Business Group pushes for climate and energy legislation through advertising
National companies and grassroots organizations 3,000 strong have launched a national advertising campaign calling for swift action on energy and climate legislation. The group includes a wide range of companies - from American Businesses for Clean Energy (ABCE) and the US Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) and mom-and-pop companies, to brands ranging from national brands like Google, Nike and Timberland.
The print ad, titled A Question of American Leadership will run in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Carolina and Florida. It calls on the U.S. Congress to enact bipartisan climate and energy legislation that “…increases our security and limits emissions, as it preserves and creates jobs.”
The group represents a a broad spectrum:
American businesses
faith-based groups
national security [...]
High Speed Rail in the US
Phineas Baxandall of the Huffington post wrote an interesting article on high speed rail in the US. The US government has recently set aside a one-time $8 billon high speed rail stimulus to be distributed to 31 states.
Baxandall argues that the government needs to continue investing in high speed rail to develop an efficient rail network that spans across the country. A one time commitment is simply not enough. High speed rail provides a great alternative to air travel, especially to small commuter flights, and is a far better option for the environment. Additionally, the construction of a high speed rail network would help stimulate the economy by creating millions of [...]
No wonder the environment is losing
There’s been much lamenting across the media about the apparent failure of the Copenhagen Summit last month. Yet in reading today’s headlines, it really couldn’t have ended any other way.
Take for instance the following:
“European Manufacturers Rally Against 30% Reduction in GHG Emissions”
“FirstEnergy Asks to Exceed Mercury Limits in Wastewater Discharges”
And then there’s yesterday’s headline:
“Alaska senator moves to bar EPA rules on greenhouse gas emissions“
With so much pressure and financial backing coming from so many directions, how could the Summit’s outcome been otherwise?
Balance this against continued evidence that climate change is indeed speeding along, with the Arctic northwest passage now being tussled over for a variety of development projects – from laying underwater telecommunications cable to prospective oil [...]
Copenhagen Summit severly limits NGO participation
With the eyes of the world on Copenhagen and the U.N. Climate Change Conference, it seems that organizers will be limiting who can get inside during the last most critical decision-making sessions.
While 45,000 people are registered, today and tomorrow only 7,000 civilian observers will be allowed entrance, with those numbers reduced to 1,000 on Thursday and a mere 90 allowed in the conference center by Friday, the day of final negotiations.
A coalition of 50 NGOs ( non-government organizations) has drafted a formal letter protesting this move, saying the restrictions are a breach of Denmark’s obligation to provide public access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters.
In response to this [...]
KLM to boldly test the first biofuel passenger flight
Taking airline passenger flights to a new height, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will test their first passenger-filled flight on November 23rd, using a 50-50 mix of biofuel and regular fuel.
With the aviation industry’s recent commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, this is a big step forward.
KLM plans to use biofuel made from camellia crops, which don’t impact the food chain and don’t require large amounts of water or fertilizers. The bigger “plus” is this biofuel produces 84 percent less emission than other jet fuel. That’s a pretty dramatic decrease.
You can be sure the aviation industry will be watching this test closely. If all goes well, [...]
Update from Conference on Sustainable Tourism
Speaker Jackeline Lopez of Mapache Rent A Car spoke of their “passionate reforestation” program.They work with mature forests, not with planting new forests, she said.
They also are involved with a new co-generation plant for waste. Prior to its opening, in 2007 saw the annual generation of 22 tons of waste. The impact of the new plant was dramatic – a 50 percent waste reduction.
This is a clean process, with continual monitoring of emitted gasses. The process is certified and the resultant waste is traceable.
The company has two commitments:
to reduce GHG emissions
energy savings
There are eight such facilities across Costa Rica. The company has received numerous recognitions from Costa Rica’s Ministers of Energy and of [...]
Costa Rica signs Agreement to offset airline flight emissions
At yesterday’s international conference on Sustainable Tourism, Costa Rica’s Minister of Energy, the head of CANACEO and the head of the division of Forestry signed the Climate Conscious Travel Agreement.
This historic document outlines a unique carbon offset compensation program designed to to offset tourist-related CO2 flight emissions while reducing Costa Rica’s deforestation.
Air transporation represents 95 percent of all CO2 emissions in Costa Rica.
CANAECO will work with tour operators and hotels, acting as a “reservation center” to distribute tour certificates. Shared fees from the three tourist-related sectors will be funneled to Costa Rica non-profits such as the National Forestry Financing Fund and the Sustainable Biodiversity Fund (the latter an arm of the World Bank) for programs to help avoid deforestation. [...]
What is causing CO2 Emissions?
Carbon Dioxide Emission is the burning of fossil fuels such as gas, oil, and coal. We burn these three things so much that the United States produce the second most pollution in this world.
CO2 and Power Plants Power Plants are the leading cause in CO2 emissions and is produced from the burning of coal. In the electrical utility industry coal accounts for 93% of these emissions when it is burned. Of the three major fossil fuels, coal, oil, and gas, coal is the most carbon intensive. When the coal burns to generate electricity it emits 1.7 times as much carbon per unit of energy as natural gas and 1.25 as much [...]
Who is causing CO2 Emissions?
Carbon Dioxide is known as a Greenhouse Gas and is the most important of the bunch. CO2 is produced from the burning of coal, gas, and oil, and also the burning of forests. Who is causing all of this mess? The U.S produces 5.2 metric tons of this gas, in high emission countries they only produce 3 metric tons per capita, and low emission countries produce less than 1 metric ton per capita. Most of these fossil fuels provide most of our energy but I would say that we are above the high. So are we the only ones? No, China matched our level or higher in 2007. http://www.nutramed.com/environment/greenhouse.htm
Albert Lin, with Future [...]
Brazil takes on deforestation
In today’s Bioneers conference, speaker Jim Garrison announced that Brazil has taken on the “80 in ‘20″ goals big time.
For those who don’t know, that’s reducing CO2 emissions by 80% by the year 2020.
Brazil’s media – one of the largest in the world – has is actively supporting the “2020″ movement. According to Garrison, Brazil’s media is running environmental advertising daily to remind and support people about cutting carbon emissions., something unheard of on this side of the Gulf of Mexico.
Also, Garrison said that the governors of the Amazon regions have committed to reducing deforestation of the Amazon to help meet those 2020 goals. This unprecedented commitment – coming from politocos in [...]