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RESULTS		Results 376 – 400 of 586
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Headline	Author	Published	Section
The economic and political foolishness of paying for carbon reduction Don't let your ambition limit your reality	Sean Casten	16 Jul 2007	Gristmill
The quest to reduce carbon emissions is plagued by a near-pathological case of economic illiteracy. This illiteracy has caused us to focus on the wrong problems, and the wrong solutions ... and it's stalled the realization of any politically tenable carbon reductions.Ironically, while the goal of reducing carbon emissions has political allies and adversaries, the economic illiteracy is found on both sides. It has become self-reinforcing. The only solace is that the econ ...
Topics: climate, climate change mitigation, energy, greenhouse-gas emissions (all these topics)

Nukes ablaze, but SolarFest burns brighter Vermont renewable energy festival looks to the future	Erik Hoffner	16 Jul 2007	Gristmill
News today that a quake has caused a fire at a nuke plant in Japan follows revelations of operator error that could have caused an accident at the 1,316 MW Krummel reactor in Germany, owned by Vattenfall Europe. When a fire broke out at that plant in late June, operators panicked and put the reactor on emergency shutdown, against their guidelines, and put the reactor at risk. Then Vattenfall tried to cover up what happened. I learned of this at SolarFest this weekend ...
Topics: Bill McKibben, climate, climate change mitigation, energy, nuclear power, renewable energy, Vermont (all these topics)

<del In which I clear everything up	David Roberts	16 Jul 2007	Gristmill
Over the past couple of weeks, there's been a strangely heated debate on this site about carbon offsets. In this post, I'll speculate about why the concept is so charged, and argue that it doesn't warrant all the heat. And then I will leave the subject behind, at least for now. Start here: why is an offset called an 'offset'? We find a clue on Merriam-Webster: "something that serves to counterbalance or to compensate for something else." The idea is, you put ...
Topics: carbon offsets, climate, climate change mitigation, energy (all these topics)

Second to Naan A worried India takes steps toward national climate plan		16 Jul 2007	Daily Grist
Second to Naan A worried India takes steps toward national climate plan India -- home to more than a billion people and a fast-expanding economy -- is taking its first steps toward a climate-change plan. On Friday, at the kick-off meeting of the National Council on Climate Change, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gave a preview of a "Green India" strategy that will call for ...
Topics: climate, climate change mitigation, greenhouse-gas emissions, India, news (all these topics)

More rules of the road for offsets: Common sense is good Measure, monitor, reduce, offset	Adam Stein	13 Jul 2007	Gristmill
Haven't had enough on offsets yet? Good. Romm's zeroth rule of carbon offsets is that you should "do everything reasonably possible to reduce your own emissions" before buying offsets. At first blush, this reads like a memo from Obviousland, a staunch statement in favor of apple pie. Pretty much every marketer of carbon offsets heavily stresses that offset purchases should go hand-in-hand with serious attempts at conservation, and I certainly agree. So far, s ...
Topics: business, carbon offsets, climate, climate change mitigation, greening biz operations (all these topics)

As Long As the Sox Are OK Study says climate threatens Northeast icons like lobsters and foliage		13 Jul 2007	Daily Grist
As Long As the Sox Are OK Study says climate threatens Northeast icons like lobsters and foliage Imagine the Northeast without lobsters, snow, cranberries, and colorful foliage. Without that, you'd have -- what, white churches and crusty old lumberjacks? But all those natural icons are at risk from climate change, says a report the Union of Concerned Scientists put ...
Topics: climate, climate change impacts, climate change mitigation, New England, New York, news (all these topics)

Carbon offsets and tree huggers Trees should play a bigger role	biodiversivist	13 Jul 2007	Gristmill
After reading the recent posts by Romm, Stein, and Roberts, I have concluded that carbon offsets are a pretty good idea if properly implemented. Once government regulations have been established (and enforced), consumers should be able to buy with greater confidence. As it stands today, you are taking a small risk that your purchase may not actually result in CO2 reductions. So, if you are going to buy them, do your homework first. I also don't see why an individua ...
Topics: carbon offsets, climate, climate change mitigation, energy, placemaking (all these topics)

Dingell calls our bluff He proposes a carbon tax, assuming it will fail	David Roberts	12 Jul 2007	Gristmill
Last Sunday, Rep. John Dingell appeared on the C-SPAN show Newsmakers for a 30-min. interview (transcript here; video accessible via the website), and caused an enormous ruckus with this: SWAIN: Mr. Chairman, I want to go back to your statement that the American people want action [on climate change]. Does that also correlate with the American people being willing to pay higher prices, because of energy legislation? DINGELL: I sincerely doubt that the American p ...
Topics: carbon tax, climate, climate change mitigation, energy, energy efficiency, John Dingell, legislation, politics (all these topics)

Now That's an Exit Strategy Sens. Bingaman, Specter introduce industry-backed climate legislation		12 Jul 2007	Daily Grist
Now That's an Exit Strategy Sens. Bingaman, Specter introduce industry-backed climate legislation Two U.S. senators have introduced climate legislation that's a bold compromise or a copout, depending whom you ask. The Low Carbon Economy Act, sponsored by Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), would cut current U.S. carbon-dioxide emiss ...
Topics: climate, climate change mitigation, greenhouse-gas emissions, legislation, news, politics, US Senate (all these topics)

Crist Almighty Florida governor to enact big energy and emission plans		11 Jul 2007	Daily Grist
Crist Almighty Florida governor to enact big energy and emission plans What's the greenest state in the U.S.? By Friday, it could be Florida. Republican Gov. Charlie Crist is hosting a two-day climate summit in Miami, and will wrap up the event by signing three sweeping eco-executive orders. His plans include adopting California's strict vehicle-emissions law, making Florida the first S ...
Topics: climate, climate change mitigation, Florida, news, renewable energy (all these topics)

Cameron Diaz wants you to make an 'ecospot' Make a short eco-video about climate change and you could win a Toyota hybrid	Grist	10 Jul 2007	Gristmill
Are you a creative type with a hankering for 15 minutes of fame? Would you settle for 15 seconds? Enter this new eco-video contest and you could win public acclaim -- and a Toyota hybrid. Cameron tells you how: (Having trouble viewing the video? Download the latest version of Flash.) Current TV and the Alliance for Climate Protection (both Gore-driven projects) have teamed up to promote :60 Seconds to Save the Earth, a contest soliciting video public service announcemen ...
Topics: Cameron Diaz, cars, celebrity, climate, climate change mitigation, green living, innovation, movies (all these topics)

Sustainability gets a warmer embrace from U.S. companies Mindy S. Lubber of CERES looks at how far we've come and what the future might hold	Grist	10 Jul 2007	Gristmill
To celebrate its 15th anniversary, the GreenMoney Journal asked leaders in the realms of green business and socially responsible investing to forecast 15 years into the future. How green will our economy be in 2022? GreenMoney's anniversary issue features responses from Amy Domini of Domini Social Investments, Gary Hirshberg of Stonyfield Farm, futurist Hazel Henderson, and others. Mindy Lubber. Here, reprinted with permission, is a view from Mindy S. Lubbe ...
Topics: business, climate, climate change mitigation, energy, energy efficiency, greenhouse-gas emissions, United States (all these topics)

Carbon offsets: The real reasons to avoid trees Trees are good for a lot of things; carbon offsetting isn't one of them	Adam Stein	10 Jul 2007	Gristmill
The first rule of offsets, according to Joseph Romm, is 'no trees.' This is a pretty good rule, as these thing go. The TerraPass offset portfolio contains no tree-planting projects, despite the fact that most consumers love trees and the fact that tree-planting projects are typically cheaper than offsets from renewable energy projects. So if trees are both consumer-friendly and cost-effective, why avoid them? There are lots of reasons, and Romm chooses to focus on ...
Topics: carbon offsets, climate, climate change mitigation, greenhouse-gas emissions (all these topics)

PG&E's 'ClimateSmart' offsets are anything but Breaking all the offset rules	Joseph Romm	09 Jul 2007	Gristmill
[Important update to this post here.] One reason I began posting my Rules of Carbon Offsets is a dubious program by the California utility PG&E called ClimateSmart, which is supposed to allow PG&E customers to become 'climate neutral.' This program actually manages to violate rules zero, 1, and 2 all at once! It really makes clear why offsets are bastardized emissions reductions -- and why trees are an especially dubious offset. This picture graces the 'Ou ...
Topics: business, carbon offsets, climate, climate change mitigation, green living, greenhouse-gas emissions, greenwashing (all these topics)

Rules of the road for carbon offsets: A better map Carbon offsets are tricky business	Adam Stein	09 Jul 2007	Gristmill
Joseph Romm has been running a series of 'rules of the road for carbon offsets' on these pages. This is a worthwhile endeavor, and as good of an excuse as any for me to provide some shade and color to the frequently misconceived debate over offsets. Although I mostly agree with Romm's conclusions, I don't think he chose the best route to reach them. My intent is not to rebut Romm's proposed rules -- again, I (mostly) agree with all of the guidelines posted so far, eve ...
Topics: business, carbon offsets, climate, climate change mitigation, green living, greenhouse-gas emissions (all these topics)

Monbiot: We can provide all or most of our electricity from renewable sources	Gar Lipow	09 Jul 2007	Gristmill
In his July 3 column, George Monbiot reminds us of how much worse the threat of global warming may be than the consensus IPCC position. But he also reminds us that there are reasons for optimism too. He cites three studies that point to the fact that there is every reason to believe Europe and the UK can supply between 80 percent and 100 percent of electricity needs completely sun, wind, water, wave, tide, and minor amounts of biomass and geothermal energy, V2G Vanadium ...
Topics: climate, climate change mitigation, energy, renewable energy, United Kingdom (all these topics)

Rule zero: Heal thyself Offsets should be the last thing you need to turn to	Joseph Romm	06 Jul 2007	Gristmill
Before you pay others to reduce their emissions on your behalf, you need to do everything reasonably possible to reduce your own emissions first. As the saying goes, 'Physician, heal thyself,' before presuming to heal other people. This rule is so obvious I almost forgot it. And yet many people, including Google and PG&E, don't seem to get it. The whole point of offsets is not to make you feel good, and it's not to allow you to continue polluting as much as y ...
Topics: business, carbon offsets, climate, climate change mitigation, green living, greenhouse-gas emissions (all these topics)

Schwarzenegger in dispute with staff who wants to implement global warming legislation How progressive can legislation be if it's never allowed to make progress?	Gar Lipow	06 Jul 2007	Gristmill
Dan Walters writes in the Sacramento Bee: The messy departure of the chairman and executive director of the Air Resources Board, if nothing else, reflects the extremely intense, largely clandestine struggle in the Capitol over how Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's much-ballyhooed anti-global warming crusade is to be implemented. Schwarzenegger says he fired ARB Chairman Robert Sawyer last week because the veteran energy researcher was moving too slowly on cleaning up the ...
Topics: Arnold Schwarzenegger, California, climate, climate change mitigation, legislation, lying liars, politics (all these topics)

Kerry: Utilities must act Letter in the Washington Post	JMG	05 Jul 2007	Gristmill
John Kerry had a letter in today's Washington Post: Utilities Must Do Their Part To Fight Climate Change Wednesday, July 4, 2007; A14 In his June 22 op-ed, 'An Apollo Program for Climate Change,' David Sokol, the chief executive of a major electric utility, rightly invoked the vision of President John F. Kennedy in calling for an ambitious program to fight climate change. But he wrongly argued that American taxpayers alone should have to dig into their pockets (through a ...
Topics: climate, climate change mitigation, energy, politics, US Senate (all these topics)

The second rule of carbon offsets: Two rare exceptions to rule one Emphasis on the 'rare'	Joseph Romm	03 Jul 2007	Gristmill
Trees are terrific in every way but one: they make lousy carbon offsets. That was the point of the 'First rule of carbon offsets.' But a number of comments and some media queries have led me include two rare exceptions: certified urban trees and certified tropical forest preservation. The word 'certified' is key in both cases. For these two rare cases, I would allow trees to comprise no more than 10 percent of an overall offset portfolio (which should be heavily weigh ...
Topics: carbon offsets, climate, climate change mitigation, greenhouse-gas emissions (all these topics)

The first rule of carbon offsets: No trees A good reason we shouldn't love trees, at least not in this case	Joseph Romm	02 Jul 2007	Gristmill
Everybody loves trees. They are so popular as offsets they even make Wikipedia's definition: When one is unable or unwilling to reduce one's own emissions, Carbon offset is the act of reducing ('offsetting') greenhouse gas emissions elsewhere. A well-known example is the planting of trees to compensate for the greenhouse gas emissions from personal air travel. But does planting trees reduce global warming? Not in most places on the earth. The Carnegie Institution's ...
Topics: climate, carbon offsets, climate change mitigation, green living, climate science (all these topics)

Al Gore's call to action An editorial in the NYT	David Roberts	30 Jun 2007	Gristmill
Al Gore:... we should demand that the United States join an international treaty within the next two years that cuts global warming pollution by 90 percent in developed countries and by more than half worldwide in time for the next generation to inherit a healthy Earth....We should aim to complete this global treaty by the end of 2009 -- and not wait until 2012 as currently planned....A new treaty will still have differentiated commitments, of course; countries will be ...
Topics: Al Gore, climate, climate change mitigation, energy, international politics, politics (all these topics)

The promise and perils of public investment in energy Voters like it, but how to do it well?	David Roberts	29 Jun 2007	Gristmill
There's a big problem facing climate and energy advocates, one they seem to be more or less shutting their eyes to at the moment, hoping it will go away: regulations capping carbon and mandating emissions cuts are likely to raise energy prices for consumers in the short term. This is a problem because polls and surveys show fairly consistently that consumers are extremely sensitive to these prices. I think it's going to be frighteningly easy for right-wing demagogues ...
Topics: climate, climate change mitigation, energy, greenhouse-gas emissions, politics (all these topics)

Pre-vacation link dump So much good stuff, so little time to blather about it	David Roberts	28 Jun 2007	Gristmill
Dear readers, as of tomorrow, I'm on vacation, visiting my ancestral homeland (the American South), not to return until July 9. My plan is to test physiological limits: just how much sleeping can one person do in nine days? There were about a gazillion things I wanted to write about before leaving, but obviously coal ate up all my time (damn you coal!) and I won't be able to get to them. So here are some quick hits: Robert Bryce has a great article in Slate pointing ...
Topics: climate, climate change mitigation, energy, green living (all these topics)

Coal is the enemy of the human race: Robert Murray can kiss my ass edition Coal exec whines about regulations on his ability to destroy the earth and his workers	David Roberts	28 Jun 2007	Gristmill
This is not helping me keep my blood pressure down. Poor, poor coal executive feels persecuted: A senior coal company executive on Wednesday lambasted U.S. lawmakers for proposing caps on emissions blamed for global warming, saying the Democrats were out to destroy America's coal industry. Robert Murray, chairman, president and chief executive of Murray Energy Corp., also blasted the federal government's mine safety agency for 'outrageous' new fines that he war ...
Topics: climate, climate change mitigation, coal, energy, greenhouse-gas emissions (all these topics)

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