Climate News Live
March 2008 Archives
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/30/AR2008033001880.html
Al Gore has announced a 3 year, $300 million public advocacy campaign to push for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, focusing on the necessity of a national carbon emission cap and ratification of a new global pact on climate change. Sponsored by the Alliance for Climate Protection, the "we" campaign will include a plethora of advertisements, 10 million volunteers, and a broad range of partnerships.
"This climate crisis is so interwoven with habits and patterns that are so entrenched, the elected officials in both parties are going to be timid about enacting the bold changes that are needed until there is a change in the public's sense of urgency in addressing this crisis," Gore said. "I've tried everything else I know to try. The way to solve this crisis is to change the way the public thinks about it."
Washington Post; March 31, 2008
Submitted by M. Brooks
The World Wildlife Fund has organized Earth Hour - one hour on March 29 when people across the globe will turn off their lights. At 8pm local time, WWF encourages you to turn off your electricity consumption to show that you care about climate change and our planet.
Earth Hour was created by WWF in Sydney, Australia in 2007, and in one year has grown from an event in one city to a global movement. In 2008, millions of people, businesses, governments and civic organizations in nearly 200 cities around the globe will turn out for Earth Hour. More than 100 cities across North America will participate, including the US flagships–Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix and San Francisco…
Earth Hour; March 28. 2008
Submitted by M. Brooks
There is increasing pressure to examine the long-term impacts of biofuels mandates as studies over land and water use question whether they are any better than petroleum-based fuels...
Propelled by mounting anxieties over soaring oil costs and climate change, biofuels have become the vanguard of the green-tech revolution, the trendy way for politicians and corporations to show they're serious about finding alternative sources of energy and in the process slowing global warming. The U.S. quintupled its production of ethanol--ethyl alcohol, a fuel distilled from plant matter--in the past decade, and Washington has just mandated another fivefold increase in renewable fuels over the next decade. Europe has similarly aggressive biofuel mandates and subsidies, and Brazil's filling stations no longer even offer plain gasoline. Worldwide investment in biofuels rose from $5 billion in 1995 to $38 billion in 2005 and is expected to top $100 billion by 2010, thanks to investors like Richard Branson and George Soros, GE and BP, Ford and Shell, Cargill and the Carlyle Group. Renewable fuels has become one of those motherhood-and-apple-pie catchphrases, as unobjectionable as the troops or the middle class.
But several new studies show the biofuel boom is doing exactly the opposite of what its proponents intended: it's dramatically accelerating global warming, imperiling the planet in the name of saving it. Corn ethanol, always environmentally suspect, turns out to be environmentally disastrous. Even cellulosic ethanol made from switchgrass, which has been promoted by eco-activists and eco-investors as well as by President Bush as the fuel of the future, looks less green than oil-derived gasoline.
Time Magazine; March 27, 2008
Submitted by J. Andrews
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-adapt26mar26,0,4227673.story
Some believe that the money being directed toward reversing climate change would be better off in a 'treat the symptoms' approach to mitigating the its impacts...
Instead of spending trillions of dollars to stabilize carbon dioxide levels across the planet -- an enormously complex and expensive proposition -- the world could work on reducing hunger, storm damage and disease now, thereby neutralizing some of the most feared future problems of global warming.
Hans von Storch, director of the Institute of Coastal Research in Germany, said that the world's problems were already so big that the added burdens caused by rising temperatures would be relatively small. It would be like going 160 kilometers per hour on the autobahn when "going 150 . . . is already dangerous," he said.
LA Times; March 26, 2008
Submitted by J. Andrews
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/mar/25/biofuels.energy1
The United States adopted a massive increase to the mandate of alternative fuels in the 2007 energy bill. While Europeans outpace Americans in fuel economy, they are hesitant to adopt similar mandates due to a lack of evidence showing biofuels helps combat climate change; rather, evidence is slowly piling up that says biofuels contribute more to climate change than traditional gasoline and diesel.
Under the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation, all petrol and diesel must contain 2.5% of biofuels from April 1. This is designed to ensure that Britain complies with a 2003 EU directive that 5.75% of petrol and diesel come from renewable sources by 2010.
The EU plans to raise the compulsory biofuel quota to 10% by 2020, but [UK Prime Minister] Brown is understood to be ready to challenge this plan. A senior government source said last night: "There is a growing feeling that we need to get all the facts. Some biofuels are OK but there are serious questions about others. More work needs to be done."
Did the United States commit an egregious error by ramping up RPS without international consent? Will American automakers suffer further as American and European consumer preferences further diversify?
The Guardian UK; March 25, 2008
Submitted by B. Shapiro
http://www.projo.com/news/content/coastalhazards_03-25-08_QH9G8PE_v11.380972e.html
Coastlines endangered by rising sea levels are subject to new building codes, and the state of Rhode Island is leading the way in changing requirements for both public infrastructure and private developments. Regulations for bridges, roads, sewers, pipelines and residences are being modified to offset problems associated with climate change.
The coastal management team is recommending:
•Adopting an increase in the required first-floor elevation for new and improved structures in high hazard areas along the coast.
•Creating a standard method for determining whether improvements to buildings damaged by storms amount to more than 50 percent of the size or the value of the building — a determination that would force the owner to comply with more stringent, and expensive, building standards.
•Establishing a plan to remove debris that a storm would bring up the Bay and dump on the shores of East Providence and Providence.
•Tightening standards for structures built in so-called A-zones, where only minor wave damage would be expected.
Now the question is, will insurers adopt provisions to recognize these new standards to fight climate change and lower premiums?
Providence Journal; March 25, 2008
Submitted by B. Shapiro
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/18/business/greencol19.php
Developing nations suffer as climate change cuts off basic access to natural resources such as water, while developed nations have infrastructure to help better mitigate these effects. As the United States and the rest of the world debate climate change solutions, ideas are being crafted without Third-World input. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature released a paper, "Indigenous and Traditional Peoples and Climate Change," that highlights the plight of poor people and how climate change and its solutions could make life worse.
Here in New York this week I faced my own little climate-related disruption: because of global grain shortages, created in part by the rush into biofuels, the price of a bagel has gone to $1.20 from 60 cents in the past year. New Yorkers are all aghast at the rise, but it pales next to these larger problems.
In Bangladesh, a rise in the sea of 1.5 meters, or 5 feet, would submerge 22,000 square kilometers of land, or 8,500 square miles, and displace 17 million desperately poor people, more than 15 percent of the population. Where are they going to go?
Leading the fight against climate change is high-investment solutions and technological innovations, which most sovereign governments and major multinational corporations embrace. We never hear how best to help the Third World.
International Herald Tribune; March 18, 2008
Submitted by B. Shapiro
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,339589,00.html
Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, believes that a 50-cent tax on each gallon of gasoline will reduce consumption. His committee is responsible for the crafting and passage of climate change solution legislation such as cap-and-trade or a carbon tax.
[A poll] shows 48 percent don't support paying even a penny more, 28 percent would pay up to 50 cents more, 10 percent would pay more than 50 cents and 8 percent would pay more than a dollar.
The automobile is the nation's biggest polluter; Americans use more gas than the next 20 countries combined.
American commerce is already suffering at the hands of high gas prices. The Earth Policy Institute wants to increase the gas tax by 30 cents each year.
Rep. Dingell has served in Congress since 1955 and comes from an automotive industry district in Michigan.
Fox News; March 19, 2008
Submitted by B. Shapiro
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23715179/
In a demonstration of the insurance industry's interest in climate change and carbon dioxide emissons, Progressive Insurance announced their sponsoring of the final prize for a contest aimed at producing super-efficient automobiles.
The Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize, modeled after earlier prizes for spaceflight and genetic research, is aimed at promoting the creation of cars that get the equivalent of 100 miles per gallon, while at the same time hitting targets for low greenhouse-gas emissions, safety and affordability.
More than 60 teams have announced their intention to compete, with cross-country stage races slated for 2009 and 2010. The spectacle could well hark back a century, to the first-ever transcontinental road race in 1909, said Peter Diamandis, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the X Prize Foundation.
MSNBC.com; March 20, 2008
Submitted by J. Andrews
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=541748&in_page_id=1770
Dr. James Lovelock, progenitor of the Gaia Theory, estimates that unavoidable climate catastrophe is a mere 40 years away.
He has been proclaiming his Gaia Theory for a generation. This states that the Earth is a living, self-regulating system and that by filling its atmosphere with CO2 (carbon dioxide emissions) we have destroyed the balance and overheated the planet. We are in the phase when the thermometer suddenly shoots up.
By 2040, parts of the Sahara desert will have moved into middle Europe. We are talking about Paris. As far north as Berlin. In Britain we will escape because of our oceanic position.
By 2040, China will be uninhabitable. Lovelock believes that the Chinese, because of their high levels of industrial activity, will be the first to suffer, with the death of all plant life.
Meanwhile, Lovelock says: "European governments are doing daft things, investing huge sums in renewable energy which makes a hell of a lot of profit but does no good at all for our survival."
Daily Mail; March 22, 2008
Submitted by B. Shapiro
http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSL2156854220080321
France and Great Britain have submitted to the European Union a proposal to cut sales tax on green products to fight climate change. Although the chief EU environmental policy official is backing this idea, it is facing strong opposition from some other countries and EU officials.
"I support it. I think it's a good idea. I hope ... it will materialize," EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said in a BBC interview on Friday.
The European Commission has the sole right to propose changes to the VAT system, and any alterations would require the approval of all 27 EU governments.
Brown and Sarkozy believe that lower value-added tax on environmentally friendly fridges, dishwashers, electronic goods, cleaning materials, light bulbs and insulation could spur people to buy products that use less energy.
The EU has agreed to cut greenhouse gas emissions to 80% by 2020.
Reuters; March 21, 2008
Submitted by B. Shapiro
http://www.eenews.net/gw/2008/03/18/
Another sign of increasing congressional interest in climate change: Chairman Joe Biden and Ranking Member Dick Lugar of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee have announced that international climate change treaties and negotiations would be a major focus of the committee's activities for the rest of the year.
Biden and Lugar also asked their panel's 19 senators and staff to attend United Nations-led climate talks over the course of the next two years. And they directed committee staff to produce a report before the end of the current session of Congress on the "various issues confronting the United States in addressing international climate change."
At this point, it sounds like everyone in the Senate is working on climate change from some angle, while the President still doesn't seem to get it. As Biden is quoted saying in the article, "'This administration basically punted…It's going to be a hell of a job for the next president.'"
Greenwire; March 18, 2008
Submitted by M. Brooks
http://irishclimate.org/changing_shades_of_green.pdf
The world is always greener on St. Patrick's day. Unfortunately, Ireland is not immune to the effects of climate change. A new report released by the Irish American Climate Project explains many of the consequences that the Emerald Isle will suffer.
The potato, long an essential staple of Irish agriculture, will be stressed by prolonged summer droughts. It is likely that potatoes will no longer be a commercially viable crop over much of Ireland.
Perennially green landscapes will see the introduction of new colors, including the brown of dried grasses in summer and autumn.
The massive Irish diaspora tends to hold zealously to images of green hillsides, flowing rivers and soft rains. Some of these images will survive climate change; some will not.
A St. Patrick's Day where everyone wears brown will look just like a normal Monday.
Irish American Climate Project; March 17, 2008
Submitted by B. Shapiro
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120554497521738693.html
EPA has issued a report saying that the Warner-Lieberman cap-and-trade legislation would not significantly limit economic growth over the next two decades.
According to the analysis, if the U.S. were to implement the Lieberman-Warner bill, gross domestic product -- the total value of goods and services produced in the nation -- would grow 80% from 2010 to 2030, one percentage point less than its growth in the absence of the bill. That scenario is based on some assumptions that even supporters of the Lieberman-Warner bill acknowledge are ambitious….but doesn't account for the effects of a sweeping energy bill, passed by Congress in December.
The flip side: electricity and gas prices would likely increase.
Wall Street Journal; March 17, 2008
Submitted by M. Brooks
A recent report released by Ernst and Young looks at the top risks facing the insurance industry moving forward and identifies climate change as number one.
A copy of the study is available at the enclosed link.
Ernst & Young; March 17, 2008
Submitted by J. Andrews
http://washingtontimes.com/article/20080317/EDITORIAL/500286889/1013
Winston Churchill initiated the massive fuel-switching from coal to oil before World War One when he led Britain's Royal Navy. Nearly a century later, energy demands, combined with access to the world's primary fuel source, has put the United States at a political and economic crossroads.
Churchill's decision came in response to the global challenges he faced: an ascendant German Navy, technological innovations and an emerging global market for petroleum.
The high fuel prices that dominate news headlines are being driven by a tighter supply-demand equation. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that global energy demand will increase 55 percent by 2030, with nearly 75 percent of that demand coming from developing countries. Compounding this challenge, oil and gas in the ground is becoming more scarce and increasingly costly to access. The IEA estimates that meeting this demand will require an additional $22 trillion investment by 2030.
The United States faces a similar hostile environment that Great Britain experienced. However, unlike Great Britain, we must choose from a broad array of potential environmentally-friendly energy sources and commit to developing the infrastructure needed to sustain various American industries.
The Washington Times; March 17, 2008
Submitted by B. Shapiro
Blogger Richard Campbell has done an analysis of the Honeywell's press release announcing the landmark demand-response program from Baltimore Gas and Electric Company. This program will reduce peak energy consumption and increase savings for 420,000 households.
When electric utilities begin to talk of building new power generation facilities, environmental activists are usually quick to ask if other alternatives have been considered. Traditional power generation burns fossil fuels and the resulting greenhouse gas emissions are linked to global Climate Change. One alternatives that's been receiving a lot of recent attention is the concept of Demand Response. Put simply, demand response lessens load on the system by reducing the consumption of electricity. It allows those customers with the flexibility of choosing when they consume electricity to agree to turn off or reduce load when prompted to by the utility, usually in response to system peak loads that may otherwise cause service interruptions.
Nowadays, Demand Response is being viewed as a tool to control load growth and with it, provide added flexibility on the decision and timing of when to build new generation. New customer-friendly technologies are allowing utilities to reach into participating homes and businesses, providing the ability to control equipment and appliances, cycling these on and off in optimizing the use of generation or energy purchase decisions. Demonstration of these new Demand Response technologies is ongoing as customers are being introduced to the widening possibilities of the concept.
Of course, questions arise as to the effectiveness of these programs, including the issue of adequate customer response when the utility actually needs to shed load in, say for example, shutting off air conditioning on the hottest days of the year. Other criticisms focus on the real effectiveness of the program, i.e., is this a deferral mechanism or a true tool for permanent replacement of capacity? But even if the former is true, deferral may afford utilities the time to make cleaner generation choices and make decisions which can lead to a lessened environmental or carbon impact. Thus, conservation measures such as flipping the switch on generation may do more than just reduce customer's electricity bills.
Honeywell; March 14, 2008
Submitted by R. Campbell
http://tonyblairoffice.org/2008/03/tony-blair-launches-climate-ch.html?dm_i=233650032
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is now in Asia for the "Breaking the Climate Deadlock" summit.
The project is being conducted by The Climate Group, an independent, not-for-profit organisation that works internationally with government and business leaders to advance climate change solutions and accelerate a low carbon economy. They have convened, at the instigation of Tony Blair, a set of experts, to try to devise the framework capable of getting the developed world, including of course the USA, and the developing world, including China and India into a comprehensive deal to tackle climate change.
Tony Blair is responsible for this initiative's political guidance.
Office of Tony Blair; March 14, 2008
Submitted by B. Shapiro
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/12/MNVBVHVSN.DTL
All signs point to continued growth in the alternative energy sector, but expiration of Federal tax incentives looms on the horizon.
Worldwide sales for companies specializing in biofuels, wind farms, solar panels and fuel cells grew 40 percent in 2007 to reach $77.3 billion, according to an annual report issued Tuesday by Clean Edge, a research firm that studies the green technology industry. That's significant revenue for an industry crowded with startups, many of which don't yet have finished products to sell. But other companies - including major corporations such as General Electric - have waded into the field, selling their wind turbines and solar panels around the globe. Revenue in the wind power industry alone jumped 68 percent in 2007 to reach $30.1 billion as new wind farms sprouted across the United States and China. Sales of ethanol and biodiesel, together, grew about 24 percent to hit $25.4 billion. Solar photovoltaic sales grew 30 percent, totaling $20.3 billion.
The San Francisco Chronicle; March 12, 2008
Submitted by J. Andrews
http://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/stories/2008/03/10/daily27.html
Only a handful of businesses would stand to benefit from $5 million investment; at least it's a step.
Kentucky has launched a new program that will administer $5 million in state funds to companies that are developing renewable and alternative energy technologies...The program's investments will target early stage, Kentucky-based companies with high growth potential.
Business First of Louisville, March 12, 2008
Submitted by J. Dilley
A long outspoken critic of Department of Energy's performance in setting up a new clean energy loan guarantee program, Senator Pete Domenici introduced legislation last week that would establish a government corporation dedicated to facilitate investment in clean energy projects.
Domenici’s Clean Energy Investment Bank of the United States will operate in a fashion similar to the U.S. Export-Import Bank and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, but will focus on domestic investment activities to encourage financing for clean energy projects. The goal of the bank will be to reduce the overall cost of clean energy projects in order to facilitate their commercialization.
It seems that this bill comes out of his frustration with DOE and its inaction with the loan guarantee program for clean energy projects. The program was authorized in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which Domenici called his greatest legislative accomplishment. With clock winding down on his time in the Senate, Domenici wants to see his programs come to fruition.
Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, March 6, 2008
Submitted by M. Brooks
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080305/opec_meeting.html?.v=9
Maintaining official output levels keeps the door open for Gulf countries to alter production levels as needed is a strategy evidenced in recent months. It is unlikely that oil prices will come down in the near term.
OPEC President Chakib Khelil told reporters the global market is being affected by what he called "the mismanagement of the U.S. economy," and that America's problems were a key factor in the cartel's decision to hold off on any action.
Associated Press; March 5, 2008
Submitted by Z. Haddad
