Climate News Live
June 2008 Archives
A high number of clear days with the sun shining bright is not enough (on its own) to make all types of solar power economical. Solar photovoltaic cells (called Solar PV) have a fairly high initial cost for installation in rooftop arrays, and debate dogs the question of a true payback period. The comparison with power costs from the local utility aren't always favorable, since electricity is best generated from solar power on sunny days (and defintely not at night). Storage batteries can help with the economics, but the efficiency of these schemes tends still to suffer in comparison. However, the debate on the economics of solar PV shifts when Climate Change is figured in the mix, and the potential costs of mitigation are considered.
Fox 11 News, Tucson AZ; June 30, 2008
Submitted by R. Campbell
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121478564162114625.html
An April 2007 Supreme Court Decision that found that carbon dioxide emissions from cars are pollutants under the Clean Air Act and therefore subject to regulation has prompted the EPA to start drafting regulations on how the government can effectively cut ozone-depleting emissions from the transportation sector. Wall Street Journalists have been privy to the unreleased draft.
The court's ruling centered on emissions from automobiles. But it set the stage for regulations affecting the entire U.S. economy -- from power plants to factories and ships -- by ordering the EPA to determine whether greenhouse gases endanger public health or welfare, the legal criteria for regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.
In recent weeks, the Bush Administration warned that regulatory havoc would result if the EPA were to regulate greenhouse gases under the act. The White House argues the act restricts the EPA from considering costs when imposing regulations and could ultimately mean the agency would have to regulate nearly everything that created emissions, including hospitals, schools and apartment buildings.
The EPA draft document concludes that motor vehicles could be even more fuel efficient than currently required by law. Based on advanced technologies such as plug-in hybrid vehicles, fuel efficiency could be improved to well above 35 miles per gallon between 2020 and 2025, it says. A 2007 energy law that has been supported by the Bush administration mandates an average vehicle fuel-efficiency of 35 miles per gallon by 2020.
For other sectors, the EPA draft document shows how emissions such as carbon dioxide could be regulated through the government-permit process and through a cap-and-trade system similar to the programs the agency administers for acid rain and mercury.
Congress is currently investigating EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson and the White House for denying California a waiver to regulate their own greenhouse gas emissions and for editing significant science out of government reports that were supposed to be politically non-biased.
Wall Street Journal; June 30, 2008
Submitted by B. Shapiro
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/washingtondc/la-na-intel26-2008jun26,0,5875448.story
The U.S. intelligence agencies have compiled a report on climate change and its possible future affect around the world. The report concludes that climate change may threaten U.S. security because of humanitarian crises such as illegal immigration and ethnic violence from politically weaker countries.
According to the report, the effects of global warming are likely to be most severe in sub- Saharan Africa, the Middle East and Central and Southeast Asia. Its authors warn that less rainfall and more volatile weather could cut agricultural output in some regions of Africa by as much as 50%.
Democrats and environmental activists praised the assessment, calling it formal acknowledgment by a key part of the government that the threat of rising temperatures is real.
But the report was also criticized, particularly by skeptics of global warming and people who oppose using U.S. intelligence resources to track something as amorphous as the environment
The report also concluded that U.S. infrastructure is weak and is not prepared to deal with climate change.
Los Angeles Times: June 26, 2008
Submitted by M. Lamarre
McCain has been considered one of the more "environmentally-friendly" Republicans in Congress, but his speech yesterday is sure to anger his allies both on the Hill and off. He says that in order to lower oil prices, we need to lift the ban on offshore drilling. Currently only a few places in the Gulf of Mexico and around Alaska permit this. McCain wants to give power to the states to regulate drilling off their coasts.
"With gasoline running at more than four dollars a gallon, many do not have the luxury of waiting on the far-off plans of futurists and politicians," McCain told cheering political leaders and oil industry executives in Houston yesterday. "We have proven oil reserves of at least 21 billion barrels in the United States. But a broad federal moratorium stands in the way of energy exploration and production. And I believe it is time for the federal government to lift these restrictions and to put our own reserves to use."
President Bush also supports McCain's idea, but unlike the Commander-in-Chief, McCain still opposes drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Democrats have blasted McCain, who wanted to uphold the moratorium in 2000 before our current energy costs began to surge.
Boston Globe; June 18, 2008
Submitted by B.Shapiro
http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=594724&p=1\
Despite the overwhelmingly large number of data circulating supporting climate change and the popularity of climate change talks in governments' and businesses, Roger Pielke, political scientist at the University of Colorado, says there is nothing 'wacky' about the weather. Mr. Pielke examines the recent floods in Iowa and blames climate scientists and modelers for falsifying and exaggerating extreme weather patterns.
If all weather events are consistent with climate models, then no current weather events serve as any useful indicator of climate change or as a sign that climate change is happening.
Iowa floods are nothing new. Stories of failed levee maintenance, inappropriate settlement and development of flood regions are now emerging. Declining investment in bridge and river services create increased vulnerability to the inevitable and normal floods. A focus on climate change, which cannot be accurately singled out as the cause, can do no good.
Mr. Pielke even has a chart showing flood damages in the United States declining for the past 70 years. However, given Rex Tillerson's, head of Exxon, admit of paying organizations millions to downplay the impact of climate change last month, Mr. Pielkes will have to show a lot more data to convince climate change believers that there is nothing 'wacky' about climate change.
Financial Post: Terence Corcoran: June 18, 2008
Submitted: M. Lamarre
http://www.prdomain.com/companies/A/Allianz/newsreleases/200861758305.htm
Allianz's Chief Operating Officer, Oliver Bate, spoke to the UN General Assembly about what financial service companies can do to aid with global efforts to fight climate change. Bate also answered questions regarding the UN's role in fostering a better climate and the effect of climate change on businesses in the private sector.
When asked, what significance does climate change have for the business and strategy of Allianz? Bate cites the need to satisfy their customers.
Our business is to empower our customers to manage their risks and opportunities and to find solutions for the challenges they face. Climate change is one of most important challenges of the next centuries. If we manage to provide innovative and sustainable solutions like insurance and investments for clean technology, it will help our customers, and ultimately us, to generate sustainable growth.
Business Register: June 16, 2008
Submitted by: M. Lamarre
A group of experts who met in New Delhi concluded that climate change, even with its perils, would open opportunities for businesses in developing countries to make profits. The profits would come as a result of certified emission reduction (CER) sales.
Industrialized countries that have committed themselves to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions plan to achieve 25-30 per cent of their target by buying CERs from developing countries, according to YP Abbi, senior fellow at The Energy and Resources institute (TERI).
"This is a huge opportunity for Indian businesses," Abbi said at a seminar on the business of climate change organized by TERI and Knight International Journalism Fellowships.
However, researches suggested CER supplies will depend on numerous external factors. For example, China's recent earthquake would reduce their CER supplies by up to five percent.
The Times Of India; May 22, 2008
Submitted by M. Lamarre
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2008-06-15-power-prices-rising_N.htm
Energy costs are skyrocketing even without a cap-and-trade system in place. Our lack of a national energy policy has led to outdated infrastructure and no "Smart Grid." Fortunately, that is changing thanks to utility companies, who are raising their rates to pay for these problems and offset the rising costs of transportation fuels.
Utilities across the USA are raising power prices up to 29%, mostly to pay for soaring fuel costs, but also to build new plants and refurbish an aging power grid.
The increases come after rising fuel prices already have driven up utility bills nearly 30% in the past five years, the sharpest jump since the 1970s energy crisis. Fuel costs are again the main culprit. In Virginia, Potomac Edison, citing high coal and natural gas prices, plans to raise rates 29% on July 1, pushing an average monthly residential bill from about $70 to $90. AmerenUE, Missouri's largest utility, recently asked for its first rate increase in 20 years, a 12.1% boost, mostly to cover higher fuel costs. Customers of Public Service Co. of Oklahoma were socked with a 25% rise on June 1.
The price of coal, which fires half of U.S. power plants, has doubled since last year, largely because of surging energy use in countries such as China and India. Natural gas prices are up nearly 50% on high U.S. demand. In California, drought has forced Pacific Gas & Electric to replace cheap hydroelectric power with natural gas, helping to prompt it to seek 13% rate increases.
Once we build the smart grid and figure out to lower the costs of transportation fuels, will we see headlines saying, "Utilities Lower Rates"?
USA Today; June 15, 2008
Submitted by B.Shapiro
http://gas2.org/2008/06/10/senate-gop-blocks-windfall-profits-tax-on-big-oil/
As the average gas price surpasses $4 a gallon and oil companies earn record-shattering profits, the Senate Democrats attempted to pass legislation that would tax oil companies' windfall profits and rescind billions of dollars in tax breaks. However, the slim Democratic majority could not muster up enough votes to break a possible filibuster or override a White House veto.
The proposed windfall profits tax would have been somewhere between 10 and 12 billion dollars for this year, and it would have been levied against the country’s five largest oil companies. The legislation would have also rescinded $17 billion in tax breaks the companies expect to enjoy over the next decade.
"The oil companies need to know that there is a limit on how much profit they can take in this economy," said Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois, warning that if oil prices are not reined in, "we’re going to find ourselves in a deep recession."
As these oil companies are publicly-traded, would shareholders demand that they raise the prices of their products in order to meet and exceed profit expectations from the previous year?
Gas2; June 10, 2008
Submitted by B.Shapiro
http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/06/motorcycles-pol.html
Drivers pay more and more to fill up their motor vehicles at gas costs escalate, and many individuals (myself included) are thinking about getting a motorcycle or a scooter. However, a little-known fact about motorcycles and scooter is that they actually pollute significantly more than traditional automobiles.
Turns out the average motorcycle is 10 times more polluting per mile than a passenger car, light truck or SUV. It seems counter-intuitive, because motorcycles are about twice as fuel-efficient as cars and emit a lot less C02.
Motorcycle engines are twice as efficient as automobile engines, she notes, so they generally emit less carbon dioxide. But they emit large amounts of nitrogen oxides, which along with hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide are measured by state and federal air quality regulators to determine whether vehicles meet emissions rules.
Catalytic converters and other emissions control devices would clean things up, but they're often too big, too heavy or too hot to install on motorcycles. For that reason and others that Carpenter outlines in the column, the Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board are more lenient when it comes to motorcycle emissions.
As you make your next vehicle purchase, be mindful not just of the auto's fuel efficiency, but the effectiveness of its exhaust systems at reducing atmospheric pollution.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42687
The World Bank is coming under fire by green groups who says the World Bank should not control climate investment funds. Of particular concern to green groups is the ten-billion-dollar clean technology initiative that will create clean coal power plants instead of renewable energy from wind, sun, or tides from below the earth surface.
Proponents of the upgraded coal-burning technology say it qualifies as a "clean technology" because it produces sufficiently lower levels of climate-distorting pollutants than do conventional coal-fired power plants. Opponents disagree, adding that the new technology does nothing to minimize the environmental damage wrought by coal mining in the first place.
The World Bank has not compiled a record that most environmentalists approve of in its general operation," said Barney Frank, the Democrat who chairs the House of Representatives financial services committee. "It's like they do their environmental work one day a month and then they undo it."
The Bush administration is urging Congress to release up to two billion dollars for the next three years for the technology fund and wants the U.S. to take a leading role. G8 finance ministers will meet June 13 and 14 in Osaka, Japan to discuss the funds.
IPS: Abid Aslam; June 6, 2008
Submitted by: M. Lamarre
http://www.crosswalk.com/news/11576907/
Opponents of the climate security act says the bill, if passed, would be detrimental to the economy. Critics says that middle and lower class American will be the hardest hit because the bill would cut jobs in half. President Bush estimates that it will cost the American economy six trillions dollars and impede on its growth.
Myron Ebell, director of energy and global warming policy for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said the bill would dramatically increase energy prices and slow economic growth. The poorest Americans would be hardest hit by the increased price of energy, Ebell said, making the bill an "economic train wreck."
"It will do very little to address the alleged problem of future global warming," Ebell told Cybercast News Service. "It has very few benefits and very high costs."
Opponents advocate the use of technology to halt climate change. However, proponents of the bill continues to argue that the technology to slow the impacts of climate change are not available and the consequences of climate change will be far more expensive than the estimate cost of the bill. What do you think?
CNSNews.com: June 5, 2008
Submitted by M. Lamarre
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121248361250341033.html?mod=hps_us_whats_news
Calls for changes in biofuel and other agricultural policies met with resistance from U.S. and others…..
The United Nations called on countries at a global agriculture summit to rethink the production of biofuels and drop restrictions on food exports, saying these policies drive up food prices and cause hunger in poor countries. The U.N. took sides in the two heated debates Tuesday as it sought to mobilize aid for and investment in developing countries' farm sectors and secure access to food for the world's poor, as soaring food prices have triggered hunger and civil unrest in several developing countries. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a speech here that world food output needs to rise 50% by 2030 to meet the needs of a growing world population. "We have a historic opportunity to revitalize agriculture," Mr. Ban told delegates.
The Wall Street Journal; June 4, 2008
Submitted by J. Andrews
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2004453320_blairop03.html?syndication=rss
Former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, writes on the importance of the climate-change bill being debated this week by U.S. Senators, and urges the U.S., and nations around the world to take stronger actions to finance climate change.
Radical reduction is unlikely to happen through voluntary action alone. Measures in the bill, through a mandatory cap-and-trade scheme, would reduce emissions 70 percent from 2005 levels by 2050. These cuts would be based on a carbon-market-incentive system that moves with the grain of action around the globe.
Much is happening abroad. Europe has introduced the Emissions Trading System, with over half of emissions now tradable; despite the early teething troubles to be expected from any new policy framework, the system is delivering emissions reductions and sending a clear, market-based signal to companies across the continent. Japan has indicated that it is open to a binding national target. China has already set new energy-intensity targets. India is to unveil its first national climate action plan in the next few weeks.
Tony Blair also suggested that companies and governments around the world who acts early to cut emissions are seeing increase productivity. However, "Without an American commitment, a global deal is impossible," he concluded.
The Seattle Times; June 3, 2008
Submitted by M. Lamarre
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i24L5ar43z2rAHCAxJ4pik3NGcugD9123GS81
More than 2,000 delegates from 162 nations are meeting to discuss a climate change pact to succeed the Kyoto Protocol. The U.S., India, and China are among the states that will take part in what is called the Bonn talks. Delegates will meet to discuss finance strategies, and states responsibilities to minimize the impact of climate change.
The critical issue will be financial engineering," said Yvo de Boer, the United Nations' top climate official.
De Boer told The Associated Press on Sunday that by 2030 the world will need to spend $200 billion to $300 billion a year to contain global warming and help developing nations adapt to their changing conditions — such as less rainfall, harsher storms, and the extinction or migration of species.
Tax on shipping, aviation, and an auction on pollution rights are the finance ideas leading the talks.
Associated Press: Arthur Max; June 2, 2008
Submitted by M. Lamarre
