Carbon tax more acceptable than cap-and-trade?

(Photo of coal-burning plant near Kenosha, Wisc., from Flickr and photographer James Jordan )


Who'da thunk it? Cap-and-trade was the way to go the past few years because a carbon tax was politically impossible. Now, suddenly, that's turned on its head. A carbon tax -- or at least "a price on carbon" -- seems to have the best chance.

Climate legislation may not be dead after all, but cap-and-trade is. The odd triad – Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) – are preparing to release the main points of their “compromise” legislation to the Senate sometime this week or next -- and it doesn't include cap-and-trade.

They don’t have the 60 votes yet, haven’t even drafted the language yet, but are ready to work the crowd of uncertain senators and interested lobbyists to see if they can reach consensus.

President Obama says he’s willing to be flexible as long as the plan puts a price on greenhouse gas emissions and cuts them about 17% (below 2005 levels) by 2020, as he promised the rest of the world.

The three say their plan can do that.

Other important points:
• Three different mechanisms will be used for three different sectors.
• Power plants will go first and their emissions will be priced and capped and made more stringent over time.
• Industries, such as chemicals, cement and paper, will be able to wait several years, but will eventually be included.
• Motor fuel will have a price attached to carbon (that's right, a carbon tax) with at least some of the revenue going to transportation projects and helping auto companies becom more fuel-efficient.
• Nuclear power will be supported – Obama already took a step in that direction, announcing $8.3 billion in loan guarantees for two reactors in Georgia.
• R & D for carbon capture and sequestration will get support too.
• With emphasis on reducing dependence on foreign oil, plans for offshore drilling for oil and gas here are included.

Cap-and-trade a non-starter
The GOP has tagged cap-and-trade as “cap-and-tax” and has scared people into thinking energy costs will rise. The term is now political poison. Not to mention distrust of Wall Street and any trading mechanism.

What seems to be taking its place is “cap-and-dividend,” in which proceeds from a “price” on carbon (whatever form it takes) would go back to consumers to help them pay higher utility costs. The advantages are two:
• Voters won’t blame their Senators for sticking them with higher costs in a bum economy,
• Utilities will be able to raise prices to pay for the changes they have to make.

Can it pass?
It’s impossible to satisfy every politician, voter and interest group, but the triad is sure trying. Graham said even climate change skeptics can support this bill, which will provide jobs and reduce dependence on oil from unstable parts of the world. It's also a way for the GOP to appeal to young voters, he told Tom Friedman of the New York Times.

The three are running up against a serious time crunch in a Senate still preoccupied with health reform and jobs -- and an election that has incumbents very nervous. (Note that John McCain is very much absent from this effort by his two amigos.) And Graham suggested if the Dems pass health reform by reconciliation, all bets are off.

Once the bill's details are worked out, the EPA would need about a month to do its analysis, and other departments would have to weigh in. If it is in fact possible to get 60 votes, we still have a problem – similar to the one in health care.

The House has already passed a bill, HR 2454 (last June – did you forget about that?) and it is based on cap-and-trade. So, will the two chambers be able to reconcile their differences before election season heats up?

It seems like a tall order.

(Sources: Reuters, E&E Daily, PlanetArk , New York Times)

Obama needs credit for environmental successes

(Photo of Obama from Flickr and jmtimages)

Despite the failure so far to pass a climate bill in the Senate, or to help forge a final international agreement in Copenhagen, the Obama Administration has, without much fanfare, quietly reversed destructive Bush environmental policy and ramped up green jobs development as it sets a course for a cleaner energy future.

Carl Pope, outgoing executive director of the Sierra Club, told the Mercury News, “This is by far the best first year on the environment of any president in history.” In just one year, he said, the president reversed most of Bush’s anti-environment actions over eight years.

The League of Conservation Voters gave him a B+ for is first year.

Among the accomplishments::

Reversing Bush policies
Fuel efficiency: Instead of fighting California’s request to the EPA to let the state restrict tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions (something many other states wanted too), Obama’s EPA granted permission and then the president announced new federal rules increasing fuel efficiency 40%, from the current average of 25 mph to 35 mph in 2016.

Regulating GHG: Bush avoided taking action on the Supreme Court decision giving the EPA power to regulate GHG under the Clean Air Act. This EPA is now finalizing a Big Polluter Rule, under which is would be able to restrict emissions from sources emitting more than 25,000 tons per year.

Oil and gas drilling: This Administration blocked Bush’s rule to open the California coast and 77 sites near Arches and Canyonlands national parks to drilling. Interior Sec. Ken Salazar also announced major reforms for oil and gas leasing on public lands.

Bisphenol: The Food & Drug Administration said bisphenol-A in plastics poses a significant danger to babies and young children.

Ozone: The EPA announced new health-based ozone standards.

Yellowstone: The Administration negated a Bush rule allowing more snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park.

Funding clean tech through ARRA
Green technologies will get a strong shot in the arm from stimulus funds, with an estimated $80 billion targeted for everything from weatherization and other efficiency measures to public transit and high speed trains to hybrid and electric cars to electrical grid improvements and renewable sources like wind and solar. Only $5B of that money has been released to date, with another $26B committed. The DOE says the delay was needed to establish rules about how the funds could be spent.

Obama is emphasizing the importance of creating jobs for the energies of the future, but the results will also to cut GHG emissions.

Additional actions
In the first year, the Administration also:
• Said it would catalog GHG emissions from large sources.
• Ordered that 500,000 federal buildings and 600,000 federal vehicles cut GHG emissions.
• Began developing standards for more efficient appliances.
• Required federal agencies to consider climate change in environmental reviews.
• Broadened guidelines for mass transit projects to receive federal funds.
• Signed into law a bill to create 2 million acres of new wilderness that bans logging, mining and new roads in federal forests and deserts in 9 states, including Joshua Tree and Sequoia national parks.

The president doesn’t get a lot of credit for all this – and more – because things were so bad in the Bush years, and the news focus has been on the economy and health care. But we are slowly moving forward despite Congress and the big lobbies. That’s why it is so important to defeat Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R-AK) resolution to keep the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases. Tell your senators to vote no.

(Sources: Sierra Club, mercurynews.com, Center for American Progress, White House blog)

Mayors pledge to increase energy efficiency, avoid tar sands to meet climate change challenge

(Photo of Indiana refinery processing tar sands oil from Flickr and The Rainforest Network)

News Update 4: The U.S. Conference of Mayors has attacked global warming by endorsing an increase in energy efficiency, seeking guidelines to avoid high-emission unconventional fuels and phasing out plastic water bottles. At its meeting in Miami in late June, the conference:
• Unanimously supported a 30% increase in energy efficiency in new residential buildings and called for a dramatic improvement in the national model energy building code that guides state and local governments. Code officials will meet in September to finalize the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), the first update since 2006.
• Challenged high-carbon fuels from tar sands, liquid coal and oil shale, asking for guidelines and purchasing standards to help mayors understand lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions from fuels. These unconventional and synthetic fuels can emit 2-5 times the greenhouse gases during extraction and production.
• Agreed to phase out bottled water in favor of the public water supply. It takes 1.5 million barrels of oil each year to manufacture the bottles, most of which end up in landfills. (Sources: Sierra Club Cool Cities, portofentry.com)

Ocean acidity from greenhouse gases speeding up much faster than expected

(Photo of California coast from Flickr and photographer Alykat/Alyson Hurt.)

News Update 3: Greenhouse gas emissions have caused surface water in the ocean off the West Coast to acidify far faster than anticipated, according to a new study published in Science. Some areas have reached acidity levels not expected until 50-100 years from now. The oceans have absorbed about one-third of the carbon dioxide released in the atmosphere in the past 150 years, and acidity has grown 30%, researchers said. This could damage shellfish, corals and ultimately be disastrous for fish. While much of climate change involves warming temperatures, ocean acidity is another direct result of greenhouse gases, just as warming is. (Source: E&E News PM)

Wind energy could be 20% of total U.S. power by 2030, Energy Department says

(Photo of windfarm from Flickr and photographer Brent Danley.)

News Update: The U.S. could be getting one-fifth of its energy from wind by 2030, the Department of Energy said last week – so long as there is support from private industry and government agencies. A jump to 20% is possible technically, but would require a good interstate transmission grid, DOE said. A 20% share would mean a cut of 25% in greenhouse gas emissions, and wind energy would require 17% less water. Today, wind is only 1% of the total here, but growing. Last year, 3,100 turbines were installed in 34 states. Another 2,000 are under construction. (Sources: PlanetArk, E&E News PM)

Methane, a greenhouse gas, rises ‘sharply’ for the first time in a decade; CO2 is up too

(Photo of Arctic marshes and tundra from Flickr and photographer Royal Olive/G. Oliviera)

News Update: Methane in the atmosphere rose last year for the first time since 1998, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which monitors such things. Methane is a concern because it’s 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a heat-trapping gas, though there’s much less of it in the atmosphere. The increase last year was 27 million tons. NOAA speculated that it’s probably coming from the economic boom in Asia and from wetlands uncovered by melting ice in the Arctic and also in the tropics. The main worry about methane is that thawing permafrost in the Arctic will release huge amounts of it. NOAA also announced that CO2 rose 2.4 parts per million last year, to 385 ppm. That compares with 280 until the mid-19th century. A safe level is between 350-450 ppm, depending on who you ask. In the ’60s the annual increase was 1 ppm, in the ‘80s 1.5 ppm, and since 2000 about 2 ppm each year. So last year’s jump may show it’s going to another level. CO2, we know, comes primarily from the burning of fossil fuels. For more, and a chart of recent annual CO2 growth, see Science Daily.)

Will Lieberman-Warner global warming bill pass the Senate? Should it pass the Senate?

(Photo of Capitol Building from Flickr and photographer Eamonn O'Brien-Strain)

Weekly Angst: A “compromise” global warming bill (S. 2191) will head to the Senate floor for debate the first week in June. It has a fine line to tred between those who want to make it weaker and those who think it must be stronger.

Sponsors Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and John Warner (R-Va.) are working hard to get more converts, so it can pass the 60-vote test to avoid a filibuster. Environment Committee Chair Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) is working with them, even though she proposed a stronger bill herself. But Boxer vows to pull the bill from the floor if it is weakened further.

Lieberman said last week he has 45 firm votes and 15 leaning heavily toward approval. That means he needs every single one of those votes, and he suggested there would need to be changes to win them. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lieberman’s Republican buddy whom he’s supporting for president, is a “leaning” vote because he wants more money for nuclear energy in the bill.

Cap-and-trade system
Lieberman-Warner (America’s Climate Security Act) is a cap-and-trade bill. That means a cap will be placed on overall greenhouse gas emissions and will steadily be lowered each year. Companies that do not cut emissions that much must buy credits from those that exceed their goal.

The bill calls for:
*A 4% reduction of GHG emissions in 2012, steadily increasing to 70% (from 2005 levels) by 2050. (Boxer would like to see that amended to 80%)
*An auction for 26.5% of the credits in 2012, rising to 79.5% by 2031. The rest of the credits would be given away free. (Boxer wants more credits paid for.)
*Distribution of auction income for jobs, deploying advanced technology, helping low- and middle-income people with increased energy costs, and mitigating negative impacts of climate change abroad.

The bill covers electric utilities, transportation, most manufacturing and natural gas, the sources of 87% of GHG. That means the actual total reduction will be 66% by 2050.


Efforts to weaken the bill
Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), who famously called global warming a “hoax,” says he will propose 40 amendments and lead a filibuster against the bill if he can. Inhofe has support from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers and Alliance for Energy and Economic Growth.

The National Mining Association wants more money to research carbon capture and storage.

Some want the bill to pre-empt action by the states that want to do more. Boxer, from a state that is already doing more, said she will pull the bill before she lets that happen.

Others are asking for a “safety valve” if carbon prices get too high, or for more money for nuclear energy.

A coalition of energy companies and other businesses are on a 17-state blitz to undermine the bill, citing loss of jobs and higher energy prices.

Environmental groups
Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace oppose the bill as not going far enough. The National Wildlife Federation supports it. The Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Defense and World Wildlife Fund appeared with Boxer at a news conference last week, but some of them are saying the bill must be strengthened.

The dilemma for many environmentalists (in and out of Congress) is whether it’s better for the Senate to pass something, even if it’s just a first step.

The bill, of course, has two more hurdles. Passage of a similar bill in the House, which Energy Chair John Dingell (D-Mich.) says needs more deliberation and likely won’t get through the House until the end of 2008. Then there’s a likely veto from George Bush, who never has bought into the cap-and-trade idea.

An optimistic Lieberman gives his bill a 50-50 chance of becoming law, but says a new president in 2009 will increase those chances to 90%.

So some are saying why not just wait, and get a stronger bill. Others say let’s take the first step.

Frankly, I’m torn. I'd like to see 80% by 2050 and 100% auctioned credits, but we’re so far overdue in taking action I hate to put it off another year. And doing so could affect international negotiations for a climate treaty. We have been the largest cause of global warming up to now, so most of the stuff up there is ours. Maybe passing a bill, even if it doesn’t do it all, is a show of good faith and something to build on.

What do you think?

(Sources: E&E Daily, Greenwire, Boston.com, E&E PM, and America’s Climate Security Act. )
For a one-page description of the act go to Lieberman’s Web site.

Will threat of recession cool prospects of passing global warming bill in Congress this year?

President Bush’s top environmental advisor warned that passage of the Lieberman-Warner global warming bill could cut GDP as much at 6.9% by 2050. Taking the worst-case scenario from the EPA’s analysis of what the cap-and-trade bill could cost, James Connaughton (who also represents the U.S. at international climate meetings) told E&E News PM this week he was concerned about the potential cost of the bill. He said such a reduction in GDP would be recessionary. Referring to possible “compliance costs of $1 trillion,” he said, “That’s unprecedented in the environmental area.” Well, yeah. But global warming is unprecedented. And what will the cost be if we don’t cut greenhouse gas emissions the amount scientists say we must? Floods, famine, drought, disease, rising seas and a few other little problems. And, by the way, what is the war costing? Environmental advisors aren’t what they used to be. (E&E News PM)

Bill asks halt to new coal plants

(Photo of coal plant in Sauget, Ill., from Flickr and photographer Jay Dugger.)

Congressional Round-up: Sens. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) have introduced a bill creating a moratorium on new coal-fired utility plants unless they can capture and sequester 80% of their greenhouse gas emissions. They see the bill as a stop-gap until an economy-wide global warming law caps GHG at 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. There are 47 plants in the permitting process or under construction across the U.S., with another 67 on the drawing boards. Uncertainty about the future and environmentalists’ objections have put a stop to a number of plants that were planned. (E&E New PM)

The Bush Administration ignored an EPA recommendation several months ago to increase fuel economy in autos because CO2 is bad for public health. See washingtonpost.com

Global warming deniers will lobby Congress against regulating greenhouse gases, said Joe Bast, of the Heartland Institute, organizer of a deniers’ convention earlier this month. He vowed a strong campaign against cap-and-trade legislation. The deniers don’t believe that human activity and GHG cause climate change. (Greenwire)

Senators slammed EPA’s new ozone regs and plans to change the Clean Air Act this week. They said the mandate for reduced ground-level ozone didn’t go far enough and will let many counties off the hook in forcing power plants and autos to reduce emissions. EPA also wants to change the Clean Air Act so decision-makers will be able to consider costs, benefits, risk trade-offs and feasibility in making decisions under the act. (E&E Daily, Greenwire)

Honda Civic GX 'cleanest' car

News Update: Honda Civic GX ranked No. 1 in the 2008 Greenbook Online, edging out the Prius. That’s because the car runs on compressed natural gas and has practically no greenhouse gas emissions. Owners can tap into a gas line and fill up their car right in their garage. The car, on display at the Chicago Auto Show this year, is only available in New York and California for now. Other clean-green cars:
2. Prius, a hybrid by Toyoto
3. Honda Civic Hybrid
4. Smart FourTwo, the little European Smart Car 2-seater
5. Toyota Yaris
6. Toyota Corolla
7. Mini Cooper/Clubman
8. Ford Focus (the only American car in the top 12)
9. Toyota Camry Hybrid
10. Honda Civic
11. Honda Fit
The cars are measured on greenhouse gases, other tailpipe emissions, fuel economy and manufacturing emissions (estimated).
(Sources: greencars.org, ELPC) (Photo of Civic GX filling up with natural gas from Flickr and photographer geognerd)

You can help track climate change by recording early blooms
Everyone who wants to can record the first buds and leaves they observe on a new Web site to help scientists determine the effects of climate change on ecosystems. Project Budburst, at http://www.budburst.org, was designed by scientists and launched in February. As the Earth warms and climate changes, flowers are blooming earlier in many places, causing problems for pollination if bees and migrating birds aren’t there yet. (Source: Miami Herald)

Eurostar high-speed rail sees growth of business travelers
Eurostar’s high-speed trains between London, Paris and Brussels carried 5% more passengers last year, the company’s CEO recently told a business conference, and 30% more business travelers in the past 2 years. He predicted a doubling of the Eurostar 3,100-mile system by 2018, noting that travelers are becoming concerned about emissions from airplanes, which have risen 90% in the past 14 years. The airlines are resisting a plan by the European Union to include them in its carbon emissions trading program. (Source: Associated Press)

Etc.: GM vice chairman calls global warming a “total crock of shit” but insists his views have no bearing on the company’s commitment to clean cars … 10,000 black taxis, or town cars, in New York City must go hybrid within 5 years, joining 13,000 yellow cabs … new BP CEO says renewables aren’t bringing in enough profits and they may sell off some wind, solar and biodiesel … Iditarod (dog sled race) moves starting place farther north, due to lack of snow … Virgin Airlines to use fuel-cell cars as VIP limos starting this month … Sierra Club launches campaign to stop 6 planned Dynegy coal-fired plants in 6 states … Alaskan native villages threatened by rising seas sue 24 utilities, oil and coal companies for damages caused by global warming.

Cars come in 'clean' and 'dirty'

(Photo of traffic on Lake Cook Road in Buffalo Grove, Ill., from Flickr and photographer Isipeoria)

Weekly Angst: It’s outrageous. Did you know auto manufacturers make two versions of each model. Some spew more smog-causing hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxide, more carbon monoxide and particulates than others. It all depends on what state you live in and whether it has adopted California’s clean-car regulations. If it hasn’t, you get the dirty kind.

Conn., Maine, Md., Mass., N.J., N.Y., Ore., Pa. R.I., Vt., and Wash. have all adopted the California law. They’ve seen a change in air quality. Ariz., Colo., Fla., Ill., Iowa, Minn., N.M. and Utah have it under consideration. And environmental groups are pushing those states to pass the law, even though the U.S. EPA has blocked the latest change, reducing CO2. (Another outrage.)

Many believe the EPA will be overruled by the courts, or a new administration, or the bill introduced by Senate Environment Committee Chair Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), and states that adopt California’s law may soon be able to regulate greenhouse gases too, more stringently than the federal CAFE law allows.

The California standards cut greenhouse-gas tailpipe emissions 30% by 2016, though the EPA-forced lag may change that because it was supposed to start with the 2009 model.

The Sierra Club and other environmental groups are asking for e-mails or calls to your state reps to co-sponsor and support a clean car bill. In Illinois you can do that through the Environmental Law and Policy Center's action network.

Clean cars for Illinois
Illinois is No. 6 in emitting greenhouse gases in the U.S.A. Not a record you want to have. Education maybe, or employment, but not No. 6 in GHG. And transportation contributes about 28% of the global warming pollution in the state.

When Illinois passes a clean car bill, it might cause a tipping point, advocates say, benefiting the entire country. A populous state, with 9 million cars on the road, a victory here could lead to manufacturers deciding it no longer pays to make two versions and all their cars could become cleaner.

The bill in Illinois (H.B 3424) has passed out of committee with House Speaker Michael Madigan (D) as a co-sponsor. It requires 2011 models to meet the stricter emissions standards, which would reduce GHG an estimated 18% by 2020 and 27% by 2030.

Global Warming Solutions Act
The clean car bill is also part of a larger package called the Illinois Global Warming Solutions Act (S.B. 2220). A shell bill, with the details not yet revealed, the Solutions Act also will deal with power plants, efficiency and cap-and-trade. It contains major recommendations from the Illinois Climate Change Advisory Group, appointed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), and helps meet goals of the Midwest Governors Conference. (Stay tuned for more on this package.)

RES already law
If you’re wondering about a renewable electricity standard for Illinois, one was already passed last year. Advocates took advantage of the electric utilities’ request for a rate hike and added in an RES that increases the proportion of renewable energy 2% a year until 2015 and then 1.5% until it reaches 25% in 2025. One caveat though – the changes have to stay within the rate cap set for the utility. Many other states have passed their own RES, which is good because while the U.S. House passed one mandating 15% by 2020, the Senate has rejected it. (Sources: Environment Illinois, Sierra Club, Environmental Law & Policy Center)

Freight trains on a roll -- guess why?

(Photo of freight train in California from Flickr and photographer Michael Patrick)

News Update: Railroad companies are investing more in infrastructure, in large part to carry Asian imports from U.S. ports to major cities. Since 2000, some $10 million has gone into expanding and improving tracks, and buying locomotives, with another $12 million planned. With the high price of gasoline and concerns about carbon emissions, railroads are competing successfully with truckers because they use one-third less fuel. “We’re finally making money and can put it into infrastructure,” the CEO of Norfolk Southern said. No mention of high-speed rail, though. (Source: Greenwire)

New report touts efficiency as best way to cut energy demand
The most economical way to cut growing energy demand and reduce greenhouse gas emissions is to get more productivity from energy, says a report from the McKinsey Global Institute, released last week. Until now, the emphasis has been on increasing supply. The report “identified huge opportunities to reduce energy demand and carbon emissions through efficiency,” Diana Farrel, director of the Institute told Reuters. Squeezing waste out of industry and cars could cut the growth of demand in half from its current 2.2% a year. It would require an initial investment of $170 billion a year, but would pay for itself in savings, the report said. (Reuters PlanetArk)

Nuclear developers drawn to South, despite energy surplus there
Fifteen of the 21 filings for new reactors before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are for sites in the south, despite the fact that many natural gas power plants there are idle much of the year. Attracted by the prospect of future growth, and possible state incentives above and beyond generous federal tax credits, the utilities are ignoring the fact that existing plants can meet the region’s needs for the next 20 years, critics say. There’s also the issue of cost overruns. Entergy’s Mississippi customers are still paying $12 a month for overruns at a 20-year-old plant. Utilities don’t like the high, and fluctuating, cost of natural gas, but the price of nuclear reactors has skyrocket 200% since 2000, according to Cambridge Energy Research Associates. (Source: PlanetArk)

Envirocab hybrid taxi company rolls out in Arlington, Va.
A taxi company that bills itself as “carbon negative” has started with 15 hybrid vehicles in the Washington, D.C., metro area. It will buy offsets from Carbonfund.com to counteract the emissions it does release -- and then some. The company aims to have 50 hybrid Priuses, Camrys, Escapes and Highlanders on the street by the end of March. The cabs will help Arlington County meet its goal of reducing GHG 10% by 2012. The county also bought Priuses for one-third of its fleet. (Source: Associated Press)

Etc.: Dirty tar sands crude is expected to raise global warming emissions from Midwest refineries 40% in the next decade … Colorado's Xcel Energy says it will double renewable energy by 2015 and close 2 coal-fired power plants … owners of gas-guzzlers will have to pay $50 to drive them into central London … a Dutch tax on fuel-inefficient cars would add a whopping $28,000 to the price of a Hummer … hunters and fishermen support the Lieberman-Warner cap-and-trade bill and other global warming proposals that give money for wildlife protection.

U.S. 'timid' on renewables, fuel economy

News Update: The International Energy Agency blasted the U.S. last week for being “too timid” about setting fuel-economy standards and encouraging the use of renewable energy. The CAFE standards of 35 mpg by 2020 passed in December falls way short of the European Union’s mandate of 47 mpg by 2012, the report said. Likewise, failure to approve a renewable electricity standard (RES) – which was blocked in the Senate – or even to extend tax credits for renewable energy – which failed there twice by 1 vote – is hurting investment in infrastructure. The disconnect between American’s energy, environmental and security goals leads to a high and growing dependence on fossil fuels, the report said. (Source: PlanetArk) (Photo of solar panels from Flickr by Marino Kojdanovski and Powerhouse Museum)

Environmental groups fight new coal-fired plants in court
Environmental organizations are going to court all over the country to stop construction of new coal plants. Emboldened by the Supreme Court ruling that CO2 is a pollutant and can be regulated, they are fighting new plants every step of the way – zoning, air and water permits -- as well as new coal railroads. They’ve managed to stop or delay 59 plants, but another 22 are under construction and the industry says 15 more are near approval. Coal accounts for about one-third of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. More than 600 plants are now in operation and the Bush Administration predicts 60% growth in the next 20 years. Because coal plants last 50 years, new plants will contribute to GHG for years to come. (Source: Associated Press)

Abu Dhabi to build zero-carbon, zero-waste city in desert
Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emerites, will break ground this winter for a green city of 15,000 in the desert. The no-car city will have narrow streets, gasoline-free travel pods, and solar panels to shade pedestrians from the hot sun. All power will come from wind and solar. The first stage of construction will include a research institute for alternative energy, developed in partnership with MIT. Abu Dhabi has 90% of UAE’s oil reserve, but is looking to become a leader in clean energy. UAE’s per capita GHG emissions are the 3rd highest in the world, after Qatar and Kuwait. (Source: PlanetArk)

Fast-growing bamboo in demand for ‘green’ construction
Bamboo, which grows several feet a day and is 5x stronger than cement, is gaining favor as a “green” building material. Lighter than steel, bamboo is strong enough to use in roofs supporting 11 tons. There is plenty of it too, as it is grown indigenously on every continent but Europe and Antarctica. In some countries it is sparse and therefore costly, as well as being labor-intensive. But in developing equatorial countries these drawbacks do not apply. (Source: Greenwire)

Plague's resurgence may be due to Global Warming
The Plague, one of the deadliest diseases in history, has re-emerged in many places, including Zambia, Mozambique, Algeria and China, where it hadn’t been seen for decades, according to the World Health Organization. Several thousand cases are reported each year. A study published in a Norwegian Journal showed that cases were related to the number of rodents – which carry the disease – seen in winter, which depended on how warm the winter wass. (Source: Greenwire)

Etc.: Iraq signs Kyoto Protocol (and we don’t) … shipping CO2 emissions 3x higher than earlier estimates, and 4.5% of total released … nations quietly stake claim to Antarctic sea beds … Carbon neutral by 2030 is Norway goal … scientists, journalists and lawmakers set Science Debate for April 18, invite GOP and Dem candidates … insurers limit coverage for homes on East Coast … endangered species status sought for Pacific walrus, victim of Arctic melt and drilling.