U.S. Department of Energy Under Secretary for Science Dr. Steven Koonin States Importance of U.S. Leadership and Examines U.S. Role in Global Energy Sustainability

NEW YORK, Dec. 2 /PRNewswire/ — Platts — U.S. Department of Energy Under Secretary for Science Steven Koonin asked a group of energy industry leaders today to analyze America’s commitment to and progress toward sustainability against a challenging global backdrop, stating the need for engaged conversation about energy resources and how to use them in a more sustainable manner.

At the third annual Platts Global Energy Outlook Forum entitled “The Outlook for Sustainability: Charting a Course Amidst Economic, Geopolitical and Environmental Challenges” Koonin urged energy executives to apply a construct sense of balance in carving out such strategies, as “sustainability is about managing imbalances.” Those imbalances include the gap between oil reserves and demand for oil, as well as those inherent in the current human relationship with the carbon cycle.

Koonin also told attendees: “Energy changes are slow unless there is a deliberate drive for acceleration.”

The forum brought together globally renowned economists, analysts and business leaders to debate the viability of many of the sustainable solutions now under discussion or implementation worldwide. Koonin’s keynote address was followed by roundtable discussions debating the politics and economics of — and industry preparedness for — future electric power and oil supply solutions.

As part of the Forum, leading economists participated today in a lively debate about the true economics of proposed sustainable solutions for future electric power and oil supply. Among the issues discussed: cap and trade schemes, demand response including “smart meter” and “smart grid,” the renaissance of nuclear power, renewable energy such as wind and solar, clean coal technologies, OPEC, the Middle East and Russian oil supply, and biofuels.

Guerry Waters, vice president, industry strategy and marketing utilities global business unit, Oracle, led discussion surrounding the economics of sustainability, stating that achieving sustainability will be no small task or quick fix. Panelists included John Kingston, Platts global director of oil, who talked about how some U.S. companies are “betting their futures on what they believe will be a bonanza from shale natural gas.” Kingston also pointed to analysts who question the ultimate efficacy of that strategy.

Sarah O. Ladislaw, fellow, Energy and National Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies, discussed the intersection of security and sustainability, pointing out how “consumer feelings of insecurity increased when the price of oil went up.” Michael Mandel, former chief economist for BusinessWeek, “was optimistic, long-term” despite projections about the industry in the face of a global population crisis and global warming prospects that will exacerbate energy supply. Robert Murray, vice president of economic affairs, McGraw-Hill Construction, pointed to housing starts and transmission line expansion: “The leading indicators for the construction industry trend upward.”

David Wyss, chief economist, Standard & Poor’s, maintained that the U.S. economy has bottomed out after the longest and deepest recession since the 1930s, “but the recovery remains fragile.” Wyss expects the recovery to be slow and uneven, because “there are too many internal and external imbalances to support robust growth.”

James Parish, executive vice president, energy solutions and LEAN transformations, RWD, headed up the other panel on sustainability. Michael F. Mansfield, Sr., chief executive officer at Mansfield Oil Company, discussed the pre-eminent position of sustainable policy at Mansfield. Roberta Bowman, senior vice president and chief sustainability officer, Duke Energy Technology, maintained that “sustainability, on an industry basis, will only come about through dedication to efficiency, collaboration and capacity-building.”

Curt L. Hebert, Jr., executive vice president, external affairs, Entergy Corp., approached sustainability from the perspective of “conduct,” as well as creating proper incentives and price signals. Pedro Azagra, chief development officer, Iberdola, tied sustainability policy to the proper servicing of clients and communities.

John Caroselli, executive vice president of National Grid, discussed the innovative way the company tasks sustainability goals to its individual lines of business and how to mobilize customers to get on board.

R.W. Beck was the principal sponsor of the Forum joined by co-sponsors Oracle, RWD and Capgemini.

The names of winners of the Platts Global Energy Awards “Award of Excellence” can be found at: http://img.en25.com/Web/Platts/AOE_GEO_Forum_Final.pdf.

The forum precedes the energy industry’s most prestigious annual awards program, now in its 11th year and hosted by Platts, the world’s leading energy and metals information provider, which this year is celebrating its 100th anniversary. The awards showcase exemplary accomplishments by businesses and individuals worldwide.

As part of the program, winners will be announced on December 3 for several new or updated categories for 2009, including Green Energy Initiative of the Year, Deal of the Year; Infrastructure Project of the Year; and Energy Producer of the Year. The annual awards finalists and winners exemplify the spirit of innovation and an enduring commitment to employees, customers, shareholders, the environment, and the energy industry as a whole.

About Platts: Platts, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), is a leading global provider of energy and commodities information. With a century of business experience, Platts serves customers across more than 150 countries. An independent provider, Platts serves the oil, natural gas, electricity, emissions, nuclear power, coal, petrochemical, shipping, and metals markets from 17 offices worldwide. Platts’ real-time news, pricing, analytical services and conferences help markets operate with transparency and efficiency. Traders, risk managers, analysts, and industry leaders depend upon Platts to help them make better trading and investment decisions. Additional information is available at http://www.platts.com.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies: Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP) is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor’s, McGraw-Hill Education, Platts, Capital IQ, J.D. Power and Associates, McGraw-Hill Construction and Aviation Week. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2008 were $6.4 billion. Additional information is available at www.mcgraw-hill.com.

SOURCE Platts

Commissioner Piebalgs participates in the inauguration of a state-of-the-art Wind Farm in Belgium

Energy commissioner, Andris Piebalgs, together with Belgian authorities, inaugurated recently in Estinnes, near Mons, Belgium, the world’s first wind park with giant 7MW wind turbines, a state-of-the art European technology achievement. The project for the development of the world’s most powerful wind turbine today was co-financed by the European Commission with up to € 3.3Million from the 7th Framework Programme. “Estinnes is a milestone on our ambitious road to sustainable energy. All those having worked hard to bring this project forward should take pride today in their achievements, and take courage for the work ahead”, said Commissioner Piebalgs after the inauguration.

This 7MW ENERCON E-126 wind turbine is not only the largest turbine ever put into operation in the world but it is also said to be the most efficient. For a wind park equipped with such turbines the utilization factor expressed in MW/km² increases by a factor 2,3 compared to applying state-of-the-art 2 MW class wind energy converters. To install this machine 198m high the world’s largest crawler crane was used, this is a 1.600 t crane, which was developed and constructed especially to lift the giant 127 m diameter rotor in one step.

This E-126 wind turbine comprises the most advanced power electronics in use in the wind sector and is able to provide grid stabilising ancillary services which before were reserved for conventional power plants. This project will be the largest and highest capacity wind park in the world that delivers services where power electronics have been incorporated in the wind turbines themselves. This innovative adoption of power control-electronics contributes to improving not only the performance of the wind energy converter but also the power system stability (regulation of active power, voltage, frequency and reactive power in both normal and emergency situations).

These new capabilities are a significant and indispensable feature to allow for a higher penetration of wind power into the European power systems.

The European Commission is committed to support the wind industry in achieving its 2020 target and namely to install a total wind power capacity of 180 GW.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — A new report released today by Bread for the World Institute warns that unless the triple threats of hunger, unemployment, and climate change are addressed, any economic recovery will only lead to another bubble.

“To blunt the surge of hunger, unemployment, and the long-term effects of climate change, we need a just and sustainable economic recovery,” said Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World Institute. “If we do not reshape our economy with jobs that allow low-income workers to feed their families and move out of poverty, our recovery will not be sustainable. Like a bubble, it will only collapse again.”

According to the new report, Hunger 2010: A Just and Sustainable Recovery, more than 1.02 billion people are hungry every day — an increase of more than 100 million from a year ago. In the United States, the number of people who struggle to put food on the table has surged to 49.1 million. “It’s deeply disturbing to think that nearly one in four children live on the brink of hunger in this country,” said Rev. Beckmann. “It’s a scandal for us as the richest country in the world.”

Unemployment is also on the rise, with one in ten Americans out of a job. The report stresses that for a sustainable economic recovery, we need to put people back to work. It argues that dollar for dollar, one of the best investments the United States can make is to create green jobs focused on lowering carbon emissions. “The jobs that will help us convert our economy from reliance on fossil fuels to alternative energy sources could more than surpass the 4 million manufacturing jobs lost since the start of the recession,” Rev. Beckmann added.

“Climate change is real and we have to deal with it,” said Rev. Beckmann. “Governments negotiating a new climate treaty must make concrete commitments at the climate change conference in Copenhagen in early December. The world’s economic recovery will remain fragile if we do not take steps to address climate change. Hungry and poor people are the most vulnerable. More than anyone else, they are bearing the brunt of the effects of climate change.”

The report analyzes the issues that need to be addressed in order for the U.S. and global economies to recover from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. It highlights the opportunity to put in place policies that reduce inequality, help low-income families to save and build assets for the future, and revitalize neglected communities throughout the country.

Hunger 2010: A Just and Sustainable Recovery also makes the case for U.S. leadership in reducing hunger and poverty around the world and in addressing climate change. “The economic crisis has given us an unprecedented opportunity to rebuild our economy and to put people and the planet at the center of our decisions,” said Rev. Beckmann. “It is important that the economic recovery be measured by how many of the world’s poorest people are able to lift themselves out of chronic hunger and poverty.”

Hunger 2010: A Just and Sustainable Recovery is available online at www.bread.org/hungerreport.

Bread for the World Institute provides policy analysis on hunger and strategies to end it.

The Institute educates its advocacy network, opinion leaders, policy makers and the public about hunger in the United States and abroad.

SOURCE Bread for the World Institute

CURRENT CEO Tom Casey Speaks on the Game Changing Power of Grid-based Demand Management Solutions through CURRENT’s leading System Optimization Technologies for the Distribution Grid at GreenBeat 2009

- GreenBeat 2009, the seminal executive conference on the Smart Grid, held November 18th and 19th, selects CURRENT Group as one of the world’s most innovative Smart Grid companies delivering proven technologies and business models for the Global Smart Grid Market

- The GreenBeat “Innovation Competition” covers technologies from every corner of Smart Grid from meter makers to demand response firms and energy monitor startups

- GreenBeat 2009 Innovation Competition winners have been identified as companies providing the top 10 business models and technologies that will most impact the power grid’s ability to become smarter and reduce carbon

SAN MATEO, Calif., Nov. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — It was announced today that the CURRENT(R) System Optimization solution suite has been named by VentureBeat as one of the Top 10 innovations driving the future of the Smart Grid. The award recognizes technologies that help achieve the primary goals of a Smart Grid:

• De-carbonize the grid
• Facilitate data transmission and the monitoring of power use
• Drive increased efficiency and conservation of power

The VentureBeat GreenBeat conference where the award is being presented took place today with CURRENT Group’s CEO Tom Casey presenting on the powerful role Distribution System Optimization Solutions play in transforming the energy business model. High profile speakers such as Al Gore also spoke to investors at the conference who are examining game changing technologies and solutions providers that will transform the utility Smart Grid landscape and will emerge as winners in the years to come.

“With IDC’s forecast of $17.5 billion in Smart Grid technology spending over the next five years in North America alone, it is no wonder that investors are lining up to learn who the technology pioneers and early market innovators are,” said Rick Nicholson, Vice President of IDC Energy Insights. “Distribution Smart Grid is a clear innovation zone where near-term return on investment can be achieved in terms of energy efficiency, reliability and optimization with material benefits delivering value back to both the utility and their consumers.”

“System Optimization will represent a paradigm shift in the way electric utilities manage renewables, demand and deliver electricity,” said Tom Casey. “When we developed the technology, our initial target for savings of electric load was in the 3 to 5% range and our early results exceed those levels. To give you an idea of the impact, a 3% reduction in electric power demand across the entire U.S. would save over $10 billion a year and reduce carbon emissions equivalent to removing 20 million of the cars in America off of the road.”

CURRENT’s product suite is a self-optimizing system that dynamically monitors and makes adjustments to the electric distribution grid to reduce overall energy requirements. As such, it enables utility grid operators to manage and balance the effects of distributed generation and renewables as well as more actively manage demand. The CURRENT System Optimization solution combines advanced sensing technology, two-way high-speed communications and 24/7 monitoring and analysis software to dynamically adjust the distribution system to manage to the most efficient levels the power required to operate the system while enabling the use of renewables.

The CURRENT System Optimization solution leverages its extensive Smart Grid experience to reach the highest level of Smart Grid maturity, the self-optimizing electric grid. Using user configurable settings and high speed communications, the system automatically adjusts existing utility devices to achieve the desired level of optimization. Such optimization will lead to minimizing carbon, maximizing the use of renewables, reducing line losses or a combination of goals depending on a particular utility’s requirements.

In addition, to improve the efficiency of the electric grid, CURRENT’s OpenGrid(TM) software also enables utilities to improve reliability. It has been estimated that the cost of outages to the U.S. economy are as high as $0.50 for every $1.00 spent on electricity. CURRENT has developed a series of analytical software programs that detect problems with grid equipment, often before they result in an outage, as opposed to the traditional “run to failure” model that is blind to events even after they happen.

About CURRENT Group

CURRENT Group, LLC delivers innovative and industry-leading intelligent solutions that optimize the distribution system and offer utilities new ways to monitor and manage the health of the grid. Through CURRENT’s distributed sensing, monitoring, and analytical technologies, utilities are better able to understand, predict and respond to system disturbances and faults, identify where inefficiencies are, and enable the smartest possible sourcing and distribution of power.

CURRENT’s state-of-the-art technologies are being implemented by utilities around the globe and are being utilized in the largest and most advanced demonstration projects in the world. CURRENT is engaged in European Union-sponsored projects in partnership with Iberdrola, the world’s 4th largest electric utility, among others, to expand the use of Smart Grid technology in the European Union. This year, CURRENT was also honored by the World Economic Forum as a 2009 Technology Pioneer and selected by Dow Jones as one of the Top 10 most Innovative Clean Technology companies in Europe.

CURRENT is a private company founded in 2000 that is backed by leading investors including Liberty Associated Partners, EnerTech Capital, Google, Inc., and Goldman Sachs & Co.

CURRENT is headquartered outside of Washington, D.C., with offices throughout the United States and in Zurich, Switzerland and Singapore, and has representation in Australia and Brazil. Additional information can be found at http://www.currentgroup.com/.

SOURCE CURRENT Group, LLC

HydroVolts Wins Cleantech Open 2009 Sustainability Award

Of the 75 Contestants of the World’s Largest Cleantech Business Plan Competition, Three Teams Demonstrated a Heightened Commitment to Sustainability; Winning Team Receives $20,000 in Services

SAN FRANCISCO, CA–(Marketwire – November 18, 2009) – The Cleantech Open, the world’s largest business competition created to find, fund and foster startup clean technology companies, announced the winners of this year’s Sustainability Award at the annual Cleantech Open Expo and Awards Gala at the Masonic Center in San Francisco.

Dubbed the “Academy Awards of Clean Technology,” the event marks the grand finale of the Cleantech Open’s yearlong business competition. The National Sustainability Award winner receives a prize of $20,000 in services from Cleantech Open sponsors B Corp, Climate Earth, and NetSuite.

“We gave our contestants one sustainability challenge: find the most pressing environmental and social issues in your company and turn them into business opportunities in sustainability. I cannot be prouder of our sustainability award winners as they are a testament to how a company can make an impact from day one. Their commitment to sustainability will pay great dividends because they are setting up frameworks and processes that can sustain rapid expansion in an increasingly complex world,” said Julia Hu, Sustainability Chair and National Sustainability Programs Lead at the Cleantech Open.

The three companies were chosen from among 75 semifinalist companies who were all mentored and trained to incorporate sustainability into their business plans. After three rounds of judging and extensive evaluation, the Sustainability Judging panel which consisted of sustainability executives and thought leaders, chose three finalists because of their commitment to the following three sustainability tenets:

1) Product Sustainability refers to the sustainability of the actual product or service itself. This includes the overall impact of the solution and the end-user savings of carbon, waste, water, and chemicals.

2) Process Sustainability refers to the methods the team uses or plans to use in operating the company and manufacturing the product. This includes impact of operations on the environment and mitigation techniques as well as quantitative process analysis.

3) Pitch Sustainability refers to how the company’s environmental and social sustainability efforts uniquely create value for employees and stakeholders. This includes transparency and disclosure, employment practices, investors, social equity and community responsibility.

National winner: HydroVolts. The Seattle-based company has developed in-stream hydrokinetic turbines that enable distributed clean-energy generation from canals, waterways, spillways, rivers, streams, and tidal currents around the world. “Unlike any other business contest we know of, the CTO really digs down deep into the roots of sustainable performance. They provided tools and guides to examine almost every aspect of a business with a green lens, while constantly staying with proven management principles that startups need to succeed. The sustainability training provided for entrepreneurs by the Cleantech Open is gutsy, not gushing,” said Burt Hamner, CEO of HydroVolts. www.hydrovolts.com

California region winner: Alphabet Energy. Alphabet Energy plans to commercialize a disruptive, low-cost thermoelectric technology (developed at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) that captures wasted energy and converts it into electricity. Producers of waste heat can use this electricity to power their facilities, or sell it back to the grid. “The Cleantech Open has recognized that Alphabet’s new thermoelectric materials enable a unique, sustainable approach to the manufacturing of thermoelectric devices that ultimately result in a more sustainable use of natural resources. If fully implemented in the US today, waste heat recovery could offset nearly 20 percent of all our electricity generation alone, and eliminate the need for 225 coal-fired power plants,” said Dr. Matthew L. Scullin, CEO. www.alphabetenergy.com

Rocky Mountain region winner: Cool Energy. Cool Energy has created an advanced solar thermal system, the SolarFlow System, to provide more of a homeowner’s energy needs than any other single renewable energy system. This integrated system provides up to 80 percent of a customer’s space-heating energy; 100 percent of their hot water; and 60 percent of their electricity. The reduction in CO2 emissions from each home using a SolarFlow System is 5-6 tons per year, and the system integrates seamlessly into a customer’s existing heating, hot water, and electricity system. “The Cleantech Open was a wonderful, stimulating, and challenging experience. The development process made us review our assumptions, re-tool our business model, and focus on presenting the customer and channel value proposition clearly. The volunteers who guided us through the Cleantech Open’s process steps were wonderful,” said Sam P. Weaver, president and CEO of Cool Energy. www.coolenergyinc.com

Relevant Web resources:

Cleantech Open blog: www.cleantechopen.com/app.cgi/blog/

Cleantech Open on Facebook: www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=21709779424

Cleantech Open on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/companies/cleantech-open

Cleantech Open on Twitter: www.twitter.com/cleantechopen — @cleantechopen

The Cleantech Open is the world’s largest cleantech business competition. Its mission is to find, fund and foster entrepreneurs with big ideas that address today’s most urgent energy, environmental and economic challenges. The program provides the infrastructure, expertise and strategic relationships to turn ideas into successful global cleantech companies. Since 2006, through its one-of-a-kind annual business competition and mentorship program, the Cleantech Open has helped hundreds of clean technology startups bring their breakthrough ideas to fruition, helping alumni contestants raise over $125m and making thousands of green collar jobs possible. Fueled by a network of more than 400 volunteers and sponsors, the Cleantech Open unites the public and private sectors in a shared vision for making America’s cleantech sector a thriving economic engine. For more information, visit www.cleantechopen.com, and follow @cleantechopen on Twitter.

In addition to the original competition held in California, the Cleantech Open was expanded in 2009 to include two new regions: the Rocky Mountain region (including Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming; and the Pacific Northwest, including Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Cleantech entrepreneurs will compete for a total of more than $1 million in prizes. Past alumni successes include Adura Technologies, Cool Earth Solar, Enverity, Federspiel Controls, GreenVolts, GroundSource GeoThermal, Lucid Design Group, Mission Motors, and Syncromatics.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ – Physicians for Social Responsibility today released a groundbreaking medical report, “Coal’s Assault on Human Health,” which takes a new look at the devastating impacts of coal on the human body. By examining the impact of coal pollution on the major organ systems of the human body, the report concludes that coal contributes to four of the top five causes of mortality in the U.S. and is responsible for increasing the incidence of major diseases already affecting large portions of the U.S. population. A copy of the full report can be found at http://www.psr.org/coalreport.

“The findings of this report are clear: while the U.S. relies heavily on coal for its energy needs, the consequences of that reliance for our health are grave,” said Alan H. Lockwood, MD FAAN, a principal author of the report and a professor of neurology at the University at Buffalo.

“These stark conclusions leave no room for doubt or delay,” said Kristen Welker-Hood, SCD MSN RN, PSR’s director of environment and health programs. “The time has come for our nation to establish a health-driven energy policy that replaces our dependence on coal with clean, safe alternatives. Business as usual is extracting a deadly price on our health. Coal is no longer an option.”

Also participating in the report’s release were the American Lung Association and the American Nurses Association.

Coal combustion releases mercury, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and dozens of other substances known to be hazardous to human health. This report looks at the cumulative harm inflicted by those pollutants on three major body organ systems: the respiratory system, the cardiovascular system, and the nervous system. The report also considers coal’s contribution to global warming, and the health implications of global warming.

Viewed in this way, the totality of coal’s impact on health becomes clear. Coal pollutants affect all major body organ systems and contribute to four of the five leading causes of mortality in the U.S.: heart disease, cancer, stroke, and chronic lower respiratory diseases.

• Respiratory Effects: Air pollutants produced by coal combustion act on the respiratory system, contributing to serious health effects including asthma, lung disease and lung cancer, and adversely affect normal lung development in children.
• Cardiovascular Effects: Pollutants produced by coal combustion lead to cardiovascular disease, such as arterial occlusion (artery blockages, leading to heart attacks) and infarct formation (tissue death due to oxygen deprivation, leading to permanent heart damage), as well as cardiac arrhythmias and congestive heart failure. Exposure to chronic air pollution over many years increases cardiovascular mortality.
• Nervous System Effects: Studies show a correlation between coal-related air pollutants and stroke. Coal pollutants also act on the nervous system to cause loss of intellectual capacity, primarily through mercury. Researchers estimate that between 317,000 and 631,000 children are born in the U.S. each year with blood mercury levels high enough to reduce IQ scores and cause lifelong loss of intelligence.
• Global Warming: Even people who do not develop illnesses from coal pollutants will find their health and wellbeing impacted due to coal’s contribution to global warming. The discharge of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere associated with burning coal is a major contributor to global warming and its adverse effects on health and wellbeing worldwide, such as heat stroke, malaria, declining food production, scarce water supplies, social conflict and starvation.

In addition to the impacts from pollutants emitted during coal combustion, the report pinpoints negative health consequences at each step of the coal life cycle. Coal mining leads U.S. industries in fatal injuries and is associated with chronic health problems among miners. In addition to the miners themselves, communities near coal mines may be adversely affected by mining operations due to the effects of blasting, washing, leakage from “slurry ponds,” the collapse of abandoned mines, damage done to streams and waterways, and the dispersal of dust from coal trucks during transportation. Slurry injected underground can release arsenic, barium, lead and manganese into nearby wells, contaminating local drinking water supplies. The storage of post-combustion wastes from coal plants also threatens human health. There are 584 coal ash dump sites in the U.S., and toxic residues have migrated into water supplies at dozens of sites. While every stage of the coal life cycle impacts human health, the combustion phase exacts the greatest toll.

Given the disease burden associated with coal as well as its contribution to global warming, it is essential that we establish energy policies based on a fundamental commitment to human health and the health of generations to come,” said Peter Wilk, MD, the Executive Director of Physicians for Social Responsibility.

Based on the report’s findings, PSR issued five policy recommendations:

• Cut emissions of carbon dioxide as deeply and as swiftly as possible, with the objective of reducing atmospheric carbon levels to 350 parts per million, through 1) strong climate and energy legislation that establishes hard caps on global warming pollution coming from coal power plants, and 2) strict enforcement of the Clean Air Act.
• Reduce fossil fuel power plant emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides so that all localities are in attainment for national ambient air quality standards.
• Establish a standard, based on Maximum Achievable Control Technology, for mercury and other hazardous air pollutant emissions from electrical generation.
• End all new construction of coal-fired power plants, so as to avoid increasing health-endangering emissions of carbon dioxide, as well as criteria pollutants and hazardous air pollutants.
• Develop the capacity to generate electricity from clean, safe, renewable sources so that existing coal-fired power plants may be phased out without compromising the nation’s ability to meet its energy needs.

ABOUT PHYSICIANS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (PSR)

Founded in 1961 by physicians concerned about the impact of nuclear proliferation, PSR shared the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize with International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War for building public pressure to end the nuclear arms race. Since 1991, when PSR formally expanded its work by creating its environment and health program, PSR has addressed the issues of global warming and the toxic degradation of our environment. PSR educates and advocates for policies to curb global warming, ensure clean air, generate a sustainable energy future, prevent human exposures to toxic substances, and minimize toxic pollution of air, food, and drinking water. More information is available at www.psr.org/coalreport.

Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click appropriate link.

Alan Lockwood

https://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=92059

Kristen Welker-Hood

https://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=92060

    CONTACT:
    Aric Caplan 301-998-6592
    aric@caplancommunications.com

SOURCE Physicians for Social Responsibility

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — More than one in seven, or 14.6 percent of American households, suffered from food insecurity in 2008, according to the most recent data on hunger released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture today. The 3.5 percentage point increase from 2007 is the largest one-year increase since the USDA first began publishing data in 1998.

“Sadly, the data released today is not surprising,” said Bread for the World President David Beckmann. “What should shock us is that almost one in four children in our country lives on the brink of hunger.” According to the report, in 2008, 16.7 million children, or 22.5 percent, were food insecure – 4.3 million more than the year before. “We must make serious progress against child hunger when Congress renews child nutrition programs next year,” Beckmann continued.

The most recent data was released just as Agriculture Secretary Vilsack testifies before the Senate about the administration’s priorities for reauthorization of child nutrition programs. President Barack Obama set the ambitious but achievable goal of ending child hunger by 2015, and Vilsack is charged with making it a reality.

Beckmann pointed to skyrocketing unemployment and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation as a barometer of food security. “With millions of Americans losing their jobs, participation in SNAP has reached record levels as more families are in need of food assistance,” he said. More than 36 million people, half of them children, received SNAP benefits in August 2009 — a 24 percent increase since the same time last year.

“Child hunger is not just a casualty of the recession. It was a problem before the recession, and unless we take the necessary steps, kids will continue to suffer after the economy recovers,” Beckmann said. Even before the recession, researchers estimated that nearly half of all children, and 90 percent of African American children, will receive SNAP benefits by the age of 20, according to a study recently published in an American Medical Association journal.

“The recession has made the problem of hunger worse, and it has also made it more visible,” Beckmann said. “Increased public awareness and the administration’s commitment give me hope. To end hunger, our leaders need to strengthen nutrition programs and provide steady jobs that allow parents to escape the cycle of poverty and feed their families for years to come.”

The job-creating potential of “greening” the U.S. economy is the subject of Bread for the World Institute’s 2010 Hunger Report: A Just and Sustainable Recovery, which will be released on November 23. The report explores how the worst recession in 75 years can be the catalyst for a historic shift in the economy that creates sustainable opportunities for low-income Americans to work their way out of poverty and provide for their families.

For state facts on child nutrition programs and a state-by-state data on food security, unemployment, and SNAP participation, visit www.bread.org/foodsecurity.

SOURCE Bread for the World