What's New

On June 28, Surdna grantee the Blue Green Alliance, in close partnership with the American Wind Energy Association and the United Steelworkers, released a new report highlighting both past and potential growth in the domestic wind manufacturing industry.   The report, entitled Winds of Change:  A Manufcturing Blueprint for the Wind Industry, shows that despite the absence of a long-term and stable market for wind energy or policies to support wind's manufacturing sector, the growth in wind manufacturing has been steady -- growing from 2,500 workers in 2004 to 18,500 in 2009 -- and tens of thousands more jobs could be created with policies that create and sustain a clean energy economy and a long-term market for wind energy.

“This report represents a major alignment between our goals for energy independence and creating the clean energy jobs of the future,” said Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH). “This ‘manufacturing blueprint’ is a critical step toward ensuring that we don’t replace our dependence on foreign oil with a dependence on Chinese-made wind turbines. With the right policies, clean energy will help revitalize American manufacturing. We must ensure that American manufacturers have the resources they need to build clean wind energy components and by doing so, help establish America as a global leader of clean energy technologies.”

• To read the full report, please click here.
• To read the press release from the Blue Green Alliance, please click here.

On June 21, the United States Departments of Transportation and of Housing and Urban Development launched, for the first time ever, a joint grantmaking program aimed at fostering more sustainable and livable communities in the United States.  The $75 million in funding – $35 million in TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) II Planning Grants and $40 million in Sustainable Community Challenge Grants -- represents the latest collaboration between the two federal agencies to help integrate transportation, housing and economic development planning in communities around the country.  The new program builds on the existing Sustainable Communities Partnership between DOT, HUD, and EPA, which is working to break down traditional silos in the federal government by pooling both financial resources and expertise to help communities build livable communities, as definited in the Partnership's six joint livability principles.

The new joint program will fund planning activities, including supporting affordable housing near transportation, amending zoning codes to allow more inclusive and sustainable development, specific corridor planning that supports increased and equitable mobility for goods and people, and developing expanded transportation options that provide services to those with disabilities and help to connect people to oportunity. “This joint effort by DOT and HUD is a giant step toward improved coordination at the state, federal and local levels and reinforces the Obama Administration's commitment to finding better ways to make government work for people,” said Vice President Joe Biden. “Together, their investments will strengthen communities by connecting housing and transportation options, increasing economic opportunities, promoting environmental sustainability and improving their overall quality of life.”

• For more infomation from the press release, please click here.
• For more information on how to apply, please review the notice of funding availability (NOFA) by clicking here. Pre-applications are due 30 days from the publication of the Notice of Funding Availability in the Federal Register.  Full applications are due on August 23. State and local governments, including U.S. territories, tribal governments, transit agencies, port authorities and others, are eligible to apply for funding.

On June 11, the United States Department of Energy announced $60 million in Recovery Act Funding will go to Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grants (EECBG) to support efforts in 20 communities across the country.  Under the competitive grantmaking process, communities were chosen for their innovative approaches to harnessing energy efficiency for both its environmental benefits and for its ability to create much-needed jobs.  Specifically, the funding will go towards developing energy efficiency retrofit efforts and necessary financing programs that can easily deliver energy and cost savings to homeowners, renters, and families.  The grants also support transportation programs that promote alternative transportation options, as well as a host of recycling, clean water, and renewable energy systems efforts.  Support for these programs is another example of how Recovery Act funding is helping to invest in a clean energy future and to give local communities the resources to simultaneously address the pressing environmental and economic issues facing them.

"These projects will stimulate the economy and create jobs on the main streets of local communities across the nation through innovative investments in energy conservation, efficiency and renewable power generation," said Under Secretary of Energy Kristina Johnson. "We already have proven technologies to reduce energy use at home and at work. These projects will provide access to those tools for more Americans, saving money for thousands of families and businesses."

• For a full list of grants and the Department of Energy press release, please click here.
• For a complete description of the EECBG program, please click here.

After Hurricane Katrina, Earth Economics set out to assess the value of restoring the Mississippi River Delta.  The newly released report, "Gaining Ground - Wetlands, Hurricanes and the Economy: The Value of Restoring the Mississippi River Delta," evaluates 11 natural system goods and services.  They include: water supply, water flow regulation, hurricane protection, food production, raw materials production, recreational value, carbon sequestration, atmospheric composition regulation, waste treatment, aesthetic value and habitat value.

Earth Economics proposes these factors be taken into consideration when defining the importance of restoring the delta, its ecology, and its potential for commerce.  Additionally, the report urges restoration of the Mississippi River Delta wetlands that have lost more land area since 1930 -- 2,300 square miles, greater than the size of the state of Delaware -- by using the energy, water and sediment of the Mississippi River to rebuild them.  By providing the economic justification for these large scale restoration projects, this analysis strengthens ongoing planning efforts proposed by the State of Louisiana's Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast and the Multiple Lines of Defense strategy developed by the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation and Surdna grantee the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana.

The study points out the threatening confluence of oil pipelines, flood protection and Mississippi River levees that collectively have degraded the wetlands that protect against hurricanes, climate change, and sinking land. By protecting assuring water supply, buffering climate instability, supporting fisheries and other food and fur stocks, maintaining critical habitat, and providing waste treatment, these natural systems can provide $12 billion to $47 billion in benefits every year.

To view the full report, please click here.