Tag Archives: Obama administration

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In Historic Move, US Endorses UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

On Wednesday, the United States endorsed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

It was the last of four “hold-out” countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the U.S.) to endorse the Declaration, originally passed by the UN General Assembly in 2007.

The State Department announced the change in the U.S. position, saying that the Declaration “while not legally binding or a statement of current international law—has both moral and political force.”

Many organizations, national and international, had pushed the Obama administration to endorse the document.

The group Cultural Survival, for example, mounted an online campaign urging supporters to write President Obama about the issue, pointing out that the UN Declaration “marks the first time the United Nations has agreed on a single set of values governing relations between national governments and Indigenous Peoples living within their borders.”

The endorsement is seen as partial fulfillment of a promise made by President Obama in proclaiming November as “National Native American Heritage Month.”

As we celebrate the contributions and heritage of Native Americans during this month, we also recommit to supporting tribal self-determination, security, and prosperity for all Native Americans. While we cannot erase the scourges or broken promises of our past, we will move ahead together in writing a new, brighter chapter in our joint history. [Emphasis added]

Robert Coulter, Indian Law Resource Center

Robert T. Coulter, executive director of the Indian Law Resource Center, was one of the primary authors of the Declaration from its inception in 1976. While celebrating the historic victory Wednesday, Coulter reminded Native Americans that with the U.S. endorsement “our work to ensure justice for Indian nations in this country begins in earnest.”

He advised supporters:

In our work for Indian rights, we can and should use the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a powerful affirmation of our rights. Only through continued use will its provisions become our reality. We can use the Declaration to evaluate laws that are now on the books and for laws that may be proposed. Does the law measure up to the standards of the Declaration? Does the law or bill satisfy the requirements of the Declaration? It should. And if it does not, then it should be changed or discarded.

The Declaration can also be used as a guide for procedures and processes in dealing with indigenous peoples. Some of the most important rights in the Declaration are the right to participate in the decision-making process and the right to be consulted on important matters relating to indigenous peoples. The rights proclaimed in the Declaration can also be used to defend against proposals and actions that violate Indian rights. The Declaration can be used in this way by all people: Indian leaders, public officials, educators, and others.

The Declaration can also be used to support and advocate for positive legislation and positive government action relating to Indian peoples. In particular, the Declaration can be used as a basis for making demands that the federal government fulfill its responsibilities to tribes and carry out its obligations to promote and respect the human rights of Indian nations and tribes. Congress needs to hold hearings to examine the United States’ human rights obligations to Indians and to assess whether existing laws and policies adequately respect the rights established in international law.

Here’s the full text of the UN Declaration:


United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples -

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Solar Tax Incentive May Be Cut

Solar Power in the Grand Canyon, 5 December 2010

Solar Power in the Grand Canyon, 5 December 2010

We received the alert below from the good folks at The Vote Solar Initiative:

Last night the President announced an agreement with Congress on extending tax cuts and unemployment benefits. Our friends at SEIA have been working to make sure an extension of the Section 1603 Treasury Grant Program for solar was included. It’s a critical bit of tax policy that the solar industry needs to keep momentum, but unfortunately, as of this morning it is not part of the agreement. The key negotiators are meeting TODAY and we need one last push to get key support for solar over the finish line. Can you take action to help?

Several key members of Congress are making their case to leadership to include 1603 in the tax legislation and they need grassroots support to strengthen their hand. Can you email your representative today? Extending this program will keep solar growing, creating more jobs and clean energy to power America.

One of the ironies of the ‘solar is expensive’ myth is that this country not only provides vastly more tax incentives for the fossil fuel industry than for renewables, but the majority of the incentives for fossils are permanent, while renewables have to re-up every couple of years or lose all momemtum. It’s a silly system that need structural reform, but until then, this program is critical to solar’s ability to grow and make its case in the face of a very unlevel playing field.

In any event, here’s a last-minute chance to get in good with Santa while he’s still making lists—please take a moment to contact your representatives in DC, help solar’s prospects, and get bumped from naughty to nice.

Onwards-

Adam + Team

The Vote Solar Initiative

300 Brannan Street, Suite 609

San Francisco, CA 94107

www.votesolar.org

http://twitter.com/votesolar

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Solar power shines on U.S. Manufacturing Council

In announcing his new appointments to the U.S. Manufacturing Council yesterday, Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke singled out the Council’s new leader, Bruce Sohn.

First Solar's Bruce Sohn

“With Bruce as chair,” said Locke, “we’re sending a message that President Obama and this Administration are committed to making renewable energy and efficiency technologies a cornerstone of a revitalized American manufacturing sector.”

Sohn is president of First Solar, the world’s largest manufacturer of thin-film solar PV, with headquarters in Tempe, Arizona. According to a Commerce Department spokesperson, Sohn is the first representative from the solar power industry to head the council, which advises the administration on competitiveness and other manufacturing issues facing U.S.-based companies.

Solar advocates, not surprisingly, enthusiastically endorsed the choice.

President and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), Rhone Resch, issued a statement saying that Sohn’s appointment “has told the world that the solar industry is becoming a backbone for our economy and offers a bright future for U.S. manufacturing.” (First Solar sits on SEIA’s board of directors.)

It’s not just the solar industry, however, that’s applauding the new leadership at the Manufacturing Council.

Jenny Powers, a spokesperson for that Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), said that by including Sohn the administration is acknowledging the fact that solar has a new relevancy in our energy future. “They [solar] are scaling up and playing with the big boys,” said Powers in a phone interview.

Sean Garren agrees. A clean energy advocate with the group Environment America, Garren said his organization is “looking forward to working with Mr. Sohn to reap all the manufacturing benefits we will see from the solar revolution in America.”

The U.S. has a lot of ground to make up.

A decade ago, 40 percent of all PV panels were made in the United States. That figure has dropped to less than 10 percent of the global supply today — a trend SEIA’s Resch thinks can be reversed in part by adopting smart manufacturing policies. One such example cited by Resch is the Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit program that provided $2.3 billion in credits to support U.S. manufacturers of clean energy equipment. The House has voted to refund the popular program; backers are still trying to get a similar bill through the Senate.

Other high tech manufacturers represented on the council include Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., GenMet, Ace Clearwater Enterprises, and Sacred Power Corporation, a Native American-owned business that deals in renewable and distributive energy.

Courtesy of First Solar

First Solar has its corporate headquarters in Arizona, where, in 2009, the legislature passed its own groundbreaking legislation, providing tax credits to manufacturers of renewable energy equipment (SB 1403). When a Chinese-owned maker of PV panels announced it had decided that Arizona would be the home of the first Chinese PV assembly plant in the U.S., the incentives found in SB1403 were given as a primary factor in the choice.

First Solar manufactures thin-film PV at plants in Germany (approximately 700 workers), Malaysia (2,000 workers) and Perrysburg, Ohio (1,000 workers). The company plans on opening a new plant in France in the second half of 2011. Manufacturing jobs have followed demand and until recently, most orders for solar panels have come from Asia and Europe. But as demand for PV in the U.S. has jumped, First Solar has increased the size and production of its Ohio plant.