Nuclear energy: What role should it play in tackling global warming?

Here, in very simple terms, is what CCAN thinks:

In terms of greenhouse gas reductions [nuclear energy] is not a deal breaker. Despite the many negatives of nuclear energy, one positive is that it generates almost no carbon dioxide. [CCAN does] not advocate building a single new nuclear power plant, but neither [does it] advocate shutting down existing ones in the face of rapid global warming.

What do you think? What role, if any, should nuclear power play in the face of rapid global warming? Continue reading

Another climate victory from the courts!

A federal judge in Vermont just rejected an attempt by automakers to block individual states from adopting their own standards for limiting greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks. This just goes to show us all that the argument that the states are making is a no brainer. Regulating greenhouse gases from cars has NOTHING to do with federal fuel economy standards. Way to go District court of Vermont!

California’s efforts to combat global warming with tough restrictions on tailpipe emissions got a boost Wednesday from a federal judge, who upheld states’ right to require that vehicles emit far fewer pollutants.

The complete article can be viewed here.

What’s next? Since the Supreme Court has already ruled in favor of the states, the ball is in the EPA’s court. The Clean Air Act allows California to set its own emissions standards, provided that it gets a routine waiver from the EPA. EPA’s granting of a federal waiver to California is thus the next step in the regulatory process. California has never been denied a waiver in past instances of other regulatory action, but in this case has still not been granted one even though they applied for it in December of 2005!

Why I Fight Coal

One would hope that we, as a society, are closing in on a conscious recognition that the time to remove coal from the ground to burn it is nearly done.

Ice the size of Florida melts – in a week

As we have often said, there are few better barometers of the advance of global warming than the condition of our polar ice caps.

And once again today, we are confronted with dramatic news that ice is melting – and global warming advancing – much faster than previously thought. As was reported today, the summer ice pack in the Arctic – air conditioner to the planet and home of the majestic polar bear and other equally stunning animals – reached a new record low, smashing the old record set in 2005. Incredibly enough, 69,000 square miles of ice – roughly the same size as the state of Florida – has melted… in just the past seven days!

The news by itself is alarming enough. It’s also disturbing to note the mainstream media’s seeming inability to follow the news on this critical issue, since the possibility of an summer ice-free Arctic by 2020 was already predicted in a report by the National Snow and Ice Data Center this past May. Equally disturbing is the idea that nations are now fighting over the “fabled” Northwest Passage through the Arctic that is suddenly opening up, as opposed to redoubling (or quadrupling) their efforts to make sure that climate change is halted and reversed, Northwest Passage be damned.

As the article notes, this dramatic loss of Arctic sea ice will spell doom for the polar bear and other inhabitants of the Arctic, and it will also likely have a dramatic effect on weather patterns for the rest of the planet. It’s not just the polar bears that are threatened with extinction anymore. In the words of Rob Watson, “people see an endangered species every day now when they look in the mirror.”

There is still time left to act, but it is running out. Thanks for joining the Chesapeake Climate Action Network in our campaign to fight global warming. And in particular, please consider joining us as we stand up and speak out for the polar bears in our Third Annual Polar Bear Plunge on December 8th. Check it out, and sign up, at www.keepwintercold.org

New Orleans was a Curtain Raiser

On the August 27th Tavis Smiley show, Mike Tidwell discussed his newest book, The Ravaging Tide, which focuses on Hurricane Katrina and what it means for the future of the US and global warming.

Click below to watch Mike’s interview with Tavis Smiley.

Tidwell on Climate: Forget the Darn Light Bulbs

Enough with the bloody lightbulbs already!

By Mike Tidwell
Published in Grist, www.grist.org
04 Sep 2007

Strange but true: Energy-efficient light bulbs and hybrid cars are hurting our nation’s budding efforts to fight global warming.

More precisely, every time an activist or politician hectors the public to voluntarily reach for a new bulb or spend extra on a Prius, ExxonMobil heaves a big sigh of relief.

Scientists now scream the news about global warming: it’s already here and could soon, very soon, bring tremendous chaos and pain to our world. The networks and newspapers have begun running urgent stories almost daily: The Greenland ice sheet is vanishing! Sea levels are rising! Wildfires are out of control! Hurricanes are getting bigger!

But what’s the solution? Most media sidebars and web links quickly send us to that peppy and bright list we all know so well, one vaguely reminiscent of Better Homes and Gardens: “10 Things You Can Do to Save the Planet.” Standard steps include: change three light bulbs. Consider a hybrid car for your next purchase. Tell the kids to turn out the lights. Even during the recent Al Gore-inspired Live Earth concerts, the phrase “planetary emergency” was followed by “wear more clothes indoors in winter” and “download your music at home to save on the shipping fuel for CDs.”

Nice little gestures all, but are you kidding me? Does anyone think this is the answer? Continue reading

Trees and Global Warming: In defense of trees

The popularity of trees is taking a hit in the land of carbon dioxide equivalents; trees uptake carbon while alive but can be chopped down. It is hard to figure out how much carbon a tree is removing when it is newly planted and has a high chance of mortality. Add to that that fact that some scientists say that the dark color of trees in the North makes it so they absorb the rays of the sun and cancel out the positive effect of absorbing Carbon Dioxide and releasing water vapor (Brahic, C. 2006. Location is key for trees to fight global warming. New Scientist, December 15, 2006. http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/dn10811-location-is-key-for-trees-to-fight-globalwarming.html. [you need a subscription to read this article]). I have friends in forestry and they asked me to share information with them that I find about trees and global warming, so this post is for them.

Let’s talk for a moment about why trees are crucial to protecting us from global warming. Eric Carlson of Carbonfund shared 8/16 (in the comments of the ClimateProgress blog) this food for thought:

But consider this: Trees are the only carbon offset that actually reduce CO2 emissions in the atmosphere today and from the last half century or longer. Renewables and efficiency reduce the need for future emissions (also critical) but trees serve important social and environmental needs, reduce CO2 today and BUY us time to get to a clean tech future. Also, if deforestation accounts for about 20% of climate change, as many experts agree, reforestation is absolutely a part of the solution. And certified offsets are the same whether they come from wind or trees (which is why certifications are so important). Many of our supporters prefer trees and, given their importance, we give them the choice of which type of offsets they want to support. I absolutely understand people who prefer renewables or efficiency, but I also understand why some people would choose trees and they too are providing an important part of the solution.

Continue reading

Maryland Residential Energy Efficiency Programs

New! Save money, save energy, and save carbon dioxide emissions: The Maryland Energy Administration has announced four new programs “designed to save Maryland residents both energy and money”, reports Southern Maryland Online.

According to the article, the four new “EmPOWER Maryland” Programs include:

  • Maryland Energy Efficient Affordable Housing Development Program – Using a $250,000 grant from MEA, the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) will initiate an affordable housing program to increase the energy efficiency of homes receiving funding assistance from DHCD. New homes will have to meet the national EPA ENERGY STAR Qualified New Homes energy saving target of 15 percent more energy efficient than required by code. Existing home rehabilitation projects will have to increase their energy efficiency levels by approximately 15 percent.

  • Improving Energy Efficiency in Existing Homes Continue reading

Maryland Climate Change Commission progress

Southern Maryland News reports that “On Wednesday, August 8th, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) hosted the first meeting of the Maryland Climate Change Commission’s Adaptation & Response Working Group (ARWG). ” The executive order to create this Commission was signed by O’Malley back on April 20, 2007. The Commission is to develop a Maryland Climate Action Plan. The Commission also has three working groups: the Scientific and Technical Working Group, the Greenhouse Gas and Carbon Mitigation Working Group, and the Adaptation and Response Working Group.

Notice the word “Adaptation” coming up over and over again now.

The Adaptation and Response working group is chaired by DNR Secretary John R. Griffin, who says that, “If left unchecked, rising temperatures will cause devastating impacts to Maryland’s people, natural resources, and property.” This poor group is assigned the task of cleaning the Augean Stables. I mean they are supposed to “recommend strategies for reducing the vulnerability of the State’s coastal, natural, and cultural resources and communities to the impacts of climate change; and develop a comprehensive strategy for reducing Maryland’s climate change vulnerability” Continue reading