News brief extra


1. Temperatures soar into triple digits; fires break out in West
Phoenix was 115; Baker, Calif., topped 125; and Las Vegas hit 116 on
Thursday, overheating transformers and causing utility pole fires. Parts of Northeast Oregon reached 107 degrees, and Boise, Idaho, hit 105 Friday. Billings and Great Falls, Mont., at 104, were among several Montana cities reaching record highs. As a heat wave stalled over the West, authorities warned people to avoid outdoor activity except in early morning hours. And meteorologist Brandon Smith told the Associated Press at week’s end, “For as far out as we can see, there’s no relief.” By Saturday wildfires burned in Utah, California, Nevada, Colorado, Idaho, Arizona, Oregon and Washington. Longer and more severe heat waves, as well as more wildfires, are forecast as Global Warming continues. (Source: AP, AOL News)

2. Automakers will back weakened fuel-economy bill in House
The Alliance of Auto Manufacturers said last week it would drum up support for a corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) bill setting a standard of 32 mpg by 2022. The bill, unveiled by Reps. Baron Hill (D-Ind.) and Lee Terry (R-Neb.), would have separate standards for cars and light trucks, but the overall fleet sold in the United States would have to achieve at least 32 mpg. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she still favors the Senate version, requiring 35 mpg by 2020, and Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) has prepared a bill similar to that passed by the Senate. It is unclear whether CAFE will come to a vote before the August recess or wait until fall. House Energy Chair John Dingell (D-Mich.) wants to leave “controversial” matters such as CAFE for fall. (Source: E&E News PM)

3. Mt. Everest base camp changed by Global Warming
Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, the first to climb to Mt. Everest’s summit a half-century ago, would not recognize the site today, their sons, Peter Hillary and Jamling Norgay, said recently. Base camp, which was at an elevation of 5,320 meters then, is sinking each year because of melting ice and is now just 5,280 meters high, they said. The glacier where they made camp in 1953 has retreated 3 miles in the past 2 decades. All glaciers in the Himalayas are endangered, scientists say, and as they melt they form lakes that are at risk of breaking through their banks and flooding the areas below. Peter Hillary said he has seen glacial lakes burst their banks. “It’s like an atomic bomb has gone off. There is rubble everywhere. The floods of the past are nothing compared to the size we’re threatened with,” he said. (Sources: PlanetArk.com, Agence France-Presse)

4. Peat bogs, heavy in carbon, could be next ‘black gold’
Peat bogs, those dense swamps full of rotted trees, roots and leaves, are emitting 8% of worldwide CO2 as they are drained or burned to make way for agriculture and timber. And Indonesia, with 60% of the world’s threatened tropical peat bogs, stands to make an estimated $39 billion from selling credits if peat is added to the carbon-trading scheme under discussion for the post-Kyoto era. With 50 million acres of the stuff, Indonesia would be the prime beneficiary, as other countries and companies having trouble reducing GHG seek to buy credits from those who have reduced or prevented emissions. Like deforestation, peat and was excluded from the first Kyoto accord, but could be included in carbon trading as early as next year, according to Wetlands International. Worldwide, peat stores more carbon than all other vegetation combined. Thailand and Malaysia also have peat. (Sources: Reuters, Greenwire)

5. Heavy industry could be 25% more efficient, IEA says
Heavy industry, which uses nearly half the world’s energy and emits 36% of the CO2, could be much more efficient, the International Energy Agency said in a new study. Improvements such as upgrading engines, recycling materials, and combining heat and power could reduce CO2 emissions by as much as a third, it said. Manufacture of chemicals, petrochemicals, cement, paper, iron and steel, and other metals and minerals account for most of the emissions. Manufacturers need to do more, IEA said. Some of the developing countries have the most efficient plants – such as aluminum smelting in Africa and cement manufacturing in Brazil, the study said. (Source: PlanetArk.com)

6. Swiss will tax carbon in effort to meet its Kyoto goals
After failing to meet its 2006 Kyoto target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Switzerland will levy a tax on imported fossil fuels beginning Jan. 1, 2008, as an “incentive” to conserve energy. The country cut its emissions 4.5% by 2006 instead of the goal of 6% (from 1990 levels). If it fails to reach its targets in the future, the carbon tax will increase in 2009 and 2010. Businesses can get an exemption if they agree to cut their own emissions, a step more than 600 companies have taken. Switzerland has good reason to worry about Global Warming. Its temperatures have increased twice as fast as the world average since the 1970s. Scientists say this may be because of its high latitude and distance from major oceans. Northern Sweden and Russia have experienced a similar phenomenon. (Source: E&E News PM, Greenwire)

7. Transportation Department lobbies against California waiver
The Department of Transportation interfered in the EPA’s decision on whether California can to regulate tailpipe GHG emissions. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), calling it “inappropriate, if not illegal,” released 71 memos and e-mails showing DOT contacted lawmakers from states with auto plants urging them to file comments of opposition with the EPA. The documents show DOT employees, working from a script, told governors and Congressmen that letting California set its own restrictions would lead to a “patchwork of regulations” damaging to the auto industry. One week after the calls, 7 Michigan reps submitted comments objecting to the waiver. California has sought EPA’s OK for two years, so it could start enforcing a law cutting GHG 25% from cars and 18% from SUVs. Another 11 states have followed its lead and are watching to see if EPA gives California the waiver. (Source: AP)

8. Tree-planting plan born in Kenya tops 1 billion in pledges
The U.N. has pledges surpassing its goal in the Billion Tree Campaign, started by a Nobel Peace Prize winner in Kenya. And 32.9 million of those trees have already been planted, according to the campaign’s Web site, www.unep.org/billiontreecampaign, which shows a running total. The campaign is the idea of Wangari Mathaai, who launched it last November, saying there’s too much talk and not enough action. “Tell the world to go dig holes and plant seedlings,” she said. Pledges have come from countries, companies and individuals. Ethiopia said it would plant 60 million trees in celebration of its millennium. Forest cover in the Horn of Africa was 4% in 2000, down from 35% in the early 20th century. (Source: PlanetArk.com)