EPA Administrator Speaks at Blacks In Government Conference

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson spoke at the Blacks in Government 31stAnnual onference on August 25th.

The Administrator announced the creation of a new position at EPA - Associate Assistant Administrator for Outreach, Diversity and Collaboration – to:

“spearhead and coordinate diversity initiatives across the entire agency.”

The announcement reflects the Administrator’s commitment to “diversify the voices of those calling forenvironmental change – even if they don’t call themselvesenvironmentalists.”

Video

Remarks

First day of dual immersion kindergarten!

Halle's first day of dual immersion kindergarten!
First part of the day Spanish is spoken and taught,
after lunch English is spoken and taught.

Obama Admin Seeks to Increase Access to Contracting: Opportunities for Minority-Owned, Small Businesses

The Obama Administration reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that minority-owned and small businesses, including women- and veteran-owned businesses, have greater access to federal government contracting opportunities. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, left, and Small Business Administrator (SBA) Karen Mills, right, announced a government-wide plan that includes federal agency procurement officials holding or participating in more than 200 events over the next 90 days to share information on government contracting opportunities, including those available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The Federal Government is seeking to meet or exceed the goal of 23 percent of prime contracts for small businesses.

According to an SBA report cited by The Wall Street Journal (8/21/09), federal agencies awarded 21.5% of their contracts worth just over $93 billion to small businesses in fiscal 2008, which ran from Oct. 1, 2007 through Sept. 30, 2008, falling short of its 23% goal set by law. The federal agencies awarded 6.8% of their contracts to small "disadvantaged" businesses exceeding the 5% target, and up from 6.6% during the previous fiscal year. Over the past 40 years, minority-owned businesses have grown from 300,000 to nearly 4 million today.

As part of the Commerce-SBA initiative, over the next 90 days:

* Federal agency procurement officials will hold or participate in more than 200 events to share information on government contracting opportunities, including those available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

* SBA and Commerce will expand their outreach to fellow contracting officials across the federal government, passing along best practices for outreach and education to every agency to ensure they have the tools they need to meet their annual contracting goals.

* Locke and Mills will promote small business contracting opportunities in remarks, events and discussions with small business groups across the country, including minority, women and veteran groups.

Beyond the next 90 days, Commerce and SBA will support, monitor and track the impact of these efforts going forward to help ensure the Administration is maximizing opportunities for small businesses.

Small business owners can find out about federal contracting opportunities by visiting http://www.fedbizopps.gov/. Local Commerce and SBA officials are also available in local offices across the country to assist small businesses interested in contracting opportunities. Contact information for local offices can be found www.commerce.gov and http://www.sba.gov/.

$100M Dept of Labor Funding Energy Training Partnership

Applications are due on September 4, 2009

Purpose

The purpose of the Energy Training Partnerships SGA is to: (1) Provide training and placement services in energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE) industries; and (2) Prepare workers for emerging careers in the green economy.

Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants are private not-for-profit organizations (2 categories):

National, not-for-profit labor management organizations, such as a training fund, with joint participation of business and labor organizations on executive board or governing body
Must fund sub-grants or sub-contracts to local affiliates.

Statewide or local not-for-profit entities

May not receive a sub-grant or sub-contract from a national labor-management organization under this SGA.

All applicants must involve required partners:

Labor organizations; Employers or industry organizations; Local Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs); and One-Stop Career Centers.

Awards

Up to $100M nationwide
$2M to $5M per project (smaller awards possible)
20 to 30 projects
$25M reserved for projects serving counties impacted by automotive related restructuring
- For a list of counties, visit: http://www.doleta.gov/grants/pdf/Amend-01-SGA-DFA-PY-08-18.pdf

Participants to be Served

Priority must be given to:

Workers impacted by national energy/environmental policy; Individuals in need of updated training related to EE and RE; Unemployed workers; Veterans and their eligible spouses, or former or present members of Armed Forces reserves.

Projects may also serve:

Workers impacted by national energy/environmental policy; Individuals in need of updated training related to EE and RE; Unemployed workers; Veterans and their eligible spouses, or former or present members of Armed Forces reserves.

Proposed Activities

All projects must incorporate training activities that:

Address skills and competencies of the targeted industries.
Support advancement on a defined career path (if one exists in the targeted industries)
Take place at times and locations that are convenient and easily accessible for the targeted populations (Distance Learning or Technology Based Learning are acceptable)
Integrate supportive services to ensure participants have the necessary support to overcome barriers to employment
(As appropriate) Include paid work experience activities which lead to permanent employment in the targeted industry
(As appropriate) Result in a pre-existing industry-recognized degree or certificate
Grant funds may not be used for wage subsidies

Types of Mercury Lamps

Mercury is used in a variety of light bulbs. Mercury is useful in lighting because it contributes to the bulbs' efficient operation and life expectancy. Fluorescent and other mercury-added bulbs are generally more energy efficient and last longer than incandescent and other equivalent forms of lighting. While the bulbs are being used, the mercury within them poses no health risk.

Fluorescent lamps operate at a very low gas pressure. They produce light when an electric current passes between two electrodes (also called cathodes) in a tube filled with low-pressure mercury vapor and inert gases, such as argon and krypton. The electric current excites the mercury vapor in the tube, generating radiant energy, primarily in the ultraviolet (UV) range. The energy causes a phosphor coating on the inside of the tube to "fluoresce," converting the UV light into visible light. Changing the composition of the phosphor powder inside fluorescent tubes changes the spectrum of light produced. Mercury is present in the lamp in both the phosphor powder and in the vapor.

Figure 1

Figure 1: Illustration of the components of a fluorescent lamp and how they work
Photo Source: Northeast Lamp Recycling, Inc.

Fluorescent lamps require a ballast, which is a device used to provide and control the voltage in the lamp, and stabilize the current in the circuit. Fluorescent lamps are more energy efficient than incandescent light bulbs of an equivalent brightness because more of the energy input is converted to usable light and less is converted to heat. They also have a longer lamp life.

Depending on the type of fluorescent lamp, they can contain a wide range of mercury, from greater than 0 up to 100 milligrams (mg). According to the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), about half of the fluorescent lamps manufactured by their members and sold in the U.S. contain 5 to 10 mg of mercury; while a quarter contain 10 to 50 mg.

The typical types of fluorescent lamps include: linear (straight), U-tube (bent), and circline (circular) fluorescent lamps/tubes; bug zappers; tanning lamps; black lights; germicidal lamps; high output lamps; cold-cathode fluorescent lamps; and compact fluorescent lamps.

Compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) use the same basic technology as linear fluorescent lamps, but are folded or spiraled in order to approximate the physical volume of an incandescent bulb. Screw-based CFLs typically use "premium" phosphors for good color, come with an integral ballast, and can be installed in nearly any table lamp or lighting fixture that accepts an incandescent bulb. Pin-based CFLs do not employ integral ballasts and are designed to be used in fixtures that have a separate ballast. Both screw-based and pin-based CFLs are used in commercial buildings. Residential use of these types of bulbs is growing because of their energy efficiency and long life.

Individual CFLs generally contain less than 10 mg of mercury, with a significant portion (two-thirds) containing less than 5 mg. A small percentage of CFLs contains between 10 and 50 mg of mercury.

(Source: NEWMOA, Northeast Waste Management Officials' Association)

Class, Money, and the Gap between the United States and Other Developed Countries

"Although the income per capita in the United States is 25 to 35 percent higher than in most other advanced countries, workers in the bottom third of the income distribution are poorer than workers in the bottom third in the European Union or Japan. And workers in the bottom 10 percent of the income distribution of the average European Union country earn about 44 percent more than Americans in the bottom 10 percent. And even this statistic underestimates the disparity between the poorest Europeans and the poorest Americans. Europeans have national health insurance and other economic cushions that most Americans at low-income levels either pay for out of their own pockets or do without." -Nisbett, Intelligence and How to Get It

Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, Remarks to the National Asssociation of Black Journalists

Monday, August 10, 2009

Excerpts:

Will the millions of green and clean energy jobs being promised reach the black community? And the answer to that question is, “Yes – they have and they will.”

One of my African American colleagues told me about how, every year as winter was coming, his grandmother would get up on a chair and put up plastic sheeting over the windows.

She didn’t say she was “greening her home.”
She didn’t say she was “weatherizing the house.”
She didn’t call herself an “environmentalist.”

From her perspective, she was just keeping out the cold and saving money on the oil bill. But the issues that we label “environmentalism” were an important part of her life. This disconnect is a significant challenge. But it’s also one of our greatest opportunities.

Today, the inauguration of the first African American president, and my confirmation as the first African American Administrator of this Agency, has begun the process of changing the face of environmentalism in our country.

FULL STATEMENT