Xtreme Weather Watch: There was an increase in extreme weather events last year worldwide, mainly winds and floods, reflecting the threat posed by global warming, says the UN-backed Centre of Research on Disaster Epidemiology. Eight of the 10 worst disasters were in Asia, including Cyclone Sidr. Asia and West Africa are already having more severe and frequent floods, following predictions by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Weather disasters cost $62.5 billion in damages in 2007, up from $34 billion the year before. About 200 million people were affected, half of them in China. (PlanetArk)
Southern California was slammed by 7 days of snow and rain last week, stranding thousands of motorists in a mountain pass and causing power outages, avalanches and at least 1 tornado. Nearly a foot of snow fell in the Los Padres National Forest, northwest of LA, in the first of 2 back-to-back storms. In the second storm, this weekend, 2-4 inches of rain fell, raising the risk of mudslides in areas denuded by last year’s wildfires. Last Thursday more rain fell in one day than in the entire year in many places, but officials said they did not think it would do much to relieve a severe water shortage. (MercuryNews.com, LA Times, AP, North County Times, PlanetArk)
Severe winter storms, the worst in decades, swept across southern China late last week, killing at least 50, leaving cities without electricity, and halting travel for hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions. A half-million migrant workers, hoping to get home for Chinese New Year, camped outside the train station in Guangzhou for days, before most gave up. Hunan province had its heaviest snow in half a century. and more was expected. The extreme winter weather has so far caused $3 billion in losses, officials said.(AP)
Devastating floods in Mozambique displaced tens of thousands of people, engulfed farms and destroyed bridges and roads. The heavy rains started earlier than predicted and, with water levels already high, floods could turn out to be more severe than in 2000-01, which was the worst in memory for the African country. Helicopters and boats rescued about 60,000, mostly from roofs and trees, as another 7,000 awaited rescue last week. (PlanetArk)
For more on climate change and weather, check out the Forecast Earth blog at the Weather Channel, Weather.com.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Electric cars are just around the corner
Weekly angst: Cars are here to stay. We’ll never get everyone on the train or bus. And as the world population grows, and poor countries get richer, there’ll be many more cars on the road. So the only way to seriously cut greenhouse gas tailpipe emissions is to change the way cars are built and powered.
A real break with the past requires electric cars, eventually powered by zero-carbon hydrogen. That’s several years in the future – maybe a decade. But electric cars, the plug-in variety with batteries you plug in at night, will start hitting the road very soon (a few are already there.) And when they do, you can bet competition will heat up. It’s already simmering.
Two leaders are Israel and, yes, China.
Israel said last week it will support a large-scale project to put electric cars on the road as early as next year. An Israeli-American entrepreneur, Shai Agassi, is working with Renault/Nissan to test such a car (and supporting infrastructure) in the tiny country, where gasoline costs more than $6 a gallon. He sees small European countries like Denmark, where gas taxes are high, as ideal places to market the cars. Small is good, because these cars can run some distance on electricity alone, before they need recharging or a gasoline engine to kick in.
The Israeli cars will be able to go 124 miles on a charge. Usually the batteries will be recharged at home at night, when electricity is cheapest. But service stations will be able to recharge or change out the batteries. The cars – from Renault and Nissan – will be subsidized, with a monthly fee for service. Operating costs are expected to be half that of a gasoline-powered car.
The prediction is that several thousand will be on the road next year, with 100,000 by the end of 2010. (In Israel, about 10% of the cars are replaced each year.)
The company sees this concept as a money-maker and is eyeing the Chinese market as well. Chinese auto company Chery apparently is interested.
China has plans of its own
Shanghai, which may well become the Detroit of the 21st century, has a program to experiment with a variety of clean technologies, according to “Zoom: The Global Race to Fuel the Car of the Future,” a new book by Iain Carson and Vijay Vaitheeswaran.
Gang Wan, head of the program, had worked at Audi and decided it didn’t make sense to try to catch up with foreigners’ head start on the combustion engine. Instead he is looking at electric, hybrid gasoline/diesel-electric, compressed natural gas and hydrogen fuel cells to power automobiles.
Hoping to have 1,000 clean cars and buses on the streets of Beijing for the Olympics, the project’s longer-range goal is for mass production of hydrogen fuel-cell cars by 2020. General Motors has signed on to help with both the fuel cells and the filling stations that will be needed.
China has many advantages in producing fuel cell technology, according to “Zoom.”
• It doesn't have the extensive investment in internal-combustion engines or the infrastructure of gas stations the West does, so there will be little resistance.
• Its giant dams produce enough excess hydropower to fuel 37 million cars by 2010 and 56 million by 2020.
• The potential market in China alone is huge.
• The government can mandate the changes.
Maybe you’ll drive one of these
Most auto companies have a plug-in in the works. A few will be ready in the next year or two. Here are a some examples:
• Chevrolet’s Volt is scheduled for a 2010 launch. GM will road-test it this year. The plug-in Volt goes 40 miles on a battery charge, with a gasoline engine as back-up.
• Toyoto says it too will build a plug-in hybrid by 2010, for use by governments and corporations. The general public will have to wait a bit longer. And Toyota is testing a fuel-cell car, which has traveled 350 miles on a tank in Japan. A newer version can go 466 miles, the company said.
• Fisker Automotive’s plug-in Karma is an $80,000 luxury car, which goes 50 miles before a small gasoline engine generates electricity to recharge it. Fisker says Karma is ready to be mass produced.
• Italy’s Pininfarina, aims for a 2009 launch of its small 4-seater electric car. It goes 155 miles before recharging and the company says it could produce up to 15,000 a year if the demand is there.
• Tata Motors in India is partnering with Chrysler to make an electric version of its mini-truck, Ace, for sale in the U.S. Tata is working with other foreign partners on hybrids and fuel cells. (Tata is the car-maker that just released a $2,500 car in India, putting car ownership within reach for millions.)
• Subaru’s G4e (Good4Earth) is a plug-in electric commuting car and can go 124 miles on an overnight charge. Quick-chargers, located at supermarkets and other public places, will give an 80% charge in 15 minutes. If the car is plugged in at night, the energy per mile could be 1/10th that of gasoline fueled cars.
• AFS Trinity has the Extreme Hybrid, a retrofitted Saturn Vue, which can go 40 miles on electricity and then on gas.
• General Motors is test-driving its Equinox fuel-cell cars in 3 cities. The car probably won’t reach mass production for 10 years, GM says.
Cutting GHG emissions
Switching to plug-ins could do a lot to help the environment. The Electric Power Research Institute and Natural Resources Defense Council say mass use of plug-in hybrids could cut greenhouse gases by more than 450 metric tons a year by 2050, the same as removing 82.5 million cars from the road.
But Honda CEO Takeo Fukui predicts the future for the auto industry is in fuel cells, which produce no carbon. He sees the plug-in hybrid as a battery-powered car with an unnecessary fuel engine and tank.
Fuel cells, which use hydrogen and oxygen to generate electric power, are 2-3 times more efficient than the internal combustion engine, according to the Society of Automotive Engineers. They have no moving parts and the only byproducts are heat and water. Of course, with new technologies, new companies can horn in on the majors' act.
And infrastructure is no small matter in the United States. About 12,000 of the country’s 170,000 filling stations will have to be converted to serve up hydrogen, GM says. No doubt there will be a lot of resistance.
For more on green autos, check out greenauto blog.
(Sources: “Zoom,” New York Times, E&E Daily, Greenwire, PlanetArk, AOL Auto, Chicago Sun-Times, Salon.com.
(Picture courtesy of Flickr and ourgreencommunity.org)
P.S. Debates silent on global warming
You may have noticed there have been virtually no questions about global warming in the presidential debates. The League of Conservation Voters and Sierra Club helped end the drought with petitions from 200,000 of us. Tim Russert asked the first climate change question in the last debate. In fact he asked two. Now it’s time to call CNN and tell Wolf Blitzer to ask about global warming in this Thursday’s debate. Call (404)827-1700.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Rep. Dingell: Cap-and-trade unlikely this year
Congressional round-up: House Energy Chair John Dingell (D-Mich.) told E&E Daily this week that passing a global warming bill this election year is “on the verge of impossible.” With all House seats up, the election will be a “terrible distraction,” said the octogenarian, who will take the lead in drafting a House cap-and-trade bill. He indicated he is likely to include pre-emption of stronger state legislation. Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) chair of the Energy and Air Quality subcommittee, said cap-and-trade will produce new jobs, spur new technology and produce a flood of exports. Ranking minority subcommittee member Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), however, sees a loss of jobs and costs to the economy. (Source: E&E News PM)
Stimulus package not likely place for renewable credits
With the expiration of tax incentives looming for solar, wind and other renewable energy, trade groups and environmental organizations see an opportunity for inclusion in an economy stimulus package. But Senate Finance Chair Max Baucus said this week that is unlikely. He agrees the incentives need to be extended, or investment and renewable energy projects will slow down, but sees it in a separate package of bills. Senate Energy Chair Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) said the credits need to be extended soon, but that the stimulus package is not the best vehicle. (Source: E&E News PM)
Stimulus package not likely place for renewable credits
With the expiration of tax incentives looming for solar, wind and other renewable energy, trade groups and environmental organizations see an opportunity for inclusion in an economy stimulus package. But Senate Finance Chair Max Baucus said this week that is unlikely. He agrees the incentives need to be extended, or investment and renewable energy projects will slow down, but sees it in a separate package of bills. Senate Energy Chair Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) said the credits need to be extended soon, but that the stimulus package is not the best vehicle. (Source: E&E News PM)
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Antarctic ice no longer safe
News update: Ice sheets in Antarctic, once thought to be unaffected by global warming, are melting at an increasingly rapid rate, says a study in Nature Geoscience. It was known ice was melting on a peninsula jutting toward South America, but not elsewhere on the huge ice cap that contains 90% of the world’s ice. A warming circumpolar current is thought to be causing the problem, as it eats away at the ice 200 yards below the ocean’s surface. The annual Antarctic ice loss, at 132 billion metric tons a year, is getting close to that in Greenland in scope, the researchers said The melting suggests sea levels could rise much higher than expected. East Antarctic has so far been unaffected and surface temperatures on the continent remain stable. (Source: Washington Post)
Western governors eye efficiency to avoid 100 new plants
The Western Governors Assn., made up of 19 states and 3 Pacific islands, is encouraging energy conservation in homes and commercial buildings to save 48,000 megawatts of power, 1.8 trillion gallons of water and $53 billion over 15 years. In a new report, they call for stronger building codes, separating utility sales from profit, and increasing incentives for energy efficiency. If the states adopt the recommendations, the need for new power could be cut 75% in 15 years, the equivalent of 100 power plants. (Source: Greenwire)
Germany leads world in renewable energy growth
Renewable sources provided 14% of power consumed in Germany in 2007, up from a little under 12% in 2006. Wind was responsible for much of the increase, the German Renewable Energy Federation said last week. But plans to reduce government support may slow growth in the future, as happened with biofuels last year. (Source: PlanetArk)
UK to build five towns that have zero carbon emissions
Britain plans five carbon-neutral “eco-towns” of 5,000-20,000 homes, that will be powered by wind or solar and designed to minimize car and water use. By 2016, all of Britain’s new homes will have to be carbon neutral. (Sierra magazine)
Mini-cities in Florida, New York have common green destiny
Developers are building two sustainable cities outside Disney World in Florida and Syracuse, N.Y. Both named “Destiny,” the cities aim for LEED certification from the U.S. Green Buildings Council. In N.Y., plans include a renewable energy plant, horizontal elevators to take people around the car-less city and a monorail to the Syracuse airport and downtown. In Florida, on the cite of the old Yeehaw Junction (maybe you’ve seen the turnpike signs), plans include an eco-industrial park for clean-energy businesses, canals and lakes for drainage, solar panels and a reservoir to catch rainwater. Jobs close to home will be a key. (Source: Greenwire)
Western governors eye efficiency to avoid 100 new plants
The Western Governors Assn., made up of 19 states and 3 Pacific islands, is encouraging energy conservation in homes and commercial buildings to save 48,000 megawatts of power, 1.8 trillion gallons of water and $53 billion over 15 years. In a new report, they call for stronger building codes, separating utility sales from profit, and increasing incentives for energy efficiency. If the states adopt the recommendations, the need for new power could be cut 75% in 15 years, the equivalent of 100 power plants. (Source: Greenwire)
Germany leads world in renewable energy growth
Renewable sources provided 14% of power consumed in Germany in 2007, up from a little under 12% in 2006. Wind was responsible for much of the increase, the German Renewable Energy Federation said last week. But plans to reduce government support may slow growth in the future, as happened with biofuels last year. (Source: PlanetArk)
UK to build five towns that have zero carbon emissions
Britain plans five carbon-neutral “eco-towns” of 5,000-20,000 homes, that will be powered by wind or solar and designed to minimize car and water use. By 2016, all of Britain’s new homes will have to be carbon neutral. (Sierra magazine)
Mini-cities in Florida, New York have common green destiny
Developers are building two sustainable cities outside Disney World in Florida and Syracuse, N.Y. Both named “Destiny,” the cities aim for LEED certification from the U.S. Green Buildings Council. In N.Y., plans include a renewable energy plant, horizontal elevators to take people around the car-less city and a monorail to the Syracuse airport and downtown. In Florida, on the cite of the old Yeehaw Junction (maybe you’ve seen the turnpike signs), plans include an eco-industrial park for clean-energy businesses, canals and lakes for drainage, solar panels and a reservoir to catch rainwater. Jobs close to home will be a key. (Source: Greenwire)
Friday, January 18, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Dems put climate change high on agenda
Congressional round-up: Action on Global Warming is among the Democrats’ top three House goals for this election year, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said this week. It was listed along with the economy and national security/terrorism as main issues for Congress to address. (E&E Daily)
Dem leaders will try again for renewable energy incentives and a renewable electricity standard (RES) like the one that stalled in the Senate in December. The incentives are high priority because most expire at the end of the year and without them, the wind, solar and other clean-energy industries would falter. Last time wind incentives were allowed to lapse, it caused a downturn in business. It is unclear what vehicle might carry the incentives – possibly an economic stimulus package. (E&E Daily)
Auto industry champion Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) wants to exempt auto companies from the proposed cap-at-trade bill now in Congress, he told reporters at the Detroit Auto Show. The auto industry is doing its part to cut greenhouse gases under the Energy Bill passed in December, he said. CAFE standards in that bill will require cutting CO2 tailpipe emissions 40%, he said. Dingell, as chair of the House Energy Committee, will have a lot to say about the legislation. He also agreed with the EPA’s denial of a waiver to let California and 12 other states curb tailpipe emissions more than the federal law requires. (E&E Daily)
Dem leaders will try again for renewable energy incentives and a renewable electricity standard (RES) like the one that stalled in the Senate in December. The incentives are high priority because most expire at the end of the year and without them, the wind, solar and other clean-energy industries would falter. Last time wind incentives were allowed to lapse, it caused a downturn in business. It is unclear what vehicle might carry the incentives – possibly an economic stimulus package. (E&E Daily)
Auto industry champion Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) wants to exempt auto companies from the proposed cap-at-trade bill now in Congress, he told reporters at the Detroit Auto Show. The auto industry is doing its part to cut greenhouse gases under the Energy Bill passed in December, he said. CAFE standards in that bill will require cutting CO2 tailpipe emissions 40%, he said. Dingell, as chair of the House Energy Committee, will have a lot to say about the legislation. He also agreed with the EPA’s denial of a waiver to let California and 12 other states curb tailpipe emissions more than the federal law requires. (E&E Daily)
Seas levels may rise more than 5 feet
News update: Worldwide sea levels could rise twice as much this century as the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted, increasing more than 5 feet rather than 32 inches. Researchers studying what happened the last time the Earth was hot – about 100,000 years ago – said Greenland was the same temperature IPCC predicts for the next 50-100 years. In the interglacial period, seas eventually rose 20 feet above current levels. The findings were published in the journal Nature Geoscience. (Source: Reuters PlanetArk)
Economic problems could push climate change to back burner
Turbulent financial markets and geopolitical tension in 2008 could mean less attention to global warming, the World Economic Forum warned last week. If the global economy weakens substantially, climate solutions may be delayed, making it harder to solve problems in the future, said WEF in advance of its meeting in Davos this month. WEF named systemic financial risk, supply chain disruption, energy and food security as the 4 key issues this year. Extreme weather linked to climate change topped the list for environmental risks. (Source: PlanetArk))
China, Australia say no plastic bags in supermarkets, stores
China last week banned the use of plastic bags in supermarkets and shops, effective June 1. Shoppers will be urged to use cloth bags and baskets. Chinese people use about 3 billion such bags per day. The country uses 37 million barrels of oil per year for these bags and other packaging. Australia also called for a ban in supermarkets. NYC, which uses 1 billion bags, voted to require large stores to set up bag recycling programs. San Francisco banned plastic bags after a recycling effort didn’t work. (Source: PlanetArk)
Southern California could be hub for geothermal, solar energy
Southern California holds great promise for clean energy. Because of low-level volcanic activity near the sea, geothermal power is available 24/7, so CalEnergy Operating Corp. plans to develop enough to power a quarter-million homes. And applications have come in for 34 solar plants in the dry, expansive desert. If all were built, they could generate enough power for 8 million homes. (Source: Greenwire)
When it’s oil versus polar bears, guess who loses out?
The Interior Dept. has delayed a decision on listing polar bears as an endangered species. At the same time, it will go ahead Feb. 6 with a sale of leases to drill for oil in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea, home to 10% of the polar bear population. Hmmm, says environmental groups. If the designation for the bears had been announced by the legal deadline this week, oil leases would have to meet protections under the Endangered Species Act. Polar bears, around 40,000-50,000 years, could be reduced two-thirds by 2050 because global warming is melting of their habitat. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) opposes designation of the bears as endangered. (Sources: Greenwire, San Francisco Chronicle)
Economic problems could push climate change to back burner
Turbulent financial markets and geopolitical tension in 2008 could mean less attention to global warming, the World Economic Forum warned last week. If the global economy weakens substantially, climate solutions may be delayed, making it harder to solve problems in the future, said WEF in advance of its meeting in Davos this month. WEF named systemic financial risk, supply chain disruption, energy and food security as the 4 key issues this year. Extreme weather linked to climate change topped the list for environmental risks. (Source: PlanetArk))
China, Australia say no plastic bags in supermarkets, stores
China last week banned the use of plastic bags in supermarkets and shops, effective June 1. Shoppers will be urged to use cloth bags and baskets. Chinese people use about 3 billion such bags per day. The country uses 37 million barrels of oil per year for these bags and other packaging. Australia also called for a ban in supermarkets. NYC, which uses 1 billion bags, voted to require large stores to set up bag recycling programs. San Francisco banned plastic bags after a recycling effort didn’t work. (Source: PlanetArk)
Southern California could be hub for geothermal, solar energy
Southern California holds great promise for clean energy. Because of low-level volcanic activity near the sea, geothermal power is available 24/7, so CalEnergy Operating Corp. plans to develop enough to power a quarter-million homes. And applications have come in for 34 solar plants in the dry, expansive desert. If all were built, they could generate enough power for 8 million homes. (Source: Greenwire)
When it’s oil versus polar bears, guess who loses out?
The Interior Dept. has delayed a decision on listing polar bears as an endangered species. At the same time, it will go ahead Feb. 6 with a sale of leases to drill for oil in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea, home to 10% of the polar bear population. Hmmm, says environmental groups. If the designation for the bears had been announced by the legal deadline this week, oil leases would have to meet protections under the Endangered Species Act. Polar bears, around 40,000-50,000 years, could be reduced two-thirds by 2050 because global warming is melting of their habitat. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) opposes designation of the bears as endangered. (Sources: Greenwire, San Francisco Chronicle)
Monday, January 14, 2008
Tornadoes in January? No way!
Xtreme weather watch: Chicago hit 65 degrees, Grand Rapids 63 and Madison 50 last week, as record-breaking temperatures across the Midwest brought a string of rare January tornadoes to Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin and Arkansas. The Sheriff of Kenosha County called it “absolutely mind-boggling.” Indiana suffered torrential rains and flooding. “We’ve never seen anything like this in January,” a state policeman said. (New York Times)
It snowed in Baghdad for the first time in 100 years Friday. The light snow, which also fell in west and central Iraq, melted almost as soon as it fell but still caused a spectacle. Winter is generally mild but last week was unusually cold, with temperatures at night 10 degree below normal. The director of the meteorological department said climate change was possibly to blame. (PlanetArk, AP, BBC, AFP)
Several African countries were engulfed by floods last week. Rains started in Zambia and Zimbabwe, where more than a million are expected to be displaced. The floods destroyed crops and drowned livestock, then moved on to Mozambique, where hundreds of families had to flee their homes. About 34,000 were evacuated from the Zambezi Valley. In Mozambique, 6 were reported dead – 4 by drowning and 2 by crocodiles. Floods are common in the rainy season, April-November, but these rains caught officials off-guard. (PlanetArk)
It snowed in Baghdad for the first time in 100 years Friday. The light snow, which also fell in west and central Iraq, melted almost as soon as it fell but still caused a spectacle. Winter is generally mild but last week was unusually cold, with temperatures at night 10 degree below normal. The director of the meteorological department said climate change was possibly to blame. (PlanetArk, AP, BBC, AFP)
Several African countries were engulfed by floods last week. Rains started in Zambia and Zimbabwe, where more than a million are expected to be displaced. The floods destroyed crops and drowned livestock, then moved on to Mozambique, where hundreds of families had to flee their homes. About 34,000 were evacuated from the Zambezi Valley. In Mozambique, 6 were reported dead – 4 by drowning and 2 by crocodiles. Floods are common in the rainy season, April-November, but these rains caught officials off-guard. (PlanetArk)
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Ethanol's unintended consequences
Weekly angst: A glass of beer costs more in Germany because the price of barley doubled in two years. Mexicans rioted last summer because they couldn’t afford tortillas. A key ingredient in soap is getting scarce because it’s now used to supplement feed for cattle. All these are unintended consequences of the growing demand for corn ethanol.
Corn is currently the grain of choice for the boom in biofuels, though soy, palm oil and sugar are in play. Corn ethanol is subsidized, can be made cheaply and has a strong lobby in the U.S., where the crop is now bigger than at anytime since before WWII. Corn enthanol production has grown 80% in 2 years and takes 24% of the nation’s corn crop. So corn prices have gone up from $2 a bushel to an average of $3.35, spiking to $4. The price is at an 11-year high. There are 111 ethanol plants here and another 235 in construction or on the drawing board. If all are built, they would use half the U.S. corn crop, leaving less for consumption by people and livestock.
All this happened before the Energy Bill was passed in December, calling for 36 billion gallons annually by 2022, 15 billion of which could come from corn. Production is now about half that, at 7 million, but growing rapidly. The bill specifies that after 2016 a higher and higher percent must come from “advanced” ethanol, like cellulosic, which is better for the environment. But it looks like we’re in for a big increase in corn ethanol over the next 8 years and beyond.
And that presents all kinds of problems:
1. Rising food prices
2. Little change in greenhouse gases
3. More toxic fertilizer and pesticides
4. Use of scarce water resources
5. Deforestation and loss of biodiversity
Rising food prices
Corn prices have doubled since September 1906. As farmers shift to more profitable corn, soy, wheat, barley and other crops have become scarce and expensive. Inflation for food is now forecast at 7.5% a year during the next 5 years. And there is growing concern for the very poor of the world who will be unable to afford the basics. Every 1% increase in food staple prices will result in a 0.5% loss in caloric intake, the World Bank says.
Environmental damage
Corn uses fossil fuels to fertilize, grow, harvest, manufacture and transport corn ethanol, so when all is said and done the lifecycle reduction in greenhouse gases is minimal at best. Corn absorbs less nitrogen than other plants, so it runs off into rivers, including the Mississippi, where it adds to the “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico, hurting the fishing industry. The Sierra Club successfully sued plants in Iowa and Indiana that were making neighbors ill from toxics in the air and water.
Using precious water
Corn ethanol requires 3.7-5 gallons of water to make 1 gallon of fuel. Many regions of the country are already water-starved and can ill afford to share their drinking water with thirsty biofuel plants.
Deforestation and loss of biodiversity
As ethanol crops become more profitable, more grassland and rainforest is turned into farmland, reducing biodiversity in its wake. This is happening in Indonesia, where palm oil is used for ethanol and in the Amazon where sugar cane is the dominant source. One of the unintended consequences of Europe’s biofuels mandate several years ago was that economics led them to outsource farming to developing countries. Clearing rainforests and transporting fuels back to Europe negated the GHG benefits of biofuels over gasoline.
Is cellulosic ethanol the answer?
Cellulosic ethanol is better for global warming but it now costs twice as much to make as corn ethanol. But producers say the energy bill will act as a catalyst and help bring down the price.
Switchgrass is expected to be the main cellulosic feedstock in the future. It produces 5 times the energy it uses, and the lifecycle emits 94% less CO2 than gasoline, according to Reuters.
Other advantages:
• It is not used for food or feed, so won’t pressure prices
• It can be grown on marginal land
• It helps sequester CO2 in land because its root system remains after harvest
• It requires less irrigation and fertilizer
Other potential sources of cellulosic ethanol include corn waste, wood waste, sugar cane waste and poplar trees.
Range Fuels recently broke ground in Georgia for the first plant to make commercial cellulosic ethanol from wood waste. It is one of 6 companies to get a grant from the Dept. of Energy and expects to make 20 million gallons a year initially and 100 million eventually. Range is owned by Sun Microsystems’ co-founder, Vinod Khosla.
POET, the largest U.S. ethanol producer, expects to make commercial levels of cellulosic ethanol from corncobs by 2013.
Several other cellulosic plants are in the planning stages, including one in northern Michigan that would use timber and wood byproducts, and another in Florida that would use sugar cane waste and woodchips.
(Sources: Reuter’s PlanetArk, Greenwire, Associated Press, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, Union of Concerned Scientists, Truthout.com)
Corn is currently the grain of choice for the boom in biofuels, though soy, palm oil and sugar are in play. Corn ethanol is subsidized, can be made cheaply and has a strong lobby in the U.S., where the crop is now bigger than at anytime since before WWII. Corn enthanol production has grown 80% in 2 years and takes 24% of the nation’s corn crop. So corn prices have gone up from $2 a bushel to an average of $3.35, spiking to $4. The price is at an 11-year high. There are 111 ethanol plants here and another 235 in construction or on the drawing board. If all are built, they would use half the U.S. corn crop, leaving less for consumption by people and livestock.
All this happened before the Energy Bill was passed in December, calling for 36 billion gallons annually by 2022, 15 billion of which could come from corn. Production is now about half that, at 7 million, but growing rapidly. The bill specifies that after 2016 a higher and higher percent must come from “advanced” ethanol, like cellulosic, which is better for the environment. But it looks like we’re in for a big increase in corn ethanol over the next 8 years and beyond.
And that presents all kinds of problems:
1. Rising food prices
2. Little change in greenhouse gases
3. More toxic fertilizer and pesticides
4. Use of scarce water resources
5. Deforestation and loss of biodiversity
Rising food prices
Corn prices have doubled since September 1906. As farmers shift to more profitable corn, soy, wheat, barley and other crops have become scarce and expensive. Inflation for food is now forecast at 7.5% a year during the next 5 years. And there is growing concern for the very poor of the world who will be unable to afford the basics. Every 1% increase in food staple prices will result in a 0.5% loss in caloric intake, the World Bank says.
Environmental damage
Corn uses fossil fuels to fertilize, grow, harvest, manufacture and transport corn ethanol, so when all is said and done the lifecycle reduction in greenhouse gases is minimal at best. Corn absorbs less nitrogen than other plants, so it runs off into rivers, including the Mississippi, where it adds to the “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico, hurting the fishing industry. The Sierra Club successfully sued plants in Iowa and Indiana that were making neighbors ill from toxics in the air and water.
Using precious water
Corn ethanol requires 3.7-5 gallons of water to make 1 gallon of fuel. Many regions of the country are already water-starved and can ill afford to share their drinking water with thirsty biofuel plants.
Deforestation and loss of biodiversity
As ethanol crops become more profitable, more grassland and rainforest is turned into farmland, reducing biodiversity in its wake. This is happening in Indonesia, where palm oil is used for ethanol and in the Amazon where sugar cane is the dominant source. One of the unintended consequences of Europe’s biofuels mandate several years ago was that economics led them to outsource farming to developing countries. Clearing rainforests and transporting fuels back to Europe negated the GHG benefits of biofuels over gasoline.
Is cellulosic ethanol the answer?
Cellulosic ethanol is better for global warming but it now costs twice as much to make as corn ethanol. But producers say the energy bill will act as a catalyst and help bring down the price.
Switchgrass is expected to be the main cellulosic feedstock in the future. It produces 5 times the energy it uses, and the lifecycle emits 94% less CO2 than gasoline, according to Reuters.
Other advantages:
• It is not used for food or feed, so won’t pressure prices
• It can be grown on marginal land
• It helps sequester CO2 in land because its root system remains after harvest
• It requires less irrigation and fertilizer
Other potential sources of cellulosic ethanol include corn waste, wood waste, sugar cane waste and poplar trees.
Range Fuels recently broke ground in Georgia for the first plant to make commercial cellulosic ethanol from wood waste. It is one of 6 companies to get a grant from the Dept. of Energy and expects to make 20 million gallons a year initially and 100 million eventually. Range is owned by Sun Microsystems’ co-founder, Vinod Khosla.
POET, the largest U.S. ethanol producer, expects to make commercial levels of cellulosic ethanol from corncobs by 2013.
Several other cellulosic plants are in the planning stages, including one in northern Michigan that would use timber and wood byproducts, and another in Florida that would use sugar cane waste and woodchips.
(Sources: Reuter’s PlanetArk, Greenwire, Associated Press, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, Union of Concerned Scientists, Truthout.com)
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Next president's views on climate change
Weekly angst: Global Warming is not the hot topic it should be at campaign appearances and televised debates (blame the moderators for that). But many of the candidates have clearly stated their positions. Let’s look at the key issues and see where the 4 most viable candidates in each party stand.
CAP-AND-TRADE:
Hillary Clinton: 80% cut by 2050 (from 1990 level), with allowances sold at auction
Barak Obama: 80% cut by 2050 (from 1990 level), with allowances sold at auction
John Edwards: 80% cut by 2050 (from 1990 level), with allowances sold at auction
Bill Richardson: 90% cut by 2050 (from 2006 level), with allowances sold at auction
John McCain: supports mandatory cap-and-trade, was lead author of a bill asking 65% by 2050, no comment on auction vs. free credits.
Mike Huckabee: supports mandatory cap-and-trade (no specifics), no comment on auction vs. free
Rudy Giuliani: opposes mandatory cap-and-trade
Mitt Romney: would consider only if global
RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY STANDARD (RES):
Clinton: 25% by 2025
Obama: 25% by 2025
Edwards: 25% by 2025
Richardson: 30% by 2020, 50% by 2040
McCain: opposed 10% RES in 2005, opposed cloture on 2007 bill
Huckabee: 15% by 2020, but include nuclear power and clean coal
Giuliani: opposes
Romney: no position
FUEL ECONOMY STANDARD
Clinton: 40 mpg 2020, 55 mpg 2030
Obama: 56 mpg 2026
Edwards: 40 mpg 2016
Richardson: 50 mpg 2020
McCain: supports, but no specifics
Huckabee: 35 mpg 2020
Giuliani: opposes standards
Romney: opposes as stand-alone
NEW COAL PLANTS
Clinton: phased-in requirement that new plants capture carbon
Obama: would consider moratorium if mandatory cap doesn’t slow construction
Edwards: moratorium for plants that don’t capture and store carbon
Richardson: New plants can't emit more carbon than advanced natural gas plants
McCain: supports use of conventional coal
Huckabee: supports conventional coal
Giuliani: supports conventional coal
Romney: supports conventional coal
LIQUID COAL
Clinton: supports if can cut carbon pollution 20% below gasoline
Obama: supports if carbon pollution 20% below gasoline
Edwards: opposes investment
Richardson: opposes investment
McCain: no position
Huckabee: supports
Giuliani: supports
Romney: supports
NUCLEAR ENERGY
Clinton: focus on renewables, but don’t rule out
Obama: focus on renewables, might pursue if waste and safety problems resolved
Edwards: no more nuclear plants
Richardson: should be part of the mix
McCain: should be part of mix
Huckabee: safety concerns mostly unfounded
Giuliani: convinced, based on consulting, that plants can be secure
Romney: develop more aggressively, re-process spent fuel like French
ENERGY CONSUMPTION
Clinton: Reduce 20% from projected levels by 2020
Obama: Reduce intensity 50% by 2030
Edwards: Reduce electricity consumption 15% by 2018
Richardson: 20% increase in productivity by 2020
McCain: supports – no target
Huckabee: supports – no target
Giuliani: opposes mandatory standards
Romney: supports – no target
Global Warming and specific solutions need to be a greater part of the campaign. It’s up to us to ask questions of the candidates to let them know how important this is to us as voters – and to ask for a change of position when we think a candidate’s stance is too soft. For more on the candidates’ views, go to http://www.lcv.org/voterguide.
(Sources: League of Conservation Voters, candidates’ Web sites, New York Times, Los Angeles Times)
Taking stock of where we are
2007 year of acknowledging Global Warming: top stories
* The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change releases 4 reports that clearly establish there IS Global Warming and it’s already doing damage.
* Arctic summer ice is less than half what it was in 2006, Greenland loses 19 billion tons more than its previous record and West Antarctica shows large-scale melt, leading top NASA scientist James Hansen to predict we may have passed a “tipping point.”
* Extreme weather hits many parts of the world, including the U.S. where record droughts cause water shortages in the West and Southeast. Wildfires ravage California, and floods swamp Texas, as well as Britain and much of Asia. Australia has the drought of the century and parts of Europe suffer a searing heat wave. In August, 100 all-time heat records are broken around the world. 2007 is the warmest year ever in the Northern Hemisphere.
* China becomes the 800-pound gorilla, likely passing up the U.S. at top emitter of greenhouse gases and building 1-2 new coal plants a week. Demand for oil helps raise prices to near $100 a barrel.
* New Australian prime minister signs the Kyoto Protocol, leaving the U.S. the only industrialized country not to commit to reducing GHG by 2012.
* The U.S. Supreme Court rules that GHG are pollutants under the Clean Air Act and can be regulated by the EPA. But the EPA denies California a waiver to regulate tailpipe emissions, effectively blocking 16 other states.
* The Bush Administration prevents the international conference in Bali from setting specific goals for worldwide carbon cuts.
* Congress passes corporate average fuel ecomony (CAFE) standards of 35 mpg by 2020 and a 5-fold increase in biofuels by 2022, but fails to get enough Senate votes for renewable electricity standards (RES) and tax credit shifts from oil to renewables.
* Cities and states take matters into their own hands, as New York City announces a bold climate plan to reduce GHG 30% by 2030, including a proposal for fees on cars driving into traffic-strangled Manhattan. Chicago awaits unveiling of its massive Climate Action Plan, which will focus heavily on retrofitting buildings to conserve energy. Various states set their own goals, join regional cap-and-trade agreements, and pass RES laws. The Northeast and West lead.
* A worldwide explosion in demand for corn ethanol and other biofuels leads to more deforestation and rising food prices.
* The Energy Independence Act of 2007, a bi-partisan bill by Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and John Warner (R-Va.) passes out of committee, a milestone because it advocates specific GHG cuts and a cap-and-trade system.
* The Nobel Peace Prize rewards IPCC and Al Gore for their work on Global Warming.
2008 watch: What the U.S. needs to do now to make a difference
*Elect a president who not only cares about Global Warming but will take strong action and lead – both the country and the world.
*Elect a Congress that will act on Global Warming on behalf of the people and planet – not on behalf of Big Oil, Big Coal and other fossil fuel interests. We need 60 votes in the Senate.
*Extend incentives for alternative energy sources, like wind and solar, so they will grow far beyond the puny 2 or 3% of our power they are now. Commit to research on innovative sources of clean energy. Pass an RES bill to force electric power companies to begin using renewable resources.
*Test carbon capture and get it into commercial production as soon as possible. So far, it’s the best way to have “clean coal” and coal is likely to be with us awhile. Stop building new coal plants until they can be clean.
*Work with the rest of the world to quickly set targets for cutting greenhouse gases after 2012, transfer clean-energy technology to developing countries to stop the fossil-fueled boom, stop deforestation, and be much less wasteful.
*Force the EPA to protect, not prostitute, the environment.
News in brief
States sue EPA for denying their right to cut tailpipe emissions
16 states sued the EPA Jan. 2 for refusing California a waiver to restrict CO2 emissions from cars and trucks. The action affected other states as well, because under the Clean Air Act they can adopt either federal or California pollution standards, and many had passed and were waiting to enforce the California tailpipe rules. The EPA’s rationale was that the new federal Energy Bill, mandating 35 mpg fuel economy by 2020, trumps any state tailpipe laws. The California restrictions are stricter than those in the Energy Bill. EPA staff reportedly said California would likely win a lawsuit to reverse the EPA administrator’s decision, but that an auto industry suit would have lost if EPA had granted the waiver. California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown called the decision “shocking in its incoherence and utter failure to provide legal justification.” Joining California in the suit were Ariz., Conn., Del., Ill., Mass., Maine, Md., N.J., N.M., N.Y., Ore., Pa., R.I., Vt. and Wash. The timing of the decision (Dec. 19), right after President Bush signed the Energy Bill, raised suspicion a deal was cut with the auto companies to give them the lesser of two evils. (PlanetArk, Los Angeles Times)
Huge Global Warming teach-in will focus nation on climate
After nearly two years of preparation, Focus the Nation will sponsor a nationwide teach-in at more than 1,000 colleges, high schools and other institutions Jan. 31, to get young people more involved in solving the climate change problem. More than 10,000 volunteers will participate in what the group calls “the biggest teach-in in history.” They’re still looking for teachers, principals and students to take part. Lesson plans are available at http://wwwclimaechangeeducation.org. To get involved or learn more, go to http://www.focusthenation.org. (Source: Focus the Nation)
Low-emission locomotives introduced last month in Texas
Union Pacific put 98 low-emission locomotives into service in December with a $75 million grant from the state of Texas. Multiple diesel engines are turned on and off depending on the load, with an estimated 30% saving in fuel, according to the railroad. Also, nitrogen oxide (a GHG) and particulate matter would be reduced as much as 63%. (Source: Greenwire)
Xtreme weather watch
2008 will be slightly cooler than last year but still in the top 10 warmest years since 1850, British researchers forecast last week. The cooling off is due in large part to a very strong La Niña, England’s Met Office and experts from the University of East Anglia said. A warming trend remains and once La Niña subsides, temperatures should sharply increase, they said. (PlanetArk)
A ferocious Arctic storm pounded California over the weekend, with another storm expected Tuesday. Heavy rain and hurricane-force winds caused power to go out for 1.3 million people in Northern California, as well as some in Oregon and Washington. Thousands in Southern California were told to evacuate canyons where mudslides could be a problem after last year’s fires. The Sierra Nevada mountains were expected to get up to 10 feet of show. Winds gusted up to 70 mph on the Golden Gate bridge and a levee broke in Nevada flooding hundreds of homes. (Associated Press, SFGate, LA Times)
China is suffering its worst drought in a decade, leaving millions short of drinking water and destroying crops. Authorities had to release water from the huge 3 Gorges Dam to help cargo ships stranded in the Yangtze. Worst hit is the usually humid south. China is often plagued by floods and droughts, but meteorologists blame global climate change for increasingly extreme weather. (PlanetArk)
Erratic rain has damaged Brazil's coffee crop. Premature rains, followed by an unusual dry period and then a delayed rainy season has cut the 2008-09 coffee crop 15%, the Costa Rican Coffee Institute said. If the drought had lasted a week longer, the damage would have been even greater, they said. (PlanetArk)
Postscript
Kudos to Rick Telander, sports columnist in the Chicago Sun-Times, who used his whole column Friday to write about Global Warming. He reached a new audience that isn’t usually paying attention. The sports tie-in was that it affects activities like fishing, hunting and skiing. But clearly he’s alarmed by what’s happening and wanted to help spread the word.
CAP-AND-TRADE:
Hillary Clinton: 80% cut by 2050 (from 1990 level), with allowances sold at auction
Barak Obama: 80% cut by 2050 (from 1990 level), with allowances sold at auction
John Edwards: 80% cut by 2050 (from 1990 level), with allowances sold at auction
Bill Richardson: 90% cut by 2050 (from 2006 level), with allowances sold at auction
John McCain: supports mandatory cap-and-trade, was lead author of a bill asking 65% by 2050, no comment on auction vs. free credits.
Mike Huckabee: supports mandatory cap-and-trade (no specifics), no comment on auction vs. free
Rudy Giuliani: opposes mandatory cap-and-trade
Mitt Romney: would consider only if global
RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY STANDARD (RES):
Clinton: 25% by 2025
Obama: 25% by 2025
Edwards: 25% by 2025
Richardson: 30% by 2020, 50% by 2040
McCain: opposed 10% RES in 2005, opposed cloture on 2007 bill
Huckabee: 15% by 2020, but include nuclear power and clean coal
Giuliani: opposes
Romney: no position
FUEL ECONOMY STANDARD
Clinton: 40 mpg 2020, 55 mpg 2030
Obama: 56 mpg 2026
Edwards: 40 mpg 2016
Richardson: 50 mpg 2020
McCain: supports, but no specifics
Huckabee: 35 mpg 2020
Giuliani: opposes standards
Romney: opposes as stand-alone
NEW COAL PLANTS
Clinton: phased-in requirement that new plants capture carbon
Obama: would consider moratorium if mandatory cap doesn’t slow construction
Edwards: moratorium for plants that don’t capture and store carbon
Richardson: New plants can't emit more carbon than advanced natural gas plants
McCain: supports use of conventional coal
Huckabee: supports conventional coal
Giuliani: supports conventional coal
Romney: supports conventional coal
LIQUID COAL
Clinton: supports if can cut carbon pollution 20% below gasoline
Obama: supports if carbon pollution 20% below gasoline
Edwards: opposes investment
Richardson: opposes investment
McCain: no position
Huckabee: supports
Giuliani: supports
Romney: supports
NUCLEAR ENERGY
Clinton: focus on renewables, but don’t rule out
Obama: focus on renewables, might pursue if waste and safety problems resolved
Edwards: no more nuclear plants
Richardson: should be part of the mix
McCain: should be part of mix
Huckabee: safety concerns mostly unfounded
Giuliani: convinced, based on consulting, that plants can be secure
Romney: develop more aggressively, re-process spent fuel like French
ENERGY CONSUMPTION
Clinton: Reduce 20% from projected levels by 2020
Obama: Reduce intensity 50% by 2030
Edwards: Reduce electricity consumption 15% by 2018
Richardson: 20% increase in productivity by 2020
McCain: supports – no target
Huckabee: supports – no target
Giuliani: opposes mandatory standards
Romney: supports – no target
Global Warming and specific solutions need to be a greater part of the campaign. It’s up to us to ask questions of the candidates to let them know how important this is to us as voters – and to ask for a change of position when we think a candidate’s stance is too soft. For more on the candidates’ views, go to http://www.lcv.org/voterguide.
(Sources: League of Conservation Voters, candidates’ Web sites, New York Times, Los Angeles Times)
Taking stock of where we are
2007 year of acknowledging Global Warming: top stories
* The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change releases 4 reports that clearly establish there IS Global Warming and it’s already doing damage.
* Arctic summer ice is less than half what it was in 2006, Greenland loses 19 billion tons more than its previous record and West Antarctica shows large-scale melt, leading top NASA scientist James Hansen to predict we may have passed a “tipping point.”
* Extreme weather hits many parts of the world, including the U.S. where record droughts cause water shortages in the West and Southeast. Wildfires ravage California, and floods swamp Texas, as well as Britain and much of Asia. Australia has the drought of the century and parts of Europe suffer a searing heat wave. In August, 100 all-time heat records are broken around the world. 2007 is the warmest year ever in the Northern Hemisphere.
* China becomes the 800-pound gorilla, likely passing up the U.S. at top emitter of greenhouse gases and building 1-2 new coal plants a week. Demand for oil helps raise prices to near $100 a barrel.
* New Australian prime minister signs the Kyoto Protocol, leaving the U.S. the only industrialized country not to commit to reducing GHG by 2012.
* The U.S. Supreme Court rules that GHG are pollutants under the Clean Air Act and can be regulated by the EPA. But the EPA denies California a waiver to regulate tailpipe emissions, effectively blocking 16 other states.
* The Bush Administration prevents the international conference in Bali from setting specific goals for worldwide carbon cuts.
* Congress passes corporate average fuel ecomony (CAFE) standards of 35 mpg by 2020 and a 5-fold increase in biofuels by 2022, but fails to get enough Senate votes for renewable electricity standards (RES) and tax credit shifts from oil to renewables.
* Cities and states take matters into their own hands, as New York City announces a bold climate plan to reduce GHG 30% by 2030, including a proposal for fees on cars driving into traffic-strangled Manhattan. Chicago awaits unveiling of its massive Climate Action Plan, which will focus heavily on retrofitting buildings to conserve energy. Various states set their own goals, join regional cap-and-trade agreements, and pass RES laws. The Northeast and West lead.
* A worldwide explosion in demand for corn ethanol and other biofuels leads to more deforestation and rising food prices.
* The Energy Independence Act of 2007, a bi-partisan bill by Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and John Warner (R-Va.) passes out of committee, a milestone because it advocates specific GHG cuts and a cap-and-trade system.
* The Nobel Peace Prize rewards IPCC and Al Gore for their work on Global Warming.
2008 watch: What the U.S. needs to do now to make a difference
*Elect a president who not only cares about Global Warming but will take strong action and lead – both the country and the world.
*Elect a Congress that will act on Global Warming on behalf of the people and planet – not on behalf of Big Oil, Big Coal and other fossil fuel interests. We need 60 votes in the Senate.
*Extend incentives for alternative energy sources, like wind and solar, so they will grow far beyond the puny 2 or 3% of our power they are now. Commit to research on innovative sources of clean energy. Pass an RES bill to force electric power companies to begin using renewable resources.
*Test carbon capture and get it into commercial production as soon as possible. So far, it’s the best way to have “clean coal” and coal is likely to be with us awhile. Stop building new coal plants until they can be clean.
*Work with the rest of the world to quickly set targets for cutting greenhouse gases after 2012, transfer clean-energy technology to developing countries to stop the fossil-fueled boom, stop deforestation, and be much less wasteful.
*Force the EPA to protect, not prostitute, the environment.
News in brief
States sue EPA for denying their right to cut tailpipe emissions
16 states sued the EPA Jan. 2 for refusing California a waiver to restrict CO2 emissions from cars and trucks. The action affected other states as well, because under the Clean Air Act they can adopt either federal or California pollution standards, and many had passed and were waiting to enforce the California tailpipe rules. The EPA’s rationale was that the new federal Energy Bill, mandating 35 mpg fuel economy by 2020, trumps any state tailpipe laws. The California restrictions are stricter than those in the Energy Bill. EPA staff reportedly said California would likely win a lawsuit to reverse the EPA administrator’s decision, but that an auto industry suit would have lost if EPA had granted the waiver. California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown called the decision “shocking in its incoherence and utter failure to provide legal justification.” Joining California in the suit were Ariz., Conn., Del., Ill., Mass., Maine, Md., N.J., N.M., N.Y., Ore., Pa., R.I., Vt. and Wash. The timing of the decision (Dec. 19), right after President Bush signed the Energy Bill, raised suspicion a deal was cut with the auto companies to give them the lesser of two evils. (PlanetArk, Los Angeles Times)
Huge Global Warming teach-in will focus nation on climate
After nearly two years of preparation, Focus the Nation will sponsor a nationwide teach-in at more than 1,000 colleges, high schools and other institutions Jan. 31, to get young people more involved in solving the climate change problem. More than 10,000 volunteers will participate in what the group calls “the biggest teach-in in history.” They’re still looking for teachers, principals and students to take part. Lesson plans are available at http://wwwclimaechangeeducation.org. To get involved or learn more, go to http://www.focusthenation.org. (Source: Focus the Nation)
Low-emission locomotives introduced last month in Texas
Union Pacific put 98 low-emission locomotives into service in December with a $75 million grant from the state of Texas. Multiple diesel engines are turned on and off depending on the load, with an estimated 30% saving in fuel, according to the railroad. Also, nitrogen oxide (a GHG) and particulate matter would be reduced as much as 63%. (Source: Greenwire)
Xtreme weather watch
2008 will be slightly cooler than last year but still in the top 10 warmest years since 1850, British researchers forecast last week. The cooling off is due in large part to a very strong La Niña, England’s Met Office and experts from the University of East Anglia said. A warming trend remains and once La Niña subsides, temperatures should sharply increase, they said. (PlanetArk)
A ferocious Arctic storm pounded California over the weekend, with another storm expected Tuesday. Heavy rain and hurricane-force winds caused power to go out for 1.3 million people in Northern California, as well as some in Oregon and Washington. Thousands in Southern California were told to evacuate canyons where mudslides could be a problem after last year’s fires. The Sierra Nevada mountains were expected to get up to 10 feet of show. Winds gusted up to 70 mph on the Golden Gate bridge and a levee broke in Nevada flooding hundreds of homes. (Associated Press, SFGate, LA Times)
China is suffering its worst drought in a decade, leaving millions short of drinking water and destroying crops. Authorities had to release water from the huge 3 Gorges Dam to help cargo ships stranded in the Yangtze. Worst hit is the usually humid south. China is often plagued by floods and droughts, but meteorologists blame global climate change for increasingly extreme weather. (PlanetArk)
Erratic rain has damaged Brazil's coffee crop. Premature rains, followed by an unusual dry period and then a delayed rainy season has cut the 2008-09 coffee crop 15%, the Costa Rican Coffee Institute said. If the drought had lasted a week longer, the damage would have been even greater, they said. (PlanetArk)
Postscript
Kudos to Rick Telander, sports columnist in the Chicago Sun-Times, who used his whole column Friday to write about Global Warming. He reached a new audience that isn’t usually paying attention. The sports tie-in was that it affects activities like fishing, hunting and skiing. But clearly he’s alarmed by what’s happening and wanted to help spread the word.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Good and bad about energy bill, Bali
Weekly Angst I: The Energy Bill is half-full
Half an energy bill was signed by the president today, after final House approval Tuesday (314-100). Gone are the mandate for renewable energy and money to support it. Left in are increased auto fuel economy and biofuel production.
The bill was stripped down after the Senate failed last week by just one vote to approve cloture (avert a filibuster) and send a stronger bill to the floor for passage. My question about that is: Where was McCain? His was the lone missing vote and could have made the difference. That’s the Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) who championed Global Warming legislation for the past three years. He’s also the same John McCain who’s trying to get the Republican nomination for president – so perhaps that weakened his resolve. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) reportedly was absent too, but gave her proxy to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and recorded a yea vote.
Press Secretary Dana Perino said Tuesday the White House should get much of the credit for the bill that passed, because it had pushed for both higher fuel economy and alternative fuels.
What we got … and didn’t
So, what did we get from the energy bill finally approved 86-8 by the Senate last week and then by the House Tuesday?
* Corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards of 35 mpg by 2020 (though actually a credit for flex-fuel cars brings it down just below 34 mpg). This is the first increase in 30 years.
* A renewable fuels standard (RFS) calling for 36 billion gallons of biofuels by 2022, with 21 billion in “advanced” fuels such as cellulosic, which is much cleaner than corn ethanol.
* Energy efficiency standards for buildings and appliances; phase-out of incandescent light bulbs.
* Training for “green jobs” and enhanced research into carbon capture.
The bill will reportedly cut oil use by 2.8 million barrels a day by 2020.
What we didn’t get was a requirement that investor-owned utilities get 15% of their power from renewable sources such as wind, solar and geothermal by 2020 (though actually it was only 11% because they could buy credits for 4%). We also didn’t get a $22 billion tax package, with $13 billion in new taxes for Big Oil and incentives for renewable sources of power and plug-in hybrids. Clearly the loss of those provisions will be a drag on the shift from fossil fuels to clean energy, which now provides just a tiny part of our power. Thankfully, about 20 states now have their own RES. It’s time for others to step up and fill in the gap. And Dem leaders say they will try again with RES and the tax package after the first of the year.
If you want to read the bill, go to http://www.thomas.gov and search by the number of the bill, which is H.R.6.EAS2.
Weekly angst II: Bali agreement half-empty
Well, we showed ‘em. We didn’t let those bullying Europeans and Chinese make us commit to industrialized countries aiming for a cut in greenhouse gases of 25-40% by 2020 and 50% by 2050. In the end, the agreement simply said everyone agreed there should be “deep cuts” in GHG emissions. But in return for that concession, we agreed – after being booed and hissed at by developing countries – to stop demanding a stronger commitment by those countries at this time. U.S. delegates made the decision under pressure, without checking with Washington.
By the next day, U.S. Press Secretary Dana Perino was backtracking. She said the administration had “serious concerns” about the global consensus reached by the 190 participating countries at the Bali conference, and that the largest developing countries (read China and India) must be willing to do far more if there is to be an international agreement in 2009. Those countries look for the developed countries to make the biggest cuts and to help them with technology.
At the conference, which went into overtime to craft any agreement at all, the U.S. delegation was joined by Canada, Japan and Russia in its desire to avoid specific targets and a specific timetable. In the final hours, amid boos, tears and threats, a Harvard-educated delegate from Papua New Guinea won applause when he told the United States to lead or “get out of the way.”
The administration position was countered at the conference by three American VIPs who called for stronger action – Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) (is he running or not?) and former VP Al Gore (D), fresh from picking up his Nobel Peace Prize. Gore told the conference the U.S. position would change with the next election, so to work around President Bush over the next year.
What was accomplished?
There was general agreement at Bali that:
• A successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol would be completed by 2009.
• There must be deep cuts in GHG emissions.
• Rich countries would provide money for adaptation to climate change in poor countries.
• Money would also go to preventing deforestation, cause of 20% of GHG emissions.
• New technologies would be transferred to developing countries to help them cut emissions.
(Weekly angst sources: E&E Daily, E&E News PM, Sunday Telegraph UK, The Guardian UK, New York Times, Sierra Club)
Take Action
Contact your Senators and either thank them for voting for cloture in order to try to pass a strong energy bill with clean energy tax incentives or express displeasure at their voting against cloture. All Democrats except Mary Landrieu (La.) voted for cloture, which would have blocked a filibuster and allowed the bill to go forward. Republicans voting for cloture were Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Richard Lugar (Ind.), Charles Grassley (Iowa), Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins (both Maine), Norm Coleman (Minn.), Gordon Smith (Ore.), John Thune (S.D.), and Orin Hatch (Utah). All other Republicans voted against it, except McCain, who was absent. Snowe, Collins, Coleman, Smith and Thune also voted for cloture the first time, when RES was included in the bill, so they deserve special thanks. Go on their individual Web sites or call the Congressional Switchboard at (202)224-3121.
News in brief
Earth may have reached a tipping point, NASA scientists say
Arctic summer ice may be gone by 2012, and the world’s ice sheets are now thawing so fast they may have reached a tipping point where significant melting and rising seas are inevitable, two NASA scientists told the American Geophysical Union last week. NASA data show Arctic summer ice shrank to less than half what it was last year and the Greenland ice sheet melted nearly 19 billion tons more than the previous record. There is also evidence of large-scale melting of the West Antarctic ice sheet. “If we stopped adding greenhouse gases today, we would still get large climate impacts, including a substantial sea level rise,” warned NASA’s James Hansen. NASA’s Josefino Comiso agreed, “It’s likely the tipping point for perennial ice has been reached.” A third scientist, Richard Alley of Penn State, was not sure a tipping point had been reached, but said it was not far off. (Sources: Greenwire, AP, International Herald Tribune)
Dem candidates lead Republicans in environmental voting
With the primaries looming, the League of Conservation Voters has released its 2008 candidates’ scorecard. Barak Obama leads, with a rating of 96 for his lifetime voting record on the environment, followed by Dennis Kucinich with 92; Hillary Clinton, 90; Joe Biden 84; Bill Richardson, 82; Chris Dodd 77, and John Edwards 59. Edwards was the first to come out with a strong Global Warming plan, however. Among Republicans, Ron Paul scored 30, John McCain 26, and Fred Thompson 12. Other candidates doing well in national polls -- Rudolph Giuliani, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee -- have no voting record on the environment. Obama, Clinton, Edwards and Richardson discuss environmental issues on a daily basis with voters, as does McCain, said LCV president Gene Karpinski. To learn more about the candidates’ views, go to http://www.lcv.org/voterguide. (Source: PlanetArk)
DOE raises questions about FutureGen project in Illinois
Tuesday morning, Mattoon, Ill., was named site of the long-awaited FutureGen project to test whether coal can produce power without pollution. Tuesday afternoon, the Department of Energy – which was absent from the press conference where industry partners announced the site – said it would have to reassess the project because its cost had exploded to $1.8 billion from $1 billion at the time DOE committed to paying 74% of the tab. Implicit was the possibility the private partners might have to pick up more of the cost. The demonstration plant is scheduled to use a gasification system, with resulting CO2 liquefied and pumped deep underground. FutureGen’s main goals are to see if the CO2 can be safely kept underground and to find ways to reduce the cost, estimated at 20-40% above standard coal-burning. Mattoon was chosen because of its geological qualities and ample water resources. FutureGen was scheduled to start operating in 2012 and would power 150,000 homes. DOE concerns, however, may cause more delays for the project. The Sierra Club called for no new coal-fired plants until FutureGen proves coal can be used cleanly. (Source: E&E News PM, Chicago Tribune, Sierra Club)
Xtreme weather watch
The decade ending in 2007 is warmest yet, a UN group reports.
The years 1998-2007 make up the hottest decade yet recorded, the World Meteorological Organization said last week. Another report, from the UK’s Met Office, said 11 of the past 13 years were the world’s hottest on record. (Greenwire, PlanetArk)
2007 is on track to have the most natural disasters, which have increased nearly 20% over last year. As of mid-October, 410 disasters had been recorded, “consistent with the trend of rising numbers of climate change-related disasters,” the Red Cross said. There were 427 disasters in all of 2006, that number a 70% increase over 2 years earlier, 2004. Disasters in the past decade exceeded those in the previous decade by 40%, while deaths doubled to 1.2 million, the report said. (Agence France-Presse, Greenwire)
An unusual December storm caused death and destruction in the Caribbean last week.Tropical storm Olga caused flash floods, killing at least 19 in the Dominican Republic, with scores missing and 35,000 left homeless. Tropical storms are unusual in December, because they feed on warm water. (PlanetArk)
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU ALL!
Earthling Angst will return in 2008. (It’s getting closer to 2012, 2020 and all those other targets, isn’t it?)
Half an energy bill was signed by the president today, after final House approval Tuesday (314-100). Gone are the mandate for renewable energy and money to support it. Left in are increased auto fuel economy and biofuel production.
The bill was stripped down after the Senate failed last week by just one vote to approve cloture (avert a filibuster) and send a stronger bill to the floor for passage. My question about that is: Where was McCain? His was the lone missing vote and could have made the difference. That’s the Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) who championed Global Warming legislation for the past three years. He’s also the same John McCain who’s trying to get the Republican nomination for president – so perhaps that weakened his resolve. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) reportedly was absent too, but gave her proxy to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and recorded a yea vote.
Press Secretary Dana Perino said Tuesday the White House should get much of the credit for the bill that passed, because it had pushed for both higher fuel economy and alternative fuels.
What we got … and didn’t
So, what did we get from the energy bill finally approved 86-8 by the Senate last week and then by the House Tuesday?
* Corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards of 35 mpg by 2020 (though actually a credit for flex-fuel cars brings it down just below 34 mpg). This is the first increase in 30 years.
* A renewable fuels standard (RFS) calling for 36 billion gallons of biofuels by 2022, with 21 billion in “advanced” fuels such as cellulosic, which is much cleaner than corn ethanol.
* Energy efficiency standards for buildings and appliances; phase-out of incandescent light bulbs.
* Training for “green jobs” and enhanced research into carbon capture.
The bill will reportedly cut oil use by 2.8 million barrels a day by 2020.
What we didn’t get was a requirement that investor-owned utilities get 15% of their power from renewable sources such as wind, solar and geothermal by 2020 (though actually it was only 11% because they could buy credits for 4%). We also didn’t get a $22 billion tax package, with $13 billion in new taxes for Big Oil and incentives for renewable sources of power and plug-in hybrids. Clearly the loss of those provisions will be a drag on the shift from fossil fuels to clean energy, which now provides just a tiny part of our power. Thankfully, about 20 states now have their own RES. It’s time for others to step up and fill in the gap. And Dem leaders say they will try again with RES and the tax package after the first of the year.
If you want to read the bill, go to http://www.thomas.gov and search by the number of the bill, which is H.R.6.EAS2.
Weekly angst II: Bali agreement half-empty
Well, we showed ‘em. We didn’t let those bullying Europeans and Chinese make us commit to industrialized countries aiming for a cut in greenhouse gases of 25-40% by 2020 and 50% by 2050. In the end, the agreement simply said everyone agreed there should be “deep cuts” in GHG emissions. But in return for that concession, we agreed – after being booed and hissed at by developing countries – to stop demanding a stronger commitment by those countries at this time. U.S. delegates made the decision under pressure, without checking with Washington.
By the next day, U.S. Press Secretary Dana Perino was backtracking. She said the administration had “serious concerns” about the global consensus reached by the 190 participating countries at the Bali conference, and that the largest developing countries (read China and India) must be willing to do far more if there is to be an international agreement in 2009. Those countries look for the developed countries to make the biggest cuts and to help them with technology.
At the conference, which went into overtime to craft any agreement at all, the U.S. delegation was joined by Canada, Japan and Russia in its desire to avoid specific targets and a specific timetable. In the final hours, amid boos, tears and threats, a Harvard-educated delegate from Papua New Guinea won applause when he told the United States to lead or “get out of the way.”
The administration position was countered at the conference by three American VIPs who called for stronger action – Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) (is he running or not?) and former VP Al Gore (D), fresh from picking up his Nobel Peace Prize. Gore told the conference the U.S. position would change with the next election, so to work around President Bush over the next year.
What was accomplished?
There was general agreement at Bali that:
• A successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol would be completed by 2009.
• There must be deep cuts in GHG emissions.
• Rich countries would provide money for adaptation to climate change in poor countries.
• Money would also go to preventing deforestation, cause of 20% of GHG emissions.
• New technologies would be transferred to developing countries to help them cut emissions.
(Weekly angst sources: E&E Daily, E&E News PM, Sunday Telegraph UK, The Guardian UK, New York Times, Sierra Club)
Take Action
Contact your Senators and either thank them for voting for cloture in order to try to pass a strong energy bill with clean energy tax incentives or express displeasure at their voting against cloture. All Democrats except Mary Landrieu (La.) voted for cloture, which would have blocked a filibuster and allowed the bill to go forward. Republicans voting for cloture were Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Richard Lugar (Ind.), Charles Grassley (Iowa), Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins (both Maine), Norm Coleman (Minn.), Gordon Smith (Ore.), John Thune (S.D.), and Orin Hatch (Utah). All other Republicans voted against it, except McCain, who was absent. Snowe, Collins, Coleman, Smith and Thune also voted for cloture the first time, when RES was included in the bill, so they deserve special thanks. Go on their individual Web sites or call the Congressional Switchboard at (202)224-3121.
News in brief
Earth may have reached a tipping point, NASA scientists say
Arctic summer ice may be gone by 2012, and the world’s ice sheets are now thawing so fast they may have reached a tipping point where significant melting and rising seas are inevitable, two NASA scientists told the American Geophysical Union last week. NASA data show Arctic summer ice shrank to less than half what it was last year and the Greenland ice sheet melted nearly 19 billion tons more than the previous record. There is also evidence of large-scale melting of the West Antarctic ice sheet. “If we stopped adding greenhouse gases today, we would still get large climate impacts, including a substantial sea level rise,” warned NASA’s James Hansen. NASA’s Josefino Comiso agreed, “It’s likely the tipping point for perennial ice has been reached.” A third scientist, Richard Alley of Penn State, was not sure a tipping point had been reached, but said it was not far off. (Sources: Greenwire, AP, International Herald Tribune)
Dem candidates lead Republicans in environmental voting
With the primaries looming, the League of Conservation Voters has released its 2008 candidates’ scorecard. Barak Obama leads, with a rating of 96 for his lifetime voting record on the environment, followed by Dennis Kucinich with 92; Hillary Clinton, 90; Joe Biden 84; Bill Richardson, 82; Chris Dodd 77, and John Edwards 59. Edwards was the first to come out with a strong Global Warming plan, however. Among Republicans, Ron Paul scored 30, John McCain 26, and Fred Thompson 12. Other candidates doing well in national polls -- Rudolph Giuliani, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee -- have no voting record on the environment. Obama, Clinton, Edwards and Richardson discuss environmental issues on a daily basis with voters, as does McCain, said LCV president Gene Karpinski. To learn more about the candidates’ views, go to http://www.lcv.org/voterguide. (Source: PlanetArk)
DOE raises questions about FutureGen project in Illinois
Tuesday morning, Mattoon, Ill., was named site of the long-awaited FutureGen project to test whether coal can produce power without pollution. Tuesday afternoon, the Department of Energy – which was absent from the press conference where industry partners announced the site – said it would have to reassess the project because its cost had exploded to $1.8 billion from $1 billion at the time DOE committed to paying 74% of the tab. Implicit was the possibility the private partners might have to pick up more of the cost. The demonstration plant is scheduled to use a gasification system, with resulting CO2 liquefied and pumped deep underground. FutureGen’s main goals are to see if the CO2 can be safely kept underground and to find ways to reduce the cost, estimated at 20-40% above standard coal-burning. Mattoon was chosen because of its geological qualities and ample water resources. FutureGen was scheduled to start operating in 2012 and would power 150,000 homes. DOE concerns, however, may cause more delays for the project. The Sierra Club called for no new coal-fired plants until FutureGen proves coal can be used cleanly. (Source: E&E News PM, Chicago Tribune, Sierra Club)
Xtreme weather watch
The decade ending in 2007 is warmest yet, a UN group reports.
The years 1998-2007 make up the hottest decade yet recorded, the World Meteorological Organization said last week. Another report, from the UK’s Met Office, said 11 of the past 13 years were the world’s hottest on record. (Greenwire, PlanetArk)
2007 is on track to have the most natural disasters, which have increased nearly 20% over last year. As of mid-October, 410 disasters had been recorded, “consistent with the trend of rising numbers of climate change-related disasters,” the Red Cross said. There were 427 disasters in all of 2006, that number a 70% increase over 2 years earlier, 2004. Disasters in the past decade exceeded those in the previous decade by 40%, while deaths doubled to 1.2 million, the report said. (Agence France-Presse, Greenwire)
An unusual December storm caused death and destruction in the Caribbean last week.Tropical storm Olga caused flash floods, killing at least 19 in the Dominican Republic, with scores missing and 35,000 left homeless. Tropical storms are unusual in December, because they feed on warm water. (PlanetArk)
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU ALL!
Earthling Angst will return in 2008. (It’s getting closer to 2012, 2020 and all those other targets, isn’t it?)
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Global Warming win short-lived
Weekly angst: The victory in Congress didn’t last very long. A comprehensive energy bill to curb Global Warming passed the House on a 235-181 vote Thursday afternoon. But by Friday morning, opponents had defeated a cloture motion in the Senate, and negotiations were under way to strip the bill of some of its main provisions in order to get the 60 votes needed for passage and have a prayer of getting the president’s signature.
Likely to survive are the 35 mpg corporate fuel economy (CAFE) standards and the biofuels section (though that may be changed). Most likely to go are the requirement for private power plants to get 15% (actually just 11%) of their power from renewable sources like wind, solar and biomass by 2022 and the shift of $21 billion in tax breaks from oil and gas to renewable energy development and efficiency.
But without those provisions, how the devil will we make the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy quickly enough to prevent catastrophic warming? Big oil, coal and power plants won this round and we lost. The fossil fuel economy is barely dented.
The cloture vote, which showed the votes aren't there to prevent a filibuster, put most Democrats on the right side of the issue and most Republicans on the side of fossil fuels. There were some exceptions. GOP Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins (Maine), Norm Coleman (Minn.), Arlen Spector (Pa.), Gordon Smith (Ore.) and John Thune (S.D.) voted with the good guys. (Collins, Coleman and Smith have tough re-election campaigns against Democrats next year). And Dems Evan Bayh (Ind.), Mary Landrieu (La.) and Richard Byrd (W.Va.) voted with the bad guys. If you live in any of their states, let them hear from you.
What was in the House bill
In addition to the 35 mpg CAFE standard for cars and light trucks combined in 2020, and the 15% RES for large investor-owned electric power plants (4 percentage points of which could come from buying offsets) the same year, the bill included:
• A nearly 5-fold increase in biofuels, to 36 billion gallons in 2022, with 21 billion from “advanced” (mostly cellulosic) fuels that cut GHG 50-60% (as opposed to corn, which cuts very little).
• A $21 billion tax package with $13 in new taxes (or eliminated tax breaks) for oil and gas, and incentives for energy efficiency in buildings, appliances, furnaces and lighting, renewable energy sources and plug-in hybrid cars.
• Increased testing of carbon capture and sequestration, the main hope for “clean” coal.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was credited with tough negotiations (mainly with fellow Democrats) to get such a strong bill approved.
The importance of CAFE
The 35 mpg CAFE standard would cut oil consumption by 1.1 million barrels a day in 2020, or the equivalent of taking 28 million cars off the road. This is the first move to raise mileage standards since the oil crisis of the 1970s. In fact, by 1988, with the crisis behind us, the auto companies were building larger cars again and were allowed to meet a 27.5 mpg standard, not the scheduled 28.5. That, of course, didn’t include SUVs, which are classified as light trucks and have a 22 mpg standard. Why is CAFE politically acceptable this year? We can probably thank the lofty price of oil. People are ready to save money at the pump. And the auto industry and UAW were won over by concessions granted to their champion, House Energy Chair John Dingell (D -Mich.), in the form of flex-fuel credits and money to retool.
Efforts to salvage renewables and taxes
Sen. Energy Chair Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said Friday they would negotiate through the weekend in an effort to find some middle ground and salvage the RES and tax portions of the bill – at least partially. They need an additional 7 votes. While 20 states already have their own renewable electricity standards, the Southeast and some Midwest states are concerned they don’t have enough wind to meet the standard. One GOP Senator suggested a much smaller tax package might be OK’d. A chief opponent, the retiring and ill Sen. Pete Domenici (N.M.), ranking member of the Energy Committee, wants nuclear loan guarantees in the bill and reportedly prevailed on fellow Republicans to oppose the bill passed by the House.
Bush veto threat
A final concern, of course, is a presidential veto. Bush doesn’t like the $13 billion in oil and gas taxes or the renewable fuels provision. He wants to include coal-based transportation fuels (which release more CO2 than gasoline) and to pre-empt state laws on alternative fuels. Many in Congress would like to see CAFE standards and energy efficiency, at least, signed into law.
Next step
The aim is to come up with a bill that can pass the Senate with at least 60 votes, and has some chance of getting the president’s signature. Once passed by the Senate, it will have to go back to the House for a vote. Leadership wants to accomplish this before the planned Congressional recess on Dec. 22.
(Sources: PlanetArk, Greenwire, E&E News PM, The End of Nature by Bill McKibben)
Congressional round-up
Lieberman-Warner bill passed out of Boxer's committee
In another milestone this week, the Senate passed its first mandatory cap-and-trade bill out of Sen. Barbara Boxer’s (D-Calif.) Environment and Public Works Committee by an 11-8 vote. The compromise bill, which most environmentalists think is too weak, and opponents think is too strong, will now go to the floor for what promises to be a lively debate, though no one is saying when. The bill covers 80% of the economy, mandating 70% in GHG cuts by 2050. The vast majority of allowances would be given to industries that will be affected, with only a small portion auctioned. Fee credits will be phased out by 2031.
News in brief
Green economy will result in more jobs, studies say
The move from a fossil-fuel to a “green” economy will have a net worldwide job gain, according to a new UN report. In addition to “green collar” jobs, there will be construction, transportation, engineering, manufacturing and sustainable agriculture and forestry jobs, the report said. In Brazil, the ethanol business has created a half-million jobs, and in China 150,000 are employed in solar heating. The jobs will more than make up for layoffs in old fossil-fuel industries, showing a small net gain, the report said. A second study, by the American Solar Energy Society, estimates that in the U.S., policies favoring renewable energy sources and energy efficiency could produce 40 million new jobs and $4.5 trillion in new revenue by 2030. Most of the jobs, 32 million, would be in efficiency measures such as retrofitting buildings, while 8 million would be in the renewables sector, with solar, wind, ethanol and hydrogen cells seeing the most growth. (Source: Greenwire)
Tropical zones expanding as the Earth gets warmer
Tropical regions are pushing north and south toward the poles at a rate much faster than expected. In the past 25 years, they have moved 2.5 degrees latitude, or 140-330 miles, according to a study in the journal Nature Geoscience last week. Climate models had predicted it would take 100 years to move just 2 degrees. The expansion brings with it a shift in high-altitude wind and rain patterns, and affects agricultural zones and water availability. (Source: Greenwire)
Skiers, marchers, bikers protest against climate change
Protestors called attention to Global Warming Sunday in 50 cities around the world. In Berlin, a sculptor carved a polar bear in ice at the Brandenburg Gate. In Auckland, 350 formed “Climate SOS” by lying in the grass at a park. In Taipei, 1,500 marched with signs saying “No carbon dioxide.” In Manila, hundreds rallied with windmills on their heads. In Helsinki, 50 skied on asphalt streets saying, “Give us our snowy winters back.” And here in the U.S., 50 took a polar bear plunge into Walden Pond. (Source: Associated Press)
News from Bali
Climate scientists lose patience, plead for radical action
More than 215 leading climate scientists, some of whom have taken no stance up to now, petitioned the delegates at the Bali UN climate conference to halve global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The petitioners come from more than 2 dozen countries. “The science community is basically fed up,” one signer from Canada told the Associated Press.
Other headlines this first week of the Dec. 3-14 190-nation conference:
* Saving rainforests is a high priority but one about which there is disagreement. The conference is likely to launch pilot projects trying two approaches – trading on the carbon market and using a fund to compensate countries for stopping slash-and-born. Deforestation was not in the Kyoto Protocol but causes 20% of GHG worldwide. Many want it in the next international treaty.
* Carbon capture is not on the Bali agenda. The technology is still unproven and would cost about $1 billion per plant, though ultimately it may be the answer to low- or no-carbon use of coal. Perhaps carbon capture and storage will be part of future talks, Yvo de Boer, top UN climate official, told Reuters.
* The U.S. delegation continues to oppose mandatory cuts of GHG, and made light of the passage of the first cap-and-trade bill from committee onto the Senate floor last week. The National Environmental Trust blasted U.S. greed and waste, saying the country is responsible for 27.8% of cumulative Global Warming.
* Host country Indonesia planted millions of trees to offset the estimated 47,000 tons of carbon dioxide caused by the 12-day conference. The estimate includes air transport to and from Bali. Hosts also eliminated cars from the conference site and provided 200 bicycles for ministers to use if they didn’t want to walk. (Sources: PlanetArk, AP, India Times)
Xtreme weather watch
Rainfall and snowstorms are now more severe. Since 1948, the number of intense storms has increased between 22-26% in the U.S., a new report from Environment America shows. New England and the mid-Atlantic states have been hit the worst. Mass., R.I., Vt., N.Y. and La. have all seen an increase of more than 50%. Climate scientists say this is consistent with Global Warming because warm air holds more moisture. For more, see http://environmentAmerica.org. (New York Times)
Did a cyclone just hit the Northwest? Heavy rain and hurricane-force winds of up to 129 mph hit Oregon and Washington in back-to-back storms last Sunday and Monday. In Bremerton, Wash., rainfall was recorded at 11.78 inches. The storms, which washed out roads, caused mudslides, and resulted in at least 5 deaths, were among the worst in memory. More than 100,000 people were without electricity. One Portland resident noted, “This was really a hurricane – or cyclone – and we never get those here.” (AP)
The cyclone that swamped low-lying Bangladesh last month left a huge humanitarian crisis, the UN said last week. Some 2 million residents need immediate help to save their lives. They need food, shelter, drinking water and sanitation. A total of 8.5 million were affected, more than a half-million homes were completely destroyed and 1.5 million livestock were wiped out. Cyclone Sidr hit with 155 mph winds and a 5-foot storm surge Nov. 15. International aid so far tops $143 million. (PlanetArk)
Take Action
In this season of packages and bags and wrapping paper, think green. Carry one or more canvas or reusable bags with you to put your purchases in. Tell store clerks to keep their paper and plastic bags. Use recycled wrapping paper. And when possible re-use packaging that comes to you from online or catalog items.
Make a year-end donation to environmental groups that do research and fight the good fight for all of us – in Congress, statehouses, elections and courts. They include the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, League of Conservation Voters, Environmental Defense, World Wildlife Federation and Union of Concerned Scientists. And that doesn’t exhaust the list, if you have another favorite. Without them, there would be little, if any, progress.
Likely to survive are the 35 mpg corporate fuel economy (CAFE) standards and the biofuels section (though that may be changed). Most likely to go are the requirement for private power plants to get 15% (actually just 11%) of their power from renewable sources like wind, solar and biomass by 2022 and the shift of $21 billion in tax breaks from oil and gas to renewable energy development and efficiency.
But without those provisions, how the devil will we make the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy quickly enough to prevent catastrophic warming? Big oil, coal and power plants won this round and we lost. The fossil fuel economy is barely dented.
The cloture vote, which showed the votes aren't there to prevent a filibuster, put most Democrats on the right side of the issue and most Republicans on the side of fossil fuels. There were some exceptions. GOP Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins (Maine), Norm Coleman (Minn.), Arlen Spector (Pa.), Gordon Smith (Ore.) and John Thune (S.D.) voted with the good guys. (Collins, Coleman and Smith have tough re-election campaigns against Democrats next year). And Dems Evan Bayh (Ind.), Mary Landrieu (La.) and Richard Byrd (W.Va.) voted with the bad guys. If you live in any of their states, let them hear from you.
What was in the House bill
In addition to the 35 mpg CAFE standard for cars and light trucks combined in 2020, and the 15% RES for large investor-owned electric power plants (4 percentage points of which could come from buying offsets) the same year, the bill included:
• A nearly 5-fold increase in biofuels, to 36 billion gallons in 2022, with 21 billion from “advanced” (mostly cellulosic) fuels that cut GHG 50-60% (as opposed to corn, which cuts very little).
• A $21 billion tax package with $13 in new taxes (or eliminated tax breaks) for oil and gas, and incentives for energy efficiency in buildings, appliances, furnaces and lighting, renewable energy sources and plug-in hybrid cars.
• Increased testing of carbon capture and sequestration, the main hope for “clean” coal.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was credited with tough negotiations (mainly with fellow Democrats) to get such a strong bill approved.
The importance of CAFE
The 35 mpg CAFE standard would cut oil consumption by 1.1 million barrels a day in 2020, or the equivalent of taking 28 million cars off the road. This is the first move to raise mileage standards since the oil crisis of the 1970s. In fact, by 1988, with the crisis behind us, the auto companies were building larger cars again and were allowed to meet a 27.5 mpg standard, not the scheduled 28.5. That, of course, didn’t include SUVs, which are classified as light trucks and have a 22 mpg standard. Why is CAFE politically acceptable this year? We can probably thank the lofty price of oil. People are ready to save money at the pump. And the auto industry and UAW were won over by concessions granted to their champion, House Energy Chair John Dingell (D -Mich.), in the form of flex-fuel credits and money to retool.
Efforts to salvage renewables and taxes
Sen. Energy Chair Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said Friday they would negotiate through the weekend in an effort to find some middle ground and salvage the RES and tax portions of the bill – at least partially. They need an additional 7 votes. While 20 states already have their own renewable electricity standards, the Southeast and some Midwest states are concerned they don’t have enough wind to meet the standard. One GOP Senator suggested a much smaller tax package might be OK’d. A chief opponent, the retiring and ill Sen. Pete Domenici (N.M.), ranking member of the Energy Committee, wants nuclear loan guarantees in the bill and reportedly prevailed on fellow Republicans to oppose the bill passed by the House.
Bush veto threat
A final concern, of course, is a presidential veto. Bush doesn’t like the $13 billion in oil and gas taxes or the renewable fuels provision. He wants to include coal-based transportation fuels (which release more CO2 than gasoline) and to pre-empt state laws on alternative fuels. Many in Congress would like to see CAFE standards and energy efficiency, at least, signed into law.
Next step
The aim is to come up with a bill that can pass the Senate with at least 60 votes, and has some chance of getting the president’s signature. Once passed by the Senate, it will have to go back to the House for a vote. Leadership wants to accomplish this before the planned Congressional recess on Dec. 22.
(Sources: PlanetArk, Greenwire, E&E News PM, The End of Nature by Bill McKibben)
Congressional round-up
Lieberman-Warner bill passed out of Boxer's committee
In another milestone this week, the Senate passed its first mandatory cap-and-trade bill out of Sen. Barbara Boxer’s (D-Calif.) Environment and Public Works Committee by an 11-8 vote. The compromise bill, which most environmentalists think is too weak, and opponents think is too strong, will now go to the floor for what promises to be a lively debate, though no one is saying when. The bill covers 80% of the economy, mandating 70% in GHG cuts by 2050. The vast majority of allowances would be given to industries that will be affected, with only a small portion auctioned. Fee credits will be phased out by 2031.
News in brief
Green economy will result in more jobs, studies say
The move from a fossil-fuel to a “green” economy will have a net worldwide job gain, according to a new UN report. In addition to “green collar” jobs, there will be construction, transportation, engineering, manufacturing and sustainable agriculture and forestry jobs, the report said. In Brazil, the ethanol business has created a half-million jobs, and in China 150,000 are employed in solar heating. The jobs will more than make up for layoffs in old fossil-fuel industries, showing a small net gain, the report said. A second study, by the American Solar Energy Society, estimates that in the U.S., policies favoring renewable energy sources and energy efficiency could produce 40 million new jobs and $4.5 trillion in new revenue by 2030. Most of the jobs, 32 million, would be in efficiency measures such as retrofitting buildings, while 8 million would be in the renewables sector, with solar, wind, ethanol and hydrogen cells seeing the most growth. (Source: Greenwire)
Tropical zones expanding as the Earth gets warmer
Tropical regions are pushing north and south toward the poles at a rate much faster than expected. In the past 25 years, they have moved 2.5 degrees latitude, or 140-330 miles, according to a study in the journal Nature Geoscience last week. Climate models had predicted it would take 100 years to move just 2 degrees. The expansion brings with it a shift in high-altitude wind and rain patterns, and affects agricultural zones and water availability. (Source: Greenwire)
Skiers, marchers, bikers protest against climate change
Protestors called attention to Global Warming Sunday in 50 cities around the world. In Berlin, a sculptor carved a polar bear in ice at the Brandenburg Gate. In Auckland, 350 formed “Climate SOS” by lying in the grass at a park. In Taipei, 1,500 marched with signs saying “No carbon dioxide.” In Manila, hundreds rallied with windmills on their heads. In Helsinki, 50 skied on asphalt streets saying, “Give us our snowy winters back.” And here in the U.S., 50 took a polar bear plunge into Walden Pond. (Source: Associated Press)
News from Bali
Climate scientists lose patience, plead for radical action
More than 215 leading climate scientists, some of whom have taken no stance up to now, petitioned the delegates at the Bali UN climate conference to halve global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The petitioners come from more than 2 dozen countries. “The science community is basically fed up,” one signer from Canada told the Associated Press.
Other headlines this first week of the Dec. 3-14 190-nation conference:
* Saving rainforests is a high priority but one about which there is disagreement. The conference is likely to launch pilot projects trying two approaches – trading on the carbon market and using a fund to compensate countries for stopping slash-and-born. Deforestation was not in the Kyoto Protocol but causes 20% of GHG worldwide. Many want it in the next international treaty.
* Carbon capture is not on the Bali agenda. The technology is still unproven and would cost about $1 billion per plant, though ultimately it may be the answer to low- or no-carbon use of coal. Perhaps carbon capture and storage will be part of future talks, Yvo de Boer, top UN climate official, told Reuters.
* The U.S. delegation continues to oppose mandatory cuts of GHG, and made light of the passage of the first cap-and-trade bill from committee onto the Senate floor last week. The National Environmental Trust blasted U.S. greed and waste, saying the country is responsible for 27.8% of cumulative Global Warming.
* Host country Indonesia planted millions of trees to offset the estimated 47,000 tons of carbon dioxide caused by the 12-day conference. The estimate includes air transport to and from Bali. Hosts also eliminated cars from the conference site and provided 200 bicycles for ministers to use if they didn’t want to walk. (Sources: PlanetArk, AP, India Times)
Xtreme weather watch
Rainfall and snowstorms are now more severe. Since 1948, the number of intense storms has increased between 22-26% in the U.S., a new report from Environment America shows. New England and the mid-Atlantic states have been hit the worst. Mass., R.I., Vt., N.Y. and La. have all seen an increase of more than 50%. Climate scientists say this is consistent with Global Warming because warm air holds more moisture. For more, see http://environmentAmerica.org. (New York Times)
Did a cyclone just hit the Northwest? Heavy rain and hurricane-force winds of up to 129 mph hit Oregon and Washington in back-to-back storms last Sunday and Monday. In Bremerton, Wash., rainfall was recorded at 11.78 inches. The storms, which washed out roads, caused mudslides, and resulted in at least 5 deaths, were among the worst in memory. More than 100,000 people were without electricity. One Portland resident noted, “This was really a hurricane – or cyclone – and we never get those here.” (AP)
The cyclone that swamped low-lying Bangladesh last month left a huge humanitarian crisis, the UN said last week. Some 2 million residents need immediate help to save their lives. They need food, shelter, drinking water and sanitation. A total of 8.5 million were affected, more than a half-million homes were completely destroyed and 1.5 million livestock were wiped out. Cyclone Sidr hit with 155 mph winds and a 5-foot storm surge Nov. 15. International aid so far tops $143 million. (PlanetArk)
Take Action
In this season of packages and bags and wrapping paper, think green. Carry one or more canvas or reusable bags with you to put your purchases in. Tell store clerks to keep their paper and plastic bags. Use recycled wrapping paper. And when possible re-use packaging that comes to you from online or catalog items.
Make a year-end donation to environmental groups that do research and fight the good fight for all of us – in Congress, statehouses, elections and courts. They include the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, League of Conservation Voters, Environmental Defense, World Wildlife Federation and Union of Concerned Scientists. And that doesn’t exhaust the list, if you have another favorite. Without them, there would be little, if any, progress.
Global Warming win short-lived
Weekly angst: The victory didn’t last very long. A comprehensive energy bill to curb Global Warming passed the House on a 235-181 vote Thursday afternoon. But by Friday morning, opponents had defeated a cloture motion in the Senate, and negotiations were under way to strip the bill of some of its main provisions in order to get the 60 votes needed for passage and have a prayer of getting the president’s signature.
Likely to survive are the 35 mpg corporate fuel economy (CAFE) standards and the biofuels section (though that may be changed). Most likely to go are the requirement for private power plants to get 15% (actually just 11%) of their power from renewable sources like wind, solar and biomass by 2022 and the shift of $21 billion in tax breaks from oil and gas to renewable energy development and efficiency.
But without those provisions, how the devil will we make the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy quickly enough to prevent catastrophic warming? Big oil, coal and power plants won this round and we lost. The fossil fuel economy is barely dented.
The cloture vote, which showed the votes aren't there to prevent a filibuster, put most Democrats on the right side of the issue and most Republicans on the side of fossil fuels. There were some exceptions. GOP Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins (Maine), Norm Coleman (Minn.), Arlen Spector (Pa.), Gordon Smith (Ore.) and John Thune (S.D.) voted with the good guys. (Collins, Coleman and Smith have tough re-election campaigns against Democrats next year). And Dems Evan Bayh (Ind.), Mary Landrieu (La.) and Richard Byrd (W.Va.) voted with the bad guys. If you live in any of their states, let them hear from you.
What was in the House bill
In addition to the 35 mpg CAFE standard for cars and light trucks combined in 2020, and the 15% RES for large investor-owned electric power plants (4 percentage points of which could come from buying offsets) the same year, the bill included:
• A nearly 5-fold increase in biofuels, to 36 billion gallons in 2022, with 21 billion from “advanced” (mostly cellulosic) fuels that cut GHG 50-60% (as opposed to corn, which cuts very little).
• A $21 billion tax package with $13 in new taxes (or eliminated tax breaks) for oil and gas, and incentives for energy efficiency in buildings, appliances, furnaces and lighting, renewable energy sources and plug-in hybrid cars.
• Increased testing of carbon capture and sequestration, the main hope for “clean” coal.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was credited with tough negotiations (mainly with fellow Democrats) to get such a strong bill approved.
The importance of CAFE
The 35 mpg CAFE standard would cut oil consumption by 1.1 million barrels a day in 2020, or the equivalent of taking 28 million cars off the road. This is the first move to raise mileage standards since the oil crisis of the 1970s. In fact, by 1988, with the crisis behind us, the auto companies were building larger cars again and were allowed to meet a 27.5 mpg standard, not the scheduled 28.5. That, of course, didn’t include SUVs, which are classified as light trucks and have a 22 mpg standard. Why is CAFE politically acceptable this year? We can probably thank the lofty price of oil. People are ready to save money at the pump. And the auto industry and UAW were won over by concessions granted to their champion, House Energy Chair John Dingell (D -Mich.), in the form of flex-fuel credits and money to retool.
Efforts to salvage renewables and taxes
Sen. Energy Chair Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said Friday they would negotiate through the weekend in an effort to find some middle ground and salvage the RES and tax portions of the bill – at least partially. They need an additional 7 votes. While 20 states already have their own renewable electricity standards, the Southeast and some Midwest states are concerned they don’t have enough wind to meet the standard. One GOP Senator suggested a much smaller tax package might be OK’d. A chief opponent, the retiring and ill Sen. Pete Domenici (N.M.), ranking member of the Energy Committee, wants nuclear loan guarantees in the bill and reportedly prevailed on fellow Republicans to oppose the bill passed by the House.
Bush veto threat
A final concern, of course, is a presidential veto. Bush doesn’t like the $13 billion in oil and gas taxes or the renewable fuels provision. He wants to include coal-based transportation fuels (which release more CO2 than gasoline) and to pre-empt state laws on alternative fuels. Many in Congress would like to see CAFE standards and energy efficiency, at least, signed into law.
Next step
The aim is to come up with a bill that can pass the Senate with at least 60 votes, and has some chance of getting the president’s signature. Once passed by the Senate, it will have to go back to the House for a vote. Leadership wants to accomplish this before the planned Congressional recess on Dec. 22.
(Sources: PlanetArk, Greenwire, E&E News PM, The End of Nature by Bill McKibben)
Congressional round-up
Lieberman-Warner bill passed out of Boxer's committee
In another milestone this week, the Senate passed its first mandatory cap-and-trade bill out of Sen. Barbara Boxer’s (D-Calif.) Environment and Public Works Committee by an 11-8 vote. The compromise bill, which most environmentalists think is too weak, and opponents think is too strong, will now go to the floor for what promises to be a lively debate, though no one is saying when. The bill covers 80% of the economy, mandating 70% in GHG cuts by 2050. The vast majority of allowances would be given to industries that will be affected, with only a small portion auctioned. Fee credits will be phased out by 2031.
News in brief
Green economy will result in more jobs, studies say
The move from a fossil-fuel to a “green” economy will have a net worldwide job gain, according to a new UN report. In addition to “green collar” jobs, there will be construction, transportation, engineering, manufacturing and sustainable agriculture and forestry jobs, the report said. In Brazil, the ethanol business has created a half-million jobs, and in China 150,000 are employed in solar heating. The jobs will more than make up for layoffs in old fossil-fuel industries, showing a small net gain, the report said. A second study, by the American Solar Energy Society, estimates that in the U.S., policies favoring renewable energy sources and energy efficiency could produce 40 million new jobs and $4.5 trillion in new revenue by 2030. Most of the jobs, 32 million, would be in efficiency measures such as retrofitting buildings, while 8 million would be in the renewables sector, with solar, wind, ethanol and hydrogen cells seeing the most growth. (Source: Greenwire)
Tropical zones expanding as the Earth gets warmer
Tropical regions are pushing north and south toward the poles at a rate much faster than expected. In the past 25 years, they have moved 2.5 degrees latitude, or 140-330 miles, according to a study in the journal Nature Geoscience last week. Climate models had predicted it would take 100 years to move just 2 degrees. The expansion brings with it a shift in high-altitude wind and rain patterns, and affects agricultural zones and water availability. (Source: Greenwire)
Skiers, marchers, bikers protest against climate change
Protestors called attention to Global Warming Sunday in 50 cities around the world. In Berlin, a sculptor carved a polar bear in ice at the Brandenburg Gate. In Auckland, 350 formed “Climate SOS” by lying in the grass at a park. In Taipei, 1,500 marched with signs saying “No carbon dioxide.” In Manila, hundreds rallied with windmills on their heads. In Helsinki, 50 skied on asphalt streets saying, “Give us our snowy winters back.” And here in the U.S., 50 took a polar bear plunge into Walden Pond. (Source: Associated Press)
News from Bali
Climate scientists lose patience, plead for radical action
More than 215 leading climate scientists, some of whom have taken no stance up to now, petitioned the delegates at the Bali UN climate conference to halve global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The petitioners come from more than 2 dozen countries. “The science community is basically fed up,” one signer from Canada told the Associated Press.
Other headlines this first week of the Dec. 3-14 190-nation conference:
* Saving rainforests is a high priority but one about which there is disagreement. The conference is likely to launch pilot projects trying two approaches – trading on the carbon market and using a fund to compensate countries for stopping slash-and-born. Deforestation was not in the Kyoto Protocol but causes 20% of GHG worldwide. Many want it in the next international treaty.
* Carbon capture is not on the Bali agenda. The technology is still unproven and would cost about $1 billion per plant, though ultimately it may be the answer to low- or no-carbon use of coal. Perhaps carbon capture and storage will be part of future talks, Yvo de Boer, top UN climate official, told Reuters.
* The U.S. delegation continues to oppose mandatory cuts of GHG, and made light of the passage of the first cap-and-trade bill from committee onto the Senate floor last week. The National Environmental Trust blasted U.S. greed and waste, saying the country is responsible for 27.8% of cumulative Global Warming.
* Host country Indonesia planted millions of trees to offset the estimated 47,000 tons of carbon dioxide caused by the 12-day conference. The estimate includes air transport to and from Bali. Hosts also eliminated cars from the conference site and provided 200 bicycles for ministers to use if they didn’t want to walk. (Sources: PlanetArk, AP, India Times)
Xtreme weather watch
Rainfall and snowstorms are now more severe. Since 1948, the number of intense storms has increased between 22-26% in the U.S., a new report from Environment America shows. New England and the mid-Atlantic states have been hit the worst. Mass., R.I., Vt., N.Y. and La. have all seen an increase of more than 50%. Climate scientists say this is consistent with Global Warming because warm air holds more moisture. For more, see http://environmentAmerica.org. (New York Times)
Did a cyclone just hit the Northwest? Heavy rain and hurricane-force winds of up to 129 mph hit Oregon and Washington in back-to-back storms last Sunday and Monday. In Bremerton, Wash., rainfall was recorded at 11.78 inches. The storms, which washed out roads, caused mudslides, and resulted in at least 5 deaths, were among the worst in memory. More than 100,000 people were without electricity. One Portland resident noted, “This was really a hurricane – or cyclone – and we never get those here.” (AP)
The cyclone that smacked low-lying Bangladesh last month left a huge humanitarian crisis, the UN said last week. Some 2 million residents need immediate help to save their lives. They need food, shelter, drinking water and sanitation. A total of 8.5 million were affected, more than a half-million homes were completely destroyed and 1.5 million livestock were wiped out. Cyclone Sidr hit with 155 mph winds and a 5-foot storm surge Nov. 15. International aid so far tops $143 million. (PlanetArk)
Take Action
In this season of packages and bags and wrapping paper, think green. Carry one or more canvas or reusable bags with you to put your purchases in. Tell store clerks to keep their paper and plastic bags. Use recycled wrapping paper. And when possible re-use packaging that comes to you from online or catalog items.
Make a year-end donation to environmental groups that do research and fight the good fight for all of us – in Congress, statehouses, elections and courts. They include the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, League of Conservation Voters, Environmental Defense, World Wildlife Federation and Union of Concerned Scientists. And that doesn’t exhaust the list, if you have another favorite. Without them, there would be little, if any, progress.
Likely to survive are the 35 mpg corporate fuel economy (CAFE) standards and the biofuels section (though that may be changed). Most likely to go are the requirement for private power plants to get 15% (actually just 11%) of their power from renewable sources like wind, solar and biomass by 2022 and the shift of $21 billion in tax breaks from oil and gas to renewable energy development and efficiency.
But without those provisions, how the devil will we make the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy quickly enough to prevent catastrophic warming? Big oil, coal and power plants won this round and we lost. The fossil fuel economy is barely dented.
The cloture vote, which showed the votes aren't there to prevent a filibuster, put most Democrats on the right side of the issue and most Republicans on the side of fossil fuels. There were some exceptions. GOP Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins (Maine), Norm Coleman (Minn.), Arlen Spector (Pa.), Gordon Smith (Ore.) and John Thune (S.D.) voted with the good guys. (Collins, Coleman and Smith have tough re-election campaigns against Democrats next year). And Dems Evan Bayh (Ind.), Mary Landrieu (La.) and Richard Byrd (W.Va.) voted with the bad guys. If you live in any of their states, let them hear from you.
What was in the House bill
In addition to the 35 mpg CAFE standard for cars and light trucks combined in 2020, and the 15% RES for large investor-owned electric power plants (4 percentage points of which could come from buying offsets) the same year, the bill included:
• A nearly 5-fold increase in biofuels, to 36 billion gallons in 2022, with 21 billion from “advanced” (mostly cellulosic) fuels that cut GHG 50-60% (as opposed to corn, which cuts very little).
• A $21 billion tax package with $13 in new taxes (or eliminated tax breaks) for oil and gas, and incentives for energy efficiency in buildings, appliances, furnaces and lighting, renewable energy sources and plug-in hybrid cars.
• Increased testing of carbon capture and sequestration, the main hope for “clean” coal.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was credited with tough negotiations (mainly with fellow Democrats) to get such a strong bill approved.
The importance of CAFE
The 35 mpg CAFE standard would cut oil consumption by 1.1 million barrels a day in 2020, or the equivalent of taking 28 million cars off the road. This is the first move to raise mileage standards since the oil crisis of the 1970s. In fact, by 1988, with the crisis behind us, the auto companies were building larger cars again and were allowed to meet a 27.5 mpg standard, not the scheduled 28.5. That, of course, didn’t include SUVs, which are classified as light trucks and have a 22 mpg standard. Why is CAFE politically acceptable this year? We can probably thank the lofty price of oil. People are ready to save money at the pump. And the auto industry and UAW were won over by concessions granted to their champion, House Energy Chair John Dingell (D -Mich.), in the form of flex-fuel credits and money to retool.
Efforts to salvage renewables and taxes
Sen. Energy Chair Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said Friday they would negotiate through the weekend in an effort to find some middle ground and salvage the RES and tax portions of the bill – at least partially. They need an additional 7 votes. While 20 states already have their own renewable electricity standards, the Southeast and some Midwest states are concerned they don’t have enough wind to meet the standard. One GOP Senator suggested a much smaller tax package might be OK’d. A chief opponent, the retiring and ill Sen. Pete Domenici (N.M.), ranking member of the Energy Committee, wants nuclear loan guarantees in the bill and reportedly prevailed on fellow Republicans to oppose the bill passed by the House.
Bush veto threat
A final concern, of course, is a presidential veto. Bush doesn’t like the $13 billion in oil and gas taxes or the renewable fuels provision. He wants to include coal-based transportation fuels (which release more CO2 than gasoline) and to pre-empt state laws on alternative fuels. Many in Congress would like to see CAFE standards and energy efficiency, at least, signed into law.
Next step
The aim is to come up with a bill that can pass the Senate with at least 60 votes, and has some chance of getting the president’s signature. Once passed by the Senate, it will have to go back to the House for a vote. Leadership wants to accomplish this before the planned Congressional recess on Dec. 22.
(Sources: PlanetArk, Greenwire, E&E News PM, The End of Nature by Bill McKibben)
Congressional round-up
Lieberman-Warner bill passed out of Boxer's committee
In another milestone this week, the Senate passed its first mandatory cap-and-trade bill out of Sen. Barbara Boxer’s (D-Calif.) Environment and Public Works Committee by an 11-8 vote. The compromise bill, which most environmentalists think is too weak, and opponents think is too strong, will now go to the floor for what promises to be a lively debate, though no one is saying when. The bill covers 80% of the economy, mandating 70% in GHG cuts by 2050. The vast majority of allowances would be given to industries that will be affected, with only a small portion auctioned. Fee credits will be phased out by 2031.
News in brief
Green economy will result in more jobs, studies say
The move from a fossil-fuel to a “green” economy will have a net worldwide job gain, according to a new UN report. In addition to “green collar” jobs, there will be construction, transportation, engineering, manufacturing and sustainable agriculture and forestry jobs, the report said. In Brazil, the ethanol business has created a half-million jobs, and in China 150,000 are employed in solar heating. The jobs will more than make up for layoffs in old fossil-fuel industries, showing a small net gain, the report said. A second study, by the American Solar Energy Society, estimates that in the U.S., policies favoring renewable energy sources and energy efficiency could produce 40 million new jobs and $4.5 trillion in new revenue by 2030. Most of the jobs, 32 million, would be in efficiency measures such as retrofitting buildings, while 8 million would be in the renewables sector, with solar, wind, ethanol and hydrogen cells seeing the most growth. (Source: Greenwire)
Tropical zones expanding as the Earth gets warmer
Tropical regions are pushing north and south toward the poles at a rate much faster than expected. In the past 25 years, they have moved 2.5 degrees latitude, or 140-330 miles, according to a study in the journal Nature Geoscience last week. Climate models had predicted it would take 100 years to move just 2 degrees. The expansion brings with it a shift in high-altitude wind and rain patterns, and affects agricultural zones and water availability. (Source: Greenwire)
Skiers, marchers, bikers protest against climate change
Protestors called attention to Global Warming Sunday in 50 cities around the world. In Berlin, a sculptor carved a polar bear in ice at the Brandenburg Gate. In Auckland, 350 formed “Climate SOS” by lying in the grass at a park. In Taipei, 1,500 marched with signs saying “No carbon dioxide.” In Manila, hundreds rallied with windmills on their heads. In Helsinki, 50 skied on asphalt streets saying, “Give us our snowy winters back.” And here in the U.S., 50 took a polar bear plunge into Walden Pond. (Source: Associated Press)
News from Bali
Climate scientists lose patience, plead for radical action
More than 215 leading climate scientists, some of whom have taken no stance up to now, petitioned the delegates at the Bali UN climate conference to halve global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The petitioners come from more than 2 dozen countries. “The science community is basically fed up,” one signer from Canada told the Associated Press.
Other headlines this first week of the Dec. 3-14 190-nation conference:
* Saving rainforests is a high priority but one about which there is disagreement. The conference is likely to launch pilot projects trying two approaches – trading on the carbon market and using a fund to compensate countries for stopping slash-and-born. Deforestation was not in the Kyoto Protocol but causes 20% of GHG worldwide. Many want it in the next international treaty.
* Carbon capture is not on the Bali agenda. The technology is still unproven and would cost about $1 billion per plant, though ultimately it may be the answer to low- or no-carbon use of coal. Perhaps carbon capture and storage will be part of future talks, Yvo de Boer, top UN climate official, told Reuters.
* The U.S. delegation continues to oppose mandatory cuts of GHG, and made light of the passage of the first cap-and-trade bill from committee onto the Senate floor last week. The National Environmental Trust blasted U.S. greed and waste, saying the country is responsible for 27.8% of cumulative Global Warming.
* Host country Indonesia planted millions of trees to offset the estimated 47,000 tons of carbon dioxide caused by the 12-day conference. The estimate includes air transport to and from Bali. Hosts also eliminated cars from the conference site and provided 200 bicycles for ministers to use if they didn’t want to walk. (Sources: PlanetArk, AP, India Times)
Xtreme weather watch
Rainfall and snowstorms are now more severe. Since 1948, the number of intense storms has increased between 22-26% in the U.S., a new report from Environment America shows. New England and the mid-Atlantic states have been hit the worst. Mass., R.I., Vt., N.Y. and La. have all seen an increase of more than 50%. Climate scientists say this is consistent with Global Warming because warm air holds more moisture. For more, see http://environmentAmerica.org. (New York Times)
Did a cyclone just hit the Northwest? Heavy rain and hurricane-force winds of up to 129 mph hit Oregon and Washington in back-to-back storms last Sunday and Monday. In Bremerton, Wash., rainfall was recorded at 11.78 inches. The storms, which washed out roads, caused mudslides, and resulted in at least 5 deaths, were among the worst in memory. More than 100,000 people were without electricity. One Portland resident noted, “This was really a hurricane – or cyclone – and we never get those here.” (AP)
The cyclone that smacked low-lying Bangladesh last month left a huge humanitarian crisis, the UN said last week. Some 2 million residents need immediate help to save their lives. They need food, shelter, drinking water and sanitation. A total of 8.5 million were affected, more than a half-million homes were completely destroyed and 1.5 million livestock were wiped out. Cyclone Sidr hit with 155 mph winds and a 5-foot storm surge Nov. 15. International aid so far tops $143 million. (PlanetArk)
Take Action
In this season of packages and bags and wrapping paper, think green. Carry one or more canvas or reusable bags with you to put your purchases in. Tell store clerks to keep their paper and plastic bags. Use recycled wrapping paper. And when possible re-use packaging that comes to you from online or catalog items.
Make a year-end donation to environmental groups that do research and fight the good fight for all of us – in Congress, statehouses, elections and courts. They include the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, League of Conservation Voters, Environmental Defense, World Wildlife Federation and Union of Concerned Scientists. And that doesn’t exhaust the list, if you have another favorite. Without them, there would be little, if any, progress.
Monday, December 03, 2007
Warning to world: Fix climate in 10 years
Weekly angst: In an urgent call to action for the nations meeting in Bali this week, a new UN report says the world must repair its climate in the next 10 years. Unless it does so, we face large-scale human and economic set-backs and ecological disaster, says the UN Human Development 2007 report, released last week. It sets out a road map for the delegates to begin negotiating a successor to the Kyoto Accord.
“The message for Bali is the world can’t afford to wait; it has less than a decade to change course,” said lead author Kevin Watkins of Oxford University.
Rich countries should cut their greenhouse gas emissions 30% by 2020 and then 80% by 2050, the report says. Developing countries should cut 20% by 2050, the report said.
The world will need to spend 1.6% of global economic output each year through 2030 to stabilize GHG in the atmosphere and keep temperatures at a safe level of no more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 F) above pre-industrial times, the report said.
Recommendations include:
• Improving the efficiency of cars
• Taxes or caps on emissions
• Trading allowances
• Transfer of carbon-capture technology to China and other countries dependent on coal.
• An international fund of $25 billion to $50 billion a year to help provide low-carbon energy in developing countries.
Many countries have the technical and financial resources they need, but not the political will to act, the report said.
Critical of United States
The report takes a shot at the U.S., not only for refusing to abide by the Kyoto treaty, but for our continuing reliance on coal, the leading source of GHG emissions. About 150 new coal-fired electricity plants are on the drawing board.
The Bush administration wants voluntary targets based on “intensity,” the increase in emissions per unit of economic growth. But that won’t work, scientists say. Since 1990, the U.S. has reduced emissions 25% in intensity, but real emissions are up 25%.
The report urges the U.S. to support a new annual global investment fund of $86 billion for adaptation and to help build “climate proof” infrastructure in developing countries. This would cost the northern, industrialized countries 0.2% of GDP.
Damage to poor countries
Even immediate steps won’t have a major impact until 2030, and temperatures will continue rising till 2050, due to accumulation in the atmosphere (CO2 stays around for a century). So climate disasters like droughts and floods will become more frequent and will require adaptation, it said.
Developing countries are most likely to suffer the impact of unrestrained Global Warming, though it will affect us all. (Climate disasters in 2000-2004 affected 262 million people, 98% of them in the developing world.) The report estimates that if the temperature rises 5.4-7.2%, 340 million would be displaced by flooding, and up to 1.8 billions would face a shortage of water.
There’s a large gap between what industrial (rich) countries and developing (poor) countries can do on their own to adapt to or prevent climate catastrophes. For example, the low-lying Netherlands has a system of dikes and has begun building homes that float. In Vietnam, however, the answer has been to hand out life jackets and teach people how to swim, the report said.
“Leaving the world’s poor to sink or swim is morally wrong,” wrote contributor Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize winner from South Africa.
Wealthy countries have a responsibility to help the poor nations, which have fallen victim to the energy-intensive lifestyles of those in rich countries, the report says. People in the U.S. use 15 times the energy per capita as those in India, it points out. The average air-conditioning unit in Florida uses more energy in a year than a person in Cambodia or Afghanistan uses in a lifetime.
(Sources: PlanetArk, Inter Press Service)
Congressional round-up
Democrats reach deal on energy bill! House to vote Wednesday
Auto state Democrats Rep. John Dingell and Sen. Carl Levin are now onboard for a far-reaching energy bill that will include CAFE standards of 35 mpg by 2020, a 15% renewable electricity standard (RES) for non-public utilities, energy efficiency standards and biofuel production of 36 billion gallons by 2022. The bill will be up for a vote Wednesday in the House and likely the following week in the Senate, with Congressional leadership feeling positive about chances of passage, though many Republicans are opposed. The Senate needs 60 votes to avoid a filibuster. In heavy negotiations, Dingell won some concessions: separate schedules for cars and SUVs (though the corporate average still must be 35 by 2020), and an extension until 2014 of credits for flex fuel vehicles that run on 85% ethanol, which will be phased out between 2014-2020. This is the first change in CAFE standards since the ‘70s. Cars now average 27.5 mpg and trucks and SUVs 22. Some difference of opinion remained this weekend over the RES provision and whether it could sink the bill in the Senate. (Sources: AP, E&E Daily)
Lieberman cap-and-trade bill gets minor changes in committee
A few adjustments have been made in the Lieberman-Warner bill before the attempt to pass it out of committee this week. Natural gas processors were added to the bill, so now it covers 80% of the economy, not 75%. Free credits would start to be phased out in 2031 instead of 2036. And there would be a separate cap on hydrofluorocarbons, an especially potent GHG. The bill still has the target of 63% below 2005 levels in 2050, less than the 80% below 1990 scientists say is needed. The compromise bill is still too weak, many environmental advocates say, especially in the number of credits given away instead of auctioned. Environment Chair Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) seems confident the bill will be approved by her committee. (Sources: E&E News PM, E&E Daily)
News in brief
‘Dramatic spike’ in thaw of Greenland ice sheet last summer
The ice sheet in Greenland melted at a record pace this past summer, according to research published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. Melting started more than a month earlier than usual and topped the record thaw of 1998 by 60%. While the temperature in Greenland this summer was the warmest since modern records began in 1961, that is not the only cause, said researcher Thomas Mote of the University of Georgia. Other possibilities include a warmer winter where less snow and ice accumulated and the overall temperature rise in Greenland for the past three years. Greenland is a concern because a significant meltdown could raise sea levels by many feet. (Source: E&E PM)
Global businesses urge ‘strong, early action’ by Bali delegates
Shell, GE and DuPont are among 150 worldwide corporations that signed a petition urging the participants at Bali to begin taking strong action to prevent climate change. Ambitious restrictions on GHG are good for companies, they said, because Global Warming poses risks for business. Let science decide how much to cut, they said. Other signers included Coca Cola, British Airways and Nestle SA.
In other Bali-related news last week:
• The U.S. and EU proposed a trade plan that removes tariffs and other barriers from "climate-friendly" goods and services like solar panels, wind turbines and nuclear reactor parts. Trade officials from 190 countries will meet in Bali Dec. 8-9 as part of the international conference on climate change.
• India and Brazil both criticized a UN report calling for developing countries to reduce emissions 20% by 2050 (while rich countries cut 80%).
• Countries doing the worst at meeting their goals under the Kyoto Accord will have to pay up to $33 billion. Spain, Portugal and Italy, among the 36 countries committed to reductions by Kyoto, have not paid to convert factories and power plants, so now will have to pay for credits.
• Malaysia had the most rapid increase in emissions, 221% from 1991-2004. (During that period U.S. emissions went up 25%) Malaysia is not committed to reductions under the Kyoto Accord.
(Sources: PlanetArk, Greenwire)
McKinsey report: Much of climate investment will pay for itself
The U.S. can reduce emissions through a portfolio of existing technologies without wrecking the economy, an international consulting firm said last week. More efficient electronics, autos and agriculture would pay for themselves, said the report by McKinsey & Co. Other technologies such as reforestation, carbon capture from coal plants, and efficient cooling of commercial buildings could be accomplished for as little as $50 a ton, the report said. Emissions could be cut by the amount recommended by scientists with a $1.1 trillion investment by 2030, and extra 1.5% over what would otherwise be invested. Public utilities won’t need to build 85% of the 150 or so coal-fired plants planned if efficiencies quell the demand. However, government must provide “strong stimuli and policy interventions,” the report said, because, given the upfront investment, the changes are unlikely to materialize by themselves. (Source: E&E News PM)
Brown on Green: Prime Minister to lead ‘Revolution’ in Britain
New Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently vowed to lead a green “technology revolution” and create hundreds of thousands of new clean-tech jobs. Brown said he is looking at raising the UK’s current 2050 target of 60% GHG reductions to 80%, in line with what scientists say is need to avert a climate disaster. He said he wants to set up a new “green homes” unit and generate 20% of power from renewables by 2020. He also plans talks with supermarkets and retailers about eliminating throw-away plastic bags. (Source: Greenwire)
Xtreme weather watch
2007 is on track to be the warmest year on record in the Northern Hemisphere, according to the National Climatic Data Center. The previous record was set in 2005. Temperatures from January-October were 1.3 degrees F above normal. Worldwide, those 9 months were the third warmest. (USA Today)
Flooding in Jakarta, Indonesia, was blamed on Global Warming by the country’s environmental minister last week. Rising seas flooded parts of Jakarta, encroaching a mile inland and leaving water 6 feet deep in places. Thousands fled their homes. A flood expert criticized authorities for ignoring warnings about especially high tides and failing to repair barriers breached the previous week. (Greenwire)
Take action
Voting is expected Wednesday on the final energy bill, calling for 35 mpg CAFE standards and 15% renewable electricity standards (RES). This is a huge step in the right direction. Please call the capitol switchboard (202-224-3121) and ask for your Congressman by name. Tell their office staff you want them to vote for the energy bill. It takes just a minute. (If you can, you may want to check in on C-SPAN that day. You may be able to catch the vote taking place.) And Senators will vote either Friday or the following week. We’ll need calls to them also, as 60 votes are needed to avoid filibuster.
For those who are planning to put up Christmas lights but haven’t done so yet, get the energy-efficient LED type that are for sale at Target, Home Depot, Wal-Mart and on the Internet (Google LED Christmas lights).
“The message for Bali is the world can’t afford to wait; it has less than a decade to change course,” said lead author Kevin Watkins of Oxford University.
Rich countries should cut their greenhouse gas emissions 30% by 2020 and then 80% by 2050, the report says. Developing countries should cut 20% by 2050, the report said.
The world will need to spend 1.6% of global economic output each year through 2030 to stabilize GHG in the atmosphere and keep temperatures at a safe level of no more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 F) above pre-industrial times, the report said.
Recommendations include:
• Improving the efficiency of cars
• Taxes or caps on emissions
• Trading allowances
• Transfer of carbon-capture technology to China and other countries dependent on coal.
• An international fund of $25 billion to $50 billion a year to help provide low-carbon energy in developing countries.
Many countries have the technical and financial resources they need, but not the political will to act, the report said.
Critical of United States
The report takes a shot at the U.S., not only for refusing to abide by the Kyoto treaty, but for our continuing reliance on coal, the leading source of GHG emissions. About 150 new coal-fired electricity plants are on the drawing board.
The Bush administration wants voluntary targets based on “intensity,” the increase in emissions per unit of economic growth. But that won’t work, scientists say. Since 1990, the U.S. has reduced emissions 25% in intensity, but real emissions are up 25%.
The report urges the U.S. to support a new annual global investment fund of $86 billion for adaptation and to help build “climate proof” infrastructure in developing countries. This would cost the northern, industrialized countries 0.2% of GDP.
Damage to poor countries
Even immediate steps won’t have a major impact until 2030, and temperatures will continue rising till 2050, due to accumulation in the atmosphere (CO2 stays around for a century). So climate disasters like droughts and floods will become more frequent and will require adaptation, it said.
Developing countries are most likely to suffer the impact of unrestrained Global Warming, though it will affect us all. (Climate disasters in 2000-2004 affected 262 million people, 98% of them in the developing world.) The report estimates that if the temperature rises 5.4-7.2%, 340 million would be displaced by flooding, and up to 1.8 billions would face a shortage of water.
There’s a large gap between what industrial (rich) countries and developing (poor) countries can do on their own to adapt to or prevent climate catastrophes. For example, the low-lying Netherlands has a system of dikes and has begun building homes that float. In Vietnam, however, the answer has been to hand out life jackets and teach people how to swim, the report said.
“Leaving the world’s poor to sink or swim is morally wrong,” wrote contributor Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize winner from South Africa.
Wealthy countries have a responsibility to help the poor nations, which have fallen victim to the energy-intensive lifestyles of those in rich countries, the report says. People in the U.S. use 15 times the energy per capita as those in India, it points out. The average air-conditioning unit in Florida uses more energy in a year than a person in Cambodia or Afghanistan uses in a lifetime.
(Sources: PlanetArk, Inter Press Service)
Congressional round-up
Democrats reach deal on energy bill! House to vote Wednesday
Auto state Democrats Rep. John Dingell and Sen. Carl Levin are now onboard for a far-reaching energy bill that will include CAFE standards of 35 mpg by 2020, a 15% renewable electricity standard (RES) for non-public utilities, energy efficiency standards and biofuel production of 36 billion gallons by 2022. The bill will be up for a vote Wednesday in the House and likely the following week in the Senate, with Congressional leadership feeling positive about chances of passage, though many Republicans are opposed. The Senate needs 60 votes to avoid a filibuster. In heavy negotiations, Dingell won some concessions: separate schedules for cars and SUVs (though the corporate average still must be 35 by 2020), and an extension until 2014 of credits for flex fuel vehicles that run on 85% ethanol, which will be phased out between 2014-2020. This is the first change in CAFE standards since the ‘70s. Cars now average 27.5 mpg and trucks and SUVs 22. Some difference of opinion remained this weekend over the RES provision and whether it could sink the bill in the Senate. (Sources: AP, E&E Daily)
Lieberman cap-and-trade bill gets minor changes in committee
A few adjustments have been made in the Lieberman-Warner bill before the attempt to pass it out of committee this week. Natural gas processors were added to the bill, so now it covers 80% of the economy, not 75%. Free credits would start to be phased out in 2031 instead of 2036. And there would be a separate cap on hydrofluorocarbons, an especially potent GHG. The bill still has the target of 63% below 2005 levels in 2050, less than the 80% below 1990 scientists say is needed. The compromise bill is still too weak, many environmental advocates say, especially in the number of credits given away instead of auctioned. Environment Chair Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) seems confident the bill will be approved by her committee. (Sources: E&E News PM, E&E Daily)
News in brief
‘Dramatic spike’ in thaw of Greenland ice sheet last summer
The ice sheet in Greenland melted at a record pace this past summer, according to research published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. Melting started more than a month earlier than usual and topped the record thaw of 1998 by 60%. While the temperature in Greenland this summer was the warmest since modern records began in 1961, that is not the only cause, said researcher Thomas Mote of the University of Georgia. Other possibilities include a warmer winter where less snow and ice accumulated and the overall temperature rise in Greenland for the past three years. Greenland is a concern because a significant meltdown could raise sea levels by many feet. (Source: E&E PM)
Global businesses urge ‘strong, early action’ by Bali delegates
Shell, GE and DuPont are among 150 worldwide corporations that signed a petition urging the participants at Bali to begin taking strong action to prevent climate change. Ambitious restrictions on GHG are good for companies, they said, because Global Warming poses risks for business. Let science decide how much to cut, they said. Other signers included Coca Cola, British Airways and Nestle SA.
In other Bali-related news last week:
• The U.S. and EU proposed a trade plan that removes tariffs and other barriers from "climate-friendly" goods and services like solar panels, wind turbines and nuclear reactor parts. Trade officials from 190 countries will meet in Bali Dec. 8-9 as part of the international conference on climate change.
• India and Brazil both criticized a UN report calling for developing countries to reduce emissions 20% by 2050 (while rich countries cut 80%).
• Countries doing the worst at meeting their goals under the Kyoto Accord will have to pay up to $33 billion. Spain, Portugal and Italy, among the 36 countries committed to reductions by Kyoto, have not paid to convert factories and power plants, so now will have to pay for credits.
• Malaysia had the most rapid increase in emissions, 221% from 1991-2004. (During that period U.S. emissions went up 25%) Malaysia is not committed to reductions under the Kyoto Accord.
(Sources: PlanetArk, Greenwire)
McKinsey report: Much of climate investment will pay for itself
The U.S. can reduce emissions through a portfolio of existing technologies without wrecking the economy, an international consulting firm said last week. More efficient electronics, autos and agriculture would pay for themselves, said the report by McKinsey & Co. Other technologies such as reforestation, carbon capture from coal plants, and efficient cooling of commercial buildings could be accomplished for as little as $50 a ton, the report said. Emissions could be cut by the amount recommended by scientists with a $1.1 trillion investment by 2030, and extra 1.5% over what would otherwise be invested. Public utilities won’t need to build 85% of the 150 or so coal-fired plants planned if efficiencies quell the demand. However, government must provide “strong stimuli and policy interventions,” the report said, because, given the upfront investment, the changes are unlikely to materialize by themselves. (Source: E&E News PM)
Brown on Green: Prime Minister to lead ‘Revolution’ in Britain
New Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently vowed to lead a green “technology revolution” and create hundreds of thousands of new clean-tech jobs. Brown said he is looking at raising the UK’s current 2050 target of 60% GHG reductions to 80%, in line with what scientists say is need to avert a climate disaster. He said he wants to set up a new “green homes” unit and generate 20% of power from renewables by 2020. He also plans talks with supermarkets and retailers about eliminating throw-away plastic bags. (Source: Greenwire)
Xtreme weather watch
2007 is on track to be the warmest year on record in the Northern Hemisphere, according to the National Climatic Data Center. The previous record was set in 2005. Temperatures from January-October were 1.3 degrees F above normal. Worldwide, those 9 months were the third warmest. (USA Today)
Flooding in Jakarta, Indonesia, was blamed on Global Warming by the country’s environmental minister last week. Rising seas flooded parts of Jakarta, encroaching a mile inland and leaving water 6 feet deep in places. Thousands fled their homes. A flood expert criticized authorities for ignoring warnings about especially high tides and failing to repair barriers breached the previous week. (Greenwire)
Take action
Voting is expected Wednesday on the final energy bill, calling for 35 mpg CAFE standards and 15% renewable electricity standards (RES). This is a huge step in the right direction. Please call the capitol switchboard (202-224-3121) and ask for your Congressman by name. Tell their office staff you want them to vote for the energy bill. It takes just a minute. (If you can, you may want to check in on C-SPAN that day. You may be able to catch the vote taking place.) And Senators will vote either Friday or the following week. We’ll need calls to them also, as 60 votes are needed to avoid filibuster.
For those who are planning to put up Christmas lights but haven’t done so yet, get the energy-efficient LED type that are for sale at Target, Home Depot, Wal-Mart and on the Internet (Google LED Christmas lights).
Monday, November 26, 2007
Bali conference last chance to get it right
Weekly angst: Next week environment ministers from 190 countries convene in Bali, Indonesia, to start working on a global climate agreement – the follow-up to the Kyoto Protocol. The future of the planet hinges on what they decide over the next two years.
Experts agree we need radical greenhouse gas cuts within 8 years if there is to be any hope of averting dangerous climate change, said Rajenda Pachauri, head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. But there are many obstacles to agreement. China, the U.S. and India, who will produce the most GHG in coming decades, don’t want others telling them what to do. Australia used to be with them, but new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, elected Saturday, vowed to sign Kyoto. That leaves only guess who? of 38 industrialized countries refusing to sign the agreement to reduce GHG by 5-6% between 2008-2012.
The new agreement, which will start in 2013, should be finalized by the end of 2009, nations agree, in order to leave time for ratification. And some say they’ll probably negotiate around the Bush administration, hoping for a more agreeable president starting in January ’09. They’re likely to start on matters of easier agreement, like deforestation, adaptation (to changes that can’t be stopped) and sharing of clean technology, and wait until 2009 to determine emissions cuts.
The Kyoto Protocol
First a bit of background on how Kyoto is doing: After an initial sharp drop in GHG during the 1990s (due largely to a breakdown in Soviet bloc economies), emissions for the 36 nations that are obligated by the treaty have been on the upswing and are now just 2.8% below 1990 levels and rising. Yet the UN announced earlier this month that it believes the Kyoto goals can be met by 2012, and that if all the policies put in place work as planned, they could end up down 11% by that date. A $30 million carbon-trading market (likely to double next year), carbon taxes and more renewable energy sources will help accomplish this goal, the UN says.
There are great variations among the countries, with Spain, Portugal and Italy doing the worst job of curtailing emissions. Japan recently announced it needed to revise its plan to meet its goal, and will do so by March. In the period 1990-2005, the U.S., which did not sign the treaty, increased emissions 16% and will likely be up 26% by 2012, according to the UN.
Although 172 nations signed the treaty, developing countries such as China and India were not required to cut emissions by the Kyoto Accord, which is why the U.S. said it refused to ratify the agreement.
What countries are saying pre-Bali
*An East Asian Summit agreed this month “to stabilize emissions at a level that would prevent dangerous … interference with the climate system.” The 16 countries, which included Australia and New Zealand, as well as China and India, said “all should play a role based on common but differentiated responsibilities” and that industrial countries “should continue to play a leading role.” They set no numerical targets but vowed to improve energy efficiency through regional cooperation to develop cost-effective carbon reduction, cleaner fossil fuel technologies and biofuels, as well as nuclear power and reforestation. They aim to increase forest cover in Asia by at least 37.5 million acres.
*China reiterated its pledge to reduce energy intensity (use per unit of GDP) 20% in 5 years. Prime Minister Wen Jiabao also told reporters at the summit his country would seek to freeze key pollution emissions at 2005 levels. China says the U.S. must act first, because it has much higher per-capita emissions. China, which takes global warming seriously because of recent floods and drought, also notes that 23% of its emissions come from making goods that are exported to the U.S. and elsewhere.
*U.S. President George Bush wants an agreement that focuses heavily on technology development. He thinks the biggest polluters should set their own national policies. A Congressional delegation headed by Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.), however, will advocate for mandatory caps.
*Indonesia, host to the conference, wants countries with substantial rainforest to get financial incentives to stopping deforestation – to make up for the money they will lose if they stop chopping down trees for timber, pulp and palm oil. Credits on the carbon market could amount to as much as $400 million to $2 billion annually. Indonesia hopes to rally other rainforest countries like Brazil, Costa Rica, Malaysia and Congo behind the cause. Deforestation accounts for 20% of CO2 emissions globally, more than the transportation sector.
*Britain’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown vows to lead a “green tech revolution” in his country and said any international agreement should include “binding emissions caps” for the industrial countries and a cut in worldwide emissions of at least 50% by 2050. He said we must keep the temperature from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 F).
*Africa, the “forgotten” continent, will need substantial funds to adapt to climate change – especially lack of water and food. Under Kyoto, most money for climate change projects so far has ended up going to China and very little to Africa.
*OPEC countries agreed this month to come up with $750 million for carbon-capture research, but said the industrialized nations must take the lead.
*Australia’s new prime minister, Rudd, expects to attend the conference, one of few heads of state planning to do so. He has made averting catastrophic climate change his top priority. Australia, which has the highest per-capita emissions, is suffering an unprecedented drought that is damaging its agriculture economy.
What to expect
The December meeting, with 20,000 delegates, will mainly set up the framework, timetable and agenda for international negotiations, said Yvo de Boer, head of the UN Climate Change Secretariat. But there is an urgency to get started, he said. The world will replace 40% of its power generating capacity in the next 5-10 years, and China is building 1 or 2 more coal-fired plants each week. Once those new plants are built, they will last for decades and it will be hard to avoid “climate change running out of control,” he said.
(Sources: Reuters, PlanetArk, Associated Press, Greenwire, E&D Daily, The Independent UK)
Congressional round-up
House Energy Chair John Dingell (D-Mich.), a friend to the auto industry, has said he wants three changes to the Senate bill setting corporate fuel economy (CAFE) standards:
• Separate cars from light trucks
• Maintain the distinction between foreign and domestic cars.
• Give automakers enough time to comply with the new requirements.
He also has many questions about the renewable electricity standards (RES) and wants biofuels under the 2005 Energy Policy Act instead of the new energy bill. Dingell is a major figure in energy bill negotiations, which continue through the recess, with final language anticipated by the end of this week and a vote Dec. 4 or 5. But don’t hold your breath. This is a tough one to put together.
(Source: Greenwire)
News in brief
Bear-human confrontations result from warmer weather
Temperatures as high as 10 degrees above normal and a berry-killing drought have caused more run-ins between bears and people this year in the West. In Colorado alone, 59 “nuisance bears” have been killed, a record surpassing 55 in 2002. The warmer weather found bears looking for food in cities in late fall, rather than settling into their dens for winter. Wildlife managers will meet in January to look for solutions. One possibility: more licenses for hunting bears. (Source: Greenwire)
Wind power will triple globally by 2015, new report says
Worldwide wind power will triple to 290 gigawatts from 91, according to a recent report from Emerging Energy Research, a renewable energy consultant. North America’s capacity is expected to double from to 60GW from 30, while Asia’s goes up to 100GW from 40. The projected increase here will be due to federal tax breaks and some states’ renewal portfolio standards (RPS). In Texas, the leader in wind power, the main incentive is a need to replace natural gas. Offshore wind is big in Europe but has lagged here because the U.S. Mineral Management Service has not yet created permitting guidelines under the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Turbine manufacturers have increased their capacity fourfold in the past three years, the report said. Meanwhile, the American Wind Energy Association predicts that by 2030 the U.S. likely will generate 20% of its electricity from wind. This assumes a half-trillion dollar investment over 20 years. (Source: Greenwire)
A new technique in Norway could capture 95% of CO2
A Norwegian company says tests of a new carbon-capture technique have successfully removed 95% of CO2 and could be used commercially in new plants. “A competitive coal-fired power plant could be built today,” the CEO of Sargas technology group told Reuters. Because it works under pressure, only a few existing plants, in Europe and Japan, could use the technique. And companies would need government help for storage of the gases, likely in oil and gas fields, the company said. A different system for capture, using chilled ammonia, will be tested in Wisconsin soon. Coal is the Number 2 source of energy, after oil. (Source: Reuters)
Xtreme weather watch
Cyprus faces an unprecedented water crisis, after suffering 3 years of drought. The island nation’s reservoirs are less than 9% full and may run out by the end of next month. Due to rising temperatures, less rain and more evaporation, runoff is down 40% since the ‘70s. “Climate change is clearly evidenced in Cyprus,” one official said. A third energy-intensive desalinization plant is due online this summer, but that is not a good solution because of added greenhouse gases, officials said. The country will drill to find pockets of underground water and faces more cuts to agriculture. In 1960 Cyprus was mainly an agriculture economy; now farming is just 2.8% of GDP. (Reuters)
China’s water shortage in its main rice-growing area is the result of an 86% drop in rain in Hunan province since the start of October. Major rivers are at historic lows there and in neighboring Jiangxi province. Meteorologists in China blamed the increase in extreme weather partly on climate change. (Greenwire)
A tiny Tennessee town is getting by on a few hours of water a day since its spring ran dry, a result of the record drought sweeping through the Southeast. Each night the mayor of Orme opens a valve in the water tower, so people can fill jars and wash before faucets run dry. Local businesses and churches have donated bottled water and a federal grant will fund a pipe to bring more water from Bridgeport, Ala. (Reuters)
Take action
Last chance to tell your elected representatives in Washington to pass a strong energy bill including 35 mph CAFE standards and 15% RPS by 2020. Take a minute and call the Capitol switchboard, at 202-224-3121, to reach your senators and rep. The bill may go to a vote as early as Dec.4. You can make a difference. Please take the time to call.
With cold weather here (for most of us), find out what you can do to save energy and keep your heating bill down. Go to http://sierraclub.typepad.com/greenlife/2007/11/on-a-winters-da.html
Experts agree we need radical greenhouse gas cuts within 8 years if there is to be any hope of averting dangerous climate change, said Rajenda Pachauri, head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. But there are many obstacles to agreement. China, the U.S. and India, who will produce the most GHG in coming decades, don’t want others telling them what to do. Australia used to be with them, but new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, elected Saturday, vowed to sign Kyoto. That leaves only guess who? of 38 industrialized countries refusing to sign the agreement to reduce GHG by 5-6% between 2008-2012.
The new agreement, which will start in 2013, should be finalized by the end of 2009, nations agree, in order to leave time for ratification. And some say they’ll probably negotiate around the Bush administration, hoping for a more agreeable president starting in January ’09. They’re likely to start on matters of easier agreement, like deforestation, adaptation (to changes that can’t be stopped) and sharing of clean technology, and wait until 2009 to determine emissions cuts.
The Kyoto Protocol
First a bit of background on how Kyoto is doing: After an initial sharp drop in GHG during the 1990s (due largely to a breakdown in Soviet bloc economies), emissions for the 36 nations that are obligated by the treaty have been on the upswing and are now just 2.8% below 1990 levels and rising. Yet the UN announced earlier this month that it believes the Kyoto goals can be met by 2012, and that if all the policies put in place work as planned, they could end up down 11% by that date. A $30 million carbon-trading market (likely to double next year), carbon taxes and more renewable energy sources will help accomplish this goal, the UN says.
There are great variations among the countries, with Spain, Portugal and Italy doing the worst job of curtailing emissions. Japan recently announced it needed to revise its plan to meet its goal, and will do so by March. In the period 1990-2005, the U.S., which did not sign the treaty, increased emissions 16% and will likely be up 26% by 2012, according to the UN.
Although 172 nations signed the treaty, developing countries such as China and India were not required to cut emissions by the Kyoto Accord, which is why the U.S. said it refused to ratify the agreement.
What countries are saying pre-Bali
*An East Asian Summit agreed this month “to stabilize emissions at a level that would prevent dangerous … interference with the climate system.” The 16 countries, which included Australia and New Zealand, as well as China and India, said “all should play a role based on common but differentiated responsibilities” and that industrial countries “should continue to play a leading role.” They set no numerical targets but vowed to improve energy efficiency through regional cooperation to develop cost-effective carbon reduction, cleaner fossil fuel technologies and biofuels, as well as nuclear power and reforestation. They aim to increase forest cover in Asia by at least 37.5 million acres.
*China reiterated its pledge to reduce energy intensity (use per unit of GDP) 20% in 5 years. Prime Minister Wen Jiabao also told reporters at the summit his country would seek to freeze key pollution emissions at 2005 levels. China says the U.S. must act first, because it has much higher per-capita emissions. China, which takes global warming seriously because of recent floods and drought, also notes that 23% of its emissions come from making goods that are exported to the U.S. and elsewhere.
*U.S. President George Bush wants an agreement that focuses heavily on technology development. He thinks the biggest polluters should set their own national policies. A Congressional delegation headed by Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.), however, will advocate for mandatory caps.
*Indonesia, host to the conference, wants countries with substantial rainforest to get financial incentives to stopping deforestation – to make up for the money they will lose if they stop chopping down trees for timber, pulp and palm oil. Credits on the carbon market could amount to as much as $400 million to $2 billion annually. Indonesia hopes to rally other rainforest countries like Brazil, Costa Rica, Malaysia and Congo behind the cause. Deforestation accounts for 20% of CO2 emissions globally, more than the transportation sector.
*Britain’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown vows to lead a “green tech revolution” in his country and said any international agreement should include “binding emissions caps” for the industrial countries and a cut in worldwide emissions of at least 50% by 2050. He said we must keep the temperature from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 F).
*Africa, the “forgotten” continent, will need substantial funds to adapt to climate change – especially lack of water and food. Under Kyoto, most money for climate change projects so far has ended up going to China and very little to Africa.
*OPEC countries agreed this month to come up with $750 million for carbon-capture research, but said the industrialized nations must take the lead.
*Australia’s new prime minister, Rudd, expects to attend the conference, one of few heads of state planning to do so. He has made averting catastrophic climate change his top priority. Australia, which has the highest per-capita emissions, is suffering an unprecedented drought that is damaging its agriculture economy.
What to expect
The December meeting, with 20,000 delegates, will mainly set up the framework, timetable and agenda for international negotiations, said Yvo de Boer, head of the UN Climate Change Secretariat. But there is an urgency to get started, he said. The world will replace 40% of its power generating capacity in the next 5-10 years, and China is building 1 or 2 more coal-fired plants each week. Once those new plants are built, they will last for decades and it will be hard to avoid “climate change running out of control,” he said.
(Sources: Reuters, PlanetArk, Associated Press, Greenwire, E&D Daily, The Independent UK)
Congressional round-up
House Energy Chair John Dingell (D-Mich.), a friend to the auto industry, has said he wants three changes to the Senate bill setting corporate fuel economy (CAFE) standards:
• Separate cars from light trucks
• Maintain the distinction between foreign and domestic cars.
• Give automakers enough time to comply with the new requirements.
He also has many questions about the renewable electricity standards (RES) and wants biofuels under the 2005 Energy Policy Act instead of the new energy bill. Dingell is a major figure in energy bill negotiations, which continue through the recess, with final language anticipated by the end of this week and a vote Dec. 4 or 5. But don’t hold your breath. This is a tough one to put together.
(Source: Greenwire)
News in brief
Bear-human confrontations result from warmer weather
Temperatures as high as 10 degrees above normal and a berry-killing drought have caused more run-ins between bears and people this year in the West. In Colorado alone, 59 “nuisance bears” have been killed, a record surpassing 55 in 2002. The warmer weather found bears looking for food in cities in late fall, rather than settling into their dens for winter. Wildlife managers will meet in January to look for solutions. One possibility: more licenses for hunting bears. (Source: Greenwire)
Wind power will triple globally by 2015, new report says
Worldwide wind power will triple to 290 gigawatts from 91, according to a recent report from Emerging Energy Research, a renewable energy consultant. North America’s capacity is expected to double from to 60GW from 30, while Asia’s goes up to 100GW from 40. The projected increase here will be due to federal tax breaks and some states’ renewal portfolio standards (RPS). In Texas, the leader in wind power, the main incentive is a need to replace natural gas. Offshore wind is big in Europe but has lagged here because the U.S. Mineral Management Service has not yet created permitting guidelines under the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Turbine manufacturers have increased their capacity fourfold in the past three years, the report said. Meanwhile, the American Wind Energy Association predicts that by 2030 the U.S. likely will generate 20% of its electricity from wind. This assumes a half-trillion dollar investment over 20 years. (Source: Greenwire)
A new technique in Norway could capture 95% of CO2
A Norwegian company says tests of a new carbon-capture technique have successfully removed 95% of CO2 and could be used commercially in new plants. “A competitive coal-fired power plant could be built today,” the CEO of Sargas technology group told Reuters. Because it works under pressure, only a few existing plants, in Europe and Japan, could use the technique. And companies would need government help for storage of the gases, likely in oil and gas fields, the company said. A different system for capture, using chilled ammonia, will be tested in Wisconsin soon. Coal is the Number 2 source of energy, after oil. (Source: Reuters)
Xtreme weather watch
Cyprus faces an unprecedented water crisis, after suffering 3 years of drought. The island nation’s reservoirs are less than 9% full and may run out by the end of next month. Due to rising temperatures, less rain and more evaporation, runoff is down 40% since the ‘70s. “Climate change is clearly evidenced in Cyprus,” one official said. A third energy-intensive desalinization plant is due online this summer, but that is not a good solution because of added greenhouse gases, officials said. The country will drill to find pockets of underground water and faces more cuts to agriculture. In 1960 Cyprus was mainly an agriculture economy; now farming is just 2.8% of GDP. (Reuters)
China’s water shortage in its main rice-growing area is the result of an 86% drop in rain in Hunan province since the start of October. Major rivers are at historic lows there and in neighboring Jiangxi province. Meteorologists in China blamed the increase in extreme weather partly on climate change. (Greenwire)
A tiny Tennessee town is getting by on a few hours of water a day since its spring ran dry, a result of the record drought sweeping through the Southeast. Each night the mayor of Orme opens a valve in the water tower, so people can fill jars and wash before faucets run dry. Local businesses and churches have donated bottled water and a federal grant will fund a pipe to bring more water from Bridgeport, Ala. (Reuters)
Take action
Last chance to tell your elected representatives in Washington to pass a strong energy bill including 35 mph CAFE standards and 15% RPS by 2020. Take a minute and call the Capitol switchboard, at 202-224-3121, to reach your senators and rep. The bill may go to a vote as early as Dec.4. You can make a difference. Please take the time to call.
With cold weather here (for most of us), find out what you can do to save energy and keep your heating bill down. Go to http://sierraclub.typepad.com/greenlife/2007/11/on-a-winters-da.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)