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April 29 Success of Earth Day on the Mall On Sunday, April 20th, the National Mall in Washington, DC hosted the flagship
event for this year's Earth Day celebrations. Thousands of people attended and enjoyed all the great guest speakers and musicians, who entertained the crowd but wouldn't let them forget what the main goal of the event was: to raise awareness and inspire political action against climate change. Mother Earth was also invited, and she sent us the "gift" of torrential rain. However, not even in the worst of the storm did the people stop moving to the music and answering with cheers to the environmental messages from the stage. There were also dozens of booths where exhibitors educated the public and suggested actions and products to help combat the crisis of global warming. The effects of this and other Earth Day events was felt on Tuesday, April 22nd, when thousands of calls inundated the US Capitol Switchboard with one single message: the need for strong, immediate and fair action against climate change. March 20 See for yourself!Yale’s School of Forestry & Environmental Studies recently launched a web site that looks at the economic factors of the reduction in carbon emissions. It assesses what would happen to the economy if certain environmental policies were implemented. You can go on the website and choose from 7 assumptions and predict the economic impact of reducing emissions. You decide which assumptions are realistic and what is the result if they occur. Based on the percentages you choose, you can see how the economy will react. The interesting thing is that, even with high percentages of reduction of CO2, US economic growth is projected to continue.
Go online and see for yourself! www.climate.yale.edu/seeforyourself. tags: Earth Day, Earth Day 2008, Earth Day Network March 17 China to start measuring its pollutionAs the 2008 Olympic Games approach, China multiplies actions to try to diminish pollution in the country. Some heavy polluters have been asked to keep on their business outside the Chinese borders, trees have been planted, some roads have been rerouted, etc. More than $16 billion have been spent on that purpose. Yet the problem is far from being solved. According to the World Health Organisation, the amount of smoke and dust particles in Chinese air is three to twelve times the maximum level usually accepted. Athletes are worried about the bad influence this situation may have on their performances, but a bigger concern should be the health of our planet. According to a study from the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, China has overtaken the United States as the world’s biggest CO2 emitter. In 2006 China would have produced 6,200m tonnes of CO2, compared with 5,800m tonnes from the US. Although these numbers have yet to be softened by the fact that China accounts 1,3 billion people compared with 300 million in the U.S., the situation has to be taken seriously as the energy of the country still relies on coal for 70% of the energy production. The last declaration from the Chinese government on the 29th of February stated the will of the country to report as accurately as possible the country’s worse polluters. This project would take the form of a survey, in which all the factories, farms and other polluters would have to report how much they pollute and what pollutant they discharge. In order to be successful, it has been said that the companies will not be charged any fines or sanctions. This way, we might finally have a really accurate vision of how big are the pollution problems of China. Hopefully environmental action will start before the results of the poll are released. March 12 Airline flies plane with 5 passengers across the Atlantic OceanFive passengers on Boeing 777 flight American Airlines AA90 recently enjoyed a gas-guzzling 4,000 mile journey. There were two flight attendants to each customer and even an upgrade to business-class in a transatlantic flight from Chicago to Heathrow Airport. Each passenger also enjoyed a carbon footprint of 43.2 tons of CO2.
What happened? During a hectic weekend with many delays, the American Airlines flight passage diminished as travelers found alternatives to avoid the delay. Only five passengers decided to wait. Rather than cancel the flight, American Airlines decided to fly the plane because, they claimed, there were passengers waiting at Heathrow airport. Environmentalists are calling this event one of the worst environmental crimes in aviation history. Driven by profit over environmental responsibility, American Airlines has only come up with excuses to justify their behavior. American Airline’s public statement was, “Our goal is to operate our fleet as efficiently as possible to provide our customers with excellent service while being a responsible environmental citizen.” The five passengers certainly benefited from this goal, but the environment was definitely short-changed.
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/03/05/7481/ tags: Earth Day, Earth Day 2008, Earth Day Network March 11 The Flying GovernorWho knows that traveling by plane is one of the worst ways to increase your carbon footprint? About everybody.
So isn’t it weird that Mr. Schwarzenegger spends almost 3 hours a day commuting in his private jet? It is understandable that he wants to spend time with his family, which is the explanation he has given to this commuting eccentricity, but maybe there are other possibilities than living in Los Angeles while his work is in Sacramento.
One hour of private jet pollutes as much as using a car for a year. Governor Schwarzenegger has done a lot for environmental protection, and he should find a better way of harmonizing his ideas and his lifestyle. Even if he offsets his flying miles, it would be much more sustainable (and cheaper) if he just moved permanently to California’s state capital. tags: Earth Day, Earth Day 2008, Earth Day Network March 10 Scientists say we need to stop carbon emissions altogetherNew data on climate change has led some scientists to advice that we cut all carbon emissions by mid-century, Juliette Eilperin reports for the Washington Post. Schmittner, a leading scientist in global warming, states if we continue on the same path for the rest of the century the Earth will warm by 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100. If emissions do not drop to zero until 2300, the temperature rise more than 15 degrees Fahrenheit. The message scientists are pushing is to cut all emissions by mid-century to avoid the dramatic rise. The main challenge? It is hard to predict whether politically and economically the world is ready to make the shift.
Read more at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/09/AR2008030901867.html?nav=rss_print tags: Earth Day, Earth Day 2008, Earth Day Network March 06 EXPERT: ARCTIC POLAR CAP MAY DISAPPEAR THIS SUMMER“The polar cap in the Arctic may well disappear this summer due to global warming”, Dr. Olav Orheim, head of the Norwegian International Polar Year Secretariat, recently said. tags: Earth Day, Earth Day 2008, Earth Day Network March 03 British Chief Economist says E.U. carbon cap system has no significant impact on the economyAt an Environmental and Energy Study Institute briefing last Friday, Michael Grubb said that "The EU economy is not going to be threatened by the Emissions Trading Scheme." Grubb is chief economist at Carbon Trust, a public-private partnership established by the UK government.
Companies will have to deal with the transition to a low-carbon economy. Grubb referred to a report released last month by Carbon Trade about EU ETS impacts on profitability and trade. According to this report, the EU carbon cap-and-trade system will have a negligible impact on the economy. The EU ETS will damage only a few British industries. "They account for over 50% of UK CO2 emissions, but under 1% of total GDP," said Grubb . These manufacturing activities range from the production of cement to steel aluminium. Growing environmental costs may prompt them to relocate overseas. The EU first implemented its Emissions Trading Scheme in 2005, and in January 2008 it entered a second phase with tougher CO2 emission reduction targets. The ETS now includes 46% of the total EU carbon emissions and its scope is expected to expand further. For instance, aviation is expected to be included in 2011 for internal flights and 2012 for external ones. "It is the central European instrument for emission reduction and the backbone of the Kyoto treaty implementation," said Grubb. tags: Earth Day, Earth Day 2008, Earth Day Network February 25 Sharks slaughtered in the MaldivesThe shark fishery is one of the main sources of profit for the Maldives. The fins are exported in China where they constitute a premium product in restaurants. The jaws are sold to the tourists of the island. But even tourism is being hurt by the shortage of sharks to be seen by adventure-seeking tourists. If the situation is critical in the Maldives the problem of shark protection is a worldwide one. According to the journal Ecology Letters of September 2006, 73 million sharks are killed every year. This business is now becoming so important that the quantities fished will soon overcome the capability of the sharks to reproduce. This may already be the case with the Blue Shark which is the most fished species. The
disappearance of sharks is a grave environmental issue. The consequences of the
overfishing on some ecosystems could be serious. For instance, and according to
LiveScience.com, “without sharks, carnivorous fish that the sharks usually fed
on thrived. The carnivorous fish, in turn, preyed on parrotfish that kept the corals clean.”
tags: Earth Day, Earth Day 2008, Earth Day Network February 15 What about environmental policy in the U.S?As this article in Foreign Policy shows, there is still a lot of work to be done. What is sure is that facing the
issue is an obligation. There is no more time for debating over and over. Climate degradation is a reality, so
is the danger faced by the Earth, and by all of us if nothing changes. Policy
makers must act right now to adopt strong policies concerning carbon emissions
reduction, like the 25-40% below 1990 levels by 2020 proposed in Bali.
tags: Earth Day, Earth Day 2008, Earth Day Network February 14 US lags in scientific education, environmental progress suffersOn January the 15th, the National Science Board delivered to the President and the Congress the Science and Engineering Indicators for the year 2008. This publication is a great opportunity to know precisely what the U.S’ education/research in Sciences and Engineering are worth. Would we be declining? Well, the least we can say is that there are mixed allegations. Although the money spent in R&D efforts in the US is far higher than in any other country, we notice a decreasing market share, mainly to the profit of Asian countries. Another dangerous trend, “U.S. grade school students continue to lag behind other developed countries in science and math”. This is of extreme relevance to the environmental community because climate change will not be tackled without a great deal of technological and scientific innovation, which at the same time would bring about economic progress through the development of what is known as “the green economy.” US leaders have reason for concern. See the entire report at http://nsf.gov/statistics/seind08/ tags: Earth Day, Earth Day 2008, Earth Day Network Is Corporate Greenwashing Headed for a Fall?When big companies talk about sustainable development, they often focus on development and the sustainability comes as an afterthought. What we sometimes see is one little part of the process that has been changed while ignoring the other detrimental components of production. It is often up to the consumer to discern good corporate practices from greenwashing without enough information to go on. As this article points out, it is important to remember being less bad is not necessarily being good.
tags: Earth Day, Earth Day 2008, Earth Day Network February 04 Poor countries suffer disproportionately from climate change-related problemsRich nations are causing environmental damage that disproportionately impacts poorer nations and costs them more than their combined foreign debt, a new study shows. The look at ecological footprints led by University of Berkeley research fellow Thara Srinivasan analyzed the impacts of a number of environmental issues - agricultural intensification and expansion, deforestation, loss of mangroves swamps and forests, overfishing, climate change, and ozone depletion - over a 40-year period, from 1961- 2000. Researchers found that while climate change will be felt equally, low-income countries and poor civilians will not have the financial capacity to address these arising issues. Earth Day Network’s Sky Petition is asking members of Congress to address the issue of climate change in a fair and equitable way. As seen in Srinivasan’s report and countless others, poor countries and poor people will bear the biggest burden from the actions of high-income countries and individuals. Climate change is occurring and it must be reversed now. Please join the cause. tags: Earth Day, Earth Day 2008, Earth Day Network February 01 Decline in snowpack linked to global warmingScientists report that the decline in snowpack in many areas of the US mountain west is linked to global warming and not the result of natural weather patterns:
By Mark Kaufman
The Washington Post
The persistent and dramatic decline in the snowpack of many mountains in the West is caused primarily by human-induced global warming and is not the result of natural variability in weather patterns, researchers reported yesterday.
Read more here.
tags: Earth Day, Earth Day 2008, Earth Day Network January 25 WHY ETHANOL PRODUCTION WILL DRIVE WORLD FOOD PRICES EVEN HIGHER IN 2008By Lester R. Brown, Earth Policy Institute Lester R. Brown, President of the Earth Policy Institute and author of Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, has recently published an article on the connection between increased ethanol production and rising food prices worldwide. The search for "energy independence" is worsening the conditions of the poor of the planet, who are already disproportionately bearing the cost of climate change. "We are witnessing the beginning of one of the great tragedies of history. The United States, in a misguided effort to reduce its oil insecurity by converting grain into fuel for cars, is generating global food insecurity on a scale never seen before. The world is facing the most severe food price inflation in history as grain and soybean prices climb to all-time highs. Wheat trading on the Chicago Board of Trade on December 17th breached the $10 per bushel level for the first time ever. In mid-January, corn was trading over $5 per bushel, close to its historic high. And on January 11th, soybeans traded at $13.42 per bushel, the highest price ever recorded. All these prices are double those of a year or two ago." Read more at www.earthpolicy.org/Updates/2008/Update69.htm tags: Earth Day, Earth Day 2008, Earth Day Network US Ranks Poorly in Environmental Performance IndexNot surprisingly, the U.S. lags far behind in the
just-released environmental ranking of countries by university experts known as
the 2008 Environmental Performance Index (EPI). Switzerland topped the list of
environmental rankings. The U.S. came in
only 39th out of 149 countries in terms of air pollution, water
quality and other measures. This
ranking is lower than two years ago
when the US scored 28th. While U.S.
scores were high for issues like sanitation, drinking water, and other
environmental health regulations, when it
comes to policies to address climate change, ozone depletion, and sulfur
dioxide emissions the U.S.
lack of action weakened its score. European
countries lead the pack, with Switzerland,
Sweden and Norway on top. Costa Rica’s
sound environmental policies have paid off: the Central American nation scored
an outstanding 5th place. On the other side of the spectrum, Sierra Leone, Angola
and Niger
have the lowest rankings. The study was released at the World Economic Forum
annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. In an interview with Reuters, Gus Speth, Dean
of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, called the U.S. ranking a
“national disgrace.” For more information, visit www.epi.yale.edu tags: Earth Day, Earth Day 2008, Earth Day Network January 22 2007 Among Warmest Years on RecordFrom EESI Climate Change News, January 18, 2008 Reports from two teams of scientists indicate that 2007 was one of the warmest years on record, continuing the trend of a warming planet. NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies concluded 2007 was the second-warmest year behind 2005, while the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported last year as the fifth-warmest year on record. NOAA’s team also concluded that seven of the eight warmest years on record have taken place since 2001. According to the NASA analysis, the global average land-ocean temperature last year was 58.2°F, slightly more than 1°F above the average temperature between 1951 and 1980, which scientists use as a baseline. “We've got a sustained warming of the planet, which is unequivocal, and the best we can work out is that it's because we've been increasing the greenhouse gas emissions, primarily,” said Gavin Schmidt, a climate scientist at Goddard. “That means it's going to continue. The long-term trends are up, and they're up in the same way our models have been predicting for the last 20 years.” The team at NASA compiled their data from readings at weather stations from all over the world and included all of the readings from 2007. NOAA used the same readings, but did not include December data in their preliminary report and analyzed the readings slightly differently to account for phenomena such as the urban heat island effect. Click on the following links for more information: tags: Earth Day, Earth Day 2008, Earth Day Network January 16 Dingell floats auto industry exemption in cap-and-trade billBy Darren Samuelsohn, E&E Daily senior reporterThe chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee signaled yesterday that the auto industry may get a pass as he drafts global warming legislation this year.Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) insisted that car companies already face strict new corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) requirements under the energy law President Bush signed last month. Dingell told reporters at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit that he would try to spare his home-state's main industry any more pain when it comes to a new U.S. cap-and-trade program that sets mandatory limits on heat-trapping greenhouse gases. "We've had everybody else get practically a free ride while the auto industry's come up with a 40 percent increase in fuel economy," Dingell said, according to remarks published on the Detroit Free Press Web site. "I'm going to try and see that the pain is shared fairly all around." It's unclear exactly how Dingell will follow through with plans to leave the auto industry alone in cap-and-trade legislation, especially considering the number of auto-related items already in play in a Senate bill headed for floor debate early this year. The Senate legislation from Connecticut independent Joe Lieberman and Virginia Republican John Warner puts a first-ever carbon limit on petroleum refiners and a number of other major energy-intensive industries. It also sets a national standard that would gradually reduce the amount of carbon in the country's fuel mix. As a bonus for automakers, there is potentially $40 billion in incentives to help car companies build more climate-friendly vehicles. A Dingell spokeswoman did not elaborate further on the Michigan Democrat's strategy. During his appearance in Detroit, Dingell explained that that he was working as quick as he could to produce a climate bill and he repeated a pledge to set long-term cuts of about 80 percent by 2050. Dingell also said he welcomed the Bush administration's decision last month denying California's request to enforce a state law imposing a roughly 40.5 mile per gallon fuel economy standard by 2016 for most cars and trucks. California and more than a dozen other states are suing U.S. EPA over the waiver rejection. But Dingell said the states' effort would be "a terrible, terrible problem for everybody concerned" given that Bush just signed into law a national CAFE program of 35 miles per gallon by 2020. "It will get so expensive that people won't be able to buy, and it will get so difficult the companies won't be able to produce anyway," Dingell said. Warming makes Dems' top three issuesLooking ahead to 2008, House Democrats have put climate change front and center on their agenda during this presidential election year. In a prepared statement released yesterday, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said climate belonged alongside several of the more traditional items typically mentioned by congressional leaders. "We are focused on addressing the economic insecurity that is felt by so many Americans; on strengthening our national security and refocusing on the fight against terrorism; and taking action on global warming," Hoyer said. Democratic leaders -- including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Hoyer, Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) -- are expected to preview their schedule for the coming year at a press conference later today. From the other side of the aisle, House Republican leaders say they will raise concerns about the economic implications of the Democrat-led cap-and-trade plan. "Certainly something is going on out there," said Rep. Adam Putnam (R-Fla.), the chairman of the Republican conference. "We want to have the right approach to solving it that doesn't exacerbate an already weak economy and accelerate unemployment." Asked if he expected Democrats to find success in 2008, Putnam replied, "It's hard to see they'd be able to pass any kind of a comprehensive approach to the problem. I think there may be some incremental pieces that will be doable in the short window we're operating in. But I think the real debate is probably waiting on a different occupant in the White House, whichever party they may be." Some green groups want the House to get going. "They've got some important catch-up work to do," Steve Cochran, national climate change director at Environmental Defense, said in an e-mail sent yesterday to his group's supporters. Cochran
urged Environmental Defense members to send messages to lawmakers on
Capitol Hill, especially those in the House, urging them to move a
climate bill in 2008 rather than wait until next year.For more information, visit www.eenews.net December 20 Perspectives on climate change and what to do about it (IV)By Jeff Guilford The Evangelical Climate Initiative A small but growing voice in the climate change debate is that of the religiously motivated environmentalist. As a representative organization of these typically socially conservative citizens, The Evangelical Climate Initiative stresses 4 “claims” that are central to the movement. These claims are: “human-induced climate change is real; the consequences of climate change will be significant, and will hit the poor the hardest; Christian moral convictions demand our response to the climate change problem; the need to act now is urgent. Governments, businesses, churches, and individuals all have a role to play in addressing climate change—starting now.”Since most of the voters represented by The Evangelical Climate Initiative will most likely be conservative on most social issues, their responses to the political recognition of climate change, primarily by Democrats, is bound to be mixed. The only political direction offered by the organization’s website is the encouragement to “Contact your Senators and Representative and let them know that as a Christian you are concerned about global warming’s impact on the poor and your children's future and you want them to support legislation that significantly addresses the problem.” It is impossible to predict how, the growing concern about climate change will affect the voting statistics of this, up till now primarily Republican supporting demographic. Most likely the supporters of The Evangelical Climate Initiative will split their support between the Democrats, who offer stronger climate platforms, but liberal social platforms, and the Republicans, who offer weaker climate platforms, but more conservative social platforms. Exactly how this split will occur is unpredictable. One possible significant future implication of this growing support of action against climate change by traditionally conservative voters is that Republican representatives may begin to address climate change more directly as their base becomes more accepting of this.tags: Earth Day, Earth Day 2008, Earth Day Network December 19 Perspectives on climate change and what to do about it (III)By Jeff Guilford The Economist The Economist is a well known British news magazine that traditionally promotes a fiscally conservative, free-market approach to solving political problems. Having accepted global warming as a legitimate concern, The Economist has promoted solutions to this problem in accordance with this previously state laissez-faire philosophy. Also as would be expected of a fiscally conservative source, TheEconomist is highly skeptical of the current big-government approaches to carbon reduction that are currently being advocated by the top candidates in current presidential election. The Economist is less frantic than Grist about introducing immediate climate action, not because its writers are any less concerned about the potential effects of global warming, but because of their belief on the harm that poorly planned fiscal policy can inflict upon an economy. Whereas immediate, decisive action was the general course of action advocated by Grist, careful, efficient action seems to be the course of action generally advocated by The Economist. The 20% gap between the 88% of people who acknowledge global warming as a reality, and the 68% of people who think the government should do more to prevent it, probably consists mostly of people who share a view point similar to the one advocated by this magazine. The Economist is strongly opposed to the way that presidential candidates have linked energy independence and carbon emission reduction together as one, mutually compatible goal. Autarky, (government-forced self-sufficiency) says an article criticizing this linkage, is by definition, inefficient, and efficiency is necessary to achieve carbon reduction. An example of the negative effect that the current emphasis on energy independence is having upon carbon reduction, is the high tariff that the United States has raised against Brazilian sugar cane (a raw material that can be converted very efficiently into ethanol), while at the same supporting the subsidization of less-efficient, US grown corn ethanol, which in terms of carbon emissions is at best marginally better that gasoline. There is a concern among economists that carbon reduction will become “a weapon in the hands of America's growing gang of protectionists.” Another aspect of the current American political debate on climate change that The Economist is critical of is the unanimous support of a cap-and-trade system over what they is a much more efficient approach to carbon reduction, a carbon tax. The theory goes that by taxing carbon (i.e. raising the price of goods that require carbon to produce), according to the economic law of demand, the quantity demanded of goods that require carbon inputs would decrease, thus decreasing the nation’s carbon emission. The Economist’s support of the carbon tax stems from the typical fiscally conservative belief that government bureaucracy (of which a cap-and-trade system would require a lot) are inefficient, and should not be relied on if there is another way of accomplishing a goal, which in this case they believe there is. Overall the major difference
between The Economist and Grist is that the first one is concerned
that the economic cost of a poorly planned carbon reduction policy could
potentially outweigh the future effects of global warming. Stemming from this
concern is the more highly critical view that the magazine takes toward developments
in the current presidential race.
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