Comments Penfold007 has made

  • Kudos, David

    I was waiting for someone to jump on and cheer NYT's characterization of a full auctioned system as "pro-market".On NYT Magazine probes Obama's economic thinking posted 1 year, 3 months ago 46 Responses

  • Risk Perception

    Whether you support nuclear power has a lot to do with how risky you think it is, and men have been shown to consistently perceive all manner of things as less risky then women do.

      (Actually, white men have been shown to find all manner of things less risky then women and minorities.  It's called the "white male effect" in sociology, and it is well established though the reasons for it aren't completely understood: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=995634 ...)On Why do more men than women support nuclear power? posted 1 year, 3 months ago 31 Responses

  • Question for Carl

    I am a strong believer in the idea that large corporations can be a force for good and that NGOs should engage with them.  However, I am surprised that Sierra Club didn't follow the successful model of creating an certification standard that any company could meet to get its seal of approval, with a transparent process and independent board.  Why is this?  This type of ad-hoc agreement seems like a conflict of interest. On Sierra Club and Clorox celebrate their partnership posted 1 year, 5 months ago 10 Responses

  • Don't just single out ExxonMobil

    BP also has a major investment in Canadian tar sands.  Beyond Petroleum!On The mag exalts Canada's potential to become the Saudi Arabia of the north posted 1 year, 6 months ago 10 Responses

  • Within Sectors vs. Across Sectors

    David says:

    First, in a given sector, you set up a system that transfers capital directly from those over-emitting to those reducing emissions, in an agnostic fashion -- that is, preferencing no particular set of technologies or practices.

    Why must capital transfers occur within a sector?  Shouldn't some inefficient sectors be reduced in size while growing other, more efficient sectors?

    For instance, many say it would take a tremendously high cost of carbon to influence the cost of driving.  Shouldn't driving, then, be the last sector we target?On You can't achieve the three goals of climate policy at once posted 1 year, 7 months ago 17 Responses

  • Can we target Caterpillar?

    Has anyone considered a campaign targeted at Caterpillar around mountaintop removal mining and coal?  Cat is a member of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership and has been publishing sustainability reports under the banner "Sustainable Development" for some years - they could be vulnerable/receptive to pressure to stay out of the MTR business.  The campaign against Cat regarding the use of their equipment by the Israeli military to destroy Palestinian homes was pretty effective and visible.  Can we replicate the same success and get Cat to take a position on mountaintop mining?On Walker/Cat's coal-happy ads in rural West Virginia posted 1 year, 9 months ago 19 Responses

  • Distiller's grains as feed

    I note that the authors of the study specifically state that they assume the distiller's grain could be used as feed and factor this in to the potential impacts from displaced feed crop production.

    Too bad the original papers are behind a paid firewall, as there is a lot of hackery going on just based on the press releases, which lack a lot of key facts.On ILSR, spinning like a top posted 1 year, 9 months ago 7 Responses

  • Please ask about environmental justice

    Maybe you can write a better question, but here's mine:

    "Environmental justice has been considered in government decisions ever since President Clinton signed an executive order requiring government agencies to consider how environmental impacts affected minority and low-income populations. However, this executive order does not have the force of law. As President, what would you do to ensure that environmental burdens do not disproportionately affect the most vulnerable, and do you believe that Congress should pass laws to address environmental inequalities?"On Leave suggestions in comments posted 2 years ago 35 Responses

  • Van Jones

    He'd be a great commentator on this.  Ask him!On Introducing an ongoing series on the most undercovered aspect of climate change posted 2 years, 1 month ago 16 Responses

  • Carbon Offset Standards

    I know of two big standards for offsets in development.  One, Green-e, is by the same people who certify renewable energy credits.  The draft standard is available here:  http://www.green-e.org/getcert_ghg_standard.shtml

    The voluntary carbon standard is being put together by the Climate Group, a UK based non-profit.  It's current draft is available here: http://v-c-s.org/

    But here's a question: Is it ever really possible to prove additionality?  The decision to make an investment is generally complex and involves multiple factors.  To know whether the cost of carbon is the straw that breaks the camel's back involves a lot of unanswerable hypotheticals.  Why  not have a lax standard of additionality to encourage as many reduction projects as possible?On Carbon offsets are tricky business posted 2 years, 4 months ago 17 Responses

  • Dude, chill...

    I think it is pretty clear that the purpose of this paper was spark a dialogue about how we evaluate environmental impacts and how to factor population into the debate.  Don't take it to literally.  I quote the concluding paragraph of Prof. Ulrich's study:
    "The bicycle is a remarkable machine, allowing humans to transport themselves much more efficiently than by most other means. At the same time, physical activity, fitness, and health are almost axiomatically worthy objectives. And yet, the steady improvements in human health and longevity have a tremendous impact on the energy use and environmental impact of the human population. Indeed the greatest environmental peril society may face is the looming prospect of slowing the aging process. In this article, I use the focused example of human-powered  transportation, longevity, and environmental impact to illuminate this basic conflict. My hope is to open a dialogue about the interplay among population, individual energy consumption, and environmental impact."On Repeat after me: Humans are part of the environment posted 3 years, 4 months ago 18 Responses

  • Using food stamps in RI

    In RI, most farmers market take food stamps, WIC coupons, and Senior Farmer's Market Nutrition Program coupons.  You can see which ones do and where they are at www.farmfreshri.org.On Umbra on farmers' markets and food stamps posted 3 years, 5 months ago 9 Responses

  • Why local?

    Tom, I have a pet peeve about local foods that maybe you can address.  It seems to me that the real meaning of "local" is "transparent": It's easier to get the skinny on a box of tomatoes you buy at the farmer's market than your ADM corn meal.  But it seems to me that resource efficiency isn't always achieved by localizing your food.  Economies of scale can make our food systems work with less fuel, fertilizer and pesticides if applied properly and there's a transparent chain of information from the field to the consumer.  I would think that some foods, like grains, are more sustainably farmed on the large scale centrally, while other foods are more appropriately grown locally, depending on where you live.  Shouldn't we be pushing for transparency in the Wal-Marts of the world, rather than localization?  I work in efficient light bulb distribution, and think its more efficient to have a well regulated, no-pollution manufacturing process associated with the bulbs than to try to put a factory in every county.On An innovative Alabama CSA shows the way forward. posted 3 years, 6 months ago 4 Responses

  • Possibilities

    "Can you sell building a clean energy industry as a platform in a national campaign?"On Me and Barack posted 3 years, 8 months ago 5 Responses