Monday, 29 Jan 2007

We're All Alright

Blair, McCain lead pep rally at World Economic Forum

Let's start the week with a bit of rhetorical optimism. In a high-profile speech this weekend at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland -- a gathering of leading politicians and businessfolk from around ye olde globe -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair offered a hopeful outlook for climate action. "I believe we are potentially on the verge of a breakthrough," he told a packed hall, pledging to support nuclear energy and to work toward a new, binding international emissions agreement that is "more radical than Kyoto and more comprehensive, one which this time includes all the major countries of the world." Decidedly naming names, Blair noted the "quantum shift" under way in U.S. climate politics. After the PM received a standing ovation, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) materialized, assuring those assembled that Congress and the Bush administration would act soon on climate change. "I admit it's very late," he conceded. At which point the satisfied crowd agreed, and retired for a nightcap.

Valley of the Dollars

Clean-energy investments add jobs, moolah to Silicon Valley

Remember the U.S. excuse for not adopting green policies, the one about hurting the economy? Yeah, that's out the window. A new report says Silicon Valley added 33,000 jobs in 2006 after five years of job losses, thanks in large part to gigantarific investments in green technologies. "There's a lot of excitement about the green economy," says Doug Henton of Collaborative Economics, which produced the report. "I think it's real." Normally Doug's word is enough for us, but check out these actual numbers, too: "cleantech" funding increased from $141 million in 2005 to $516 million in 2006, and in 2006 alone, it rose from $34 million in the first quarter to $290 million in the third. Russell Hancock, CEO of Joint Venture, the research network that released the report, says boom-and-bust cycles define the valley, but "this time the investing feels more sober and well thought out." The trend will be chewed over at a conference this week featuring none other than Al Gore. Man, he does get around.


If there are harmful subsidies in your neighborhood, who you gonna call? Doug Koplow! The fearless founder of Earth Track is out to protect the world from excessive private handouts, which often go undetected thanks to complexity and sheer wordiness. In prose easy for the layperson to understand, this week's InterActivist speaks out about the downside of biofuels, how to "fight the glaze," and why fast-food restaurants are more capable than the federal government. Send Koplow a question by noon PST on Wednesday; we'll publish his answers to selected questions on Friday.

Upward Mobility

ExxonMobil says it's taking climate change seriously -- seriously

Guess who said this about climate change: "We know enough now -- or, society knows enough now -- that the risk is serious and action should be taken." No, not some dirty hippie, but an executive from oil behemoth ExxonMobil. (Ow, our jaw!) Greenhouse-gas reduction has become a theme of Exxon's advertising, and the company is participating in an analysis by green think tank Resources for the Future of government options for addressing climate change. An Exxon spokesflack declares that the company's position on climate change has been "widely misunderstood," but we understand this: carbon caps will likely come around the bend sooner or later, and it behooves Exxon to have a say in how they're structured. While the oil giant still declines to declare climate change certain and continues to oppose the Kyoto Protocol, the company appears to have had a change of heart. And by change of heart, we mean still lookin' out for number one. Or have we misunderstood again?


This oughta be interesting. Today a reader makes an impassioned plea to advice maven Umbra Fisk for help interpreting an NOAA scientist's take on this winter's warm weather. In response, Umbra makes an impassioned plea for belief in the sanctity of science, while admitting that politics can throw a wrench in the works. How to make sense of it all? You'll need the following items: a brain and a parked car.

The Mile-High Clubbed

Prince Charles gets environmental award, pisses off environmentalists

When is a green not a green? Some say it's when he jets across the Atlantic to accept an award for ... being green. Prince Charles raised eyebrows this weekend as he made a quick trip to the U.S. to receive the Global Environmental Citizen Award from Harvard's Center for Health and the Global Environment. Although Chuck and the missus crammed their schedule with visits to urban neighborhoods in Philadelphia and New York, taking an electric train between the cities instead of flying, it wasn't enough to quell cranky critics. "It is a form of eco-insanity to expend so much energy for such meager reasons," said activist Joss Garman of U.K.-based Plane Stupid. After accepting his award from last year's winner, Al Gore, the earnest prince told the crowd, "Every passing year has seen further evidence emerge of the damage we are doing to this poor old planet." His office later announced that he would cancel a ski trip to Switzerland to balance his carbon footprint. That's how we always do it.