-- the road to legitimacy is the opportunity to travel. there's a there is a court process in place now. we discussed the issue of the talks on nonproliferation, and the isis situation in the middle east in general, and the challenges we face. many countries and indeed humanity in that part of the world at the moment. we also discussed the ukraine the necessity for clarity about strength with respect to sanctions. i was reminded that the president has been very clear on this and wants to be very clear in coordinating activity with the united states with respect to sanctions being imposed on russia.

it was an inclusive conversation. i am privileged to be here on behalf of the irish people. it is quite unique for a country as small as ireland to reach right to the center of things in the white house and we thank you, president obama, and your wife and family, and your administration for allowing our country to have this access. we are very positive for the future. president obama: i should point out that the prime minister got me a copy of poems by yates -- by yeats, one of my favorite poets. >> thank you, guys. thank you. president obama: thank you, guys. >> interior secretary salazar

said yesterday that the obama administration is making more areas available for offshore oil and gas trilling but will heighten safety regulations. her remarks are next. on "washington journal," we will look at the house gop budget plan. that is live at 7:00 eastern. the house is in at 10:00 eastern. they will work on it epa regulate -- they will work on nepa regulations bill. here are some of our featured programs for this weekend on the c-span networks. on c-span2's book tv, on "after words," eric phonefoner on the formation of the underground railroad. sunday night at 10:00 wwe based -- abu dhabi-based journalist.

in american history tv joins historians and authors at the abraham lincoln symposium at ford's theater. find out complete television schedule at c-span.org, and let us know what you think about the programs you are watching precollege set us at 202-626--- call us at 202-62 6-3400. join the c-span conversation. like us on facebook. follow us on twitter. next, interior secretary salaza sally jewell. from the center for strategic & international studies, this is 55 minutes. [applause]

interior sec. jewell: thank you. bennett, where are you out there. there you are. we worked on the second commission on national parks. it is great to be her. you are even more green than i am. thanks, charlie, for that introduction, and thanks to the centers for strategic & international studies for inviting me to be here today. i appreciate everything this organization does to advance a bipartisan dialogue about some most pressing issues of our time. thanks for the audience -- thanks to the audience for being here today. there is no better way to celebrate saint patty's day than to talk energy policy. welcome to the best party this afternoon. we have had a breakthrough year for the u.s. economy. as president obama reminded us

in his state of the union address, companies are creating jobs faster than at any time since 19909. graduation rates are at record levels. our economy has emerged from recession with a smart -- with a stronger, more stable foundation. it is no coincidence that our economic recovery has been accompanied by the biggest energy transformation of our lifetime. the energy revolution we experienced in these last six years helped spur the recovery, but it has also been accelerated by the policies our country put in place. our dependence on foreign oil has fallen to its lowest level in 30 years. solar energy has increased tenfold. wind energy has tripled since

2008. that has been helpsed by private sector investment and a tax policy that moved these investments office sidelines. families are driving farther than ever on a tank of gas. with lower gas prices, the average household will have a next her $750 in their pockets in 2015. these shifts in the u.s. energy markets are not marginal or temporary. they are tectonic shifts. from a business perspective, these changes are going to present both challenges, risks, and opportunities for industry. i can promise you that every ceo of an energy business out there is reassessing the plans they had on the books a year ago. they are asking, especially today, how do falling oil and gas prices affect us? do we need to diversify?

can we capitalize on consumers' growing demands for smarter homes and cleaner cars? the tectonic shifts are forcing governments at every level to face questions of the same magnitude can we adapt, in this fast-changing environment? it is tough. how do we modernize our energy programs to anticipate the new energy future? are we doing what is needed for the u.s. to lead the world in energy? this is a speech about energy but you cannot talk about energy without talking about climate change, and that is good. it is one of the reasons i left the private sector for this job not just to talk about climate change and do what you could do within the bounds of a country but to do something about it on a much bigger scale. i am proud to work for a president who is taking historic, meaningful steps to

cut dangerous carbon pollution. so as a person entrusted with america's biggest land management portfolio, i also have to ask myself questions like what are we doing to achieve a low carbon future? are we striking the right balance between conservation and development? what measures do we need in place for our land, water, and our climate today to protect the families of tomorrow? as ceo of rei -- not a public company. any members out there? probably a few. so you own the company. i need to pay attention to the current year's earnings, but i need to make long-term decisions to make sure our business is profitable 10, 20, 30 years down the line. i was chatting with frank and charlie about how my colleagues at rei, what the impacts are

long-term. you do as a business have to think long term. that is the same balance i have to have a secretary of the interior. managing our resources to help drive the nations economy without taking our i often the america we want to hand to our children. the fact is, i know we all share a desire for a cleaner and more secure energy future. but getting there is complex and many thoughtful people will disagree over the right path forward. right, charlie? today i want to talk about the path we are forging at the department of interior. put simply, our task by the end of this administration is to put in place commonsense reforms that promote good government and helped define the rules of the road for america's energy future on our public land. these reforms should help businesses produce energy more safely and with more certainty. they should encourage technological innovation.

they should ensure american taxpayers are getting maximum benefits from their resources. they should apply our values and our science to better protect and sustain our planet for future generations. after all, as my colleague secretary kerry, said last week, there is no planet b. i thought it was clever, too. over the past six years the obama administration has launched the most ambitious reform in agenda -- the most ambitious reform agenda in the department's history. we found how a drill-everywhere plan does not work very well if half the leases are challenged or overturned in court. so we put in place on short leasing reforms to engage with the public about where it does or does not make sense to develop. through smarter planning, we're seeing reduced cost and litigation and more certainty for injury -- more certainty for industry.

in 2009, renewable energy was knocking on our door, but there was no clear path forward. my predecessor, ken salazar, set up a strike team to get the most promising projects across the finish line and to establish an enduring renewable energy program at the department. he did a great job. that legacy is a gift that keeps on giving. in the span of six years, we have approved 52 commercial-scale projects on public lands across the west. together, that is 14,000 megawatts of renewable energy that, when built will produce enough energy to power over 4 million american homes. let me put that in perspective. how many of you have visited hoover dam or glen canyon dam? quite a number of you. 14,000 megawatts is roughly equivalent to the clean hydropower the bureau of reformation produces 353 -- 350

c -- 353 -- this is not minor. this is huge. offshore, we have also made sweeping reforms for safe and responsible development in the wake of the devastating deepwater horizon oil spill. we have raised the bar three new standards for well-designed blowout prevention. we have overhauled federal oversight by restructuring ourselves to provide independent regulatory agencies that have a clear mission and are better resourced to carry out our work and keep pace with the rapidly evolving industry. but our work is not done. there are still areas where we need to change how we do this. so the united states can better compete and lead the world when it comes to energy and climate

change. our reform agenda over the next two years has three goals. safe and responsible energy development, good government and encouraging innovation. i will start with safe and responsible energy development. it is pretty simple. we do not have the right measures in place to protect the communities we live in, the air we breathe, and the water we drink, we all lose. the critical path to sustain development north america includes effective regulation and a commitment of industry and regulators, industry and regulators, to continue its improvement in practice is to eliminate or minimize environmental risk. sounds like the interior department, right? but it was not. the national petroleum council largely made up of industry.

this not only helps minimize risk, but it is critical to building the public confidence necessary to sustain our energy revolution. many of the regulations on the books have not kept pace with the advances in technology. they are the same ones that were in place when i was working on drilling and fracking operations in oklahoma more than 30 years ago. 30-year-old regulations. that is why in the coming days we will release a final rule related to hydraulic fracturing or fracking on public lands. it will include measures to protect our nation's groundwater, requiring operators to construct sound wells to disclose the chemicals they use, and to safely recover and handle fluids used in the process. some have already labeled these baseline standards as overly burdensome to industry, but i think most americans would call it commonsense standards only apply to activity on public and travel lands, where as a matter of geology listening to my

friends at the u.s. geological survey, about 25% of america's unconventional oil and gas sits. you can all do the math. three quarters of the resources are found on state and private lands. so the responsibility for developing this energy safely must now be taken up in state capitals and engineering labs and in boardrooms across the country. we know it to our kids to get this right. if we do, we can continue to grow our economy as we work to protect our water, our air, and our communities. continue -- interior will continue to do its part. in the coming months, we will propose standards to cut methane emissions. leaky pipes -- apparently it smelled like natural gas in here a few hours ago. methane is the third-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. it traps 20 times as much heat as carbon dioxide over the

course of the century. but this powerful greenhouse gas is routinely released during energy development area in fact, above northern new mexico, where there is more than 40,000 gas wells, satellite images show a methane plumes the size of delaware. we will update our decades-old standards to encourage the kind of infrastructure and technology that companies i have met with have dealt with can reduce harmful emissions and capture the national gas as a source of energy and revenue for the american people. when i was last at the balkans i was shown a device that was going to be used to recover some of that natural gas right after a well had been completed. the just skid mounted it. it was not working yet. i guarantee now it is not only working but they have ordered a couple more. further addressing the impact of energy development, we are also modernizing the way cold

operation -- the way cold companies -- coal companies protect water sources. in the gulf of mexico, there is the expansion of existing fields. in the next two years, 13 feels are expected to start up. offshore production is projected to steadily increase reaching 1.6 million barrels per day in 2016. as we continue to make vast areas available, tomorrow i'm heading to new orleans, where we are offering 41 million acres in the gulf of mexico. safety remains our top priority. we cannot forget the lessons of the deepwater horizon tragedy or a building sweeping reforms that i mentioned earlier will propose a rule in the coming weeks that raises the bar on a blowout -- on blowout preventer's.

operators will be required to use best practices to protect against and effectively respond to any loss of well-controlled. in the arctic, we just released a proposal to make sure that any oil and gas exploration offshore alaska is subject to strong standards and specifically tailored to the region's challenging and unforgiving conditions. we know the arctic is a sensitive environment. it has been part of alaska natives culture for thousands of years and we cannot afford to get it wrong. when it comes to these reforms, i recognize there will be pushed back from various corners -- no surprise. i also appreciate the importance of the oil and gas sector and am committed to its ongoing success. but i strongly believe that there -- they are not only achievable with modern technology and science, but absolutely critical to upholding public trust to responsibly develop our national resources.

second, when it comes to reforms, we need to improve the way we do business as the federal government, plain and simple. part of that means ensuring the american taxpayer is getting a fair return for the use of natural resources on their public lands. i think most americans would be surprised to know that coal companies can make a winning bid for one dollar per time to mine taxpayer owned coal. the government accountability office, our own inspector general, and members of congress from both sides of the aisle agree the federal coal program needs reform. we need to ask ourselves, our taxpayers and local communities getting a fair return from these resources? how can we make it more transparent? how do we manage a program that is consistent with climate change objectives?

these are hard questions, but it is time for an honest and open conversation about modernizing the federal coal program. in the coming weeks -- [applause] thanks. in the coming weeks we will also take public comment on a proposal to give the bureau of land management the flex ability to adjust royalty rates on the oil and gas resources that belong to all of us. this is important, especially given the dramatic growth of oil production on public and tribal lands. production is increased in each of the past six years, and overall combined production from public and tribal land was up 81% in 2014 compared to 2008. it is not just about royalty rates. in 2015, incredibly, we are still processing a majority of our oil and gas permits by paper here and have about 150 inspectors out who are

responsible for inspecting 100,000 oil and gas wells spread across millions of acres of public and tribal land area that is a lot of territory, and it means we are not able to do our job effectively. to carry out our mission and be a better partner to industry, we need resources. repeated budget cuts -- the president's budget calls on congress to support a strong onshore inspection program partly funded through fees. this proposal takes a page from the offer energy industry. which means we can't keep pace with the workload and we do not have to divert funds from other program -- which means we can keep pace with the workload and we do not have to divert funds from other programs.

these budget resources will significantly strengthen the blm's capacity to do its job well. it is a perfect example in a budget where congress needs to move beyond mindless austerity brought about by sequestration -- and i can tell you, my first year in the job was 2013. i thought, i left the private sector for this? crazy budget. but this enabled us to move beyond sequestration and make a smart investment in the future, in infrastructure and innovation. that means investing in safe and responsible energy production but also protecting our critical and scapes and our wildlife and her habitats. when it comes to good government, where working to provide stability to industry by identifying on a landscape level where it makes sense for them to develop and where not to develop. to that end, we're taking a targeted leasing approach in offshore frontiers.

we have onshore plans to open up access in the right place at the recognize there are some places we do not want to develop. we have done that in the national trillion reserves in alaska, where we have made nearly 12 million acres available for oil and gas available. there are valuable oil and gas resources that countries can explore and bring to market, and we are facilitating that. predictability also means identifying places that are too special to drill. we are talking about places with rich cultural resources or key wildlife habitat or outdoor recreational activities. that matters to our economy and our future. i am talking about places at the doorstep of utah's national parks, north dakota's theodore roosevelt national park, or the coastal plain of the arctic

national wildlife refuge. not only should we -- [applause] thank you. not only should we actively avoid damaging special or sensitive places, but we should permanently protect some areas for their conservation values. future generations of americans deserve to enjoy those incredible places just like we do. we are using this comprehensive landscape level approach for renewable energy too, because all energy development has its consequences. we have to be thoughtful about it. we have mapped out 20 zones across the west where solar potential is high and other conflicts are low. because of the early planning work, cubbies will see faster planning -- companies will see faster planning times. previous projects often took two years to complete.

offshore, we are identifying energy areas that will allow the nation to capture the huge potential of wind along the atlantic. it is windy along the atlantic. i have been there. we can do that without compromising fishing recreation, national security, the environment when we are smart about planning upfront. we have held four successful auctions where industry has competitively bid to develop offshore wind farms. we now have 800,000 acres offshore on commercial lease. the third and last reform i will talk about today is making sure that our country is positioned to encourage innovation and be competitive in a global economy. america is both blessed with diverse national resources and more importantly, the human capital to develop new and better ways to harness them.

as the united states is a leader in unconventional oil extraction and is now the top producer of natural gas, there is no reason we should not also be the top producer of solar power and wind power. why not act out let's do it -- why not? let's do it. the department of energy has for decades been a key player in research and development, things like directional drilling and tools to assess oil and gas potential. technologies that help spur our recent energy boom. today the deals of investing in innovative technologies that make energy production cleaner more efficient, finding ways to make solar more cost-effective. i worked with those incentives when i was a banker, and i was surprised to find out they are still in place. 35 years later. the credits may have made sense

at the time, but i am not sure they make sense for as mature as is this industry. we need to look at that. we need congress to make tax credits for renewable energy long-term and predictable instead of allowing sunsets and stutter steps that create so much uncertainty for businesses and manufacturers. many enlightened states spurred the growth of clean energy through renewable energy standards. when you talk about creating jobs and growing the economy this is the kind of action that congress can take that will move billions of dollars of capital investments into the clean energy economy. our nation's policy should accelerate american innovation and entrepreneurism. renewable energy tax credits, carbon reduction targets, and

thoughtful regulations that incentivize clean technology are a few ways we can get there. i talked about our reform agenda from my perspective as secretary of the interior, responsible for representing the interests of all of czar taxpayers on their public lands. i am also a grandmother. my responsibility to my grandchildren's generation is at the top of my mind with every decision we make. it is why i am determined to help make energy development safer and more environmentally sound in the next two years. it is why i believe that new energy development should be matched with new protections for land and water. it is why we must do more to cut greenhouse gas pollution that is warming our planet. i see the cost of changing climate everywhere i go. recently i was in alaska. coastal erosion there threatens to wipe out an entire native

village, and it is one of several that is in danger. in the marshall islands, where i was in 2013, they have to sandbag the airport runway to keep the rising ocean from washing it away. i got an e-mail last night from the assistant secretary for insular affairs, who said that just the tides in some areas of the marshall islands are making some inhabited areas uninhabitable. one storm could wipe out 15,000 people who share 80 acres right now with average elevation that is just a few feet. right here at home, across this country, communities are facing more extreme wildfires. we saw some of them in the news last night. bigger storms, devastating droughts. disappearing wildlife. and rising economic balance -- and rising economic damages. we are already adjusting our land management strategies for the impact of climate change.

but we also need to do more, and we can, to address the causes of climate change. helping our nation cut carbon pollution should inform our decisions about where we develop, how we develop, and what we develop. president obama has rightly described climate change as the single most pressing energy and environmental challenge of our time. but he is also right that we are in a moment of remarkable opportunity and promise. in the state of the union, he said we have risen from the recession freer to write our own future than any other nation on earth. it is now up to us to choose who we want to be over the next 15 years and for decades to come. i share the president's believe that the u.s. should lead the world on energy, climate, and conservation. to accomplish this, we need to encourage innovation and provide clear rules for the road, and make balanced decisions. every day -- think about this

phrase -- we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. my job is to take the long view. it is what the american public expects of us, and it is what we all know the next -- it is what we all owe the next generation. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, secretary jewell. let me a lay some of your fears. i am frank verrastro. the ghastly was on 17th and m.

but in the unlike -- the gas leak was on 17th and m. but if we do have to, being on the second floor, the back door take you to an alleyway. i should have said that in advance. way to get the crowd warmed up. madame secretary, i got my start in the federal government at the age of four in the interior department, so i have an affinity for the oil and gas office there. you and charlie talked about the trade-offs, especially at interior, where you are charged with environmental stewardship. how do you reconcile -- what are the trade-offs and balances -- because i am not sure the public has a full appreciation for what goes on. interior sec. jewell: the american public has an amazing

capacity for the truth. when you explain the trade-offs and engage communities in the process, you end up with pretty smart thinking about where we need to go there is so, we have done a fair amount of engaging with communities on landscape level planning, where the areas make sense to develop, for the industry, where the areas have the most potential and how we can help steer development to the right places and avoid the wrong places. the worst thing i think we can do for industry as well as for the country is to make hasty decisions that are not well thought through that is indeed up in court. it slows everything down, and there was a fair amount of that that was inherited. my husband is not happy that all of the lawsuit in the department of interior there my last name or most of the or that they

bear my last name. what is the right balance and what is at stake? i think we have made some important progress in that area of engaging the public so that they trust the decisions that have been made more than before and they recognize that there are balances and trade-offs, and that has enabled us to avoid conflict. we are also building understanding for the very real conflicts that do exist. mr. verrastro: and you talk about, in addition to the outreach, the technology has moved over an extraordinary time , over the last five years. but the budget, i am sure you are keenly aware of the restrictions on budget ability -- the regulations are lined up with the best thinking of the day and the best practices as

they are put in place? interior sec. jewell: i think we are doing that, and i think it is very important. a lot of the regulations right now were created in the 1980's. in the early 1980's as when i was in the oil and gas industry directly. they have changed, but the technology has gone miles. you want regulations that can adapt with new technologies, and that is what we are doing in a lot of the regulatory work that we are doing now to update these things. i used the quick example about oil and the skid mounted unit to capture natural gas and natural gas limits when the pressure is high after they complete a well. we are listening to technologies like that as we formulate the methane capture strategies. for capturing methane, what you need is a gathering system and gas processing plant. it takes time to put those in place, and you have pressure

issues that are very complicated to deal with early on in that well's production life. we want to learn and figure out what is practical, when it might apply, how practical is it to apply across the networks. likewise in offshore, a tremendous amount of work has been done post-deepwater horizon . that accident really hurt the oil and gas industry. it hurt every producer out there. it certainly hurt the gulf states and i think it horrified the nation, but it inspired a lot of soul-searching on what went wrong. a lot of human error involved, a lot of not paying attention to the technologies that were there, and that to a certain extent went with the safety culture. we were not structured to provide the kind of support can focus on safety as distinct from leasing as distinct from

revenue. so all of those things are factoring in to how we are updating our regulations. when you look at the well control work we have done, that is embracing technology that industry has, but also embracing industry in the gulf of mexico saying that we need better containment. there are two different organizations, consortiums of oil and gas companies that have resources to build technology to address well control. those are the kinds of ways of working with industry so that our regulations match what they are able to do and so they are able to progress over time. mr. verrastro: this whole notion that you can expand best practices internationally and be a leader, whether it is the gulf of mexico or offshore cuba and the opportunities that present for the united states, and also

in the arctic? interior sec. jewell: that is exactly right. my deputy secretary is in the gulf of mexico right now. he is working on water and energy. we have an agreement that will take into account the oil and gas resources that know no international boundaries. we are looking close -- we are working closely with them, sharing practices, making sure that the gulf at large is protected in the future. we have learned a lot of lessons since the gulf oil spill. we have learned a lot in the arctic, and we have a lot more to learn. russia is developing. canada will be developing. china is poking around. we need to know what we are doing. mr. verrastro: there is an npc study that this whole notion that if other arctic nations develop the resources as well if we are a bit of a laggard on

that, what if that happens? sometimes more is more in terms of capability, shoreline backup systems, staging systems, coast guard defense capability as well . it is a bigger geopolitical issue. interior sec. jewell: i think that is exactly right. later this year the transition occurs. my colleague brian salerno -- where are you, brian? brian came from the coast guard. we need to make sure that our arctic response capabilities search and rescue capabilities safety, environment, all those things are solid and in place. it has been well documented through challenges that they had in the 2012 drilling season -- we are talking about harsh conditions. we are not talking about the gulf of mexico. we wanted to know how to do it

right. i will also say that many of the companies that may the interested in development in the u.s. arctic are also companies that have developed in other parts of the arctic. exxon mobil i believe is doing work with russia. we need to know what we are doing. to the extent that there is development there, and strong potential, we want to make sure the resources are there to drill and contain the spill if there is a spill. it is not a problem as much in the gulf, but you have a lot of -- it is a long way, a lot of time, and there is a much shorter season because of ice. lots to learn, and i think it is important that as companies show interest, as they have with the leases that have occurred, that we do it right. mr. verrastro: talking about climate change, and the focus on

it by the administration in the interior department, so that when you look at energy production and renewables, how do you decide where there are areas that should lease -- primary spots that you think would be good for wind energy offshore? what is the process within interior? interior sec. jewell: first it starts with science. where are the areas that are consistently windy? and then, where it is consistently windy, what other attributes might that area have? is it a critical burden flyway? is it close to transmission? is it right in somebody's view? we have to think about all of those things. offshore wind, 800,000 acres now on lease, and we have de conflicted that before we put those areas up for lease. where is the merging lean -- where is the merchant marine

conflicting activities? can you see these future wind turbines, and will that bother anybody? yes. usually. mr. verrastro: that is the short answer. interior sec. jewell: so we need to de-conflict and say these are the lowest conflict but high potential. there are national parks with oil and gas resources. that is not the place we should be developing them. i do not believe we should go oil and gas in the arctic national wildlife refuge. the president agrees. that is the recommendation we are making to congress. this is applying science understanding other uses of the land the impact of the energy development, and trying to chart a course forward that says let's go to the areas where there is limited or no conflict. so we are working in moab, utah

with mass releasing plans, and we are engaging local communities in that effort. we have done it in the national petroleum reserve, we are doing it in the california desert. it is really working. and the community is engaged. mr. verrastro: those are good solutions. when i was in the private sector, there was one proposal to in case the offshore rigs with members so that they would not be visual pollutants. we thought that was a bad idea. one of the reasons we invite you all, is that the secretary has agreed to take some questions from the floor. we have some simple rules. one is to wait for the microphone. pose your question in the form of a question with some voice inflection at the end, and then identify yourself and your organization. any questions? while, you are -- wow, you are

good. all the way in the back. >> my name is andrew. i have a question about the department's initiatives on forest restoration and energy opportunities, lesser-known energy opportunities and innovation. interior sec. jewell: thank you very much for your question. there is a lot of work going on in usda and the u.s. forest service, which is not part of the department of interior, but it is an important potential. because of climate change, just a few degrees difference have caused a proliferation of the mountain pine beetle. which, if you are a westerner, you fly over or drive through these landscapes, it is astounding how much standing dead timber there is. there is fuel potential in that timber, and this is something that tom ville site has been working on with his team.

it is a matter of economics, how you make it economic to harness that for energy development or for manufacturing wood products or otherwise. it is certainly an important part of the equation. i will also say that i have visited the national renewable energy lab which is a doe facility, and there is incredible research going on in biomass energy development. more of that is with raw materials like switchgrass, but it also includes wood products. there is a potential of doing that, and i think the research absolutely is critical to continue. it is not yet being done on an economic scale, but it is only a matter of time. it is a good illustration where the right type of incentives -- just in the 30-plus years i have been in the industry, i think they were placed -- i think they were replaced long before that.

we can learn a lot from the science, and that is a big part of where i think we have the opportunity to go. mr. verrastro: so on the economic side -- put your rei hat back on as well as your government had. prices, as fees or economic structures changed -- for companies who are struggling, can you be flexible in how you encourage or this incentivize people from doing things in certain places? interior sec. jewell: i have a great rei example for you. rei was very concerned about being a company that supported human powered outdoor active recreation, and yet having a carbon footprint ourselves. we wanted to go about understanding that carbon footprint, figuring out where is the low hanging fruit and

reducing it. one of the areas is energy consumption. we went about figuring out what were our dirtiest markets? which stores used high carbon producing sources of energy? so we took that and we married that with the potential that local utilities had for green power. we locked in green power supply contracts to give those utilities certainty that they had a market for that green power. we signed up for long-term contracts. those contracts were more expensive than buying conventional energy, but it was something we were committed to doing. but that was in 2007. when oil prices ran up, at the end of the day, those contracts ended up being much better for us economically because we locked in several years at a time when oil and gas prices were high and electricity rates went up. it is an illustration where we

as a business could help support renewable energy. now, the states typically the have those renewable facilities were states where there was some kind of renewable energy standards. it was not a tax credit, it was an expectation that utilities would have a certain percentage. so it basically is a requirement that they developed. if you marry that incentive, if you will, or expectation from a state with a willing buyer -- and there are lots of willing buyers who want to reduce their carbon footprint -- you have a situation that drives the cost down for those technologies because more people get into it. i have other examples with the company on whether -- on where we put solar panels. and which ones we used and which states they went to. it has everything to do with national and state incentives to support energy development. we accelerated. i think we did 11 stores one

year because the tax credits would expire at the end of the year. which is kind of a crazy way to do things -- very difficult to plan that way, but that is how these stutter steps that i talked about have worked with tax incentives on renewables. mr. verrastro: i will not put you on the spot to say when a carbon tax gets put in place. we have a question on the front row. >> my name is todd. i am with advocates for the west in northwest d.c. i'm intrigued with the conflicting energy development and conservation. i am wondering if you have had a chance to review a recent letter from 11 scientists to you noting that it appears the agency is abandoning science-based conservation for more elastic subjective measures. interior sec. jewell: how many

know what a safe -- is? quite a few. let me just, for those who did not raise their hand, let me bring you up to speed. there is a species that is under consideration for listing under the indigenous species called greater sage grass. the major parties we have ecosystems across the american west that are at risk for a number of different factors. we think about the redwood forest in california as old-growth forest. we think about my home state of washington, the olympic peninsula, and the old-growth trees there as incredible habitats were the -- incredible habitats worth the of production -- incredible habitats were the of production -- there are 350 species.

greater sage grass is one of the. there are hundreds of other species that call these woods home. so when we have a wildfire that burns through rangeland, we can wipe out in the space of a day or two hundreds of thousands of acres, hundreds of square miles just like that. and we do not think about it as being old-growth in the way we do when you head crowning fires running up through yosemite. but it is very important from a habitat standpoint. so we have 11 states working together to say how do we strike the right balance between conservation and development? in a state like wyoming development of oil and gas resources, typically some coal resource development, can be the biggest potential disruptor to sagebrush habitat. in the great basin wireless

fire, invasive species like certain grasses -- we are trying to come up with strategies across the landscape to understand the critical areas for these species and to protect those areas with the highest level of protection. we are using sound science, the best available science we have. i have not been specifically the letter that you referenced, but i will say it is very complicated, and there are states that have done a lot of science. there are -- there is independent work. the work that we do scientifically is available and open to the public. some of the private science that is done by others or by states is not open to the public. we will take at the fish and wildlife service all of the science into account, and we must do that because if we do not do that and we come out with a decision on whether it is

warranted, we know it will be challenged in court. the question is, will it be defensible? we have to have our ducks in a row. but i will say it is unprecedented to have 11 states, 11 governors -- probably seven governors where they have most of the habitat -- working so hard alongside the fish and wildlife service and the bureau of land management and private landowners to put in place conservation measures that protect these lands that have helped define the american west and the species that call it home. so i am very proud of the collaborative work that has happened with states, the blm, the fish and wildlife service the geological survey, and others, and i am confident we will reach the right solution when all the science is in. guest:>> charles ettinger from

brookings institution. madam secretary, i was wondering if you believe that the alaska pipeline, certain objectivity with its flow levels whether those that might be nearest ought to be taken into consideration if something was found and hence keep the pipeline alive? interior sec. jewell: thank you for that question. i worked on the alaska pipeline when i lie was -- when i was a college student, solving problems like what do you do when you put hot oil on a cold type and the paid moves and you keep insulation on it. it is a tricky place to do business. what is interesting is that when alaska achieved statehood, the federal government chose lands and native corporations chose lands, alaska chose an oilfield income parekh -- ap in

production in the 1980's. it is no surprise that production has been going down, and i will say that the state of alaska is really hurting right now with oil prices, and i am sympathetic with the situation governor walker finds himself in and a whole state. we certainly support development in the national petroleum reserve in alaska. conoco phillips has developed cd5 in the area around alpine. i have been there myself. the secretary for land and minerals has been out there. tommy has been out there and a number of others. that has been hooked up to the pipeline network. the national petroleum reserve alaska, the record decision that we just reached on development with conoco phillips of that, will tie into the alpine facility. and it will be able to go straight into tap during it is our expectation that the national petroleum reserve, as it is developed, will keep

petroleum flowing. we did all of the work to look at the national petroleum reserve, and what of the areas that are really critical for habitat not develop, critical habitat for caribou, birds, and other species -- we thought about if there is exploration and ultimately production in the sea, is there a way to move that overland through the national petroleum reserve to the trans-alaska pipeline. if you look at the areas that we set aside for conservation and the areas we set aside for development, you will see it facilitates the ability to ultimately have a pipeline corridor that runs through there. it is a national resource. it is very important to the state of alaska, and it is certainly important to us. so we have every expectation that we will facilitate, making

public lands available for oil and gas development. obviously it will be up to industry to develop those resources, and that will depend on a whole bunch of factors, including economics. but we will be supportive but doing it in the right way in the right place. mr. verrastro: we tried to adhere to their time constraints, since they have an active day outside of csi s, as hard as that is to believe. madam secretary you have been candid, informative. it is great to have you here. i hope you do come back, and we will look for your proposals. you are the right person at the right time, given your background. if you will join me in thanking secretary jewell. [applause] mr. verrastro: secretary jewell

will entertain some press questions on her way out the door. thank you very much. announcer: defense secretary ashton carter and joint chiefs chairman general martin dempsey will give an update on efforts to combat the military group isis. they will also take questions on u.s. defense programs at the house armed services committee. we will have live coverage at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span3. later today, the commissioners of the sec along with chairman tom wheeler will take questions

about the newly approved net neutrality rule. we will have live coverage from the senate commerce committee at 10:30 eastern. that is also on c-span3. "washington journal" is next. we will look at today's news and take your phone calls. the house is back in at 10:00 eastern, following members speeches that work on a signs bill that puts restrictions on epa restrict -- on epa standards. live house coverage on c-span. >> coming up, we will talk to scott gary about the republican print for 2016. he serves on the budget financial services committee. in reaction to the gop budget plan. later on our spotlight on magazine series, a look at a

recent article on alternatives to locking up juvenile offenders. plus your phone calls facebook comments and tweets. ♪ "king vs burwell" host: good morning. "wall street journal" from page. no more promises. we will learn more from the chairman of the federal reserve later this afternoon. look for coverage on c-span.org. the house gop unveiled their budget blueprint promising to cut 5.5 trillion dollars over the next