10 March, 2008 at 10:56
He’s not running for president, nor is he even politically active, but former New York City mayor Ed Koch recently wrote a stirring editorial about global warming for the website Real Clear Politics. The piece, “We Need Fairness in Fight against Warming,” criticizes the Kyoto Protocol for disparately burdening industrialized and developing countries:
“That treaty effectively imposes severe limitations on the use by developed countries such as the U.S., Japan and Western Europe, of oil and coal which are primarily responsible for creating greenhouse gases, while exempting from mandatory reductions the so-called developing countries such as India and China.”
His argument assumes that all countries should proportionally reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Under Kyoto however, “Non-Annex 1,” or developing countries, are not obligated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but are allowed to sell carbon credits earned through domestic reduction plans known as Clean Development Mechanism. Meanwhile, “Annex-1,” or developed countries like the United States, would have to reduce greenhouse gas emissions a collective average of 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. The Senate, citing the plan’s disproportionate treatment and “serious harm to the economy,” unanimously voted not to ratify the Kyoto Protocol in a 2002 resolution, a “responsible and fair” position writes Koch: More..
8 March, 2008 at 10:56
On the face of things, Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have identical plans to curb greenhouse gas emissions: a cap and trade system to lower CO2 emissions to 80 percent of 1990 levels by the year 2050. Every carbon credit would be auctioned to the highest bidders, and some of the proceeds would be used to invest in clean energy and energy-efficiency programs.
Yet both candidates are co-sponsors of a bill that comes up short of their stated reduction goals, known as the Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act of 2007. The bill was introduced by Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) in January of 2007, and prescribes a cap and trade program to lower CO2 emissions 66 percent by 2050 from year 2000 levels. Senator John McCain is also a co-sponsor of the bill, saying “America can and must assume its proper leadership role in addressing the preeminent environmental issue of our time.” More..
5 March, 2008 at 10:56
Lake Michigan looks massive from the shores of downtown Chicago, yet scientists who study the lake say global warming of even a few degrees could threaten the lake’s ecosystem and jeopardize Chicago’s only source of drinking water. This report looks at why less ice cover could lead to more evaporation, meaning lower lake levels and even oxygen depletion. A written article accompanying the video can be found on the Medill Reports website.
3 March, 2008 at 10:56
The Department of Energy reports that one third of carbon dioxide emissions in this country come from the transportation sector. Imagine what it'd be like with less cars on the road. Here's a humorous how-to video on riding a bike, produced during a weekend visit to Kalamazoo, Michigan.
1 March, 2008 at 10:56
Hillary Clinton was the only presidential candidate to attend the Greater Houston Partnership’s America’s Energy Future summit on Thursday. Facing a “tepid” crowd of energy industry leaders, Clinton said subsidies for Big Oil are not a sustainable investment.
“I do not believe that now is the time when subsidies for the oil companies are necessary and appropriate,” Clinton said. Instead, “it is now time to subsidize new forms of energy,” she said according to an article from the Houston Chronicle. More..
1 March, 2008 at 10:56
The Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act passed the House on Wednesday by a vote of 236-182, and will next be considered in the Senate, which has failed to pass similar legislation three times since last summer. The bill, which pledges $18.5 million in tax credits to wind, geothermal and other renewables, and renewed tax credits for individual home owners and businesses investing in renewable energy, will need all the help it can get. More..
25 February, 2008 at 10:56
Tax credits for renewable energy never made it into the economic stimulus package Congress passed earlier this month, but the House may soon consider a bill to invest $18.5 billion in clean energy and conservation. The Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act, would provide a production tax credit for wind, geothermal and other renewables, and would renew the investment tax credit for individual home owners and businesses to maintain incentives for solar, says an article from the Center for American Progress. More..
24 February, 2008 at 10:56
The man accused of preventing Al Gore from becoming the greenest president in history has entered the presidential race cloaked in green. Ralph Nader announced his Green Party candidacy for president this morning on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” vowing, among other things, to ”crack down on corporate crime.” More..
22 February, 2008 at 10:56
Though none of the candidates have committed to participate, representatives for both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton took part in a preview debate for journalists and scientists at an international science conference. Representatives from both John McCain’s and Mike Huckabee’s campaigns declined invitations to join the debate. Not surprisingly, the discussion demonstrated just how much Obama and Clinton share in common: More..
20 February, 2008 at 10:56
An abandoned coal mine belt in Benham, Kentucky.
More than 50 building plans for coal plants were scrapped in 2007, but the fossil fuel isn’t going down without a fight. According to the London Guardian, the White House has earmarked $237 million for coal research in the fiscal year 2009, a 40 percent jump from 2008. The spark comes just in the nick of time for the coal industry, which has struggled recently to obtain loans from major banks. More..
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