Grist | Topics | 535 Results

RESULTS		Results 1 – 25 of 535
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Headline	Author	Published	Section
The biggest low-carbon resource, by far Energy efficiency is the core climate solution, part 1	Joseph Romm	24 Jul 2008	Gristmill
Energy efficiency is the most important climate solution for several reasons: It is by far the biggest resource. It is by far the cheapest, far cheaper than the current cost of unsustainable energy, so cheap that it helps pay for the other solutions. It is by far the fastest to deploy. It is 'renewable' -- the efficiency potential never runs out. This post focuses on number one -- the tremendous size of the resource.Of the 14 or so wedges we need to deploy g ...
Topics: climate, cogeneration, energy, energy efficiency, greenhouse-gas emissions (all these topics)

WCI's new proposal What the Western Climate Initiative does right -- and what it could do better	Eric de Place	24 Jul 2008	Gristmill
Draft is here [PDF]. Just the major points. First off, the proposal is basically pretty good. We should keep in mind that what WCI is doing represents a big -- gigantic -- step in the right direction for the climate. So I'll raise a glass to everyone who's worked so hard on the WCI proposal so far. But there's room for improvement. Below, I highlight the core areas of the proposal. These are bedrock issues that make me concerned.Transportation is in. Sort of. It ...
Topics: cap-and-dividend, carbon tax, carbon trading, climate, greenhouse-gas emissions, state politics (all these topics)

Target practice On the art of setting (and hitting) emission targets	Ken Johnson	24 Jul 2008	Gristmill
Gore's call for 100 percent renewable electricity generation within 10 years may seem, at first blush, to be so far out in left field as to lack any seriousness -- but it has some commonality with established regulatory policy. For example, California's global warming law (AB 32) is rooted in Governor Schwarzenegger's Executive Order S-03-05, issued on June 1, 2005, ordering that 'the following greenhouse gas emission reduction targets are hereby established for Californ ...
Topics: Al Gore, California, carbon tax, climate, greenhouse-gas emissions (all these topics)

Nagging our way to climate stability Forget a carbon cap; try guilt instead!	Eric de Place	21 Jul 2008	Gristmill
This is quite possibly the most idiotic argument I've ever heard against cap-and-trade. Why is it bad? By turning carbon emissions into commodities that can be bought and sold, cap-and-trade policies could remove the stigma from producing such emissions ... the purchase of the right to emit greenhouse gases would likely reduce any stigma associated with doing so. Emission levels, consequently, could rise. Oh, lordy, that's a good one. But that's from an op-ed in ...
Topics: cap-and-dividend, carbon trading, climate, greenhouse-gas emissions (all these topics)

Howdy, Ontario A big addition to the Western Climate Initiative	Eric de Place	21 Jul 2008	Gristmill
Ontario officially joins the Western Climate Initiative as a full partner. Sweet. Some Americans may not fully realize the significance of this. So for my fellow Yankees (and with apologies to readers north of the border) ... Ontario is the California of Canada in the sense that it has more people and economic activity than any other province. On the other hand, Ontario is the Michigan of Canada in the sense that it has a huge auto manufacturing base. And yet Ontari ...
Topics: Canada, climate, climate change mitigation, greenhouse-gas emissions, regulation (all these topics)

The newest denialist talking point Physicists reaffirm that human-induced GHGs affect the atmosphere	Andrew Dessler	18 Jul 2008	Gristmill
It goes something like this: The American Physical Society, an organization representing nearly 50,000 physicists, has reversed its stance on climate change and is now proclaiming that many of its members disbelieve in human-induced global warming. Of course that's not true. Today a statement appeared on the APS website saying:APS Position Remains Unchanged The American Physical Society reaffirms the following position on climate change, adopted by its governing b ...
Topics: climate, climate change skepticism, climate science, greenhouse-gas emissions, scientific research (all these topics)

Input on outputs New white paper provides more details on output-based standards	Sean Casten	18 Jul 2008	Gristmill
For those of a policy-wonk bent. For those who simply loved my earlier post on output-based standards for greenhouse gas control and have been thirsting ever since for more details (I know you're out there!). For those who wait eagerly at their mailbox waiting for the current issues of electricity policy magazines to arrive ... Yea, verily, I bring you this [PDF]. A white paper just published in The Electricity Journal, providing much more detail than was appropria ...
Topics: climate, climate change mitigation, greenhouse-gas emissions, regulation (all these topics)

NYC government plans 30 percent carbon cuts by 2017 Energy efficiency is cornerstone of ambitious plan	Adam Stein	17 Jul 2008	Gristmill
Everyone's favorite McKinsey study suggests that America can shed a huge chunk of its emissions through costless measures, primarily in the realm of energy efficiency. The fly in this delicious low-carbon ointment is that the freebie cuts haven't so far happened by themselves, and it's never entirely clear how well an analyst's report is going to translate into reality. How nice, then, that New York City is gearing up to provide the proof point we've all been waiting for. ...
Topics: climate, climate change mitigation, energy efficiency, greenhouse-gas emissions, New York City (all these topics)

A New England auction Can the West match the Northeast?	Eric de Place	17 Jul 2008	Gristmill
Next week, the Western Climate Initiative will release a proposal outlining the program's cap-and-trade design.* In the proposal, we should expect to learn what share of carbon permits will be auctioned (and will therefore generate public revenue) and what share will be given away for free to emitters. Auctioning is important -- extremely important -- because, among other virtues, it is the best way to promote fairness for people with moderate incomes. We've had lot ...
Topics: cap-and-dividend, carbon trading, climate, greenhouse-gas emissions (all these topics)

No relief in sight The current oil shock	Guest author	16 Jul 2008	Gristmill
This is a guest essay from Dilip Hiro, author of Blood of the Earth: The Battle for the World's Vanishing Oil Resources (Nation Books). It was originally published on TomDispatch and is republished here with Tom's kind permission. ----- When will it end, this crushing rise in the price of gasoline, now averaging $4.10 a gallon at the pump? The question is uppermost in the minds of American motorists as they plan vacations or simply review their daily journeys. T ...
Topics: coal, economy, energy, greenhouse-gas emissions, oil, politics, renewable energy (all these topics)

Come health or high water EPA scientists spell out dangers of climate change while EPA chief delays action	Kate Sheppard	15 Jul 2008	Gristmill
While EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson and the rest of the Bush administration have decided to run out the clock on regulating greenhouse-gas emissions, EPA scientists have released their own document [PDF] detailing the health risks posed by a warming planet, including wildfires, smog, disease, and an increased number of heat-related deaths. The 149-page endangerment analysis outlines the risks that global warming poses to human health, as well as air quality, ...
Topics: climate, greenhouse-gas emissions, Muckraker, news, politics, US EPA (all these topics)

NF3 panic unjustified, not as bad as Drudge report says Plasma TVs and solar cells not so bad after all	Gar Lipow	15 Jul 2008	Gristmill
A recent Grist article shared a bit in some of the panic about NF3 and plasma TVs. If all the NF3 manufactured were released, it warns, it would have a warming effect equivalent to that of Austria. It turns out that is mighty big 'if,' one that Eli Rabett manages to blast into smithereens. To begin with, most uses of NF3 are consumptive -- etching and so on -- whereby NF3 becomes something much less greenhouse intensive. The vast majority of NF3 produced is destroy ...
Topics: climate, greenhouse-gas emissions, TV (all these topics)

Helter smelter Bj�rk, Sigur R�s protest Icelandic aluminum plant in concert	Grist	11 Jul 2008	Gristmill
Grist video producer Jennifer Prediger visited Iceland recently, attending an environmental protest concert featuring Bj�rk and Sigur R�s. Here's her report, in words and video. In Iceland, the battle between power companies and conservationists is heating up. As the aluminum industry's plans to build dams and smelters move full steam ahead, Icelanders could well become the number one emitters of carbon dioxide per capita in the world. This possibility, in a land whose geot ...
Topics: energy, grassroots activism, greenhouse-gas emissions, Iceland, music, video (all these topics)

Countdown to Crawford Bush administration decides to run out the clock on regulating greenhouse-gas emissions	Kate Sheppard	11 Jul 2008	Gristmill
The Bush administration made clear today that it doesn't intend to do anything about climate change in the final six months in office, announcing that instead of responding to the Supreme Court's mandate last year that the EPA determine the dangers posed to humankind by greenhouse-gas emissions they would simply request further public comment. The White House and EPA released their much-anticipated Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking today, after weeks of dispute ...
Topics: greenhouse-gas emissions, Muckraker, news, politics, US EPA, White House (all these topics)

Bingaman gets it right Smart ideas for post Lieberman-Warner climate policy	Sean Casten	10 Jul 2008	Gristmill
Lieberman-Warner had many, many, many, many, many problems. Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) has just done a bit of musing ($ub. req'd) on what the next effort ought to look like; he has done a rather eloquent job outlining the problems with Lieberman-Warner and suggesting what lessons we ought to take from its failure as we advance to a better model. From Restructuring Today: The Lieberman-Warner bill didn't come close to making it through the Senate and climate legisla ...
Topics: carbon trading, climate, greenhouse-gas emissions, legislation, politics, US Senate (all these topics)

Bad Reggie! Connecticut wants to hide carbon prices	Sean Casten	10 Jul 2008	Gristmill
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is far from a perfect GHG bill. It is heavily allocation loaded, focuses only on a small sector of the economy (power plants 25 MW), and doesn't have any direct carrots to go with sticks. The good news, such as it is, is that RGGI leaves many details to the discretion of the states, such that they can provide state-level patches to correct those absences in the overarching model. They can also make it worse. Earlier this w ...
Topics: Connecticut, greenhouse-gas emissions, legislation, politics, state politics (all these topics)

The long journey from denier to delayer Bush hits the climate alarm snooze button at G8	Joseph Romm	09 Jul 2008	Gristmill
The NYT's Andy Revkin dissed the G8 climate statement with the blog headline, 'Rich and Emerging Greenhouse-Gas Emitters Fail to Set Common Long-Term Goal for Cuts.' The headline of the NYT's article on the subject, however, is 'Richest Nations Pledge to Halve Greenhouse Gas.' The Grist story begins, 'world leaders reached a landmark deal: agreeing to cut emissions in half by 2050,' calling it a 'significant step' for the Bush Administration, whereas NRDC's internatio ...
Topics: climate, G8, greenhouse-gas emissions, international politics, politics (all these topics)

You win summit, you lose summit Not everyone jazzed about the G8 climate agreement	Kate Sheppard	09 Jul 2008	Gristmill
While G8 leaders are touting yesterday's climate agreement in Hokkaido as 'a significant step forward,' enviros and other world leaders are scoffing at the very idea that any progress was made. G8 leaders agreed yesterday to 'consider and adopt' the goal of cutting emissions by at least 50 percent by 2050, though they didn't agree on how to reach those goals, or any of the other particulars that would need to be hashed out in a global deal. U.S. Climate Action ...
Topics: climate, G8, greenhouse-gas emissions, Muckraker, news, politics (all these topics)

Question of the Century On driving versus flying	Umbra Fisk	09 Jul 2008	Ask Umbra
Dear Umbra, My husband asked me this one the other day and I didn't know the answer, so I thought I'd ask an expert. Which is the more environmentally friendly method of travel: 100 people driving their own cars (let's assume non-hybrid vehicles) to a city three hours away, or 100 people flying in a plane to the same city? Natalie W. North East, Pa. Dearest Natalie, Carpooling is one way to be efficient; here on Floor 2B ...
Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, cars, climate, ecological footprint, green living, greenhouse-gas emissions, travel (all these topics)

Summit of its parts Bush administration, other G8 leaders agree to halve emissions by 2050	Kate Sheppard	08 Jul 2008	Gristmill
Today at the G8 summit, which began yesterday in Hokkaido, Japan, world leaders reached a landmark deal: agreeing to cut emissions in half by 2050. The leaders agreed to 'seriously consider' this goal last year, and six of the eight leaders have been trying desperately to get George Bush and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper -- who continued to resist mandatory cuts as of Monday -- on board. That is, until a breakthrough today. Well, sort of: The Bush admi ...
Topics: climate, greenhouse-gas emissions, international treaties, legislation, Muckraker, news, politics (all these topics)

TGIT State workers in Utah will enjoy mandatory three-day weekends		07 Jul 2008	News
Posted at 3:16 PM on 07 Jul 2008 Starting in August, thousands of Utahns will begin enjoying mandatory three-day weekends. Some 17,000 government employees will switch to a compressed workweek -- four days a week, 10 hours a day -- as the state undergoes a yearlong experiment aimed at reducing energy and fuel costs as well as greenhouse-gas emissions. While employees of various U.S. counties and cities mandate a shortened week, ...
Topics: business, climate, energy, greenhouse-gas emissions, innovation, news, progress, Utah (all these topics)

CCS: Environmental whack-a-mole	Sean Casten	07 Jul 2008	Gristmill
Carbon capture and sequestration gets heralded as a great way to lower CO2 emissions and keep burning coal. Unfortuantely, it also kills the efficiency of the coal plant, meaning that every other environmental externality associated with coal-fired generation -- from mountaintop removal to power plant siting -- is exacerbated by CCS. Planet Ark puts it succinctly: The process called carbon capture and sequestration requires as much as 20 percent of the electricity ...
Topics: carbon sequestration, coal, energy, greenhouse-gas emissions (all these topics)

Did you know Bush has reduced emissions in the U.S.?	David Roberts	06 Jul 2008	Gristmill
Wow. (Thanks LL!)
Topics: George Bush, greenhouse-gas emissions, politics, video (all these topics)

Milking sustainability Sustainability goals for the U.S. dairy industry	Meredith Niles	03 Jul 2008	Gristmill
Last week, we witnessed the dairy industry hold their first ever Sustainability Summit for U.S. Dairy. The week long conference culminated in the announcement of an industry-wide commitment and action plan to reduce milk's 'carbon footprint' while simultaneously increasing business value (translation: profit) from farm to consumer. But how truly 'green' are their efforts? Sustainability -- ah, it sounds so good doesn't it? In recent years it has become the buzz ...
Topics: business, climate, food, greenhouse-gas emissions, organic food (all these topics)

Driver down How to reduce California auto emissions faster than Pavley	Ken Johnson	03 Jul 2008	Gristmill
Last update: 7/22/2008 In my last post I touted the benefits of a fully refunded emissions tax. Let's take a look at how it could work in California. When it comes to a refunded tax, more money for industry doesn't mean less money for consumers. Case in point: Today's gasoline prices in California are averaging $4.58/gal, which equates1 to $536/MT-CO2e. That's how much California drivers are currently paying to emit CO2 -- and how much they could save from fue ...
Topics: California, carbon tax, cars, climate, fuel efficiency, greenhouse-gas emissions (all these topics)

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