It’s Getting Hot In Here

As the estimated death toll in Burma rises to 100,000, it’s hard not to reflect on the incredible injustice of the situation. Cyclone Nargis, considered a once-in-500-year storm, struck the Irrawaddy Delta this past Saturday, pushing a wall of water through a largely deforested mangrove swamp and inundating some of the most densely populated parts of the low-lying country.

Initially, experts estimated the death toll to be in the tens of thousands, but revised the number as it became clear that despite international aid efforts, families were starving and that many had perished in the surging waters. In addition, recent reports show the ruling military Junta, which a few months ago brutally cracked down on peaceful opposition demonstrations led by Buddhist monks, seized recent UN and international aid shipments intended for those affected by the storm and subsequent floods. In response, the UN has temporarily suspended direct aid to Burma, citing corruption and theft of donated food and supplies. Continue reading ‘Climate Justice = A Human Right’

After a long break from blogging, I’m glad to have the time to get back! First of all, from my title you will have probably noticed that I’m partially against cellulosic and plug-in hybrids as the solution to the world food crisis that biofuels and oil are helping to fuel. Sure, cellulosic can ensure we don’t use corn for ethanol and we don’t change wheat, barley, and other crops to corn fields for ethanol production. Sure, we can use plug-in hybrids and, if we’re lucky to scale renewables enough, power them with clean electricity and wean ourselves off of coal and oil. But have you stopped to think about what that means? I bet Mr. Henry Ford would have told you that you don’t have to think about it, that you should just go ahead and support the “real” solutions… Right!

In the last two weeks, biofuels have been attacked more than ever before from many angles. The world food crisis has become so severe that anybody who supports any biofuel that either uses food crops or takes land that would have otherwise gone to food production is criticized sharply. The arguments against biofuels, especially corn ethanol, are clear.

·         First, ethanol produced from corn takes a chunk away from the corn that would otherwise go to direct human purposes, excluding livestock (of course, nobody ever questioned before the fact that directing corn and soybeans to cows makes the supply available for exports lower, and therefore keeps prices relatively higher; in other words, food prices before the current crisis could have been much lower if it wasn’t because of the luxury of eating high quantities of meat; maybe a big tax on meat can lower other food prices, which politician will be smart enough to propose this?).

·         Second, as the demand for corn and soybeans surges, land that was used for other purposes is converted to corn and soy fields, therefore increasing the cost of the other crops (wheat, barley, etc.) because they’re less available.

·         Lastly, using ethanol has no impact on how much oil we use because the energy balance is 0 or negative. On top of all this, we are losing benefits from cheaper ethanol that could be imported from Brazil if our goal was really to get rid of oil at the lowest possible cost.

So, we know all these things. We also know that the increasing price of oil, now nearly $125 per barrel, is also pushing food prices up, and that decreasing water supplies and crazier weather is also pitching in into the food price hikes we’re seeing. What we also know is that every policymaker and the public at large is thinking that the way out of this is making ethanol from something that doesn’t take up food or converting our cars to plug-in hybrids to have them run on electricity. So lots of money is going into cellulosic research and lots of venture capitalists are fully funding new ventures that hope to bring to market “environmentally-friendly” plug-in electric vehicles. At the same time, GM, Ford, Toyota, Honda, and other car companies are stepping up their development of these same technologies to bring such cars to market soon. What’s the problem with this?

Continue reading ‘Cellulosic, Plug-In Hybrids Are Biofuel Solutions? Think Again!’

As the ad campaigns intensified before tonight’s primaries, Hillary Clinton made the seriously Energy Dumb decision to promote a gas tax holiday as a way of demonstrating her supposed affinity for “the hard working American middle class.” Too bad the gas tax holiday won’t help anybody’s pocketbook but the oil companies. I guess Mrs. Clinton missed the memo from every single energy and economic policy expert out there! (Seriously, every one of them!)

While his opponent pandered for votes with empty promises of $30.00 in cash, Barack Obama, to his very strong credit, took the Energy Smart position and called the gas tax holiday proposal what it is: “a pander,” a cheap trick to buy your vote.

Here’s Obama’s clear, honest, Energy Smart response on the gas tax holiday (speaking on Meet the Press earlier this week)…

Continue reading ‘Barack Obama Shows Off His Energy Smarts on Gas Tax Holiday’

Hillary Clinton and John McCain support seriously Energy Dumb gas tax holiday

There’s Energy Smart, like Mark Udall and this slate of Energy Smart US Congressional candidates.

Then there’s seriously Energy Dumb, like touting a temporary gas tax holiday as an appropriate response to high gas and oil prices.

Hillary Clinton solidly aligned herself last week with the Energy Dumb camp, vociferously supporting a gas tax holiday first proposed by Energy Dumber John McCain that amounts to blatant pandering for votes.

This “quick fix” proposal, a three month suspension of the 18.4 cents/gallon federal gas tax during the summer “driving season,” would at best save the average American about $30.00 this summer. That’s right, Hillary Clinton and John McCain’s idea of a solution to high energy prices is to mail you a check for half a tank of gas!

So, is $30.00 enough to buy your vote?
Continue reading ‘Hillary Clinton Supports Seriously Energy Dumb Gas Tax “Holiday”’

Deval Patrick, the often-controversial governor of Massachusetts, has not had an easy year. Amidst a protracted legislative brawl with his Republican opponents on Beacon Hill, Patrick was the focus of a A New York Times Article depicting his tenure in office as a lot of campaign bark and no bite. Of all unlikely venues for bipartisan success, however, Patrick has succeeded in eliciting significant support in the State House for a slew of recent clean energy measures.

Today, Patrick addressed Massachusetts business leaders in an effort to gain crucial buy-in for his effort to encourage substantial growth in the state’s clean energy sector. Wracked with debt and staggering from the national economic downturn, the Bay State is looking for ways to get rich quick and climate-friendly. The portfolio of clean energy measures in the works is notably diverse - from incentives for renewable energy companies to set up shop in-state to proposals to eliminate the gas tax on biofuels.

That may have been the moment when your eyebrows shot up toward your hairline.  Although the Boston Globe describes the Governor as “Convinced that the age of fossil fuels is over” and highlights Patrick’s legislative favoring of biofuels derived from switch-grass and agricultural waste over energy-guzzling corn-based “biofuels”, the efficacy of the plan in terms of long-term climate impact may be undermined by its persistent emphasis on a traditional (read:  outdated?) economic growth paradigm. Even if Patrick could somehow convince us of the theoretical soundness of this approach, it is difficult to get comfy with the idea absent a mandatory emissions cap (for the state or nation - either would do) to ensure that the (clean) industrial growth in the state would in fact cause a rapid, significant, and consistent decline in overall emissions.

While the verdict may still be out on Deval, Bostonians with two wheels will be applauding the efforts of their Mayor, Tom Menino, during next week’s Bay State Bike Week . Cycling enthusiasts from numerous neighborhoods will “Kick Gas” in fine form, and possibly ride a few circles around the State House in the process.

Here in Washington we’re feeling like pretty good leaders in the climate change movement what with all our great climate change legislation passing and all. But there’s always more to be done, key among them keeping a wary eye out for false solutions as we move ahead. One of those false solutions has tried rearing its ugly head here and we aim to stop it before it’s got a change to flourish. That would be “clean coal“, the only coal option in Washington thanks to our strict emissions limits. You can read all about the plant and it’s history here. It’s currently on hold due to concerns from the Port of Walla Walla, but they plan to try again in the Fall and we’ll be there to say no again.

So, the campaign: It began out of a Fossil Fools Day idea but grew much bigger and just wrapped up last week. The Cascade Climate Network and friends collected 795 photo petitions from eight different universities and colleges in Washington, all speaking out against coal and advocating clean solutions and green jobs. We’ll be sending the finished book to key players in the clean energy future of Washington as well as a few Washington Congressmen who have yet to sign onto the new Clean Water bill that would effectively end mountain top removal.

All in all a bitchin’ effort and a great example of what students can do if they unite across the state and region.

You can check out the finished photo petition, put together in a high school yearbook-style format, as well as a similar photo petition calling for No LNG in Oregon at www.CascadeClimate.org.

Remember that number global warming deniers throw around — those 500 scientists that have supposedly signed onto a letter denying the existence of anthropogenic climate change? 500. It’s a number you hear on the nightly news near the end of many stories on climate change, and it’s also a number invented by the Heartland Institute, one of Washington’s most conservative thinktanks.

As it turns out, that the number is a fabrication. Our friends over at DeSmogBlog sent questionnaires to each signer, and received back some interesting quotes. Here’s a sampling of the responses they got:

I am very shocked to see my name in the list of “500 Scientists with Documented Doubts of Man-Made Global Warming Scares”. Because none of my research publications has ever indicated that the global warming is not as a consequence of anthropogenic greenhouse gases, I view that the inclusion of my name in such list without my permission or consensus has damaged my professional reputation as an atmospheric scientist.”

Dr. Ming Cai, Associate Professor, Department of Meteorology, Florida State University.

They have taken our ice core research in Wyoming and twisted it to meet their own agenda. This is not science.”

Dr. Paul F. Schuster, Hydrologist, US Geological Survey Continue reading ‘Global Warming Deniers…Denied.’

Statement Initiated by Participants in the Climate Change|Social Change conference, Sydney, Australia, April 11-13, 2008

The following statement was started by the participants in the Climate Change|Social Change conference. Anyone who agrees with it is welcome to add their signature, and an updated list of signatories will be issued on a regular basis (contact: <climateconf@greenleft.org.au>.).

It is being distributed to environmental, trade union, Indigenous, migrant, religious and community organizations to help build the movement against global warming

Continue reading ‘Climate Crisis — Urgent Action Needed Now!’

Youth will represent 25% of voters in the 2008 election. We have the opportunity to change the course this country is on. And we can build the power of the youth climate movement dramatically. We’ve got a plan and it’s called Power Vote. http://PowerVote.org

Over the next several months we will build a youth voting bloc that is 1 million strong to elevate and prioritize the issue of climate change in this election. Together we will hold our elected representatives accountable, and build our grassroots base to win more clean, just energy victories on the local and national level. Don’t wait. Sign the Power Vote Pledge right now and then tell all your friends to do the same.

Right now when polled youth list health, the economy, and Iraq as issues motivating their votes. We KNOW that dirty energy dependence is intimately connected to everyone of these issues and we have an incredible opportunity to build our movement by connecting with people about what they care about.

Continue reading ‘The Next Big Thing- Power Vote’

The youth organization of the most powerful political party in West Virginia passed a multi-pronged resolution on coal & green jobs that included a call for No New Mountaintop Removal Permits. Our generation knows that Mountaintop Removal takes mining coal too far and we have safer ways to mine it as we transition to renewable energies & energy efficiency. This resolution passed in the midst of an above-the-fold article in the Washington Post, the Presidential Campaigns closing in on the May 13th WV Democratic Primary, and a record showing of grassroots involvement in the WV Democratic County Conventions. The political machine in West Virginia is getting scared of what true grassroots organizers are building here in West Virginia and we are in the year of a lifetime to build our movement for justice here!

The February 10th “Young Dems on Kayford” event that brought more than 35 Young Dems onto Kayford Mountain to see the effects of Mountaintop Removal was a crucial event in the organization learning about the issue and taking a stand.

This resolution on Mountaintop Removal was passed as a result of years of building awareness and involvement on the issue. This resolution passed with the solid margin of 32 votes in favor and only 10 votes against (with 2 abstaining votes). The WV Young Democrats have been a focus of education throughout the past year as we organized events to show both the leadership and the membership what Mountaintop Removal is doing to the people and land of Southern (and increasingly Central) WV. The resolution was formed and revised to its final content by a room of high schoolers, college students, deep miners, organizers, and concerned citizens to its final form. This resolution is causing reverberations through the WV Democratic Party and WV politicians (who have long been kinder to the coal industry than citizens) are taking notice.

Continue reading ‘WV Young Democrats Say “No New Mountaintop Removal Permits!”’