Clearly, “it’s not easy being green,” these days, either for Kermit, the winsome Sesame Street frog — or for the ultimate darling of the environmentalists in days gone by, U.S. President Barack Obama.
During the past few months, Obama has been stumbling and back-pedaling, rather than strong-arming his political and private sector antagonists on several key elements of his environmental plan. He has walked away from stricter ozone pollution standards, created a standoff with Congressional Republicans over Solyndra, backed off on adequately enforcing the Clean Water Act in Florida and now is said to be considering delaying a decision on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline until after the 2012 election.
Is the president just “blowing smoke” at environmentalists in an effort to retain their support for the 2012 elections? He continues to support clean energy goals for the nation, but apparently only in areas where it excites no controversy.
For example, last month, his chief environmental advisor and Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)) Nancy Sutley, appeared as the keynote speaker at the annual meeting of the Diesel Technology Forum, touting the “important role in America’s new [green] energy economy” that clean diesel will play.
The forum recently has been dedicated to spreading the word on improvements that make diesel technology more “environmentally correct,” including lower sulfur fuels; cleaner, more efficient engines; and more effective emission control technologies.
In August, Diesel Technology Forum Executive Director Allen Schaeffer criticized the White House for its approach to light-duty vehicle fuel economy, saying that Obama was favoring new technology over anything currently on the market. Schaeffer disparaged the “administration’s direct and indirect efforts to pick technology and fuel winners and losers in its approach to the light duty vehicles, where it seems to envision fuel savings primarily in the context of anything but existing fuels and technologies, favoring instead unproven and mostly unavailable fuels and technology (electricity) as the future transportation fuel.
“Discounting or disadvantaging the proven technologies that are delivering fuel savings to consumers today and in the near term doesn’t make sense,” said Schaeffer. “Clean diesel cars, which might not sound as exotic as lithium-ion batteries and plug-in EVs, are however delivering real and proven 30 percent fuel savings today over gasoline vehicles.”
With few less-contentious areas to champion, the President and his staff now have joined the clean diesel dialogue. “The diesel industry has succeeded in innovative efforts to improve fuel efficiency and dramatically reduce emissions,” Sutley said. “This continued commitment and progress is helping companies and communities save money and reduce pollution, and propelling the clean energy jobs and industries that will power our economy in the 21st century."
Sutley credited the research and development by diesel industry leaders during the past decade for significantly improving new engines and ultra-low sulfur fuel.
“We appreciate Chair Sutley’s comments about the important role clean diesel will play in the clean energy economy,” said Allen Schaeffer, after the keynote event. “Clean diesel has made dramatic improvements over the past decade and we’re pleased Chair Sutley agrees that clean diesel is one of the major components in improving our economy and transportation system in an environmentally sound manner.
“She also issued a challenge to the diesel industry to continue our efforts to further improve our technology,” he noted, “and we are continuing our long-standing commitment to this important effort. In addition, we continue to work with federal, state and local officials to expand and modernize programs to upgrade older diesel engines to reduce emissions.”
In related news, the administration has granted about $1.8 million in funding to clean diesel projects, just since the beginning of November — with $1 million dedicated to reducing diesel emissions in Missouri, nearly $500,000 pigeon-holed to reduce diesel emissions with a Mississippi River push boat project, and more than $300,000 targeted at reducing diesel emissions in Wichita and Kansas City. In addition, on October 20, the EPA awarded $50 million for clean diesel projects to help avert asthma attacks and premature deaths by replacing, retrofitting, or repowering more than 8,000 older school buses, trucks, locomotives, vessels, and other diesel powered machines throughout the country.
But will the administration’s efforts to drive clean diesel growth translate into support from environmentalists at rallies, ringing doorbells, and finally at the polls in 2012?
Courtney Hight, 32, who was among the first volunteers to join Obama’s campaign in New Hampshire in April 2007, and who was at the Keystone rally at the White House, told Bloomberg (News - Alert), “I gave my entire life in 2008, so he will not see that energy if he approves the pipeline.” During the last presidential cycle, she said she spent 19 months knocking on doors and making phone calls in New Hampshire and helped develop ways to get young voters to the polls as the Youth Vote Director for Florida.
Cheryl Kaften is an accomplished communicator who has written for consumer and corporate audiences. She has worked extensively for MasterCard (News - Alert) Worldwide, Philip Morris USA (Altria), and KPMG, and has consulted for Estee Lauder and the Philadelphia Inquirer Newspapers. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by
Rich Steeves
