environmental movement even began.   Dick was ahead of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" album that featured an ecology theme.  Dick was one of the first black megastars and he could have developed his initial success into "The Cosby Show" or "The Flip Wilson Show" or any of a number of other projects.  Instead, Dick wanted to be free to express himself however he wanted to.  And in my opinion, such freedom is worth the price of admission.

When I almost died from asthma in 1991, Dick helped me get credit at a health food store (that stuff is expensive).  He advised me on nutrition.  He would give me rides home (in a Rolls Royce). It would be funny when we would stop at a light and someone would pull up to us and say, "you look like Dick Gregory."  And Dick would respond, "I am Dick Gregory."  And we all would bust out laughing.  These are priceless moments.  And Dick shared them freely.   Dick would let me hang out with him.  He would say, "come on and ride with me Norris to the airport to pick up a package."  And off we would go to Dulles Airport.  If I was driving my car, Dick would entertain my son play with his feet while he was sitting in his car seat.  He would slip a few dollars to the homeless people we passed on the street.  Dick showed me how it SHOULD be done. 

Dick was talking nutrition to black folks when the thought of eating as much raw food as possible was laughed at by our peeps. Dick got me into juicers and fasting and colonics. Dick had me taking 40 supplement pills per day at one point.  When I showed doubt about this regimen, he got his wife, whom he called Lil (Lillian) on the phone to "tell Norris we've been doing this for years."  

One of my favorite times with Dick was when he discovered a black scientist who could 'turn water gasoline' (into a synthetic fuel).  One evening, right across the street from the Howard Inn, we used my car as the test vehicle.  Dick had his astrologer there to read the signs.  Walter Fauntroy was there too.  The unit worked in powering my car and the exhaust was water vapor.  My guess is it was some sort of hydrogen derived fuel becuase its waste production after such combustion is water vapor. 

Dick is 80 years old now and still going strong.  Thank you Dick.  Thank you for being you and sharing yourself with me.  When I had to downsize my ambitions in response to asthma and single parenthood, Dick showed me how I could still express myself and have a very good time doing it.  Dick also showed me how to speak truth to power.  After my dear late father, I could not have a better professional mentor and role model than Dick Gregory.

California Air Board Tells Auto Lobby To Back Off Zero Emissions Fight

 

The head of the California Air Resources Board on Tuesday called for two automotive lobbying groups to rescind their petitions asking the Environmental Protection Agency to reassess California's zero-emissions vehicle requirements.

Mary Nichols, in a speech to kick off the Society of Automotive Engineers 2013 World Congress, said the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and Association of Global Automakers, which last month filed a petition in an effort to fight California's ZEV sales requirements, should for the betterment of the industry stop their petition.

"We don't have time to delay the infusion of these technologies," Nichols said.

Automakers are dealing with strict federal fuel efficiency standards; the fleetwide average by 2025 must be at least 54.5 miles per gallon under Corporate Average Fuel Economy regulations. California has a set of separate rules and the AAM and AGA believe it highly unlikely that consumers will buy enough zero-emission vehicles to meet California's mandate.

California says that zero-emission or plug-in hybrid vehicles will account for one in seven new cars sold in California in 2025 — or 15.4 percent. More than 1.4 million zero-emission and plug-in hybrid vehicles will be on the road in California by 2025.

In 14 years, California says there will be 1.4 million EVs or plug-in hybrids on its roads. Of those, California says there will be 500,000 fuel-cell or pure electric vehicles on the roads. The Air Resources Board expects that nearly 100 percent of all cars sold in the Golden State will be zero-emission vehicles by 2040 under its rules. (The Detroit News, 4/16/2013)

Greenpeace Jobs

Executive Assistant to the Campaign Director & Director of Public Outreach (DC)

Washington, DC: The Executive/Program Assistant is a unique high-level administrative position that

provides support to both to the Campaigns Director and the Director of Public Outreach. The Campaigns Director and the Director of Public Outreach together manage the entirety of the Program Department at Greenpeace USA. This position manages the CD and DPO’s time, correspondence, travel and speaking engagements. The Executive/ Program Assistant would require someone who is proactive, takes initiative, and has the ability to work in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment while juggling and coordinating multiple projects and deadlines. The incumbent must also have keen problem solving skills, and work independently. The Executive/ Program Assistant works directly with both Executive Team members in support of their work with the Executive Team, Senior Management Team and the Program Management Team. This position is also responsible for administrative duties related to operations of the Program team including note taking, facilitation, budget tracking and scheduling.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Support the CD and DPO’s participation in staff meetings, departmental meetings, Executive Team Meetings, Senior Management Team Meetings and Board of Director Meeting; ensure necessary documents are printed and available before the meetings, follow up action items related to such meetings and occasionally note taking
• Coordinate and manage the CD and DPO’s scheduling, communication, travel and meeting logistics, development and coordination of meeting agendas
• Manage calendar, events, plans, contact systems and action items
• Lead or participate on project teams related to a range of operational matters
• Provide assistance and support to the CD and DPO for meeting preparation and events
• Ensure confidentiality at all times (this position will have access to highly confidential information)
• Assist in managing CD and DPO’s email by delegating or completing tasks as needed
• Reply to meeting requests and schedule meetings as needed; ensure time spent in meetings reflect the month’s or week’s priorities
• Perform liaison duties for Greenpeace International as needed
• Ensuring reporting deadlines are met
• Compile monthly reports from the Program Teams
• Submit and track reimbursements, invoices and credit card statements for both the CD and DPO
• Track and maintain the Program Contingency budget
• Manage travel, food, schedule and other logistics for trainings, retreats, meetings as assigned by the CD or DPO
• Provide support to the Program team (Actions, Campaigns, Communications, Grassroots and Online) as needed
• Pitch in with office management responsibilities as a true team member
• Other duties as assigned by the CD or DPO

Requirements:

• 4+ years stable administrative experience, with at least 2 years executive experience
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to draft correspondences and other communications quickly with minimum direction
• Experience facilitating meetings
• Keen attention to detail with ability to track and manage multiple projects at one time
• Ability to act efficiently on last minute projects
• Demonstrated ability to work in a fast paced, dynamic environment
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Word and Power Point
• Experience developing systems
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate and facilitate the completion of large administrative projects in a timely manner, including meeting strict deadlines
• Familiarity working with organizational budgets
• Ease in getting along with team members at all levels
• Consistency in a high degree of quality in work
• Proactive and service-oriented but easy going personality
• Excellent execution – a perfectionist
• Excellent judgment, discretion and diplomacy
• A high level of energy and enthusiasm
• Commitment to environmental issues and principles of non-violence central to Greenpeace’s mission

BENEFITS:

Greenpeace USA values a healthy work-life balance and has flexible, family-friendly employment policies. Our competitive benefits package for full-time employees includes medical, dental, and vision coverage with low contributions from staff. We have options for pre-tax flexible spending accounts for medical and dependent care costs. Greenpeace employees enjoy generous 401K matching and time off for vacation, sick, personal, and parental leave. After five years, staff are eligible for a paid sabbatical. To encourage public transportation use and biking, we offer subsidies for staff who choose to bike or ride mass transit to work. Greenpeace is committed to the growth and development of staff and fostering a creative workplace culture. For more information, check out our benefits plan.

TO APPLY:

Please send cover letter and resume to resumes@wdc.greenpeace.org. Please include the following in your cover letter: a specific explanation of your interest in Greenpeace’s mission and the available position and how you found out about this career opportunity. Please use the email subject line: Executive Assistant Position– YOUR NAME. Applications are accepted until April 30^th. No phone calls please. (Greenpeace)

Diversity In The Environmental Movement

PRESIDENT'S CORNER

By Norris McDonald

I was quoted in The Washington Post this week about the lack of diversity in the environmental movement.  As a result, we have received numerous requests to post job and intern listings.  We don't mind posting these notices, but we are also not an employment agency.  We are a small but scrappy environmental group that scrambles to address many issues with a very small budget.  So if you want us to provide a service to you, please feel free to click on that donate button right over there to your right at the top of this blog page.

We appreciate your interest in diversity and hope you can include African Americans in your organization. 

Restart San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Unit 2

Recommendation To Restart SONGS Unit 2 and Accelerate Review and Restart of Unit 3

Norris McDonald at SONGS on July 6, 2005

AAEA believes Southern California Edison can operate the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) without undue risk to public health and safety.  AAEA commends the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for its exhaustive review of the steam generator situation at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.  AAEA reached its conclusion after exhaustive review of the NRC evaluation of SONGS Unit 2 and Unit 3 steam generators.  We believe the NRC has been thorough and that the licensee has been completely responsive to any and all Requests for Additional Information (RAIs) related to the Confirmatory Action Letter (CAL).  As such, the NRC should grant permission for SONGS to restart immediately.

Southern California needs the emission free electricity provided by SONGS.  The state needs this emission free electricity in order to meet the goals of the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32).  Vulnerable communities need SONGS to mitigate smog in the region.  The hundreds of SONGS employees facing lay off or job loss desperately need this employment.  Moreover, the closure has cost San Onofre's owners, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric, more than $470 million.  The closure represents a significant burden for ratepayers who already face increasing electricity rates.  The restart would mitigate purchasing imported electricity.   We believe these great benefits can be provided by a SONGS restart and without risk to public health and safety.

Edison has proposed re-starting San Onofre’s Reactor 2 at 70 percent power for five months.  We believe this is a prudent proposal and NRC should allow it.  The licensee shut down immediately upon detecting one of the Unit 3 generators was leaking and causing a tiny, but measurable, increase in the radioactivity of the normally non-radioactive water in the secondary (steam) side of the steam generators.  We believe the licensee will shut down again if there is a problem because their principle concern is the safety of the public.

Reject Chino Hills Underground Transmission Line Proposal

Chino Hills Obstruction of the Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project

AAEA opposes undergrounding the Chino Hills section of the line and the CPUC should reject this proposal. It is an unnecessary alteration of an already approved plan.The California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) should reject the Chino Hills underground transmission line proposal.  AAEA supports the timely completion of the Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project (TRTP). California ratepayers do not need the significant increase in the cost of the transmission line simply to appease the aesthetic requirements of some stakeholders.  These types of NIMBY stumbling blocks have been known to obstruct construction of needed infrastructure. 

AAEA is particularly concerned about threats to a project that provides emission free electricity to Californians.  Such projects are welcome relief for those in minority areas that are disproportionately affected by pollution and have higher incidences of asthma.  Any threat to TRIP is a threat to asthmatics.  Any delay in TRTP delays mitigation of asthma in vulnerable communities.

The underground proposal undermines CPUC's approval of the Alta Windpower Project in the Tehachapi area, one of the largest wind energy contracts in the United States.  The underground proposal is also unacceptable because 12 of 16 transmission structures have already been completed as part of the approved overhead position in the existing utility right-of-way corridor.

The Wilderness Society - Jobs & Internship Opportunities

The Wilderness Society (Jobs Page) is an equal opportunity employer and actively works to ensure fair and equal treatment of its employees and constituents regardless of differences based on culture, socioeconomic status, race, marital or family situation, gender, age, ethnicity, religious beliefs, physical ability, or sexual orientation. We offer a very competitive salary and benefits package, including health and dental insurance and a pension plan. If one of our openings interests you, please send your resume and other requirements as directed.

Job Opportunities

The Wilderness Society is currently recruiting for the following positions:

Renewable Energy Campaign Representative
Location: Washington, DC

Senior Director, Government Relations
Location: Washington, DC

Wyoming Program Manager
Location: Wyoming

Internship Opportunities

The Wilderness Society accepts applications for policy, communication, marketing and digital internships year-round. These positions are unpaid, but are available for school credit.

Communications Internship - DC
Location: Washington, DC

Communications Internship - Denver
Location: Denver, CO

Marketing Internship
Location: Washington, DC or Seattle, WA

Policy and Government Affairs Internship
Location: Washington, DC

Web / Digital Internship
Location: Denver, CO or Washington, DC

Learn more about our internship program.

The Washington Post: Green Groups Still Segregated

PRESIDENT'S CORNER

By Norris McDonald

The Washington Post made history today by quoting more black environmentalists in one article (or any article) than it ever has before.  AAEA has a long history of 'calling out' The Post for its lack of coverage of environmental issues related to the Black community.  We are seen as 'negative' when pointing out that the environmental movement has been and is segregated and elitist.  Before Darryl Fears, The Washington Post environmental reporters, for the most part, only quoted people they know from the large green groups.  Result: issues in the community most environmentally impacted get little to no coverage by the paper of record in our nation's capital. 

Darryl Fears changed that situation at The Washington Post today.  And he pulled the lid off of the environmental movement's consistent exclusive nature.  Wow.  First a black president (twice), and now The Washington Post quoting black people on environment.  I never thought I would live to see the day.  Anyway, a very special thank you to The Washington Post for making Darryl an environmental reporter.  And Darryl is not just limited to the black environmental section; he covers a variety of environmental issues. We just hope the other energy and environmental reporters will not think that the situation is covered now because 'that's Darryl's area.'  Limiting perspectives on energy and environmental issues is a disservice to The Washington Post readers.

The article featured our 2003-2004 Green Group Diversity Survey (and Report Card).  The survey is still viable and groups are welcome to complete it and submit it to us for publication.   Of course, none of the groups will do that because they are rich, fat and very happy with their self-indulgent elitist status.  I've always believed that, although they will publicly express concern about their lack of diversity, they are secretly proud of their elite status.  Much like the Republican Party.  Fortunately, the result of such exclusion is the formation of a number of minority environmental groups.  Thus, the hostility and elitism of the traditional green groups are avoided.  And issues can be addressed from a standpoint that reflects an African American perspective on some of the important environmental issues facing us today.

One mainstream group scored 'Excellent' on our scorecard: Environmental Law Institute.  Three other groups scored 'Good' on the scorecard: Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, and World Resources Institute.  The Chesapeake Bay Foundation assertively told us they would not complete the survey.

The mainstream green groups have absolutely no concern about the fact that blacks own virtually no energy resources and infrastructure in the United States.  So do they really expect blacks to oppose all fossil fuel use?  The mainstream green groups would love to see very high energy prices (taxes) in order to force conservation.  This would be devastating to the black community, which already has an unacceptably high unemployment rate.  These are just a couple of examples of how blacks and mainstream green groups have different opinions about energy and environmental issues.  I formed AAEA in 1985, after working for a mainstream group for six years, to directly address these pressing issues. (The Washington Post, 3/24/2013)

AAEA President Norris McDonald Appears on Arise TV

Center President Norris McDonald appeared on Arise TV on Monday, March 18th to discuss, "Nuclear Cure For Asthma."  Also appearing on the show was Frank Fraley, Executive Director of  Safe Healthy Affordable Energy (SHARE) and asthma specialist Dre. Aletha Maybank.

The March 18 Program Segment can be seen at 1:07:30.

Matthew Tejada - Director, EPA Office of Environmental Justice

Matthew Tejada

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is turning to Matthew Tejada, a Houston activist, to lead the EPA's Office of Environmental Justice. As executive director of the Air Alliance Houston for almost six years (2007-2013), Tejada fought against pollution in poor neighborhoods surrounding Gulf Coast ports. Tejada is expected to begin his new role in early March.

University of Oxford, PhD, History,  2004 – 2006

 

University of Oxford, MPhil, Russian and East European Studies, 2002 – 2004

 

The University of Texas at Austin, BA, English, 1997 – 2000

Top 20 African American CEOs

The black CEOs on Benzinga's list come from all corners of the country and lead public and private companies across all sectors of the economy.

1. Jan Adams, JMA Solutions
Adams founded JMA in 2005 following 24 years of service in the United States Air Force. Her vision has fueled JMA's growth into the #125 ranking in the 2012 Inc. Magazine 5000, including the #1 ranking in Washington, D.C. The company provides financial management, IT services, systems and concept engineering and program management to the federal government.

2. Joseph B. Anderson, TAG Holdings, LLC
A former General Motors (NYSE: GM[FREE Stock Trend Analysis]) executive, Anderson is the CEO of the Troy, Michigan-based TAG Holdings, whose subsidiaries include Korean and Chinese plumbing ceramics makers, automobile wheel-assembly suppliers and warehouse services. 2010 revenues were over $700 million.

3. William Bailey, Rapier Solutions
William Bailey is a former veteran who founded Rapier in 2002. The IT company is based in Matthews, North Carolina and landed a spot at #139 in the 2012 Inc. Magazine 5000 rankings. 2011 revenues were $3.6 million.

4. Oprah Winfrey, Oprah Winfrey Network
This list wouldn't be complete without television's greatest female personality, Oprah Winfrey. Once told that she would never be fit for presence on TV, Oprah has created a niche in the daily lives of millions of people and has spun gold from her success. She currently sits as the CEO of the Oprah Winfrey Network, a joint venture between her former Harpo Productions and Discovery Communications.  With a personal estimated net worth of $2.8 billion, Oprah finds herself at #168 in the richest people in the United States, #151 on the Forbes 500, #2 in the Celebrity 100 and #1 in TV/Radio.

 

5. Ulysses Bridgeman, Bridgeman Foods Inc.
The former NBA 12-year veteran heads up the $500 million Manna Inc. and ERJ Inc., which combine to form one of the largest restaurateurs in the nation. Bridgeman manages over 320 restaurants, including 163 Wendy's (NASDAQ: WEN) and 120 Chili's, the latter operated by Brinker International (NYSE: EAT).

6. Ursula M. Burns, Xerox Corporation
The document management giant is run by Ursula Burns, who became the first woman to head a Fortune 500 company in 2009. Xerox's (NYSE: XRX) 2012 revenues were $22.39 billion and its Fortune 500 ranking stands at #127.



7. Kenneth I. Chenault, American Express
Chenault has been the CEO of American Express (NYSE: AXP) since 2001. The Long Island native has led the Fortune 500 (#95) corporation through unprecedented growth, with 2012 revenues totaling $33.80 billion. Chenault heads over 63,000 employees.

 

8. Roger W. Ferguson, Jr., TIAA-CREF
The former Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Ferguson is a Washington, D.C. native who took over as CEO of retirement provider TIAA-CREF in 2008. TIAA-CREF is ranked #88 in the Fortune 500.

9. Kenneth C. Frazier, Merck & Co., Inc.
The Philadelphia-native became the head of pharmaceutical giant Merck (NYSE: MRK) in 2011. That year, revenues totaled $48 billion for Merck, which possesses a #57 ranking in the Fortune 500 and employs 86,000 people.







10. Ronald Hall, Sr., Bridgewater Interiors
Bridgewater has been one of the nation's leading auto parts suppliers since its 1998 inception. The Detroit-bred CEO of the company, Ronald Hall Sr., has led its growth, which included $1.6 billion in revenues in 2011. Its leading customers include General Motors and Ford.

11. Janice Bryant Howroyd, ACT-1 Group
The North Carolina-native runs a billion dollar enterprise in ACT-1, which is now the nation's largest woman- and minority-owned employment-services company in the US. ACT-1 is a specialized staffing company.

12. Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Magic Johnson Enterprises

Highlighted by his recent $50 million stake in the purchase of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Johnson's eponymous enterprise owns a series of movie theaters, restaurants and health clubs across the country. More recently, the company has gotten involved in real estate development. The company's 2012 worth totaled $700 million.

13. Robert L. Johnson, The RLJ Companies
Johnson was the former head of Black Entertainment Television (BET) before it was swallowed up by Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB). Johnson's kept plenty of skin in the game, however, founding the RLJ Companies, an asset management firm with an inkling for discovering undiscovered or undeserved markets. Johnson's private equity real funds have over $2 billion in combined assets and nearly $4 billion in additional purchasing power.

14. Kamoru Lawal, CAMAC
Lawal runs the Houston-based CAMAC Energy (NYSE: CAK), a major oil and gas company involved in exploration, development and production, founded in 1986. The Nigerian-born, American-raised CEO of CAMAC has operations in Nigeria and China. The company's annual revenue in 2010 totaled $1.5 billion.

15. Alex & Feysan Lodde, MV Transporation, Inc.
The Fairfield, California-based company led by the husband-and-wife team of Alex and Feysan Lodde is the nation's largest privately held passenger-transportation contracting firm. Established in 1975, the company's revenue crossed the $700 million mark in 2010.

16. Harold F. Mills, ZeroChaos
ZeroChaos is a contractor for employers, offering professional payrolling, risk management and private label sourcing, among other services. Led by Harold Mills, the Orlando-based company ranked in annual sales of $700 million in 2010. Mills was previously an executive at Ameritech.

17. Clarence Otis, Jr., Darden Restaurants, Inc.
Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) is one of the nation's largest restaurateurs and Clarence Otis is its CEO. With a rank of #342 in the Fortune 500 and 2012 revenues of $7.6 billion, the Otis-led company owns Olive Garden, Red Lobster, LongHorn Steakhouse and other chains, employing over 178,000 people as of 2011.

18. Jim Reynolds, Loop Capital
Reynolds is one of the biggest African-Americans in investment management today. His Chicago-based international investment banking and brokerage firm, Loop Capital, has grown by leaps and bounds, becoming the 6th largest municipal underwriter in the country.

19. David L. Steward, World Wide Technology Inc.
The Stewart-led World Wide Technology Inc. offers a variety of technology products and financial services. Founded in 1990, the Maryland Heights, Missouri-based firm reached revenues of $3.2 billion in 2010.

20. Don Thompson, McDonald's
A Chicago native, Thompson became the CEO of McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) in 2012, a former electric engineer who first started at the fast-food giant designing robotic equipment and control circuits for transport and cooking, respectively. He was previously a fighter jet maker at Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC). In 2012, McDonald's revenues were $27.5 billion and the company was ranked #107 in the Fortune 500.

(Benzinga, 3/13/2013)

African American & Latino Energy Employment Program (ALEEP)

The African American Environmentalist Association (AAEA), is implementing an African American & Latino Energy Employment Program (ALEEP) that will connect job seekers with upstream oil and natural gas employers.

IHS Global, Inc prepared a report for the American Petroleum Institute (API) in November 2012 entitled, "Employment Outlook for African Americans and Latinos in the Upstream Oil and Natural Gas Industry," which projects that 80,000 oil and natural gas jobs (20,000 for African Americans 60,000 for Hispanics) will be created between 2010 and 2020.  The report notes that accelerated development would produce 113,000 jobs for  African American and Hispanic workers by 2030.  It appears that the oil and natural gas industry has the potential to provide almost 10,000 jobs per year for the next decade.  AAEA will to help facilitate connecting oil and natural gas employers with potential employees.

Outreach and Recruitment

AAEA will reach out to companies, associations, organizations, colleges, community colleges, technical schools, trade schools, trade associations, individuals and others to facilitate implementation of the ALEEP. We will serve as a clearinghouse between these groups and individuals and oil and gas companies.

AAEA will work with employment agencies and employment consultants in order to match companies with applicants. We will provide a national service that matches potential employees and employers in order to meet the demand for almost 1,000 jobs per month for the next decade.

We will not duplicate the considerable outreach already underway via promotion of STEM programs, but we will assure that all STEM program promoters are aware of the ALEEP. We will focus significant effort on HBCUs and other universities. Our focus, however, will be on community colleges and trade schools. AAEA will visit as many of these institutions as our budget allows.

AAEA will reach out to black fraternities and sororities. We will also inform the civil rights and environmental justice organizations about the job prospects in the oil and gas sectors. We will also seek out community organizers in every major city to make sure they and their constituents are aware of the ALEEP.

AAEA will brief each member of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) about the ALEEP and will encourage them to share this program with their constituents. We will do the same for each state legislative black caucus. We will also reach out to black mayors and black county council.

Reports

AAEA will present quarterly reports about its progress.  The reports will be specific to each individual sector that we approach.  Hard copy documents will also be produced to serve as a promotional tools for the ALEEP.

Internet Outreach

AAEA will utilize its blog to disseminate information about the ALEEP. We will utilize links to the ALEEP as a major outreach tool. AAEA will be a one stop shop for employers and minority employees to connect with each other. AAEA will also facilitate these connections. We will utilize LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and other electronic media to publicize the ALEEP.

Media

AAEA will issue press releases and utilize every means necessary to alert the media to ALEEP. This will include press releases, press conferences, press meetings, personal appearances and all other means needed to publicize the program. The ALEEP can be a productive tool in recruiting minorities to the oil and gas industries. Our goal is to make 'black and brown jobs' as prominent as proponents have made 'green jobs.' America's energy future is at stake and AAEA is at the forefront of promoting the efficient use of natural resources.  The ALEEP will be a major program in advancing our agenda.

Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2013

HOUSE BILL 226

SUBTITLE 20C. MARYLAND OFFSHORE WIND DEVELOPMENT FUND.  
Senate Vote

House Vote

A) IN THIS SUBTITLE THE FOLLOWING WORDS HAVE THE MEANINGS INDICATED

B) "ADVISORY COMMITTEE" MEANS THE MARYLAND OFFSHORE WIND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

C) "ADMINISTRATION" MEANS THE MARYLAND ENERGY ADMINISTRATION

D) "DIRECTOR" MEANS THE DIRECTOR OF THE MARYLAND ENERGY ADMINISTRATION

E) "EMERGING BUSINESS MEANS A BUSINESS THAT IS AT LEAST 51% OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY AN INDIVIDUAL OR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE CERTIFIED TO HAVE A PERSONAL NET WORTH AS DEFINED IN § 14–301 OF THE FINANCE AND PROCUREMENT THAT DOES NOT EXCEED $6,500,000 AS ADJUSTED EACH YEAR FOR INFLATION ACCORDING TO THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX

F) "FUND" MEANS THE MARYLAND OFFSHORE WIND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FUND ESTABLISHED UNDER § 9–20C–03 OF THIS SUBTITLE

G) "MINORITY MEANS AN INDIVIDUAL WHO IS A MEMBER OF ANY OF THE GROUPS LISTED IN § 14–301 OF THE FINANCE AND PROCUREMENT ARTICLE HERE IS A MARYLAND OFFSHORE WIND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE SHALL MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE ADMINISTRATION ON THE MOST EFFECTIVE MANNER TO USE MONEY IN THE FUND CONSISTENT WITH THE PURPOSES OF THE FUND THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE CONSISTS OF THE FOLLOWING MEMBERS

(1) ONE MEMBER TWO MEMBERS OF THE SENATE OF MARYLAN, ONE FROM EACH OF THE PRINCIPAL POLITICAL PARTIES, APPOINTED BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE

(2) ONE MEMBER TWO MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES, ONE FROM EACH OF THE PRINCIPAL POLITICAL PARTIES, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE

(3) THE DIRECTOR OR THE DIRECTOR'S DESIGNEE,

(4)THE SECRETARY OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, SECRETARY'S DESIGNEE

(5) THE SPECIAL SECRETARY OF THE GOVERNO’S OFFICE OF MINORITY AFFAIRS OR THE SPECIAL SECRETARY'S DESIGNEE AND

(6) THE FOLLOWING MEMBERS APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR:

REPRESENTATIVE OF A PUBLIC INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE STATE

REPRESENTATIVE OF A HISTORICALLY BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN THE STATE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE STATE'S COMMUNITY COLLEGES

REPRESENTATIVE OF THE MARYLAND INDEPENDENT COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES ASSOCIATION

REPRESENTATIVE OF THE MARYLAND SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER NETWORK

REPRESENTATIVE OF THE MARYLAND BUSINESS COALITION FOR OFFSHORE WIND

REPRESENTATIVE OF A BUSINESS INCUBATOR IN THE STATE WITH EXPERIENCE IN PROVIDING SERVICES TO MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISES AS DEFINED IN § 14–301 OF THE STATE FINANCE AND PROCUREMENT ARTICLE OR TO EMERGING BUSINESSES INCLUDING EMERGING BUSINESSES OWNED BY MINORITIES

INDIVIDUAL WITH EXPERIENCE IN PROVIDING BUSINESS FINANCING TO MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISES AS DEFINED IN § 14–301 OF THE STATE FINANCE AND PROCUREMENT ARTICLE OR EMERGING BUSINESSES INCLUDING EMERGING BUSINESSES OWNED BY MINORITIES REPRESENTATIVE OF AN OFFSHORE WIND DEVELOPER

REPRESENTATIVE OF AN ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER

INDIVIDUAL WHO IS A MINORITY BUSINESS

INDIVIDUAL WITH EXPERIENCE IN OFFSHORE WIND SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES

THE GOVERNOR SHALL APPOINT THE CHAIR OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

THE ADMINISTRATION SHALL PROVIDE STAFF FOR THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

A MEMBER OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

(1) MAY NOT RECEIVE COMPENSATION AS A MEMBER OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE BUT IS ENTITLED TO REIMBURSEMENT FOR EXPENSES UNDER THE STANDARD STATE TRAVEL REGULATIONS AS PROVIDED IN THE STATE BUDGET ON OR BEFORE DECEMBER 31, 2013.

THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE SHALL PROVIDE WRITTEN RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE ADMINISTRATION REGARDING THE MOST EFFECTIVE USE OF MONEY IN THE FUND IN ORDER TO MAXIMIZE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMERGING BUSINESSES IN THE STATE INCLUDING MINORITY OWNED EMERGING BUSINESSES; (1) PARTICIPATE IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY (2) IN MAKING A RECOMMENDATION UNDER PARAGRAPH (1) OF THIS SUBSECTION

THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE SHALL CONSIDER OPPORTUNITIES TO MAXIMIZE LEVERAGING OPPORTUNITIES, MENTORING AND PROTEGE MODELS INNOVATION CLUSTERS, EXISTING INCUBATOR AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AND THE APPROPRIATE ROLE OF PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE STATE'S UNIVERSITIES AND COMMUNITY COLLEGES ON OR BEFORE DECEMBER 31, 2014,.

THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE SHALL PROVIDE UPDATED RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE ADMINISTRATION ON COMPLETION AND SUBMISSION OF THE WRITTEN RECOMMENDATIONS REQUIRED UNDER SUBSECTION G OF THIS SECTION.

THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE SHALL TERMINATE ITS OPERATION AND CEASE UNTIL THERE IS A MARYLAND OFFSHORE WIND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FUND IN THE ADMINISTRATION.

THE PURPOSES OF THE FUND ARE TO

(1) PROVIDE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE AND EMPLOYEE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE BENEFIT OF EMERGING BUSINESSES IN THE STATE MINORITYOWNED EMERGING BUSINESSES TO PREPARE THOSE BUSINESSES TO PARTICIPATE IN THE EMERGING OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

(2) ENCOURAGE EMERGING BUSINESSES IN THE STATE INCLUDING MINORITY OWNED EMERGING BUSINESSES TO PARTICIPATE IN THE EMERGING OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY THE ADMINISTRATION MAY USE THE FUND TO (1) CARRY OUT THE PURPOSES OF THE FUND AND

(3) PAY THE COSTS OF IMPLEMENTING THIS SUBTITLE

THE DIRECTOR SHALL MANAGE AND SUPERVISE THE FUND.

1) THE FUND IS A SPECIAL NONLAPSING FUND THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO REVERSION UNDER § 7–302 OF THE STATE FINANCE AND PROCUREMENT ARTICLE

2) THE STATE TREASURER SHALL HOLD THE FUND SEPARATELY AND THE COMPTROLLER SHALL ACCOUNT FOR THE FUND

1) THE STATE TREASURER SHALL INVEST THE MONEY OF THE FUND IN THE SAME MANNER AS OTHER STATE MONEY

2) ANY INVESTMENT EARNINGS OF THE FUND SHALL BE CREDITED TO THE FUND THE FUND CONSISTS OF

(1) MONEY APPROPRIATED BY THE STATE TO THE FUND

(2) MONEY PAID TO THE FUND BY A QUALIFIED OFFSHORE WIND PROJECT UNDER § 7–704.1 OF THE PUBLIC UTILITIES ARTICLE

(3) MONEY MADE AVAILABLE TO THE FUND THROUGH FEDERAL PROGRAMS OR PRIVATE CONTRIBUTIONS

(4) REPAYMENT OF PRINCIPAL OR PAYMENT OF INTEREST ON A LOAN MADE FROM THE FUND

(5) PROCEEDS FROM THE SALE DISPOSITION LEASE OR RENTAL BY THE ADMINISTRATION OF COLLATERAL RELATED TO FINANCING THAT THE ADMINISTRATION PROVIDES UNDER THIS SUBTITLE

(6) INVESTMENT EARNINGS OF THE FUND AND

(7) ANY OTHER MONEY MADE AVAILABLE TO THE ADMINISTRATION FOR THE FUND

(1) IN FISCAL YEARS 2015, $1,500,000 SHALL BE TRANSFERRED FROM THE STRATEGIC ENERGY INVESTMENT FUND TO THE FUND

(2) IN FISCAL YEAR 2016, $1,000,000 SHALL BE TRANSFERRED FROM THE STRATEGIC ENERGY INVESTMENT FUND WHEN DETERMINING HOW MOST EFFECTIVELY TO USE THE MONEY IN THE FUND

THE ADMINISTRATION SHALL CONSIDER THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE IN CARRYING OUT THIS SUBTITLE AND CONSISTENT WITH THE PURPOSES OF THE FUND THE ADMINISTRATION MAY CONTRACT WITH EXPERTS IN THE AREA OF OFFSHORE WIND ENERGY AND ENTITIES EXPERIENCED IN ASSISTING EMERGING BUSINESSES INCLUDING MINORITY OWNED EMERGING BUSINESSES INACCESSING MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

Southern Environmental Law Center Jobs

ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY, LAND & COMMUNITY PROGRAM   Charlottesville, Virginia

The Southern Environmental Law Center is accepting applications for an attorney position in its Charlottesville, Virginia office. This is a two-year position with the possibility of an extension to a third year. We are seeking a committed and energetic person with strong legal skills to work on a range of land use and transportation issues in Charlottesville and throughout Virginia. This is an excellent opportunity to join an organization that is successfully addressing some of the most important and challenging environmental issues facing the Southeast and the nation.

ENERGY ATTORNEY

The Southern Environmental Law Center is seeking an attorney with three or more years of experience to lead a regional solar energy initiative. The position will be based in either SELC’s Charlottesville, Chapel Hill, or Atlanta office, depending on applicant preference. This is an excellent opportunity to join an organization that is successfully addressing some of the most important and challenging environmental issues facing the Southeast and the nation.

STAFF ATTORNEY

 Charlottesville, Virginia Office The Southern Environmental Law Center is seeking a staff attorney with three or more years of experience for its Charlottesville, Virginia office. This is an excellent opportunity to join an organization that is successfully addressing some of the most important and challenging environmental issues facing the Southeast and the nation.

To Apply: All applications must be in writing and include a letter of interest, resume, transcript, and at least three references. Applications should be sent as soon as possible to Katie Storer, Southern Environmental Law Center, 201 West Main Street, Suite 14, Charlottesville, VA 22902, or e-mailed to VAjobs@selcva.org .

Obama Nominates Ernest Moniz as Secretary of Energy

Ernest Moniz

Department of Energy - Dr. Ernest J. Moniz is the Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research at MIT, where he has served on the faculty since 1973, has focused on energy technology and policy. Dr. Moniz also serves as the Director of the MIT Energy Initiative and the MIT Laboratory for Energy and the Environment. From 1997 until January 2001, Dr. Moniz served as Under Secretary of the Department of Energy. Prior to that, he served as Associate Director for Science in the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President from 1995 to 1997.

 

In addition to his work at MIT and the Department of Energy, Dr. Moniz has served on a number of boards of directors and commissions, including the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (2009-Present), the Department of Defense Threat Reduction Advisory Committee (2010-Present), and the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future (2010-2012). Dr. Moniz is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Humboldt Foundation, and the American Physical Society. In 1998, he received the Seymour Cray HPCC Industry Recognition Award for vision and leadership in advancing scientific simulation.

 

Dr. Moniz received a Bachelor of Science degree summa cum laude in physics from Boston College and a doctorate in theoretical physics from Stanford University. (CEQ)

 

Obama Nominates Gina McCarthy to be EPA Administrator

Gina McCarthy

Environmental Protection Agency – Gina McCarthy is currently the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. McCarthy was appointed Assistant Administrator in 2009 after having served as the Commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) from 2005 to 2009. McCarthy came to the Connecticut DEP from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, where she began her career as Canton, Massachusetts’ first full time health agent in 1980.

 

She went on to serve the Commonwealth for 25 years in a variety of environmental positions, including Undersecretary for Policy at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs and Deputy Secretary of the Massachusetts Office for Commonwealth Development where she was in charge of coordinating environmental, transportation, energy, and housing agency policies.

 

McCarthy earned a BA in Social Anthropology from the University of Massachusetts Boston and a joint Master of Science in Environmental Health Engineering and Planning and Policy from Tufts University.  (CEQ)

National Black Chamber Says Environmentalist Are Evil

Harry Alford

By Harry Alford
President
National Black Chamber of Commerce

The Evil Ways of Environmentalists

The Environmental Movement has been around since the days of naturalist John Muir (late 19^th century) who is the founder of the Sierra Club. Back then it had high credibility and did great work to promote and preserve our natural beauty such as national parks, lakes and rivers. Sometime in the 1950’s it started straying into scare tactics. A popular claim was Global Cooling – we were going to freeze to death via our polluting ways. Then it turned to the opposite claim of global warming after a few warm years.

President Nixon used this cause to divert our attention from the Civil Rights Movement and the anti-war furor over Vietnam. He proclaimed Earth Day as an annual event and enlarged the Environmental Bureau into a separate agency, the Environment Protection Agency, EPA. This worked and today the EPA has become one of the most meddling entities in the federal government. It is a friend of the environmentalists and is often used as a weapon for their advocacy.

Under the Clinton Administration the environmentalists started an outrageous claim. They accused corporate America of seeking Black communities to dump their waste, poison the water and render the land toxic. They summed it up by calling the mythical activity “Environmental Racism” and persuaded (funded) local civil rights groups to join in the fight and demand “Environmental Justice”. This died down after about ten years.

One of the current activities of the environmentalists is the assault on coal. They want to kill the coal industry. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg donated $50 million to the Sierra Club for the sole purpose of killing off our coal industry. Right now they have the EPA planning to shut down over 31 coal fired utility plants by way of a “Rule”. Rules are like executive orders whereby it avoids congressional approval. With the blessing of the President they just do it as if it were voted legislation. This will wreck our economy and destroy our personal worth if we don’t fight back and stop the action. Think of the many thousands of jobs that will be lost and the rising cost of electricity we will all be stuck with.

Another tactic by the environmentalists is a legal proceeding known as “Sue and Settle”. This is done by collusion between the environmentalists and pro-environmentalist bureaucrats. These groups will file a massive lawsuit against the EPA, Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Services, etc. The problem is the “deal” has already been made. Thus, the agency being sued will quickly sit down and settle with the environmentalists. In the end, it is like a wish list for the suing environmentalists as the federal agency gives them just about everything they want.

According to Marita Noon, Executive Director, Energy Makes America Great Inc., “In 2011, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) entered into a massive settlement of a lawsuit filed by environmental groups in which the agency promised to address more than 250 candidate species it had previously found warranted protection but were precluded from listing due to a backlog. As a part of the behind-closed-door agreement, the FWS also pledged to review hundreds more species proposed for listing.” According to Senator David Vitter (R-LA), “It is the sue-and-settle agreements. This future regulation could prohibit many beneficial uses of tens of millions of acres of private property. 

All this was set in motion while no affected landowner or other stakeholder was given any opportunity for input”. You can’t “break ground” on land that houses a registered endangered species – factual or not. Just like that millions of acres will be denied any development or growth. Economic opportunities and millions of jobs will be put on “ice” so that the environmentalists can have their way. This sue-and-settle racket is growing in use and we and Congress must stop this mockery. In effect, it is a conspiracy to behave in such a matter within the court of law.

The National Black Chamber of Commerce spends an inordinate amount of time fighting these environmentalists who come after our communities in so many ways. They lie, cheat and deceive in so many ways. Internationally, they have a collective treasury of over $8 billion to push their agenda. What is that agenda? To stop growth and positive change as Commerce is their enemy. Jobs, commodities, manufacturing, etc. are bitter items to them. Funny, most of these groups are made up of very wealthy people who got their wealth through plain American style capitalism. They now want to prevent the rest of the population from having a chance to do the same. They will continue their evil ways and we will continue to fight them. Free Enterprise is our mission. (NBCC)

Mr. Alford, co-founder, President/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce®. Website: www.nationalbcc.org. Email: halford@nationalbcc.org