California’s Plan to Fight Climate Change Will Also Help Grow Economy

Proposed Scoping Plan sets California on course for a clean-energy future

The California Air Resources Board released its proposed plan to reduce California's greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The plan is slated to go before the Board for approval at its December meeting.

“Today marks another step forward in California’s fight against global warming. This plan is good for the environment and public health, and it sets California on a course toward a more secure and sustainable economy,” said Mary Nichols, Chairman of ARB.

“Our comprehensive approach steers California away from its dependence on fossil fuels and accelerates the state’s necessary transition toward a clean-energy future.”

The plan constitutes the cornerstone of a concerted effort by the Schwarzenegger administration to address climate change.This includes SB 375 (Steinberg), a bill that promotes smart growth and provides incentives for creating attractive, walkable and sustainable communities and revitalizing existing communities. Another climate change initiative is AB 3018 (Nunez), a bill that establishes the Green Collar Jobs Council to develop a comprehensive array of programs, strategies and resources to address the workforce needs that will accompany California’s growing green economy. Governor Schwarzenegger signed both bills last week.

Nichols added that the state’s coordinated approach “serves as an example for the nation in forward thinking about our economic future. California’s plan will drive innovation, create thousands of new jobs, and provide a wealth of opportunities for California to export technology and help fight global warming around the world.”

Development of the Scoping Plan is a central requirement of AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Nuñez, Pavley), that calls on California to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. Governor Schwarzenegger signed the bill into law in September 2006.

In June, the Air Resources Board released its Draft Scoping Plan. The proposed plan released today reflects additional analysis, and public input that ARB has received over the past several months. The plan is built on the principle that a balanced mix of strategies is the best way to cut emissions and grow the economy in a clean and sustainable direction.

An important component of the plan is a cap-and-trade program covering 85 percent of the state's emissions. This program will be developed in conjunction with the Western Climate Initiative which recently released its own proposed design structure, encompassing seven states and four Canadian provinces that have committed to cap their emissions and create a regional carbon market.

Additional key recommendations of the plan include strategies to enhance and expand California’s proven cost-saving energy efficiency programs; implementation of California’s clean cars standards; increases in the amount of clean and renewable energy used to power the state; and, implementation of a low carbon fuel standard that will make the fuels used in California cleaner.

The plan proposes full deployment of the California Solar Initiative, high-speed rail, water-related energy efficiency measures, and a range of regulations to reduce emissions from trucks and from ships docked in California ports. There are also measures designed to safely reduce or recover a range of very potent greenhouse gases — refrigerants and other industrial gases — that contribute to global warming at a level many times greater per ton emitted than carbon dioxide.

Other measures include a ‘margin of safety’ — a new feature that provides additional reductions to account for measures in uncapped sectors that do not, or may not, achieve the estimated emission reductions in this plan.

The plan also includes an emphasis on efforts to enable small business to participate in the benefits of the plan and expanded discussions on public health, green buildings, offsets, the Zero Emissions Vehicle program and international initiatives.

The plan recommends targeted fees to fund the state's long-term commitment to AB 32 administration.

Following approval of the plan by the Board in December, the ARB will begin developing detailed strategies to implement all of the recommended measures.

The Proposed Scoping Plan and all appendices can be viewed at: http://www.arb.ca.gov/

Clean Air Act is Powerful Tool to Fight Global Warming

Mary Nichols, chairman of the California Air Resources Board, today told a Senate Committee in Washington D.C. that Congressional action is urgently needed to set a firm and ambitious cap on greenhouse gas emissions.

The ARB chairman addressed the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works, chaired by Senator Boxer.

"California, and other states are already seeing the effects of global warming," said Nichols. "We need action now. Addressing climate change with tough federal legislation must be the first item in the new President's inbox."

In April, 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that carbon dioxide is a pollutant and ordered the EPA to examine the impacts of global warming and how it could regulate greenhouse gases.

Instead, the EPA only described the harm, but declined to make a definitive statement.
"We cannot wait another minute to begin to reverse the neglect of the past eight years and start to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," she said. "The Clean Air Act is a powerful tool that is ready to be put to use starting on day one of the next administration."

Nichols, who served as an Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation at the U.S. EPA for four years under President Clinton, also pointed out that the Clean Air Act could be used effectively to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from some of the largest sources in the country, including vehicles and power plants.

As chairman of the California Air Resources Board, Nichols oversees the implementation of California's pioneering climate change legislation. The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, usually referred to as "AB 32," was signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger on September 27, 2006, just shy of two years ago.

ARB staff are currently putting the finishing touches on the final plan outlining the measures, programs and policies that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions in California by 30 percent over the next 12 years. Many of these programs are based on approaches outlined in the Clean Air Act.

While in Washington D.C., Nichols also met with representatives of the American Lung Association to discuss the growing body of evidence about the impacts of global warming on public health, particularly respiratory and other diseases.

A report released by ARB last week indicated that implementing California's global warming law will build on existing programs to reduce smog-causing pollution and toxic soot and delivering additional benefits to public health.

A report on the economic impacts of implementing AB 32, released the same day, found that reducing greenhouse gases also produces net economic benefits for the California economy in 2020. The bulk of the economic benefits are the result of investments in energy efficiency that more than pay for themselves over time.(Both reports can be found at our webpage here.) This directly refuted claims by a representative of the Chamber of Commerce that using the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions will be too costly.

Nichols also repeated her request for the EPA to grant the waiver that would allow California to enforce its clean car law and begin reducing greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.

The Air Resources Board is a department of the California Environmental Protection Agency. ARB's mission is to promote and protect public health, welfare, and ecological resources through effective reduction of air pollutants while recognizing and considering effects on the economy. The ARB oversees all air pollution control efforts in California to attain and maintain health based air quality standards.

EPA Releases Report on Climate Change and Health

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released a report that discusses the potential impacts of climate change on human health, human welfare, and communities in the U.S. The report, entitled "Analyses of the Effects of Global Change on Human Health and Welfare and Human Systems," also identifies adaptation strategies to help respond to the challenges of a changing climate and identifies near- and long-term research goals for addressing data and knowledge gaps.

The report discusses the challenges and potential effects of climate change, including unusual or unexpected weather, and how some individuals and communities may be disproportionately affected by climate change, including the elderly, the poor, children, and people with chronic medical conditions. However, the U.S. has well-developed public health infrastructures and environmental programs that protect our air and water, which can help minimize the impacts.

The Global Change Research Program in EPA's Office of Research and Development led the development of this report. It is one of 21 synthesis and assessment products commissioned by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program.

The peer-reviewed report is the most up-to-date synthesis and assessment of scientific literature on the impact of global change on human health, welfare and settlements in the United States. It was developed following the guidelines developed by the CCSP.

The CCSP was established in 2002 to provide the Nation with science-based knowledge to manage the risks and opportunities of change in the climate and related environmental systems. The program is responsible for coordinating and integrating the research of 13 federal agencies on climate and global change.

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Analyses of the Effects of Global Change on Human Health and Welfare and Human Systems
The Office of Research and Development's Global Change Research Program The U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP)

Black Carbon Pollution Emerges as Major Player in Global Warming

Soot from biomass burning, diesel exhaust has 60 percent of the effect of carbon dioxide on warming but mitigation offers immediate benefits

Black carbon, a form of particulate air pollution most often produced from biomass burning, cooking with solid fuels and diesel exhaust, has a warming effect in the atmosphere three to four times greater than prevailing estimates, according to scientists in an upcoming review article in the journal Nature Geoscience.

Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego atmospheric scientist V. Ramanathan and University of Iowa chemical engineer Greg Carmichael, said that soot and other forms of black carbon could have as much as 60 percent of the current global warming effect of carbon dioxide, more than that of any greenhouse gas besides CO2. The researchers also noted, however, that mitigation would have immediate societal benefits in addition to the long term effect of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The article, "Global and regional climate changes due to black carbon," will be posted in the online version of Nature Geoscience on Sunday, March 23.

"Observationally based studies such as ours are converging on the same large magnitude of black carbon heating as modeling studies from Stanford, Caltech and NASA," said Ramanathan. "We now have to examine if black carbon is also having a large role in the retreat of arctic sea ice and Himalayan glaciers as suggested by recent studies."

In the paper, Ramanathan and Carmichael integrated observed data from satellites, aircraft and surface instruments about the warming effect of black carbon and found that its forcing, or warming effect in the atmosphere, is about 0.9 watts per meter squared. That compares to estimates of between 0.2 watts per meter squared and 0.4 watts per meter squared that were agreed upon as a consensus estimate in a report released last year by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a U.N.-sponsored agency that periodically synthesizes the body of climate change research.

Ramanathan and Carmichael said the conservative estimates are based on widely used computer model simulations that do not take into account the amplification of black carbon's warming effect when mixed with other aerosols such as sulfates. The models also do not adequately represent the full range of altitudes at which the warming effect occurs. The most recent observations, in contrast, have found significant black carbon warming effects at altitudes in the range of 2 kilometers (6,500 feet), levels at which black carbon particles absorb not only sunlight but also solar energy reflected by clouds at lower altitudes.

Between 25 and 35 percent of black carbon in the global atmosphere comes from China and India, emitted from the burning of wood and cow dung in household cooking and through the use of coal to heat homes. Countries in Europe and elsewhere that rely heavily on diesel fuel for transportation also contribute large amounts.

"Per capita emissions of black carbon from the United States and some European countries are still comparable to those from south Asia and east Asia," Ramanathan said.

In south Asia, pollution often forms a prevalent brownish haze that has been termed the "atmospheric brown cloud." Ramanathan's previous research has indicated that the warming effects of this smog appear to be accelerating the melt of Himalayan glaciers that provide billions of people throughout Asia with drinking water. In addition, the inhalation of smoke during indoor cooking has been linked to the deaths of an estimated 400,000 women and children in south and east Asia.

Elimination of black carbon, a contributor to global warming and a public health hazard, offers a nearly instant return on investment, the researchers said. Black carbon particles only remain airborne for weeks at most compared to carbon dioxide, which remains in the atmosphere for more than a century. In addition, technology that could substantially reduce black carbon emissions already exists in the form of commercially available products.

Ramanathan said that an observation program for which he is currently seeking corporate sponsorship could dramatically illustrate the benefits. Known as Project Surya, the proposed venture would provide some 20,000 rural Indian households with smoke-free cookers and equipped to transmit data. At the same time, a team of researchers led by Ramanathan would observe air pollution levels in the region to measure the effect of the cookers.

Carmichael said he hopes that the paper's presentation of the immediacy of the benefits will make it easier to generate political and regulatory momentum toward reduction of black carbon emissions.

"It offers a chance to get better traction for implementing strategies for reducing black carbon," he said.

The National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration funded the review.

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Scripps Institution of Oceanography

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Stanford Scientist Produces First-Ever Study Linking Increased Mortality Specifically to Carbon Dioxide Emissions

A Stanford scientist has spelled out for the first time the direct links between increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and increases in human mortality, using a state-of-the-art computer model of the atmosphere that incorporates scores of physical and chemical environmental processes. The new findings, to be published in Geophysical Research Letters, come to light just after the Environmental Protection Agency's recent ruling against states setting specific emission standards for this greenhouse gas based in part on the lack of data showing the link between carbon dioxide emissions and their health effects.

While it has long been known that carbon dioxide emissions contribute to climate change, the new study details how for each increase of 1 degree Celsius caused by carbon dioxide, the resulting air pollution would lead annually to about a thousand additional deaths and many more cases of respiratory illness and asthma in the United States, according to the paper by Mark Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford. Worldwide, upward of 20,000 air-pollution-related deaths per year per degree Celsius may be due to this greenhouse gas.

"This is a cause and effect relationship, not just a correlation," said Jacobson of his study, which on Dec. 24 was accepted for publication in Geophysical Research Letters. "The study is the first specifically to isolate carbon dioxide's effect from that of other global-warming agents and to find quantitatively that chemical and meteorological changes due to carbon dioxide itself increase mortality due to increased ozone, particles and carcinogens in the air."

Jacobson said that the research has particular implications for California. This study finds that the effects of carbon dioxide's warming are most significant where the pollution is already severe. Given that California is home to six of the 10 U.S. cities with the worst air quality, the state is likely to bear an increasingly disproportionate burden of death if no new restrictions are placed on carbon dioxide emissions.

On Dec. 19, the Environmental Protection Agency denied California and 16 other states a waiver that would have allowed the states to set their own emission standards for carbon dioxide, which are not currently regulated. The EPA denied the waiver partly on the grounds that no special circumstances existed to warrant an exception for the states.

Stephen L. Johnson, the EPA administrator, was widely quoted as saying that California's petition was denied because the state had failed to prove the "extraordinary and compelling conditions" required to qualify for a waiver. While previous published research has focused on the global effect on pollution—but not health—of all the greenhouse gases combined, the EPA noted that, under the Clean Air Act, it has to be shown that there is a reasonable anticipation of a specific pollutant endangering public health in the United States for the agency to regulate that pollutant.

Jacobson's paper offers concrete evidence that California is facing a particularly dire situation if carbon dioxide emissions increase. "With six of the 10 most polluted cities in the nation being in California, that alone creates a special circumstance for the state," he said, explaining that the health-related effects of carbon dioxide emissions are most pronounced in areas that already have significant pollution. As such, increased warming due to carbon dioxide will worsen people's health in those cities at a much faster clip than elsewhere in the nation.

According to Jacobson, more than 30 percent of the 1,000 excess deaths (mean death rate value) due to each degree Celsius increase caused by carbon dioxide occurred in California, which has a population of about 12 percent of the United States. This indicates a much higher effect of carbon-dioxide-induced warming on California health than that of the nation as a whole.
Jacobson added that much of the population of the United States already has been directly affected by climate change through the air they have inhaled over the last few decades and that, of course, the health effects would grow worse if temperatures continue to rise.

Jacobson's work stands apart from previous research in that it uses a computer model of the atmosphere that takes into account many feedbacks between climate change and air pollution not considered in previous studies. Developed by Jacobson over the last 18 years, it is considered by many to be the most complex and complete atmospheric model worldwide. It incorporates principles of gas and particle emissions and transport, gas chemistry, particle production and evolution, ocean processes, soil processes, and the atmospheric effects of rain, winds, sunlight, heat and clouds, among other factors.

For this study, Jacobson used the computer model to determine the amounts of ozone and airborne particles that result from temperature increases caused by increases in carbon dioxide emissions. Ozone causes and worsens respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses, emphysema and asthma, and many published studies have associated increased ozone with higher mortality. "[Ozone] is a very corrosive gas; it erodes rubber and statues," Jacobson said. "It cracks tires. So you can imagine what it does to your lungs in high enough concentrations." Particles are responsible for cardiovascular and respiratory illness and asthma.

Jacobson arrived at his results of the impact of carbon dioxide globally and, at higher resolution, over the United States by modeling the changes that would occur when all current human and natural gas and particle emissions were considered versus considering all such emissions except human-emitted carbon dioxide.

Jacobson simultaneously calculated the effects of increasing temperatures on pollution. He observed two important effects:

- Higher temperatures due to carbon dioxide increased the chemical rate of ozone production in urban areas.
- Increased water vapor due to carbon dioxide-induced higher temperatures boosted chemical ozone production even more in urban areas.

Interestingly, neither effect was so important under the low-pollution conditions typical of rural regions, though other factors, such as higher organic gas emissions from vegetation, affected ozone in low-pollution areas. Higher emissions of organic gases also increased the quantity of particles in the air, as organic gases can chemically react to form particles.

And in general, where there was an increase in water vapor, particles that were present became more deadly, as they swelled from absorption of water. "That added moisture allows other gases to dissolve in the particles—certain acid gases, like nitric acid, sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid," Jacobson said. That increases the toxicity of the particles, which are already a harmful component of air pollution.

Jacobson also found that air temperatures rose more rapidly due to carbon dioxide than did ground temperatures, changing the vertical temperature profile, which decreased pollution dispersion, thereby concentrating particles near where they formed.

In the final stage of the study, Jacobson used the computer model to factor in the spatially varying population of the United States with the health effects that have been demonstrated to be associated with the aforementioned pollutants.

"The simulations accounted for the changes in ozone and particles through chemistry, transport, clouds, emissions and other processes that affect pollution," Jacobson said. "Carbon dioxide definitely caused these changes, because that was the only input that was varied."

"Ultimately, you inhale a greater abundance of deleterious chemicals due to carbon dioxide and the climate change associated with it, and the link appears quite solid," he said. "The logical next step is to reduce carbon dioxide: That would reduce its warming effect and improve the health of people in the U.S. and around the world who are currently suffering from air pollution health problems associated with it."

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Stanford News Source

EPA Calculator Puts Greenhouse Gas Savings in Everyday Terms

Can you picture what it means to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 1 million metric tons? News stories are packed with measurements of greenhouse gas reductions, but it can be difficult to understand them until now. EPA's new Greenhouse Gas Calculator helps you turn greenhouse gas savings into more easily understood everyday terms.

The calculator converts greenhouse gas-related savings estimates, typically presented in "million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents," into familiar terms such as the greenhouse gas emissions that would result from:

· Driving a particular number of cars for a year,
· Using a particular amount of gasoline or barrels of oil,
· Using a particular number of tanker trucks' worth of gasoline,
· Providing energy to a particular number of homes for a year,
· Growing trees across a particular number of acres for a year,
· Recycling a particular quantity of waste instead of sending it to the landfill, or
· Generating electricity from a particular number of coal fired power plants for a year.

Users can enter savings in emissions, electricity consumption, gallons of gasoline, or number of vehicles into the calculator and determine up to 13 different ways to express the magnitude of the savings. The calculator uses the latest emission factors, approaches and statistics available through 2007.

As an example, if a typical household switched all its incandescent light bulbs to Energy Star qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs, it would save about 75 percent of the lighting electricity use, or about 1,463 kWh a year.

After five years, these energy savings are equivalent to:
· Saving about 10,289 pounds of CO2 emissions,
· Conserving 530 gallons of gasoline,
· Saving 11 barrels of oil,
· Planting 120 tree seedlings, or
· Recycling 1.6 tons of waste.

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EPA - Greenhouse Gas Calculator

global-warming

The Global Green Energy Consortium is Launched

“A Former US Congressman, U.S. Ambassador and industry veterans have announced the launch of a non-profit organization to promote green energy and sustainability”, said Zacharie Mondel, the group’s Chief Operating Officer.

Called the Global Green Energy Consortium (GGEC), the group is headlined by former US Representative Barry Goldwater Jr., and former U.S. Ambassador Osman Siddique, along with representatives from the hospitality and green energy sectors.

”As a global forum, GGEC’s mission is to dramatically and continuously improve the ability of business, building owners, management and industry to save both kinds of green,” said Mondel. “We believe that environmentally friendly business is profitable business.”

“Our goal is to complement current environmental efforts and initiatives being pursued by USGBC’s LEED, EPA’s Green Partnership and the Energy Star program,” states Ron Kendig, GGEC Chief Communication Officer. “We intend to help public utilities, oil and gas companies raise awareness of their commitment to Sustainability and Green Energy,” said Bob Scammell, Vice President of Business Development.

Barry Goldwater Jr., Executive Vice President of Government Relations, will form a team to interface with existing agencies and regulators, including the EPA, Department of Energy and The Pentagon, to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign energy while focusing on sustainable sources. “We can’t jump from one dead-end solution to the next,” said Goldwater. “We have to find a mixture of future fuels that can be managed and made to work for us, not the other way around.” Goldwater served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1969-1983. He has won many awards including the Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences; an award from the President’s Commission on Employment of the Handicapped; the Distinguished Service Award of the A.C.A.; and the Conscience of the Congress Award of the American Conservative Union.

Ambassador Siddique, Executive Vice President of International Business Development, “will bring his entrepreneurial and diplomatic skills to create green opportunities worldwide,” said Kim Karch, GGEC’s Chief Marketing Officer. Ambassador Siddique served as Ambassador to the Republic of Fiji, the Republic of Nauru, the Kingdom of Tonga and to Tuvalu from 1999-2001. His company, ITI/Travelogue, Inc., was honored with the Arthur Anderson and Washington Business Journal's FasTrack Award in 1994 as one of the fastest growing companies in the D.C. area. Siddique was also twice named as a finalist for Inc. Magazine's Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

“Promoting international collaboration and helping former Vice President and Nobel Prize winner Mr. Al Gore establish global environmental standards and protocols is one of the primary goals of GGEC,” states Ambassador Siddique.

Dale Wiley, the Executive Vice-President of Biofuels and Carbon Markets, is the President and CEO of American Green Holdings and BidForGreen. Wiley is an expert in biofuels logistics, and has consulted with the film, television and music industries on implementing green strategies.
About Global Green Energy Consortium (GGEC):

GGEC is a non-profit organization registered in the State of Delaware. The Consortium’s mission is to provide businesses and communities with the education and tools to effectively and efficiently implement sustainable and green energy initiatives. A primary objective is to align the offerings of the energy market segment with the needs of the business world to effectively reduce our energy usage and promote renewable energy technologies.

GGEC’s unique portfolio of services demonstrates the commitment to serve as a comprehensive source of energy conservation standards, certification and resources to facilitate implementation of sustainability initiatives across market segments.

GGEC recognizes the host of information and standards offered by numerous organizations and strives to consolidate, not duplicate current standards. A key message of the Consortium is that the implementation of energy and resource conservation initiatives can be profitable for all businesses.

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GGEC - Global Green Energy Consortium

New Report: Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the US

The US Energy Information Administration issued a new report in Nov. on "Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2006". The report states that GHG emissions have declined by 1.5% in 2006 due to a drop in carbon dioxide emissions. Lower energy use, along with an increase use of natural gas for power generation are attributed to the decline.

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Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2006

environment

EPA Rejects CA Vehicle Emissions Request

On Wednesday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency denied 17 states, including California, the right to set their own standards for greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light trucks. The decision was handed down after almost 2 years of delay by the EPA.

The original law passed by California in 2003, required a Clean Air Act waiver from the EPA, which was filed in 2005. When no action was taken, CA was joined by 16 other states in a case that went to the Supreme Court, attempting to force the EPA to regulate GHG . Last spring the Supreme Court handed down a landmark decision stating that the EPA has the right and responsibility to regulate greenhouse gas. When the EPA made no public decision concerning the state law, California again took the agency to court in November for failure to act. With Wednesday's decision to deny states the right to control their own tailpipe emissions, CA will once again take the EPA to court.

Under the Clean Air Act, California is allowed to pass it's own emissions control regulations. During the past 30 years, California has been granted 40 waivers. Wednesday's decision was the first waiver to be denied.

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The Daily Green
Enviro.BLR.com
The New York Times


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global-warming

New Mexico Leads the Fight Against Global Warming with Clean Car Program

New Mexico has become the first Intermountain state to implement the Clean Car program after the state's Environmental Improvement Board voted on November 27th to approve the regulations addressing climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from cars.

The program goes into effective Jan. 1, 2008, requiring car manufacturers to sell and lease vehicles that meet the standards beginning with model year 2011. The program only applies to new vehicles and will not affect new or used cars sold before that model year.

“The Clean Cars Program is a key part of our state’s effort to reduce global warming emissions to the levels necessary to avoid the worst effects of a warming planet,” said Governor Richardson. “Today’s decision by the Environmental Improvement Board means New Mexico can implement the cleanest standards for vehicle emissions in the country. New Mexico is again taking action, when Washington won’t.”

“New Mexico is taking deliberate steps to protect the environment from the effects of global warming for future generations because the EPA has failed to do so,” Governor Richardson said. “I believe other intermountain states will take New Mexico’s lead and implement the program as well. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from cars and demanding vehicles with a cleaner carbon footprint will help states reverse the effects of global warming – one of the most important issues of our time.”

“The Clean Car standard will help protect our state from the effects of climate change, including public health concerns, increasing temperatures and lessening snow pack and stream flows.” said New Mexico Environment Department Secretary Ron Curry. “Under Governor Richardson's administration, we will continue to fight to make New Mexico a role model in combating climate change. The Clean Car program is a major step forward that will improve our air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lessen our dependence on foreign oil.”

The program requires reductions in tailpipe emissions to reduce air pollution, overall reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles sold in the state and sales of some Zero Emission Vehicles in the state. The program regulates emissions of non-methane organic gases, carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, particulate matter and greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and air conditioning refrigerants. Under the program, consumers will be able to purchase the same cars and light trucks but those vehicles will be manufactured slightly differently to reduce air pollution from the vehicle’s tailpipe and gain greater fuel economy. Studies of the program show that upfront costs for clean cars are more than made up for in fuel efficiency.

"The Clean Car Program now has a foothold across the nation," said Environmental Improvement Board Chairwoman Gay Dillingham. "This is a tremendous opportunity for our country and American manufacturers to take back the lead in environmental protection and innovation reminiscent of the 1970s when Congress passed the Clean Air Act and car production and sales in this nation were at historic highs. I applaud the Governor’s visionary leadership on global warming as exemplified by the clean car regulations. From the testimony in this hearing I can say the American people are overwhelmingly asking for this leadership and these regulations.”

The Climate Change Advisory Group -- including representatives from various industries, oil and gas companies, utilities, environmentalists, the labs, universities and local governments -- recommended the program as one of the most affordable ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in New Mexico. The Governor then directed the department to present a proposal to adopt the California Clean Car standard to the EIB before the end of the year. The Clean Air Act requires that manufacturers have a two year lead time before implementing the rule. The rule will be effective January 1, 2008 and with the required lead time, will be fully implemented in model year 2011. That model year is the same as calendar year 2010.

Transportation, which accounts for about 17 percent of New Mexico’s greenhouse gas emissions, is the third largest and fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions in the state. In adopting the program, New Mexico joins 11 other states representing more than 35 percent of the American population — about 104 million people and about 78 million potential car buyers.

In the Four Corners region, Arizona and Utah are also committed to adopt those standards and Colorado is considering it. Under Governor Richardson’s administration, New Mexico also joined nine states and provinces in the Western Climate Initiative, which commits those states to Clean Cars as part of a collaborative regional effort.

Governor Richardson recently joined 13 governors in calling on automobile manufacturers to produce cars with a cleaner carbon footprint, withdraw legal challenges to clean vehicle standards, and begin working with the states to reverse the threat of global warming. New Mexico was also the first state in the nation to join the Chicago Climate Exchange and the first major energy state to fight climate change.

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New Mexico Environment Department

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About CleanAIR Systems, an emissions control manufacturer based in New Mexico.

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Censoring Climage Change

The Boston Globe reported on Monday that the US Senate is getting only half the facts when it comes to climate change. According to the Globe, Julie Gerberdings, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, addressed the Senate on Oct. 23 concerning the health impact of global warming.

The original report was 12 pages in length and included the following statements:
- "the public health effects of climate change remain largely unaddressed"
- Northern USA "will likely bear the brunt of increases in ground-level ozone and associated airborne pollutants"
- "Populations in Midwestern and Northeastern cities are expected to experience more heat-related illnesses as heat waves increase in frequency, severity, and duration"

Unfortunately, the 12-page report was edited by the White House down to 6 pages, cutting this important information. Senator Barbara Boxer (CA) believes the censored statements are in alignment with a report release earlier this year by the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and should be presented to the Senate.

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Boston Globe

climate change
global-warming

ARB Tripling Early Action Measures Set by AB 32

Projects would net 3 million metric tons of additional greenhouse gas emissions

SACRAMENTO - The Air Resources Board today approved staff's proposal to triple the set of early measures to help meet the state's goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions roughly 25 percent by 2020 as required by the Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32).

Last month, ARB staff proposed an additional set of measures, including many that go above and beyond the narrow requirements of the law. New measures approved today are expected to reduce greenhouse gases from the trucking industry, greener ports, cement and semiconductor industries, and consumer products.

"Today's Board approval marks another significant milestone in our goal to return the state's greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020," said ARB Chairman Mary Nichols. "Today's measures include many common-sense, practical approaches that will continue our forward momentum on AB32. California is showing the country and the world that we can and will help reverse the ominous tide of global warming."

The newly approved measures include:
* Smartway Truck Efficiency: Requires existing trucks and trailers to be retrofitted with devices that reduce aerodynamic drag, thus reducing 1.3 million metric ton reductions in greenhouse gas equivalents as well as reducing fuel consumption.

Firms such as UPS and Whole Foods have enjoyed great success with this program at the national level with the U.S. EPA.

* Port electrification: This measure will require docked ships to shut off their auxiliary engines by plugging into shoreside electrical outlets. Already offered as a NOx and diesel PM reduction effort used at the ports of Long Beach/Los Angeles and Oakland, this project will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 500,000 metric tons every year.

* Reduction of perfluorocarbons from the semiconductor industry: Extremely potent greenhouse gases, PFCs are used in the semiconductor industry to create intricate circuitry patterns on silicon wafers and to rapidly clean semiconductor chemical vapor chambers. Alternative chemistry development, emissions abatement and recovery and recycling will lessen greenhouse gas emissions by 500,000 metric tons annually.

* Reduction of propellants in consumer products: Aerosols, tire inflators, electronics cleaning and dust removal products all contain propellants that contribute an estimated 300,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in California every year. Manufacturers can help by switching from HFC propellants to others with lower climate impact.

* Tire inflation: ARB will craft regulations requiring tune-up, smog check and oil change mechanics to ensure proper tire inflation as part of overall service. By ensuring that tire pressure in cars throughout the state is maintained to manufacturer specifications, California will see a 200,000 metric tons reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

* Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6) reductions from non-electricity sector: ARB proposes to ban the use of SF6 from non-essential uses if viable alternatives are available. SF6 is currently used in manufacturing processes with aluminum, magnesium and semiconductors, as well as a tracer for air quality and vehicle studies.

The new measures are projected to reduce about 3 million metric tons of annual greenhouse gas emissions. Combined with the early action measures adopted by the Board in June - a low carbon fuel standard, restrictions in do-it-yourself air conditioner repairs and methane capture from landfills - ARB now has measures in the works to reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 16 million metric tons.

The proposed early actions combined with other measures proposed by the larger Climate Action Team could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 36 tons by 2020, roughly 21 percent of the total needed to meet AB 32's goal of rolling back emissions to 1990 levels. This lays a solid foundation for obtaining the necessary reductions needed to meet AB 32 requirements.

Governor Schwarzenegger signed the Global Warming Solutions Act on Sept. 26, 2006, establishing the world's most comprehensive greenhouse gas reduction initiative. The law requires the ARB to implement a statewide greenhouse gas emissions reduction strategy. In addition, the Governor directed the members of the Climate Action Team to work alongside the ARB to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their respective jurisdictions.

See the Source:
California Air Resoures Board

emission standards

Increase of Global CO2 Emissions Alarming

USA Today reported today on a recent study by Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology that during the 1990's, emissions of carbon dioxide rose about 1.3% per year. But the rate of emissions after 2000 increased to 3.3% per year.

The growing global economy is fueling an increase in fossil fuels burned and an increase in the manufacturing of cement, both of which contribute to rising carbon emissions. In 2000, 7 billion metric tons of carbon were released into the atmosphere. By 2006 emissions had increased by 8.4 billion metric tons.

Researchers now believe that the Earth's plants, oceans and land can no longer naturally absorb the excess carbon, causing a build-up of CO2 in the atmosphere and increasing the effect of global warming.

See the Source:
USA Today

global-warming

Hidden Costs of Climate Change: Major, Nationwide, Uncounted

The total economic cost of climate change in the United States will be major and nationwide in scope, but remains uncounted, unplanned for and largely hidden in public debate, says a new study from the University of Maryland.

The report, The U.S. Economic Impacts of Climate Change and the Costs of Inaction, is the first to pull together and analyze the previous economic research on the subject, along with other relevant data, in order to develop a more complete estimate of costs.

While much of the public debate has focused on the upfront costs of emission controls, there's been only limited research on subsequent expenses, such as rebuilding or preparing infrastructure to meet new realities and the ripple economic effects on the agricultural, manufacturing and public service sectors. In part, the report evaluates the costs of inaction -- how a failure to reduce greenhouse gases can make response and adaptation more expensive.

"The true economic impact of climate change is fraught with 'hidden' costs," the report concludes. It adds that these costs will vary regionally and will put a strain on public sector budgets. For example, even under current conditions, the combined storm impact for the nation since 1980 has surpassed $560 billion. More frequent and intense storms would raise the price tag even higher.

"Climate change will affect every American economically in significant, dramatic ways, and the longer it takes to respond, the greater the damage and the higher the costs," says lead researcher Matthias Ruth, director of the University of Maryland's Center for Integrative Environmental Research and the Roy F. Weston Chair in Natural Economics. "The national debate is often framed in terms of how much it will cost to reduce greenhouse gases, with little or no consideration of the cost of no response or the cost of waiting. Review and analysis of existing data suggest that delay will prove costly and tip the economic scales in favor of quicker strategic action."

Estimating a total price tag for all the hidden costs is impossible at the moment, say the researchers. The report finds that current techniques generally used by economists to measure the costs related to climate change are ill-suited to a situation so complex and pervasive. It recommends a new, immediate research effort to accompany initiatives designed to minimize the impact of climate change.

Findings: Five Lessons
Lesson 1: Economic Impacts Will Occur Throughout the Country
Climate change will affect all sectors of the national economy, especially agriculture, energy and transportation, says the report. It will also damage or stress essential infrastructures, many of them locally maintained, such as water supply and treatment. Climate change will also damage ecosystems. The specific effects, though, will vary by U.S. regions.

West and Northwest: Changes in precipitation patterns and snow pack are likely to increase the risk of forest fires. The cost of fire suppression and property damages will run in the billions.
Great Plains: Increased frequency and severity of flooding and drought will cause billions of dollars in damages to crops and property.

Midwest: Major impacts are expected on the manufacturing sector as shipping costs within the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence shipping route increase because of expected lower water levels along the system.

Northeast and Mid-Atlantic: Increased vulnerability to sea level rise and storms; even a single event can cost anywhere from $2 billion to $6.5 billion, depending on severity.

South and Southwest: Decreased precipitation will strain water resources for agriculture, industry and households. For the Central Valley in California alone, the economy-wide loss during the driest years is predicted to be around $6 billion.

Lesson 2: Economic Impacts Will Be Unevenly Distributed Across Regions and Economic and Social Sectors
Examples of unequal hardships:
Small niche industries -- especially in the agriculture sector -- may be devastated. Even though the losses represent a small part of the state and regional economy, these businesses are an essential element of local employment, history, culture and landscape.

Rising temperatures may cause greater health problems for poor and aged urban dwellers less able to resist scorching summers.

Lesson 3: Negative Climate Impacts Will Outweigh Benefits for Most Economic Sectors
In some regions and economic sectors, climate change may be temporarily beneficial. For example, some Mid-Atlantic farmers may temporarily increase market share as agricultural conditions worsen in other parts of the country. But eventually those gains will disappear as new costs and threats, such as frequent water shortages and new pest infestations, emerge.

Reduced energy demands in the winter for heating fuel will be offset by even greater demands for cooling in the summer.

Lesson 4: Climate Change Will Place Immense Strain on Public Sector Budgets
The cost of infrastructure maintenance and replacement will likely increase, while economic losses will likely translate into reduced tax revenues. As a result, public officials may need to raise taxes, cut services, or some combination of the two. For example, Alaska's infrastructure maintenance is expected to rise by $5 billion to $10 billon; by one estimate, sea-level rise could cause between $23 billion and $170 billion in property damage by 2100, depending on how high the sea rises; in Hawaii, sea level rise will require upgrades to drinking and wastewater facilities of nearly $2 billion over the next 20 years.

Lesson 5: Secondary Effects Can Include Higher Prices, Reduced Income, Job Loss
Indirect or secondary economic effects of climate change have rarely been quantified, yet are likely to be substantial, the report says. Increased costs for raw materials, energy and transportation will likely translate into higher prices and a loss of competitiveness that could trigger declines in entire economic sectors or regions.

Recommendations
The range and severity of the economic and social impacts of climate change are great, while the research on the subject is very limited. The report strongly recommends an immediate, large-scale, coordinated research effort to accompany policy steps designed to mitigate climate change and adapt to the unavoidable.

To this point, research has provided only limited economic snapshots looking at specific regions, industries or economic sectors, often using quite different methodologies and time frames for analysis, says Ruth.

"We've connected the dots as far as the data would allow," Ruth adds. "Now that the climatological picture about future conditions is becoming clear, research needs to provide the socioeconomic information to guide policy. This study offers the first comprehensive analysis. Next, we will need to carry out sector and region-specific research using new methodology. The traditional, narrow micro-economic approach used in current studies is simply not suited to this task."

Because of the scope and complexity of the recommended research, the report says that a consortium of university research centers, national labs and federal and state agencies would be uniquely positioned to take on the task.

"The potential costs of the climate impacts are so staggering that this would surely be a wise investment," Ruth says. "Yet current research on the full range of economic costs is sufficient to conclude that delayed action (or inaction) on global climate change will likely be the most expensive policy option. A national policy for immediate action to mitigate emissions coupled with efforts to adapt to unavoidable impacts will minimize the overall costs of continued climate change."

See the Source:
The U.S. Economic Impacts of Climate Change and the Costs of Inaction

global-warming
climate change

Scientists Call for 80 Percent Drop in U.S. Emissions by 2050 to Avoid Dangerous Warming

By 2050, the United States must cut its emissions by at least 80 percent below those created in the year 2000 if the world is to avoid potentially dangerous impacts of human-induced climate change, according to a report released today by Texas Tech University, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and Stanford University.

To avoid the most severe effects of climate change, the world must stabilize the concentration of heat trapping gases in the atmosphere at no more than 450 parts per million, said Katharine Hayhoe, an associate professor of geosciences at Texas Tech University who performed the emissions-reduction calculations for the joint report.

This 450-parts-per-million limit aims to avoid a temperature increase exceeding 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit in a global average temperature above pre-industrial levels – a temperature-change benchmark which Hayhoe and other scientists believe could wreak increasing havoc on the environment as it is exceeded.

"The study assumes both developing and industrialized countries would have to converge to equitable per-capita emissions to stabilize the world’s climate," she said. "However, even with other countries taking aggressive action, since the United States is responsible for nearly one-quarter of global emissions, it must act now to achieve the deep cuts in its energy consumption that will be required to meet this target."

The cost of delaying U.S. emission reductions could be high, said Michael D. Mastrandrea, a research associate at the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University.
"If we wait until 2020 to start emission reductions, we’ll have to cut twice as fast than if we start in 2010 to meet the same target," Mastrandrea said.

While an 80 percent reduction sounds daunting now, Hayhoe said that the sooner we start, the greater our chances of successfully meeting that target.

"We’ve got 40 years to radically increase the efficiency of the way we use energy," she said. "It’s also time to start considering more extensive ways to harness renewable energy sources through solar panel arrays and wind farms, for example. It’s worth it to put in the effort now to reduce our emissions. If we don’t, there will be a lot more work to do just to adapt to the impacts of climate change in the future."

Stabilizing above this 450-parts-per-million level would likely lead to severe risks to both natural systems and human welfare, Hayhoe said.

"Sustained warming of this magnitude could, for example, result in the extinction of many species and increase the threat of extensive melting of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets," she said.

Policies under consideration in the United States vary in the timing and levels of emissions cuts they call for and many fail to achieve the minimum pollution cuts needed.

"This report makes clear that the United States must make meaningful cuts in global warming pollution, and soon, to reduce the risk of severe climate impacts," said Alden Meyer, director of Strategy and Policy at the Union of Concerned Scientists. "President Bush should drop his opposition to mandatory emissions limits, and put forward a specific proposal to aggressively reduce U.S. emissions at the meeting of major emitting countries that he is hosting next week."

They advised that Congress must also act to help the world avoid the worst consequences of global warming. Several pieces of legislation have been introduced that set mandatory reductions, but only two bills would keep U.S. emissions within the overall limits called for in the UCS study. One measure was introduced by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), and the other by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.).

See the Source:
Texas Tech University

global-warming

ARB staff proposes to triple early action measures required under AB 32

Projects would net more than 7 million metric tons of additional greenhouse gas emissions

SACRAMENTO - As part of California’s historic effort to curb global warming gases, Air Resources Board (ARB) staff today proposed to nearly triple the set of early measures to help meet the state’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions roughly 25 percent by 2020 as required by the Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32).

In addition, ARB staff proposed an additional set of measures today that go above and beyond the narrow requirements of the law. New proposals are expected to reduce greenhouse gases from the trucking industry, greener ports, cement and semiconductor industries, and consumer products. [Full list is attached.]

"Today’s announcement sets the stage for another step forward in achieving our goal to return the state’s greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020," said ARB Chairman Mary Nichols. "Every single action we take – government, businesses, municipalities and individuals alike – makes a difference toward ultimately cooling our planet. California is showing the country and the world that we can and will help reverse the ominous tide of global warming."

These newly proposed early action measures are projected to reduce 2.8 million metric tons of annual greenhouse gas emissions. Combined with the early action measures adopted by the Board in June – a low carbon fuel standard, restrictions in do-it-yourself air conditioner repairs and methane capture from landfills – ARB now has measures in the works to reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 16 million metric tons.

The proposed early actions combined with other measures proposed by the larger Climate Action Team could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 36 million metric tons by 2020, roughly 21 percent of the total needed to meet AB 32’s goal of rolling back emissions to 1990 levels. This lays a solid foundation for obtaining the necessary reductions needed to meet AB 32 requirements.

The Board will vote on additional proposed measures in Sacramento on Oct. 25 and 26. In the meantime, ARB staff will hold a workshop on the new proposed measure Sept. 17 in Sacramento to discuss specifics and solicit additional input from stakeholders.

Governor Schwarzenegger signed the Global Warming Solutions Act on Sept. 26, 2006, establishing the world’s most comprehensive greenhouse gas reduction initiative. The law requires the ARB to implement a statewide greenhouse gas emissions reduction strategy. In addition, the Governor directed the members of the Climate Action Team to work alongside the ARB to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their respective jurisdictions.

See the Source:
For more information about climate change programs

In the News: Global Warming Update

- The Western Climate Initiative led by California’s Gov. Schwarzenegger has laid the foundation to cut greenhouse emissions by 15 percent by 2020 to decrease the effects of global warming. The collective is made up of six Western states (Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington and Utah) and two Canadian provinces (Manitoba and British Columbia). They have agreed to design a market-base program similar to cap-and-trade, with a deadline of August 2008 to present the plan. The Bush administration has opposed such mandatory cuts, favoring a voluntary approach.

- The Bush administration has been called on the carpet by a federal court for failure to issue global warming assessment reports. District Court Judge Saundra Armstrong ruled that the administration was in violation of a 1990 law and must issue a research plan by March 1, 2008. Federal law mandates an updated plan every three years. The last plan was issued in 2003. In addition, national assessment reports are required every four years. The last such report was issued in 2000 by the Clinton administration.

See the Source:
Reuters
ABC News

global-warming
environment

EIP Reports 50 Dirtiest U.S. Power Plants

Even as some of America’s dirtiest power plants start to clean up their act in terms of certain toxic emissions, the carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution linked to global warming from large, old, and inefficient electricity-generating facilities continues unchecked and could rise 34 percent by 2030, according to a report from the nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project (EIP). A searchable database ranking 378 U.S. power plants on carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and mercury pollution is now available online at http://www.dirtykilowatts.org.

The 12 states with the heaviest concentrations of the dirtiest power plants in terms of total tons of carbon dioxide emitted are: Texas, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia, Wyoming, Florida, Kentucky, and New Mexico.

The "Dirty Kilowatts" report also ranks the worst power plants on the basis of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury, looking at all four pollutants both in terms of total tons of emissions and also emission rate (pounds per megawatt-hour of electricity produced). For example, just 14 percent of the 378 ranked fossil-fuel-burning power plants account for 40 percent of their sulfur dioxide emissions. Taken together, the 378 plants ranked in this report represent about a third of all power plants tracked in EPA’s inventory, but they account for almost 90 percent of the electricity generated by the plants in EPA’s inventory, and approximately half of total U.S. electric generation. Plants in North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Indiana, and South Dakota top the
non-CO2 rankings.

The EIP report notes: “Nationwide, the power plants that provide electricity to run our homes, businesses, and factories also account for 40 percent of carbon dioxide, roughly two thirds of sulfur dioxide, 22 percent of nitrogen oxides, and roughly a third of all mercury emissions (in the U.S.)

“Power plants are major contributors to global warming, emitting billions of tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) each year. In addition, power plants emit millions of tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), pollutants that trigger asthma attacks and contribute to lung and heart disease, and cause smog and haze in cities and national parks. And, power plants emit dangerous toxins like mercury, a neurotoxin especially harmful to children and developing fetuses.”

Ilan Levin, counsel, Environmental Integrity Project, said: “While Congress is poised to seriously consider legislation to limit the greenhouse gases that made 2006 the hottest year on record, the electric power industry is racing to build a new fleet of coal-fired power plants that rely on conventional combustion technologies that would only accelerate global warming. Once utility companies secure their air pollution permits, we can expect them to argue that these new plants should be ‘grandfathered,’ or exempt from any pending limits on greenhouse gases. We’ve been through this before. When the original Clean Air Act was passed in 1970, the electric utility industry persuaded Congress to not impose strict pollution controls on old power plants, because they would soon be replaced by newer state-of-the-art facilities. Yet despite the industry’s promises, many of the nation’s oldest and dirtiest power plants continue to operate today. Americans pay the bill for that delay when they suffer the ill health consequences of breathing needlessly dirty air.”

Power plants are responsible for about 40 percent of all man-made CO2 emissions in the nation, and unlike emissions of SO2 and NOx, the electric power industry’s CO2 emissions are projected to steadily rise. Carbon dioxide emissions contribute to global warming.

Sulfates (from SO2) are major components of the fine particle pollution that plagues many parts of the country, especially communities nearby or directly downwind of coal-fired power plants.

Sulfur dioxide also interacts with NOx to form nitric and sulfuric acids, commonly known as acid rain, which damages forests and acidifies soil and waterways. Harvard School of Public Health studies have shown that SO2 emissions from power plants significantly harm the cardiovascular and respiratory health of people who live near the plants. According to EPA studies, fine particle pollution from power plants results in thousands of premature deaths each year Nitrogen oxide is tied to ground-level ozone, which is especially harmful to children and people with respiratory problems such as asthma. Ground-level ozone is formed when NOx and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) react in sunlight. NOx also reacts with ammonia, moisture, and other compounds to form fine particle pollution, which damages lung tissue and is linked to premature death. Small particles penetrate deeply into sensitive parts of the lungs and can cause or worsen respiratory disease such as emphysema and bronchitis, and aggravate heart disease.

Coal-fired power plants are the single largest source of mercury air pollution, accounting for roughly 40 percent of all mercury emissions nationwide. Mercury is a highly toxic metal that, once released into the atmosphere, settles in lakes and rivers, where it moves up the food chain to humans. The Centers for Disease Control has found that roughly 10 percent of American women carry mercury concentrations at levels considered to put a fetus at risk of neurological damage.

See the Source:
Environmental Integrity Project – 50 Dirtiest U.S. Power Plants

Find out:
About reducing NOx emissions from power plants using selective catalytic reduction from CleanAIR Systems.

NOx emissions
air pollution

Air Pollution News Bites: 08-02-07

- A recent study estimates that demand for air pollution control products in China will increase by 18 percent each year through 2010. The increase is attributed to the Chinese government’s plan to increase the purchase of air pollution control technology and new legislation concerning strict environmental protection regulations. Products in demand by China include: electrostatic precipitators, baghouse systems, particulate filters, and catalysts.

- A new analysis studying atmospheric “brown clouds” hovering over Asia, have concluded that the buildup of greenhouse gases mainly due to the burning of fossil fuels, is a major contributor to the melting of tropical glaciers such as those found in the Himalayans. Researchers found that combining the heating effect of greenhouse gases and the elements found in brown clouds, such as soot, heightens the effect of global warming.

"The conventional thinking is that brown clouds have masked as much as 50 percent of global warming by greenhouse gases through so-called global dimming," said atmospheric chemist V. Ramanathan. "While this is true globally, this study reveals that over southern and eastern Asia, the soot particles in the brown clouds are in fact amplifying the atmospheric warming trend caused by greenhouse gases by as much as 50 percent."

He went on to state, "It is likely that in curbing greenhouse gases we can tackle the twin challenges of climate change and brown clouds, and in doing so, reap wider benefits--from reduced air pollution to improved agricultural yields."

See the Source:
MarketWire
National Science Foundation

Find out:
How to reduce particulate pollution by using diesel particulate filters

air pollution
global-warming

CARB Ka-boom!

What’s going on at the California Air Resources Board? The story from the Governor’s office is that CARB isn’t being the tough guy when it comes to air pollution regulations and cracking down on greenhouse gases. So he fired Robert Sawyer, the board’s chairman.

Last week CARB’s executive director, Catherine Witherspoon resigned in protest, saying the agency was being pressured by the administration to “reduce costs and satisfy lobbyists,” which lead to hampering of the agency’s ability to aggressively move forward with the state’s AB 32 commitment for clean air. On top of it all, Witherspoon claims the Governor publicly blamed Sawyer and Witherspoon for not doing more to combat pollution and global warming.

Is the spin getting out of control? Sounds like CARB is going ka-boom!

See the Source:
LA Times
Grist

Find out:
About CARB verified diesel particulate filters

current issues
emissions control

China: Death by Air Pollution

Recent news on China’s devastating air pollution levels has garnered world attention. Here’s a run down on the facts from various news source:

• A World Bank report release at a Beijing conference in March, suggests 400,000 Chinese die every year due to outdoor air pollution. Reportedly Chinese officials tried to have these statistics removed from the report. The government denies they tried to cover-up the numbers.



• Two thirds of the electricity generated in China comes from coal-fired power plants, with the country holding 13 percent of the world’s reserves of coal. With coal being the top producer of greenhouse gas emissions, China is now producing more CO2 emissions than the United States, establishing itself as the No. 1 GHG producer in the world.



• An average of two coal-fired power plants a week are being built in China. Almost all of them are being built with out-dated equipment and no emissions control technology. Chinese utilities believe that using emissions control technology will decrease their power plant’s energy output. Because of this, they are resistant to retrofitting their plants with new technology.



• There is an ever increasing consensus from world scientists that China’s economic growth and the resulting greenhouse emissions will push our environment pass the tipping point of no return.



• China’s emissions from coal-fired power plants are increasing at an annual rate that is double the total emissions growth of all industrialized economies combined.



• China’s environmental agency is blaming public unrest and riots on anger stemming from pollution, with an increasing number of demonstrations taking place over power plant emissions and air pollution.


See the Source:
Council on Foreign Relations
Guardian Unlimited
San Francisco Chronicler

current issues
global-warming

Dangerous Increase in Hot Days for the Mediterranean

Researchers at Purdue University researcher projects a 200 percent to 500 percent increase in the number of dangerously hot days in the Mediterranean by the end of the 21st century if the current rate of greenhouse gas emissions continues, with France projected to have the most increase in high-temp extremes.

The study also showed a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions could reduce projected dangerous hot days by up to 50 percent.

"Rare events today, like the 2003 heat wave in Europe, will become much more common as greenhouse gas concentrations increase," said Noah Diffenbaugh, the Purdue assistant professor of earth and atmospheric sciences who led the study. "The frequency at which that scale of event occurs at high greenhouse gas concentrations is staggering. Rare events become the norm, and the extreme events of the future are unprecedented in their severity."

A 2003 heat wave led to 15,000 deaths in France and almost 3,000 in Italy. The researchers found that global warming causes summer temperatures to dramatically exceed the range that was correlated with the increased number of deaths.

"The thresholds of the 2003 event are substantially exceeded in the future in both of our research scenarios," said Diffenbaugh. "This research is about understanding the response to different emissions levels. We find that decreases in greenhouse gas emissions greatly reduce the impact, but we see negative effects even with reduced emissions. Technological and behavioral changes that are made now will have a big influence on what actually happens in the future."

Extremely high temperatures could also affect the region’s economy, including metropolitan areas such as Rome, Paris and Barcelona. The study covered the entire Mediterranean area, which includes 21 countries in Europe, Africa and Asia. Major cities covered in the study include: Prague, Zurich, Bucharest, Athens, Istanbul, Tel Aviv, Cairo, Algiers and Casablanca.

The researchers found that this warming and reduced precipitation contribute to a preferential warming of the hottest days of the year. "We found that the hottest days of the year, or the 'hot tail,' warm more than the typical summer days warm," Diffenbaugh said.

"One might expect that an average warming of four degrees would equate to each day warming by four degrees, but in fact the hottest days warm quite a bit more."

This is due, in large part, to a surface moisture feedback. The surface gets dryer as it gets hotter and the dry soil leads to less moisture in the area and less evaporative cooling. The locations of intensified warming on hottest days of the year matched the locations where surface drying occurred, Diffenbaugh said.
"The hottest temperatures we are used to experiencing will become the normal temperatures of the summer, and the hot periods will be magnified," Diffenbaugh said. "Take Paris: If we look at the temperatures that occurred there during the heat wave in 2003, when 15,000 people died, those temperatures are exceeded a couple dozen times every year in the future projection. That means that severe heat waves, such as those rare events that have occurred in the past couple of years, are likely to become far more common."

Related Web sites:
Purdue Climate Change Research Center: http://www.purdue.edu/climate
Diffenbaugh Research Group: http://www.purdue.edu/eas/earthsystem/

See the Source:
Newswise

climate change
global-warming

Is Global Warming Real? NASA Chief Questions Validity

A top NASA administrator, Michael Griffin, commented on a recent NPR broadcast that global warming is “a problem we must wrestle with,” yet it is arrogant to believe that the climate we are experiencing today is the best we could have and that “we need to take steps to make sure that it doesn’t change.”

The Director of the Science and Public Policy Institute added “many rationalist scientists agree with him, clearly demonstrating there is no scientific consensus on man-made, catastrophic global warming.”

Other scientists from around the world also came to Griffin’s defense. Dr. Walter Starck, an Australian marine scientist commented, “Griffin makes an important distinction between the scientific findings of climate change and dramatic predictions of catastrophic consequences accompanied by policy demands. The former can be evaluated by its evidence, but; the latter rest only on assertions and claims to authority. Alternate predictions of benefits from projected changes have been proposed with comparable authority and plausibility. For example, unless one chooses to define the Little Ice Age as ‘normal’ and ‘optimal’ the net effect of any warming has only been beneficial and any anthropogenic contribution very small indeed. Dramatic predictions of imminent disaster have a near perfect record of failure. Griffin’s note of caution in the escalating concern over climate change deserves sober consideration.”

However NASA scientist, James Hansen, was sharply critical of Griffin’s statements.

See the Source:
E-Wire

climate change
global-warming

Governor Richardson Challenges Bush Response to Global Warming

Richardson to unveil a bold new energy plan which will revolutionize America's fight against global warming and for energy independence at speech to the New American Foundation on Thursday, May 17th in Washington, DC

SANTA FE, NM – May 15, 2007 -- Governor Bill Richardson today challenged President Bush's response to the Supreme Court ruling requiring federal agencies to regulate vehicle emissions.

"The 'debate' on global warming is over and the Supreme Court has ordered this administration to stop dragging its feet and act," stated Governor Richardson. "My state joined twelve other states to challenge the Bush Administration to enforce the Clean Air Act and fought them all the way to the Supreme Court--and won. President Bush's decision to drag out the vehicle emission rulemaking process over the next two years rebuffs the Supreme Court's ruling and rejects the reality and urgency of global warming.

"This is a timid action, when America and the world needs bold action. My approach to solving our energy and global warming problem is market-based. I would use the engine of the market to drive bold and quick innovation. Our top priorities need to be focusing on a sharp reduction in oil demand, creating dramatic energy efficiencies, reducing greenhouse gases and restoring America as a leader in technology and science."

As Energy Secretary, he pushed for aggressive energy efficiency standards, conservation in the midst of the California electricity crisis, a national renewable portfolio standard, and development of alternative vehicles.

As Governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson has initiated mandates requiring utilities to meet renewable energy requirements, supported generous solar tax incentives, eliminated sales taxes on hybrid vehicles, and set aggressive targets to reduce global warming pollution. New Mexico is on track to exceed the Kyoto Protocols and has become the Clean Energy State.

"Our next President must sharply reduce American demand for fossil fuels that add to greenhouse gas concentrations," said Richardson. "By doing so, the U.S. will reclaim its ability to participate in - and lead - international agreements to slow, stop, and reverse climate change trends. The United States cannot lead the world, and will not have the support of the world's people, unless it gets its energy addiction under control, and joins the world effort to take real steps reducing global warming pollution.

"We have no choice, but to make a change and fast. At peak, we now import 65% of our oil. We send about $300 billion in petrodollars to foreign countries every year. Our economy is half as energy-efficient as Japan's or Western Europe's. With 5% of the world's population, we account for 25% of global warming pollution.

In a speech to the New American Foundation Thursday morning at 10:00 am at the Washington Hilton, Monroe Room, 1919 Connecticut Avenue in Washington, DC Governor Richardson will unveil his comprehensive plan for energy and reducing global warming. The Governor's aggressive proposals directly address critical issues facing the United States- vehicle fuel efficiency, fuels made from renewable resources, green building standards, greenhouse gas emissions, and shifting the economy from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

"Baby steps and incremental measures won't work. We need to act boldly, and act now. We need a "man-on-the-moon effort"- a strong national commitment to get it done," said Richardson. "President Kennedy exhorted the nation to put a man on the moon within ten years, not 20 or 30. The nation responded to that call. We can do the same with energy and global warming.

"So what we need today is a ten-year plan to reduce our dependence on oil by 50%, and a ten-year plan to reduce our global warming pollution by at least 20%. As President, I will implement a bold plan that meets these goals and ushers in a new era of energy independence and security for the United States."

See the Source:
Nhpols.com – Campaigns & Elections

climate change
global-warming
current issues

Today’s Air News: From Squirrel to Obama

What’s new in the fight against air pollution?
- Squirrel: Have Air Pollution Monitor, Will Travel
- GM Going Green
- Obama Bam-Bams Global Climate Change

Squirrel: Have Air Pollution Monitor, Will Travel
Introducing Squirrel, a cool techie Bluetooth gizmo being developed by the University of California San Diego and the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology. This wireless personal pollution monitor will allow users to measure air pollution levels at ground level, make informed decisions on exposure to pollutants, and is small enough to take with you for readings-on-the-go. Right now, the Squirrel prototype monitors carbon monoxide and ozone, but future capabilities will allow measurements of nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide. Plus other measurement extras will be added such as temperature, barometric pressure and humidity.

GM Going Green
Breaking news! GM just joined the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), calling for a cap and trade system to reduce greenhouse gases. The first car manufacturer to join the coalition, the news is not only stirring up climate change, but also the political climate. The group is composed of environmental leaders and high-level corporate partners. With the addition of GM, the USCAP now counts 22 companies as part of its roster, including utilities, chemical production and manufacturing.

The group’s mission:
- cut greenhouse gas emissions 60-80 percent
- create business incentives
- act swiftly and thoughtfully

Obama Bam-Bams Global Climate Change
Presidential hopeful, Barack Obama introduced his new climate action plan during a speech at the Detroit Economic Club to reduce dependence on foreign oil, while fighting the causes of global climate change. Obama’s goal is to cut oil consumption by 2.5 million barrels of oil per day, take 50 million cars’ worth of pollution off the road, save over $50 billion at the gas pump, while helping the auto industry save jobs and regain its standing in the world – all by 2020.

The Obama Plan has 3 key points:
- Setting fuel economy standards for an annual savings of 20 billion gallons of gasoline.
- Helping consumers with tax credits who buy hybrids.
- Helping manufacturers to manufacturer fuel-efficient vehicles by helping with the health care costs of retirees and offering tax incentives for retooling plants.

See the Source:
medGadget
Environmental Defense
BusinessWire

Find out:
More on emissions control technology to reduce air pollution when you visit CleanAIR Systems

air pollution
climate change
current issues

Monitoring Global Warming

The Christian Science Monitor has launched a new website focusing on the causes and effects of global warming and its impact on climate change. Offering original content, the Monitor intends the website to become a key resource for distributing the latest scientific research in the field of climate change, as well as offering to the general public suggestions on how to make a difference in preventing global warming.

"Our website, in particular, improves the way that the Monitor can help readers understand a subject that for many years has been a source of confusion and contention, but is now recognized as an issue that demands attention from everyone," said Monitor Editor Richard Bergenheim. "We want to help people understand what steps can be taken to mitigate effects of global warming and how we can adapt to climate change."

"This new approach to covering topics such as global warming is just the first in what we hope will be a series of in-depth reports on issues that affect us all as global citizens," added Monitor Managing Publisher Jonathan Wells.

The new website also offers a free weekly e-newsletter and will soon include multi-media resources such as slide shows and video.

See the Source:
The Christian Science Monitor – Global Warming

climate change
global-warming

Where Have All the “Wheaties” Gone?

A recent study published in Environmental Research Letters, reports climate change has already had an affect on global food production with the reduction of cereal grain yields. Examining the years from 1981 to 2002, it is estimated that global warming reduced the production of wheat, corn and barley by 40 million metric tons per year.

“Global Scale Climate-Crop Yield Relationships and the Impacts of Recent Warming” is the first report to study the present day effect of climate change on food production, which could be the impetus to drive food prices, food security and future decisions on land use.

See the Source:
Global Scale Climate-Crop Yield Relationships and the Impacts of Recent Warming

global-warming
climate change

Chill Out with the Campus Climate Challenge

The National Wildlife Federation’s national competition, Chill Out, inspires colleges and universities to make a “cool” difference when it comes to global warming by reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Eight winning schools were announced on April 18th for developing innovative projects that other colleges should emulate.

“The projects implemented by the Chill Out winners go well beyond the minimum 30 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions scientists urge by 2030, putting them well on the pathway toward climate neutrality before mid-Century,” says Julian Keniry, Director of Campus and Community Leadership for the National Wildlife Federation. “These schools, and many of the over 100 schools which entered the Chill Out competition, are modeling exactly what the science says should be done.”

Together the eight winning schools saved a combined $5 million annually and 40 million pounds of CO2, which would have normally been emitted into the atmosphere if the campus projects had not been put into place.

See the Source:
Chill Out competition

climate change
global-warming

East Meets West: The Impact of Asian Pollution on Clouds, Weather, Climate Change

Using the newest aircraft for environmental research, scientists are launching a project to study and track plumes of dust and pollutants which originate in Asia and travel across the Pacific to North America. Captured as “event”, it is believed they are so large in size as to have an affect on cloud formation, weather and global climate change.

The Pacific Dust Experiment (PACDEX) will be launched in late April and continue for two months.

"PACDEX will open a window into what happens to the atmosphere as these massive plumes cross the Pacific Ocean. The plumes affect clouds, precipitation, and the amount of sunlight that reaches Earth," explains National Center for Atmospheric Research scientist Jeff Stith, a principal investigator on the project. "We want to determine how the various particles of dust and pollutants in the plumes influence clouds and climate, and how far downwind those effects occur."

Sulfate particles found within the plumes cool the planet by blocking solar radiation, at the same time that other particles of black carbon create a warming effect by absorbing sunlight. Various particles may also mask up to half of the global warming impact of greenhouse gases. Future warming will be influenced by the amount of particulate matter emissions originating in Asia.

Dust and pollutants also reduce light, contributing to the “global dimming” phenomenon that can affect temperature and precipitation.

See the Source:
The National Center for Atmospheric Research and the UCAR Office of Programs

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How to reduce particulate emissions using diesel particulate filters

The Greening of the Ivy League

The EPA has crowned the Ivy League as the overall champion conference of the College & University Green Power Challenge for 2006-2007, beating out 15 other collegiate athletic conferences. NYU won individual school honors for purchasing more green power than any other school in the competition.

"EPA applauds this year's College & University Green Power Conference Champions for their leadership in green power purchasing," said Bill Wehrum, EPA's acting assistant administrator for Air and Radiation. "EPA hopes this year's competition inspires schools around the nation to participate in the 2007-2008 EPA College & University Green Power Challenge. Buying green power is a great way to demonstrate that what's good for the environment is also good for higher education."

Since April 2006, EPA's Green Power Partnership has ranked conferences by the quantity of green power purchased by their respective colleges and universities. These conferences must have schools that qualify as EPA Green Power Partners and make a collective green power purchase of at least 10 million kWh conference-wide in order to be eligible for the challenge. The 33 schools and 16 conferences taking part in this year's challenge are buying more than 750 million kWh of green power. EPA estimates that this amount of green power is equal to the electricity needed to power more than 60,000 average American homes each year.

Leading the Ivy League was the University of Pennsylvania followed by Harvard and Yale, with a collective purchase totaling more than 140 million kWh of green power.

Green power is produced from eligible renewable resources such as solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, biomass and low-impact hydro. Green power is considered cleaner than conventional sources of electricity, has a superior environmental profile to conventional power, and does not contribute additional carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere. Buying green power has proven to be an excellent strategy for colleges and universities across the country to reduce the environmental impact of their purchased electricity, while allowing them to tie environmental action to the educational mission of the school.

See the Source:
EPA - College and University Green Power Challenge

States on Track to Cut Emissions

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) says that 21 states, along with the District of Columbia are on track to reduce their global warming emissions by 108 million metric tons (MMT) of carbon dioxide by 2020, through the use of adopting renewable electricity standards. The emission cuts are equal to taking 17.7 million cars off the road.

Three states in particular (Colorado, Minnesota and New Mexico) are over the 100 MMT milestone.

UCS estimates that by 2020, state standards will produce more than 46,000 megawatts of clean, renewable power. This will be enough to meet the needs of 28.5 million households.

With the success of state renewable energy standards, the UCS says momentum is building for a federal standard of 20 percent renewable energy by 2020.

See the Source:

Union of Concerned Scientists

What About Carbon Sequestration?

The Future of Carbon Sequestration is a new report issued by Dublin’s Research and Markets, an international market research and market data firm, offering an overview of the opportunities for carbon sequestration to reduce GHG emissions.

Based on information from a variety of sources such as the Energy Information Administration, the Department of Energy, and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the report covers the following topics:

- Overview of the climate change debate
- Explanation of the global carbon cycle
- Discussion of the concept of carbon sequestration
- Review of current efforts to implement carbon sequestration
- Analysis and comparison of carbon sequestration component technologies
- Review of the economic drivers of carbon sequestration project success
- Discussion of the key government and industry initiatives supporting carbon sequestration

According to Research and Markets, “The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) forecasts that up to 40% of the world's fossil fuel emissions could be captured and sequestered by 2050. The IPCC says that if carbon sequestration were exploited via hundreds of thousands of storage sites around the world, it could make up to 55% of projected cuts in greenhouse gas emissions needed to offset climate change by 2100. However, the price of CO2 needs to be $25 to $30 a ton to make carbon capture technologies commercially viable.

“This forecast has many organizations taking a significant interest in carbon sequestration. Much of this interest is based on a simple premise - the world will continue to depend on fossil fuels for the foreseeable future. This means capturing and sequestering carbon is seen as one of the most viable approaches to tackling global warming.”

See the Source:
Research and Markets: The Future of Carbon Sequestration

Viet Nam Becomes Member of the International Clean-Energy Partnership

The Methane to Markets Partnership marked a major milestone this week as Viet Nam became its 20th country member. Methane to Markets is a public-private partnership that reduces greenhouse gas emissions by promoting the cost-effective, near-term recovery and use of methane, while providing clean energy to markets around the world.

“Viet Nam is the 20th country to join Methane to Markets. This is an important milestone in our efforts to promote energy security and greenhouse-gas reductions around the globe,” said Bill Wehrum, EPA's acting assistant administrator for Air and Radiation and chair of the Methane to Markets Steering Committee. “With its rapidly expanding economy, Viet Nam will make valuable contributions to clean energy development in the region.”

"Joining the Partnership will be an opportunity for Viet Nam to learn and share experiences on reducing methane gas from the livestock sector," said Nguyen Van Tai, Deputy General Director of Viet Nam’s Department of Environment, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

Viet Nam joins a growing number of Asian countries that are actively participating in Methane to Markets. In particular, Viet Nam will bring into the Partnership its interest and experience in reducing methane emissions from livestock waste.

With the addition of Viet Nam to Methane to Markets, the Partnership now includes countries that represent nearly 60 percent of the world’s human-caused methane emissions.

Methane is a greenhouse gas that is over twenty times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. By 2015, Methane to Markets has the potential to deliver annual reductions in methane emissions of up to 50 million metric tons of carbon equivalent, which is roughly equal to the greenhouse gas emissions from 50 500-megawatt coal-fired power plants.

More than 500 public- and private-sector organizations from around the world have joined Methane to Markets through the Project Network. In addition to Viet Nam, Methane to Markets Partner countries include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States.

See the Source:
EPA - Methane to Markets Partnership

Be Green, Make Money

Environmental Defense has released a new paper entitled: What Business Can Do: Successful Strategies for Cutting Carbon and Making Money. The report offers real-world ideas to fight climate change, and at the same time make money by saving on energy costs. Presented in eight sections, strategies are detailed as they relate to their industry segments.

The sections are:
- Electric utilities: Tap the power of renewable sources
- Petroleum refiners: Manage energy smarter
- Chemical manufacturers: Reduce fuel use
- Computer and electronics industry: Save water and energy
- Pulp and paper industry: Ramp up efficiencies
- Textile industry: Use energy smarter
- Transportation: Boost fuel economy
- Retail and commercial operations: Smarter energy
- Agriculture and farm businesses: Making carbon work for you
- All industries: Energy Efficiency saves energy and money

The report concludes businesses will see a reward in dollars saved by making wise choices and “tweaking” energy use. The environment also benefits when energy is conserved, with less greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere, thereby lowering the factors involved in global warming and climate change.

See the Source:
Environmental Defense

Bush Administration Establishes Program to Reduce Foreign Oil Dependency, Greenhouse Gases

Washington, D.C. – April 10, 2007 -- In step with the Bush Administration’s call to increase the supply of alternative and renewable fuels nationwide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today established the nation’s first comprehensive Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program.

At a press conference today, EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson, joined by Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman and National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator Nicole Nason, discussed the RFS program, increasing the use of alternative fuels and modernizing CAFÉ standards for cars.

“The Renewable Fuel Standard offers the American people a hat trick – it protects the environment, strengthens our energy security, and supports America’s farmers,” said EPA Administrator Johnson. “Today, we’re taking an important first step toward meeting President Bush’s “20 in 10” goal of jumping off the treadmill of foreign oil dependency.”

"Increasing the use of renewable and alternative fuels to power our nation's vehicles will help meet the President's Twenty in Ten goal of reducing gasoline usage by 20 percent in ten years," Secretary Bodman said. "The Administration's sustained commitment to technology investment will bring a variety of alternative fuel sources to market and further reduce our nation's dependence on foreign sources of energy."

“While we must look at increasing the availability of renewable and alternative fuels, we must also continue to improve the fuel efficiency of our passenger cars and light trucks,” said Nicole R. Nason, Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “As a part of the President’s “20 in 10” energy security plan, we need Congress to give the Secretary of Transportation the authority to reform the current passenger car fuel economy standard.”

Authorized by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the RFS program requires that the equivalent of at least 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuel be blended into motor vehicle fuel sold in the U.S. by 2012. The program is estimated to cut petroleum use by up to 3.9 billion gallons and cut annual greenhouse gas emissions by up to 13.1 million metric tons by 2012 -- the equivalent of preventing the emissions of 2.3 million cars. The RFS is an important first step toward meeting President Bush’s call on our nation to reduce gasoline use by 20-percent within 10 years by growing our renewable and alternative fuel use to 35 billion gallons by the year 2017.

The RFS program will promote the use of fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel, which are largely produced from American crops. The program will create new markets for farm products, increase energy security, and promote the development of advanced technologies that will help make renewable fuel cost-competitive with conventional gasoline. In particular, the RFS program establishes special incentives for producing and using fuels produced from cellulosic biomass, such as switchgrass and woodchips.

The RFS program requires major American refiners, blenders, and importers to use a minimum volume of renewable fuel each year between 2007 and 2012. The minimum level or “standard” which is determined as a percentage of the total volume of fuel a company produces or imports, will increase every year. For 2007, 4.02 percent of all the fuel sold or dispensed to U.S. motorists will have to come from renewable sources, roughly 4.7 billion gallons.

The RFS program is based on a trading system that provides a flexible means for industry to comply with the annual standard by allowing renewable fuels to be used where they are most economical. Various renewable fuels can be used to meet the requirements of the program. While the RFS program establishes that a minimum amount of renewable fuel be used in the United States, more fuel can be used if producers and blenders choose to do so.

The RFS brings the nation closer to President Bush’s Twenty in Ten goal to reduce gasoline consumption 20 percent in ten years. To achieve this goal, the Bush Administration’s Alternative Fuel Standard (AFS) proposal builds on the RFS and requires use of 35 billion gallons of renewable and alternative fuels in 2017 - nearly five times the RFS target of 2012. The AFS proposal will displace 15 percent of projected annual gasoline use in 2017 through the use of fuels, including corn ethanol, cellulosic ethanol, biodiesel, methanol, butanol, hydrogen, and other alternative fuels. The Twenty in Ten plan also calls for reforming and modernizing CAFÉ standards to increase the fuel economy of cars. This will reduce projected annual gasoline use by up to 8.5 billion gallons, a further 5 percent reduction that will bring the total reduction in projected annual gasoline use to 20 percent. President Bush has called on Congress to act on these proposals by the start of the summer driving season this year.

See the Source:
EPA Renewable Fuels

Showdown in Vermont: Auto Manufacturers vs. Global Warming

A Burlington, Vermont federal courtroom will be the next showdown between automakers and states attempting to enforce emissions regulations to reduce carbon dioxide from vehicle emissions. Big auto manufacturers go to court today in an attempt to block greenhouse gas emission regulations set by California Regulation, Assembly Bill No. 1493, Pavley, which Vermont and nine other states have adopted. Vermont will be the first court to decide if states have the authority to establish their own fuel standards, thereby controlling carbon emissions.

If the regulation stands, it would set carbon limits more stringent that those put in place by the US government, allowing other states to adopt the California rulings and create a system where car manufacturers would need to meet two separate standards - those for “federal cars” as opposed to the much tighter regulations of “California cars.”

The California regulation go into effect with cars from model year 2009 and would decrease carbon dioxide emissions by forcing manufacturers to increase average fuel efficiency to 43 miles per gallon. This would achieve a 23% reduction in global warming emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide from new cars by 2012.

See the Source:
International Herald Tribune
California Clean Cars Campaign
California Assembly Bill No. 1493

Time's Running Out for Planet Earth

The IPCC delivered its second report on Thursday in Brussels entitled “Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability,” offering a somber projection for the future of Earth if action to abate global warming is delayed.

One author of the report, Kevin Hennessy, a researcher from CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research says the study, “clearly shows that human activities are already affecting some natural systems. That’s a very new finding.”

In blunt terms the report states, “Unmitigated climate change would, in the long term, be likely to exceed the capacity of natural, managed and human systems to adapt.”

A global temperatures rise of 1.5 – 2.5 degrees will have a devastating impact on the environment and human existence. Between 20 to 30 percent of plant and animal species addressed in the study are at risk of extinction. Mankind can expect an increase in severity and frequency of heatwaves, droughts, storms and other severe weather patterns, resulting in widespread malnutrition, water shortages, and diseases, as well as a lost of land mass.

Dr. Bryson, CSIRO Climate Program Director, says “climate change is real and the time to act is short. Adaptation to climate change is as important as the mitigation of greenhouse gases.”

Another researcher, Professor Terry Hughes adds, “we have a narrow window of opportunity – no more than 20 years to achieve decisive cuts in greenhouse gases – to protect coral reefs from massive degradation.”

Other warnings from the report include:
- water shortages in Africa, with an increased risk of hunger
- glaciers melting in the Himalayas will increase flooding, rock avalanches and disrupt water resources
- flooding in the Asian river deltas will lead to a rise in temperature and changing rainfall patterns, resulting in an increase of hunger in developing countries
- small island states will experience a rise in sea level, threatening communities and water supplies
- developed nations (such as US and Australia) face drought, fires and rising sea-levels that will impact coastal properties

The report recommends several strategies to deal with climate change, cut greenhouse gases and cope with changing technology, infrastructure and land use.

See the Source:
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
The Sydney Morning Herald

IPCC to Release Second Report

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will be releasing “Climate Change 2007” Assessment Report from Working Group II on Friday, April 6th, presenting the second of four reports on the latest scientific, environmental and socio-economic analysis on climate change.

The Report offers the following segments:

ASSESSMENT OF OBSERVED CHANGES
-Assessment of Observed Changes and Responses in Natural and Managed Systems

ASSESSMENT OF FUTURE IMPACTS AND ADAPTATION: SYSTEMS AND SECTORS
- New Assessment Methodologies and the Characterization of Future Conditions
- Fresh Water Resources and their Management
- Ecosystems, their Properties, Goods and Services
- Food, Fibre and Forest Products
- Coastal Systems and Low-lying Areas
- Industry, Settlement, and Society
- Human Health

ASSESSMENT OF FUTURE IMPACTS AND ADAPTATION: REGIONS
-Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Europe, Latin America, North America, Polar Regions, Small Island

ASSESSMENT OF RESPONSES TO IMPACTS
- Assessment of Adaptation Practices, Options, Constraints and Capacity
- Inter-relationships between Adaptation and Mitigation
- Assessing Key Vulnerabilities and the Risk from Climate Change
- Perspectives on Climate Change and Sustainability

See the Source:
Outline Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability

EU’s Environmental Endeavors

The U.S. Senate Committee on Finance heard the testimony of Ambassador John Bruton this week, outlining the European Union’s energy policy objectives.

With the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and limiting energy dependency, the Ambassador stated several EU policies such as energy taxation, the EU emission trading system, and a plan for sustainable coal technologies.

"Although EU energy policy is far from being created from scratch - a number of energy efficiency and renewables promotion measures date back more than 10 years - it is just recently that the EU has opted for a comprehensive, integrated and ambitious policy set in the field of energy and fight against climate change," said Ambassador Bruton, Head of Delegation of the European Commission to the United States, during testimony.

He continued "the EU’s increasing dependency on imports threatens not only its security of supply but it also implies higher prices, if, for example, the price of oil rises to $100 per barrel in today’s money, the EU's energy import bill will be around 50 percent higher by 2030. While Europeans would have to pay a lot more for their energy, few additional jobs in the EU would be created this way. In contrast, boosting investment in energy efficiency, renewable energy and new technologies has wide-reaching benefits and would contribute to the EU’s strategy for growth and jobs."

Addressing the common situation of the EU and United States’ energy situation, Ambassador Bruton concluded "…that in order to ensure a sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply, a common response is needed."

See the Source:
Ambassador Bruton’s testimony

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About new emissions control technologies offered by CleanAIR Systems

Lots of SOx and NOx

On March 26, 2007 the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Maritime Pollution Prevention Act of 2007, giving authority to the US Coast Guard and the EPA to establish and enforce emission limits on domestic and foreign ships entering U.S. waters. Passing 359 to 48, the bill would bring the US into compliance with regulations already used by other countries and adopted by the International Maritime Organization in 1997 to limit emissions of sulfur dioxide (a main component of SOx) and nitrogen oxide (NOx).

Pollutants such as SOx and NOx deplete the environment’s ozone layer, contribute to global warming, effect climate change and have a serious impact on health.

According to a report issued by The International Council on Clean Transportation entitled, “Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ocean-going Ships: Impacts, Mitigation Options and Opportunities for Managing Growth,” marine fuel contains a much higher sulfur content than highway diesel fuel. (Recent regulations have forced a substantial decrease in sulfur content for diesel fuel available throughout the United States, resulting in the use of Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel for on- and off-highway vehicles, thereby lowing SOx emissions.) The report states that ocean-going ships produce more sulfur dioxide than all of the cars, trucks and buses in the world combine.

The latest major action on the bill was on March 28th as it was referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

See the Source:
Library of Congress
The International Council on Clean Transportation
Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ocean-going Ships

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More about the health and environmental impact of NOx.

Science Politicization: Report by GAP Analyzes Government Interference and Distortion of Environmental Information

After a year-long investigation, the Government Accountability Project (GAP) has released a detailed report on the political interference of information presented by scientist about environmental issues. The report, entitled “Redacting the Science of Climate Change,” demonstrates how current governmental policies and practices have restricted the flow of scientific information generated from publicly-funded climate change research.

Findings illustrate objectionable and possible illegal restrictions on the communication of scientific information to the media, including delaying, monitoring, screening and denying interviews. Other questionable actions include the delay, denial and inappropriate editing of press releases issued by media-scientists.

The report also offers examples of government interference with scientists’ communications to Congress and the public.

GAP Staff Attorney, Tarek Maassarani states “The government has failed to provide any justifications for these increasingly restrictive policies and practices, which seem to kick in whenever there is politically-inconvenient science.”

Massarani will be testifying on March 28 to the Investigation and Oversight Subcommittee of the House Science and Technology Committee concerning the findings of the report. The hearing is entitled “Shaping the Message, Distorting the Science: Media Strategies to Influence Public Policy.”

The report draws the conclusion that due to restrictive practices in the dissemination of scientific information, the media has been negatively affected in their ability to report objectively on environmental issues, as well as public officials hindered in their capacity to respond with appropriate policies, and the public to fully understand environmental concerns.

See the Source:
GAP Report Details Climate Science Politicization
Redacting the Science of Climate Change

Global Warming Forecasts Creation, Loss of Climate Zones

by Jill Sakai

A new global warming study predicts that many current climate zones will vanish entirely by the year 2100, replaced by climates unknown in today's world.

Global climate models for the next century forecast the complete disappearance of several existing climates currently found in tropical highlands and regions near the poles, while large swaths of the tropics and subtropics may develop new climates unlike anything seen today. Driven by worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, the climate modeling study uses average summer and winter temperatures and precipitation levels to map the differences between climate zones today and in the year 2100 and anticipates large climate changes worldwide.

The work, by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Wyoming, appears online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of March 26.

As world leaders and scientists push to develop sound strategies to understand and cope with global changes, predictive studies like this one reveal both the importance and difficulty of such a task. Primary author and UW-Madison geographer Jack Williams likens today's environmental analysts to 15th-century European mapmakers confronted with the New World, struggling to chart unknown territory.

"We want to identify the regions of the world where climate change will result in climates unlike any today," Williams says. "These are the areas beyond our map."

The most severely affected parts of the world span both heavily populated regions, including the southeastern United States, southeastern Asia and parts of Africa, and known hotspots of biodiversity, such as the Amazonian rainforest and African and South American mountain ranges. The changes predicted by the new study anticipate dramatic ecological shifts, with unknown but probably extensive effects on large segments of the Earth's population.

"All policy and management strategies are based on current conditions," Williams says, adding that regions with the largest changes are where these strategies and models are most likely to fail. "How do you make predictions for these areas of the unknown?"

Using models that translate carbon dioxide emission levels into climate change, Williams and his colleagues foresee the appearance of novel climate zones on up to 39 percent of the world's land surface area by 2100, if current rates of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions continue. Under the same conditions, the models predict the global disappearance of up to 48 percent of current land climates. Even if emission rates slow due to mitigation strategies, the models predict both climate loss and formation, each on up to 20 percent of world land area.

The underlying effect is clear, Williams says, noting, "More carbon dioxide in the air means more risk of entirely new climates or climates disappearing."

In general, the models show that existing climate zones will shift toward higher latitudes and higher elevations, squeezing out the climates at the extremes — tropical mountaintops and the poles — and leaving room for unfamiliar climes around the equator.

"This work helps highlight the significance of changes in the tropics," complementing the extensive attention already focused on the Arctic, says co-author John Kutzbach, professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences at UW-Madison. "There has been so much emphasis on high latitudes because the absolute temperature changes are larger."

However, Kutzbach explains, normal seasonal fluctuations in temperature and rainfall are smaller in the tropics, and even "small absolute changes may be large relative to normal variability."

The patterns of change foreshadow significant impacts on ecosystems and conservation. "There is a close correspondence between disappearing climates and areas of biodiversity," says Williams, which could increase risk of extinction in the affected areas.

Physical restrictions on species may also amplify the effects of local climate changes. The more relevant question, Williams says, becomes not just whether a given climate still exists, but "will a species be able to keep up with its climatic zone? Most species can't migrate around the world."

For the researchers, one of the most poignant aspects of the work is in what it doesn't tell them — the uncertainty. At this point, Williams says, "we don't know which bad things will happen or which good things will happen — we just don't know. We are in for some ecological surprises."

The work was conducted in collaboration with Stephen Jackson at the University of Wyoming and was funded by the National Science Foundation.

See the Source:
University of Wisconsin-Madison

EPA Lauds Corporate Partners for Cutting Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Climate Leaders Program Continues to Attract New Members

Washington, D.C. - March 22, 2007 -- EPA today commended American Electric Power, St. Lawrence Cement and United Technologies Corp. for achieving significant greenhouse gas reductions (GHG) under EPA's Climate Leaders program. The companies also extended their commitment by pledging a second goal on measurable reductions. In addition, the agency recognized 12 corporations for announcing new reduction goals, and another 16 companies that are joining the program.

"Our Climate Leaders partners are demonstrating corporate climate change leadership by embracing energy efficiency, green power, and technological innovation as sound business investments," said EPA Deputy Administrator Marcus Peacock. "Many of the nation's leading companies are working aggressively with EPA to lower their greenhouse gas emissions in ways that advance President Bush's climate change strategy."

--American Electric Power, Columbus, Ohio, met its 2006 goal by reducing total U.S. GHG emissions by four percent from 2001 to 2006. AEP pledges to reduce total U.S. GHG emissions by six percent from 2001 to 2010.

--St. Lawrence Cement, Mont-Royal, Quebec, met its goal by reducing global GHG emissions by 16 percent per ton of cement-type product from 2000 to 2006. St. Lawrence Cement pledges to reduce global GHG emissions by 20 percent per ton of cement-type product from 2000 to 2012.

--United Technologies Corp., Hartford, Conn., met its goal of reducing global GHG emissions by 46 percent per dollar of revenue from 2001 to 2006. UTC pledges to reduce total global GHG emissions by 12 percent from 2006 to 2010.

The twelve partners announcing aggressive greenhouse gas reduction goals:
--Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., St. Louis, Mo., pledges to reduce total U.S. GHG emissions by five percent from 2005 to 2010.

--Boise Cascade, Boise, Idaho, pledges to reduce total U.S. GHG emissions by 10 percent from 2004 to 2014.

--Codding Enterprises, Rohnert Park, Calif., pledges to reduce U.S. GHG emissions by 50 percent per square foot from 2005 to 2010.

--Fairchild Semiconductor, South Portland, Maine, pledges to reduce U.S. GHG emissions by 30 percent per manufacturing index (production measure) from 2003 to 2010.

--General Motors Corp., Detroit, Mich., pledges to reduce total North American GHG emissions by 40 percent from 2000 to 2010. GM achieved its initial goal by reducing total North American GHG emissions by 23 percent from 2000 to 2005.

--IBM Corp., Armonk, N.Y., pledges to reduce total global GHG emissions by seven percent from 2005 to 2012. IBM achieved its initial goal by reducing total global energy-related GHG emissions by an average of six percent per year and PFC emissions by 58 percent from 2000 to 2005.

--Sandy Alexander, Clifton, N.J., pledges to reduce U.S. GHG emissions by 11 percent per dollar of revenue from 2006 to 2012.

--SC Johnson, Racine, Wis., pledges to reduce total U.S. GHG emissions by 8 percent from 2005 to 2010. SC Johnson achieved its initial goal by reducing total U.S. GHG emissions by 17 percent from 2000 to 2005. --Steelcase Inc., Grand Rapids, Mich., pledges to reduce U.S. GHG emissions by 40 percent per dollar sales from 2004 to 2009.

--The Tower Cos., North Bethesda, Md., pledge to achieve a net effect of zero GHG emissions using EPA approved methods by 2008 and maintain that level through 2012.

--The World Bank, Washington, D.C., pledges to reduce total U.S. GHG emissions by seven percent from 2006 to 2011.

--Thomas Rutherfoord Inc., Roanoke, Va., pledges to reduce U.S. GHG emissions by seven percent per employee from 2006 to 2012.

The 16 companies that have recently joined Climate Leaders as partners: Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., St. Louis, Mo; Cherokee Investment Partners, Raleigh, N.C.; CSX Transportation Inc., Jacksonville, Fla.; Deere & Company, Moline, Ill; Duke Energy, Charlotte, N.C.; Kellogg Co., Battle Creek, Mich.; Merck & Co. Inc., Whitehouse Station, N.J.; Mohawk Fine Papers Inc., Cohoes, N.Y.; National Geographic Society, Washington D.C.; NVIDIA Corp., Santa Clara, Calif.; Office Depot, Delray Beach, Fla.; PPG Industries Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa.; Stora Enso North America Corp., Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.; Turner Construction Co., New York, N.Y.; WhiteWave Foods Co., Broomfield, Colo.; 3 Phases Energy, San Francisco, Calif.

Since 2002, the Climate Leaders program has provided valuable guidance and recognition to leading companies across many industries to help them develop and implement long-term comprehensive climate change strategies. EPA estimates that the goals announced to date through Climate Leaders will prevent more than 11 million metric tons of carbon equivalent emissions per year – equal to the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from more than seven million cars. Climate Leaders partners come from a wide range of industries and constitute over nine percent of U.S. gross domestic product. Over the past five years, the program has expanded to include 113 organizations. Of these, 67 have announced aggressive long-term greenhouse gas reduction goals, while the remaining companies are working with EPA to set and announce a goal.

See the Source:
EPA - Climate Leaders

Rep. Waxman Introduces the Science-Based “Safe Climate Act”

Washington, DC – March 20, 2007 -- Today Rep. Henry A. Waxman, together with over 125 House colleagues, introduced the “Safe Climate Act of 2007.” The legislation is based on what scientists have concluded the United States must do to avoid dangerous, irreversible warming of the planet and would significantly reduce U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases.

“We must act now to protect our children and grandchildren from disastrous global warming,” said Rep. Waxman. “My legislation reflects what the science says we need to do to prevent dire changes to the climate system, and there is a growing consensus in the states and among American workers, industry leaders, small businesses, religious groups, and others that these levels are what we need to achieve.”

Scientists have concluded that the planet faces a grave risk of irreversible and devastating global warming if global temperatures increase by more than 3.6°F. To protect against these catastrophic impacts, the Safe Climate Act sets greenhouse gas emissions targets that aim to keep temperatures below the danger point. The level of emissions is frozen in 2010, gradually reduced by 2% each year through 2020, and then reduced by 5% each year through 2050.

The Safe Climate Act achieves these targets through a flexible economy-wide cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gas emissions, along with measures to advance technology and reduce emissions through renewable energy, energy efficiency, and cleaner cars.

According to Rep. Waxman, “In effect, the Safe Climate Act sets the targets and then unleashes market forces and American ingenuity to solve the climate problem.”

Rep. Waxman is the Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The legislation and supporting materials are available online at: http://www.henrywaxman.house.gov/.

See the Source:
Representative Henry Waxman – Safe Climate Act of 2007

Environmental, Community Groups Announce Important Energy Agreement with Major Utility

Sierra Club, Kansas City Power & Light and Concerned Citizens of Platte County Put Forward Agreement to Reduce Emissions, Spur Clean Energy Development

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- March 20, 2007--In a groundbreaking agreement that can serve as a model for environmental groups and utilities working together, the Sierra Club, Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L), and the Concerned Citizens of Platte County (CCPC) have agreed on a set of initiatives to offset carbon dioxide (CO2) and reduce other emissions for the Kansas City-based utility. Under the agreement announced today, KCP&L agrees to pursue offsets for all of the global warming emissions associated with its new plant through significant investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy, and cut pollution from its existing plants in order to improve air quality in the Greater Kansas City metro area. The agreement proposes other investments in clean energy, significant decreases in emissions and resolves four appeals pending between the Sierra Club, CCPC, and KCP&L. Full implementation of the terms of the agreement will necessitate approval from the appropriate authorities, as some of the initiatives in this agreement require either enabling legislative policy or regulatory approval.

“We believe there is significant potential through new energy technology and innovative approaches to improve the environment and offer additional value to our customers across the Kansas City region. This is especially true with energy efficiency and wind generation, which we have been implementing already through our Comprehensive Energy Plan developed in 2005,” said Mike Chesser, Chairman and CEO of Great Plains Energy. “We look forward to collaborating with the Sierra Club and other stakeholders as we pursue these exciting new opportunities.”

“This agreement is a win for our climate, for the environment, and for the residents of the Kansas City area,” said Carl Pope, Sierra Club Executive Director. “It is the latest sign that smart energy solutions like wind power and energy efficiency are gathering steam. We look forward to working with KCP&L to help the Midwest realize its full potential as a leader in the clean energy technologies that will fuel the economy of tomorrow.”

The most significant element of the agreement is the unprecedented commitment by KCP&L to pursue the offset of carbon emissions from its proposed Iatan 2 generating station, located near Weston, Missouri. The estimated 6,000,000 tons of annual carbon dioxide emissions are targeted to be offset by adding 400 megawatts (MW) of wind power; 300 MW of energy efficiency; and a yet to be determined combination of wind, efficiency, or the closing, altering, re-powering or efficiency improvements at any of its generating units. These proposed offsets will be partially implemented by 2010 and fully implemented by 2012. The parties are also agreeing to work together on a series of regulatory and legislative initiatives to achieve an overall reduction in KCP&L’s carbon dioxide emissions of 20 percent by 2020.

“This agreement shows that we can work together to curb air pollution, combat global warming, and protect our local communities,” said Susan Brown, chairperson for Concerned Citizens of Platte County. “The renewable energy investments in this agreement can revitalize the region’s manufacturing economy and offer rural landowners a new source of steady income from wind turbines located on their property. The large investment in energy efficiency will also help everyone use less energy — reducing emissions and saving consumers and businesses money each month.”

In addition to offsetting its global warming emissions, residents of the Kansas City area will benefit from reduced emissions of criteria pollutants at KCP&L’s existing Iatan 1 and La Cygne plants. The agreement calls for annual reductions in nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter estimated to total some 9,100 tons. Within the next year, KCP&L will also work with the Sierra Club to study options, including retiring, re-powering or upgrading its Montrose power plant. Finally, KCP&L will fund several community projects including: recommendations of the Kansas City Climate Protection Committee targeting global warming reduction measures; additional monitoring of soot and smog pollution in the metro area; and an upgrade to the drinking water infrastructure in Weston, a community near the Iatan station.

In another important step for clean energy, KCP&L will also file for approval of a net metering program within six months. Net metering allows a utility’s customers to generate small amounts of renewable energy on-site, such as from rooftop solar panels or a small wind turbine, and sell any excess energy back to the utility.

KCP&L’s Comprehensive Energy Plan was collaboratively constructed with a broad group of stakeholders and includes investments in new generation (including renewable wind energy); innovative efficiency, affordability and demand response programs; infrastructure improvements; and proactive environmental investments. This balanced approach will enable KCP&L to satisfy growing energy demands across the region for years to come while improving environmental stewardship.

“KCP&L’s current Comprehensive Energy Plan addresses the energy needs and emissions reductions for the Kansas City region with actions into the year 2010. This Agreement is the start of the next set of discussions with stakeholders as we develop our plans for the 2010-2015 timeframe,” said Bill Downey, President and CEO of KCP&L. “It reflects the ongoing atmosphere of collaboration we established in developing the CEP, and proactively resolves differences. We look forward to working with all stakeholders to secure a long-term energy supply for Kansas City while improving air quality.”

This agreement builds on the success of a 2006 agreement that Sierra Club brokered with City Water Light and Power of Springfield, IL. That agreement stipulated that the municipal utility retire one of the dirtiest coal plants in the nation, purchase 120 MW of wind, invest four million dollars in energy efficiency, and significantly decrease emissions of soot, smog and mercury pollution. In addition, all of the government buildings owned by the state of Illinois are to be powered with green electricity. Last week, CWLP announced that it stands to at least break even and may reap significant profits from its purchase and resale the wind power investments required in their agreement.

“We were and continue to be very pleased with the agreement we reached in Springfield,” commented Pope. “Our exciting new agreement with KCP&L raises the bar even further and demonstrates just how much we can achieve when utilities and groups like the Sierra Club work together.”

See the Source:
Kansas City Power & Light

Find out:
How selective catalytic reduction can eliminate NOx emissons from power plants

Pollution Shown as Cutting Rainfall in Hilly Areas

Jerusalem, March 7, 2007 -- Manmade climate change due to pollution seriously inhibits precipitation over hills in semi-arid regions, a phenomenon with dire consequences for water resources in the Middle east and many other parts of the world, a study by a Chinese-Israeli research team, led by Prof. Daniel Rosenfeld of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has shown.

The Chinese and Israeli researchers showed that the average precipitation on Mount Hua near Xian in central China has decreased by 20 percent along with increasing levels of manmade air pollution during the last 50 years. The precipitation loss was doubled on days that had the poorest visibility due to pollution particles in the air. This explains the widely observed trends of decrease in mountain precipitation relative to the rainfall in nearby densely populated lowlands, which until now had not been directly ascribed to air pollution.

The research study, published in the current issue of the journal Science, is titled “Inverse Relations between Amounts of Air Pollution and Orographic Precipitation” and was written by Prof. Rosenfeld of the Hebrew University’s Ring Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Jin Dai and others from the Meteorological Institute of Shaanxi Province, China, and Zhanyu Yao of the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Science.

These findings highlight the threat to vital water resources in polluted regions of the world where hilly-area precipitation makes a significant contribution to the regional water supply, as in the southwestern U.S. central and northern China, and the Middle East. The importance of that is underlined by the realization that it is not high temperatures due to global warming but rather the lack of water that makes a region into an unlivable desert.

The authors studied observations of precipitation and visibility starting in 1954 at the top of Mount Hua. They linked the decreasing visibility at its over two-kilometer-high summit with increasing air pollution particles that reach to the clouds. They were able to show that the trend of higher concentrations of these fine, airborne, pollutants (aerosols) is responsible for the observed decreasing trend of mountain precipitation. This is the first time that this link has been demonstrated so conclusively.

The precipitation inhibition process occurs as water vapor condenses on the pollution particles and creates a cloud with a large number of drops that are so small that they float with the air and are slow to coalesce into raindrops or to freeze into sleet and snowflakes. This slowing translates into a net loss of precipitation when the cloud “lifetime” is shorter than the time necessary to release its water. This is the case for clouds that form when they ascend across a ridge and then descend and evaporate on the downwind side.

By making use of precipitation and visibility records that show a direct causal link between the airborne particle pollution and the mountain precipitation losses, the unique China study can serve as a template to bear out hypotheses about the effects of pollution on rainfall that were undertaken previously by Prof. Rosenfeld in hilly regions with similar pollutive conditions. These include California and much of the western United States. Similar trends were already published also for Israel, and observed in South Africa, Portugal, France, Switzerland, Morocco, Canada, Greece and Spain.

Atmospheric aerosols have been described in earlier studies as playing a role in cooling the atmosphere by reflecting some of the incoming solar radiation back into space -- thus serving as a counterbalance to global warming resulting from the release of greenhouse gases. The latest study by Prof. Rosenfeld and his Chinese associates shows, however, that this “beneficial” effect is offset by the proven direct link between air pollution and decreased mountain precipitation, and that climate change means much more than “just” global warming.

See the Source:
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Find out:
How to decrease particulate pollution by using diesel particulate filters from CleanAIR Systems

Statistical Analysis Debunks Climate Change Naysayers

Despite the fact that the hundreds of scientists and reviewers on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change announced February 2nd in Paris that global warming is "very likely" caused by human activity, governments and other policy-makers may still justify inaction because of naysayers like Danish weather scientist Henrik Svensmark, who maintains that global climate change can be attributed to the proportion of cosmic rays in our atmosphere, and atmospheric physicist S. Fred Singer, who asserts that “The whole question of anthropogenic, or human-caused, global warming is central to setting any policy of climate mitigation and therefore warrants closer examination.”

“These arguments are moot,” says Peter Tsigaris, an economist at Thompson Rivers University, in Kamloops, BC, Canada. He continues: “The important question is the cost of these opinions being wrong relative to the cost of the IPCC report being wrong in its assessment.”

In a thought-provoking statistical analysis, Tsigaris has concluded that whether or not climate change can be wholly attributed to human factors, it makes strong economic and environmental sense to take action as though it is human-caused, and mitigate the effects of global warming beyond taking measures to adopt.

He arrived at this conclusion as a result of creating the solution for a question he posed to his statistics students.

Tsigaris asked, “A claim is made that global warming is caused by humans. Set up the null and alternative hypothesis for this claim. As a scientist, you want to test that the above claim is true beyond a reasonable doubt. Discuss in terms of the type I and type II errors that are associated with the claim, and discuss the implications of the errors in terms of their associated costs.”

The null hypothesis, considered true unless the evidence brought forward throws serious doubt on it, is that global warming is not caused by human activities; the alternative hypothesis is the claim that it is. In the analogy of our justice system, a person on trial is assumed to be innocent, the null, until the evidence indicates that (s)he is guilty, the alternative, beyond a reasonable doubt.

Now for the interesting part. “As a scientist, in order to reject the null and thus accept the alternative, there has to be evidence that goes beyond a reasonable doubt. In statistical terms, the observed test statistics from the evidence pass beyond a reasonable doubt,” explains Tsigaris.

If the scientist rejects the null, based on strong evidence in favour of the rejection, there is still a small chance of making a type I error. In the same way, acceptance of the null might be the wrong decision. The latter decision would be associated with a type II error.

“A Type I error implies that you have accepted that global warming is caused by humans when in fact it is not, while a Type II error implies the opposite,” he says.

“As one of my statistics students, Robert Guercio, wrote in his exam booklet, ‘The cost of a type I error would mean spending a great amount of money and time focusing on how we can stop humans from causing global warming when humans are not the problem, but the cost of a type II error would mean spending a great deal of money and time on finding what is causing global warming and then continue to work on some factor of global warming, but not focusing on the real factor, humans.”

It’s not just a lesson in numbers, explains Tsigaris, who cautions that the cost of a type II error, stating that global climate change is not human-caused when in fact it is, could be as high as humankind destroying itself. "As Lovelock points out in his Gaia theory, earth is self regulating and will look after itself," he adds.“It is obvious that a type II error, being unaware that global warming is caused by humans and maintaining our current living styles, is much more serious than a type I error which argues that humans are the cause when they are not, in terms of the costs,” he says.

“Rising sea levels, temperature and precipitation caused by human lifestyles will have an impact on our health, agriculture, forestry, water, coastal areas, as well as on other species and natural areas,” he says, adding that “this analysis also confirms the Stern Review on The Economics of Climate Change which suggests that the cost of taking action today is way less than the cost of continuing the current path we have chosen.”

“The cost of changing behaviour and taking action now is estimated at one percent of global GDP and this can be seen as an investment from a long-term perspective: investing in cleaner technologies and also putting a price tag on the use of our atmosphere. If we delay as we would do if we accepted that climate change is not human-caused when this conclusion was false, we would be faced with a huge cost,” warns Tsigaris.

The recent 2007 IPCC report concluded that global warming was very likely (90%) to have been caused by humans. The Stern Review states that “the benefits of strong and early action far outweigh the economic costs of not acting” and estimates that “if we don’t act, the overall costs and risks of climate change will be equivalent to losing at least 5% of global GDP each year, now and forever. If a wider range of risks and impacts is taken into account, the estimates of damage could rise to 20% of GDP or more. In contrast, the costs of action – reducing greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the worst impacts of climate change – can be limited to around 1% of global GDP each year."

See the Source:
Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change

US and Japan Consider Co-Benefits of Domestic and Global Environmental Programs

Washington, D.C. -- March 8, 2007 -- EPA and the Japanese Ministry of Environment (MOEJ) held a Washington workshop this week to expand their efforts on climate change and sustainable development in developing countries.

"Climate change knows no borders. The U.S. and Japan play vital roles in global economic progress as well as global environmental protection'' said Bill Wehrum, EPA acting assistant administrator for Air and Radiation. "In line with the Bush Administration's commitment to engage in extensive international efforts on climate change, America is working with Japan and other international partners to exchange innovative strategies for simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution."

This week's workshop is the third EPA-Japan meeting in the past twelve months focused on co-benefits in the transportation, agriculture, energy, and waste sectors in developing countries. Co-benefits are the additional results of policies that reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants; such additional benefits include energy efficiency and security, improved public health, and enhanced quality of life. EPA is working with Japan to explore how a co-benefits approach can be used to support climate-friendly policymaking in developing countries.

Co-benefits are a very important concept which can realize both sustainable development and greenhouse gas mitigation in developing countries," said Deputy-Director General of the Global Environment Bureau of MOEJ, Mr. Ryutaro Yatsu. "Through the US-Japan collaborative plan, we would like to pursue co-benefits with developing countries."

EPA and MOEJ held the two-day workshop on March 5-6 at the World Resources Institute (WRI), a globally-recognized organization on the issues of climate change and sustainable development. Attending were representatives of EPA's Integrated Environmental Strategies (IES) Program, a recognized leader in co-benefits analysis, with current programs in China, India, South Korea, and Mexico. By sharing its approach and methodological tools, IES helps developing countries develop sound environmental policy- making.

At the workshop, participants explored outcomes of capacity-building programs, lessons learned from climate-related programs and efforts, new directions for research and analysis, opportunities to promote new co-benefits, and priorities for future action on co-benefits. EPA and MOEJ intend to formalize a plan for future collaboration through a Statement of Intent

The U.S.-Japan partnership supports the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, which promotes projects and programs to protect the environment, improve public health, and enhance economic growth. EPA also plays a critical role in the success of the international Methane to Markets Partnership, of which Japan and the US are charter members.

See the Source:
IES Program
Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate
Methane to Markets Partnership

Solar Energy Conversion Offers a Solution to Help Mitigate Global Warming

Solar energy has the power to reduce greenhouse gases and provide increased energy efficiency, says a scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, in a report (view it online) published in the March issue of Physics Today.

Last month, The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations released a report confirming global warming is upon us and attributing the growing threat to the man-made burning of fossil fuels.

Opportunities to increase solar energy conversion as an alternative to fossil fuels are addressed in the Physics Today article, co-authored by George Crabtree, senior scientist and director of Argonne's Materials Science Division, and Nathan Lewis, professor of Chemistry at Caltech and director of its Molecular Materials Research Center.

Currently, between 80 percent and 85 percent of our energy comes from fossil fuels. However, fossil fuel resources are of finite extent and are distributed unevenly beneath Earth's surface. When fossil fuel is turned into useful energy through combustion, it often produces environmental pollutants that are harmful to human health and greenhouse gases that threaten the global climate. In contrast, solar resources are widely available and have a benign effect on the environment and climate, making it an appealing alternative energy source.

“Sunlight is not only the most plentiful energy resource on earth, it is also one of the most versatile, converting readily to electricity, fuel and heat,” said Crabtree. “The challenge is to raise its conversion efficiency by factors of five or ten. That requires understanding the fundamental conversion phenomena at the nanoscale. We are just scratching the surface of this rich research field.”

Argonne carries out forefront basic research on all three solar conversion routes. The laboratory is creating next-generation nanostructured solar cells using sophisticated atomic layer deposition techniques that replace expensive silicon with inexpensive titanium dioxide and chemical dyes. Its artificial photosynthesis program imitates nature using simple chemical components to convert sunlight, water and carbon dioxide directly into fuels like hydrogen, methane and ethanol. Its program on thermoelectric materials takes heat from the sun and converts it directly to electricity.

The Physics Today article is based on the conclusions contained in the report of the Basic Energy Sciences Workshop on Solar Energy Utilization sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. Crabtree and Lewis served as co-chairs of the workshop and principal editors of the report. The key conclusions of the report identified opportunities for higher solar energy efficiencies in the areas of:

• Electricity – important research developments lie in the development of new, less expensive materials for solar cells, including organics, thin films, dyes and shuttle ions, and in understanding the dynamics of charge transfer across nanostructured interfaces.

• Fuel – solar photons can be converted into chemical fuel more resourcefully by breeding or genetically engineering designer plants, connecting natural photosynthetic pathways in novel configurations and using artificial bio-inspired nanoscale systems.

• Heat – controlling the size, density and distribution of nanodot inclusions during bulk synthesis could enhance thermoelectric performance and achieve more reliable and inexpensive electricity production from the sun's heat.

The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory conducts basic and applied scientific research across a wide spectrum of disciplines, ranging from high-energy physics to climatology and biotechnology. Since 1990, Argonne has worked with more than 600 companies and numerous federal agencies and other organizations to help advance America's scientific leadership and prepare the nation for the future. Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.

See the Source:
Argonne National Laboratory

The Babcock & Wilcox Company to Demonstrate Carbon Dioxide Capture Technology

Barberton, Ohio -- March 5, 2007 -- The Babcock & Wilcox Company (B&W), in collaboration with American Air Liquide Inc., will begin testing a promising new technology to help coal-fired power plants capture emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas.

The evaluation will occur at B&W’s 30 MWth Clean Environment Development Facility (CEDF) in Alliance, Ohio. The CEDF, originally placed in service in 1994 by B&W, the U.S. Department of Energy and others, is a large-scale demonstration facility that has been used to develop emissions-control technology.

The CEDF will be used to validate a technology called “oxy-coal combustion” that utilizes pure oxygen for the combustion of coal in electricity generating plants. In this system, nitrogen that comes in with the air for the combustion process is eliminated. As a result, the exhaust gas is a relatively pure stream of CO2 that is ready for long-term storage operations.

“Finding ways to capture and store CO2 emissions from power plants is paramount if the United States is going to address greenhouse gas concerns and use our national energy resources,” Don Langley, B&W vice president and chief technology officer said. “We see this major technology demonstration project as another step in B&W’s plan to deliver CO2-capture technology to the electricity generating industry and make a significant impact on this global issue.”

B&W’s development efforts are being done well in advance of similar projects around the globe. “This is truly changing-the-world technology and we are pleased to be leading this research,” Langley added. Because the oxy-coal technology builds on pulverized coal combustion technology, it would be complementary to most of the world’s coal-fired power plants.

B&W will work with American Air Liquide to modify the existing CEDF facility for the oxy-coal process and will begin proving the technology in June 2007. American Air Liquide will provide engineering and chemistry know-how related to combustion, as well as proprietary equipment and sensors for the safe and efficient handling of liquefied oxygen.

In addition to American Air Liquide, several utilities will participate in an “advisory group” process that will help bring the potential users of the technology into the development process.

B&W will evaluate several types of coal, including coal imported from Saskatchewan, Canada, the site of a proposed near-zero emissions power plant that will use this technology at commercial scale.

Present in 72 countries, Air Liquide provides industrial and medical gases and related services and offers innovative solutions based on constantly enhanced technologies. These solutions, which are consistent with Air Liquide’s commitment to sustainable development, help to protect life and enable customers to manufacture many indispensable everyday products. Air Liquide is listed on the Paris stock exchange and is a component of the CAC 40 and Eurostoxx 50 indices (ISIN code FR 0000120073). American Air Liquide Inc. is Air Liquide’s U.S.-based research and development company. For more information, visit http://www.airliquide.com/.

The Babcock & Wilcox Company is a subsidiary of McDermott International, Inc., a leading worldwide energy services company. McDermott subsidiaries manufacture steam-generating equipment, environmental equipment, and products for the U.S. government. They also provide engineering and construction services for the offshore oil and natural gas industry.

See the Source:
Babcock and Wilcox

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How nitrogen oxides can be virtually eliminated from power plant emissions using selective catalytic reduction

Climate Change is Top Priority of London Plan Review

London – March 5, 2007 -- Mayor of London Ken Livingstone announced that his London Plan Review will set radical new objectives for planners and developers that will require new developments to connect to “decentralized” local energy supplies and achieve the highest standards of sustainable building design. The Review also doubles the carbon emission reductions that developments must achieve through onsite renewable energy from 10% to 20%.

The London Plan Review also proposes to set carbon dioxide reduction targets – a 20 per cent reduction by 2015 and a long-term target of a 60 per cent reduction by 2050. This is the first time that statutory carbon reduction targets have been set for London.

The Mayor is proposing a series of new development, transport and energy policies all with the aim of making London an exemplary and sustainable world city, adapting to inevitable climate change and reducing future carbon emissions.

These new policies are published in a document entitled Draft Further Alterations to the London Plan which the Mayor is publishing today for consultation with the London Assembly and the Greater London Authority functional bodies, before a formal public consultation stage this autumn.

The Mayor said:'London should lead the way in showing the world how one of its greatest cities is planning to meet the challenges of climate change. We have already succeeded through the London Plan in introducing a target of 10% carbon reductions through on-site renewable energy generation and I would like to congratulate those developers and planners who have responded positively to this challenge. In more and more cases we are meeting – and sometimes exceeding - the existing policy requirements but we still need to do much more.'

'The new policies I am publishing today set tough but deliverable targets for reducing our carbon emissions. We must move our cities away from relying on inefficient centralized heat and power generation, and stop constructing buildings that waste heat and electricity. In London we want to see the widespread use of decentralized energy, the highest standards of green building design and renewable energy incorporated wherever we can.'

'In London I am proposing a challenging new target for our developers and planners.’

The Draft Further Alterations to the London Plan also sets out a series of complementary policies to achieve carbon dioxide reductions and the Mayor will be working with boroughs and other agencies to:
- ensure that development is located, designed and built for the climate that it will experience over its intended lifetime and is capable of adapting to new uses.
- increase the cost effectiveness, and provide incentives to use the technologies which will help address climate change.
- procure and use building materials more responsibly.
- manage flood risk through policies on the location, design and construction of development, and management of surface run-off including rainwater harvesting.
- minimize overheating and the ‘heat island’ effect, for example by encouraging green roofs and walls and designs which reduce solar gain.
- minimize the movement of waste including the introduction of new targets for composting and recycling the different waste streams and giving preference to technologies which produce renewable hydrogen over incineration.

Last week the Mayor published Supplementary Planning Guidance on Sustainable Design and Construction to guide developers and planners on how to use the existing policies to best effect in addressing the consequences of climate change.

Other key proposed alterations to the London Plan, also published today, include:
- Support for the already published proposals to increase housing provision across London.
- Measures to make more effective use of existing and already planned transport capacity.
- Provision for the Olympic and Paralympic Games and associated regeneration of large parts of East London.

A clearer geographic framework for coordinating the strategic policies of a range of pan London agencies and integrating these with local action at the sub regional level.

Action to make London a more livable and socially inclusive city such as the East London Green Grid, improvements to safety and security, and increased play provision.

Refinement of some of the economic policies to support London’s global business area, the Central Activities Zone, and help rejuvenate the economies elsewhere in the city.

A more focused approach to town centers and retailing including the particular need to develop the capacity of the West End as a global shopping and leisure destination.

“Decentralized energy” involves using combined heat, power and cooling systems and renewable energy, as the most efficient way to supply heat and power to domestic and commercial buildings. Typical decentralized energy systems are over 85% efficient, compared with average centralized power generation which wastes two thirds of energy input and is the single biggest source of carbon emissions.

In working towards a long term reduction of carbon dioxide emissions of 60 per cent by 2050 he has set the following minimum targets for London (against a 1990 base):
- 15 per cent by 2010
- 20 per cent by 2015
- 25 per cent by 2020
- 30 per cent by 2025

These targets are practicable providing all stakeholders, including government, work together.

Existing commercial and domestic buildings contribute approximately 73 per cent of carbon emissions in London. The Mayor recognizes the cost implications of these new technologies and will support measures to drive down costs such as stimulating their supply chains.

Most changes to the London Plan are minor amendments to clarify points or to take account of new information. Most of the proposed significant policy changes reflect issues raised in the Mayor’s Statement of Intent published in December 2005. In substantive terms it is the group of new policies associated with climate change in Chapter 4A which represent the most significant Further Alterations.

The Further Alterations to the London Plan are the result of a focused review based on the Mayor’s Statement of Intent to review the plan. Factors which this took into account included:
- a duty to keep the London Plan under review
- responding to new evidence
- taking into account the results of the Sub Regional Development Framework Process
- extending the plan period from 2016 to 2025 and
- taking account of national legislation and policy in the recent planning system reforms.

See the Source:
London Government

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How energy emissions can be made cleaner using low-temp selective catalytic reduction

Pollution from China and India Affecting World’s Weather

Severe pollution from the Far East is almost certainly affecting the weather near you, says a Texas A&M University researcher who has studied the problem and has published a landmark paper on the topic in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Renyi Zhang, professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M and lead author of the paper, says the study is the first of its kind that provides indisputable evidence that man-made pollution is adversely affecting the storm track over the Pacific Ocean, a major weather event in the northern hemisphere during winter. The project was funded by the National Science Foundation and NASA.

Zhang says the culprit is easy to detect: pollution from industrial and power plants in China and India. Both countries have seen huge increases in their economies, which mean more large factories and power plants to sustain such growth. All of these emit immense quantities of pollution – much of it soot and sulfate aerosols – into the atmosphere, which is carried by the prevailing winds over the Pacific Ocean and eventually worldwide.

Using satellite imagery and computer models, Zhang says that in roughly the last 20 years or so, the amount of deep convective clouds in this area increased from 20 to 50 percent, suggesting an intensified storm track in the Pacific.

This pollution directly affects our weather,” he explains.

During the past few decades, there has been a dramatic increase in atmospheric aerosols – mostly sulfate and soot from coal burning – especially in China and India,” he explains.

“We compared these deep convective clouds from the 10-year period of 1984-1994 to the period from 1994-2005 and discovered these storms have risen anywhere from 20 to as high as 50 percent.”

“It is a direct link from large-scale storm systems to anthropogenic (human-made) pollution.”

Zhang says the problem is especially worse during the winter months.

Because of various climate conditions, the northern Pacific Ocean is more susceptible to the aerosol effect in winter. Aerosols can affect the droplets in clouds and can actually change the dynamics of the clouds themselves, Zhang adds.

The Pacific storm track carries these polluted particles to the west coasts of Canada and the United States, across America and eventually, most of the world, Zhang notes.

“The Pacific storm track can impact weather all over the globe,” he says.

“The general air flow is from west to east, but there is also some serious concern that the Polar Regions could be affected by this pollution. That could have potentially catastrophic results.”

Soot, in the form of black carbon, can collect on ice packs and attract more heat from the sun, meaning a potential acceleration of melting of the polar ice caps, he believes.

“It possibly means the polar ice caps could melt quicker than we had believed, which of course, results in rising sea level rates,” he adds.

The pollution from the storm tracks could also signify wild weather changes, he believes.

“You might have more storms, and these storms might be more severe than usual,” he says.

“Or it could lead to the opposite – severe droughts in other areas. The Pacific storm track plays a crucial role in our weather, and there is no doubt at all that human activity is changing the world’s weather.”

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Texas A&M University

Launch of "Principles on Climate Leadership" in San Francisco

San Francisco – March 1, 2007 -- The United Nations Global Compact, the City of San Francisco, the Bay Area Council and a wide array of Bay Area businesses today launched a unique partnership designed to provide meaningful actions that businesses and cities around the world can take to combat global warming.

The initiative - the Principles on Climate Leadership - will give Bay Area businesses a strategic framework to address climate change as well as a forum to share best practices to reduce greenhouse gasses in both large and small companies. In addition, the initiative will create a model for climate action in the commercial and public sectors that the UN Global Compact will seek to place in companies and cities around the world.

More the 20 companies from a variety of sectors, including Gap Inc., Gensler, Google, PG&E and Shaklee, officially endorsed the Principles and, in relation, announced the Business Council on Climate Change (BC3) at a special event in San Francisco - the city that gave birth to the United Nations with the signing of the UN Charter in 1945. More than 100 leaders from business, government and civil society attended the event, which was presided over by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.

"Voluntary initiatives such as the BC3 and the Principles on Climate Leadership will be crucial in bringing about progressive and robust action on the global climate crisis", said Georg Kell, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact. "At the same time, it is important to keep in mind that voluntary action cannot be a substitute for effective regulation - rather, it informs and complements regulation".

"Local actions can have a positive effect on the entire planet," observed San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. "The Bay Area is fortunate to have a visionary business community that is willing to get out in front of a daunting issue like global warming, and we are honored that the United Nations Global Compact will be working to bring this message to other communities and companies around the world."

BC3 member companies pledge to address greenhouse emissions throughout their operations and corporate cultures, and agree to follow the five Principles on Climate Leadership: Internal Implementation, Community Leadership, Advocacy and Dialogue, Collective Action, Transparency and Disclosure.

"The Bay Area Council has been an environmental leader for decades, but this may be one of our most ambitious projects ever," said Jim Wunderman, President of the Bay Area Council, the area's largest business association. "We, and our business community members, are proud to help focus the region's entrepreneurial spirit and ingenuity on an issue so critical to our economic future."

The United Nations Global Compact will showcase the BC3 initiative and the core Principles on Climate Leadership at its Leaders Summit on 5-6 July 2007 in Geneva, Switzerland - an event that is expected to draw nearly 1000 business and government leaders as well as representatives of civil society from around the world. Addressing climate change will be a priority topic at the Leaders Summit.

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United Nations Global Compact

Science Panel Outlines Roadmap for Reducing Risks from Climate Change

NEW YORK, NY--February 27, 2007--The United Nations Foundation (UN Foundation) and Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, released today “Confronting Climate Change: Avoiding the Unmanageable and Managing the Unavoidable, ” the final report of the Scientific Expert Group on Climate Change and Sustainable Development. The report, prepared as input for the upcoming meeting of the UN’s Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), outlines a roadmap for preventing unmanageable climate changes and adapting to the degree of change that can no longer be avoided.

Two years in the making, the report was written by a panel of eminent scientists from around the world. The panel was co-chaired by Dr. Peter Raven, Director of the Missouri Botanical Garden, and Dr. Rosina Bierbaum, Dean of the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and the Environment. The expert team was invited by the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Secretariat to the CSD, to make recommendations on key mitigation and adaptation needs. This year’s 15th Session of the CSD is reviewing national and international efforts on energy and climate change.

“Two starkly different futures diverge from this time forward,” the report cautions. “Society’s current path leads to increasingly serious climate-change impacts… The other path … will reduce dangerous emissions, create economic opportunity, help to reduce global poverty, reduce degradation and carbon emissions from ecosystems, and contribute to sustainability. Humanity must act collectively and urgently to change course through leadership at all levels of society. There is no more time for delay.”

“This report defines the seriousness and urgency that must characterize global efforts to respond to the unfolding and far-reaching challenge of climate change. Confronting Climate Change makes clear that we must start immediately to stabilize and then substantially reverse the trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions,” said Timothy E. Wirth, President of the United Nations Foundation. “The international community should be grateful that this remarkable panel of scientific all-stars from around the world has provided a roadmap for mitigating and adapting to climate change. And they have told us that there is tremendous economic opportunity in doing so.”

“Our report makes clear that the challenge before us is to reduce the risk of climate change resulting in intolerable global impacts,” said Peter H. Raven, Past President of Sigma Xi, Presidential Medal of Science recipient and preeminent biodiversity expert. “Our recommendations are designed to help the international community get on a path to stabilizing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases and managing the impacts of climate change. Unlike many reports from scientists, this report gives very clear recommendations for what the international community and nations themselves must do to mitigate and adapt to climate change. These steps will contribute to achievement of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals; failing to do so will make those goals much harder, if not impossible to reach.”

“It is still possible to avoid an unmanageable degree of climate change, but the time for action is now,” said John Holdren, the Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy, Harvard University, Director of the Woods Hole Research Center, and Chairman of the Board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. “The global-average surface temperature has already risen about 0.8°C above pre-industrial levels and is projected to rise another 2-4°C by 2100 if CO2 emissions and concentrations grow according to mid-range projections. Prudence dictates limiting the average temperature increase to no more than 2-2.5°C above the pre-industrial level, and our report offers clear recommendations for achieving that goal.”

“The world is experiencing climate disruption now and the increases in droughts, floods, and sea level rise that will occur in the coming decades will cause enormous human suffering and economic losses. The poorest are likely the most vulnerable. We imperil our children’s and grandchildren’s future if we fail to improve society’s capacity to adapt to a changing climate,” said Rosina Bierbaum, former Acting Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. “We can manage water better, bolster disaster preparedness, increase surveillance for emerging diseases, make cities more resilient, move vulnerable populations and prepare for environmental refugees, design more drought-tolerant crops, use natural resources more sustainably, and enhance local capacity to cope with a suite of expected changes.”

The report covers an overview of the science of climate change; the importance of avoiding the risk of major impacts of climate change; options for mitigation; and steps that can be taken to prepare to adapt to anticipated climate change.Among the report’s key findings are:

• Exceeding global average temperature increases above 2-2.5°C above the 1750 pre-industrial level would entail “sharply increasing risk of intolerable impacts.”

To avoid exceeding the 2-2.5° C limit will require stabilizing atmospheric concentrations at the equivalent of no more than 450-500 ppm of CO2 (compared to about 380 ppm CO2-equivalent today). That in turn requires that global CO2 emissions peak no later than 2015 to 2020 at not much above their current level and decline by 2100 to about a third of that value.

A two-pronged strategy is needed: avoid the unmanageable (mitigation) and manage the unavoidable (adaptation).

• The technology exists to seize significant opportunities around the globe to reduce emissions and provide other economic, environmental and social benefits, including meeting the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals. To do so, policy makers must immediately act by:
• Improving efficiency in the transportation sector through measures such as vehicle efficiency standards, fuel taxes, and registration fees/rebates that favor purchase of efficient and alternative fuel vehicles.
• Improving design and efficiency of commercial and residential buildings through building codes, standards for equipment and appliances, incentives for property developers and landlords to build and manage properties efficiently, and financing for energy-efficiency investments.
• Expanding the use of biofuels through energy portfolio standards and incentives to growers and consumers.
• Beginning immediately, designing and deploying only coal power-plant types that can be affordably retrofitted to capture and sequester CO2.
• Climate change and impacts from it are already being experienced, and there will be more even if mitigation efforts are successful. Societies must do more to adapt to ongoing and unavoidable changes in the Earth’s climate system by:
• Improving preparedness/response strategies and management of natural resources to cope with future climatic conditions that will be fundamentally different than those experienced for the last 100 years.
• Addressing the adaptation needs of the poorest and most vulnerable nations, which will bear the brunt of climate change impacts.
• Planning and building climate resilient cities.
• Strengthening international, national, and regional institutions to cope with weather-related disasters and an increasing number of climate change refugees.
• The international community, through the UN and related multilateral institutions, can play a crucial role in advancing action to manage the unavoidable and avoid the unmanageable by:
• Helping developing countries and countries with economies in transition to finance and deploy energy efficient and new energy technologies.
• Accelerating negotiations to develop a new international framework for addressing climate change and sustainable development.
• Educating all about the opportunities to adopt mitigation and adaptation measures.

About Sigma XiSigma Xi
The Scientific Research Society is an international honor society for research scientists and engineers, with more than 500 chapters and 60,000 members in North America and around the world. The society sponsors a number of programs that promote science and engineering and also publishes American Scientist magazine. Sigma Xi’s administrative offices are in Research Triangle Park, N.C. http://www.sigmaxi.org/

About the UN Foundation
The UN Foundation was created in 1998 with entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner’s historic $1 billion gift to support UN causes and activities. The UN Foundation builds and implements public-private partnerships to address the world’s most pressing problems and also works to broaden support for the UN through advocacy and public outreach. The UN Foundation is a public charity. http://www.unfoundation.org/

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Confronting Climate Change:
Avoiding the Unmanageable and Managing the Unavoidable

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How CleanAIR Systems is making a difference in reducing harmful emissions of fine particulate matter and NOx

Citizen Scientists Rise to Climate Change Challenge

Earthwatch offers worldwide response to IPCC report on global warming threat

Earthwatch Institute, Maynard, MA, 5 February 2007—On February 2, The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued its latest report, leaving little doubt that human activities are driving climate change. While the report offers no solutions yet, Earthwatch Institute provides many alternatives for people who want to help understand and mitigate the impact of global warming on ecosystems and communities around the world.

"If people are indeed part of the problem, they can also be part of the solution," said Ed Wilson, President and CEO of Earthwatch. The international environmental volunteer organization supports scientific field research on the world's most pressing issues including global warming. "Climate change is one of Earthwatch's key research priorities, providing volunteers with many opportunities to take action and make a difference through their participation."

The IPCC report stated that there is 90 percent certainty that the burning of fossil fuels and other human activities are responsible for observed changes in climate. The report specified that rises in global temperatures could be as high as 6.4 degrees Centigrade by 2100, with the most likely range being between between 1.8 degrees and 4.0 degrees. The warming will result in rising sea levels, as much as 59 centimeters, and an increase in the intensity of hurricanes.

Parts 2 and 3 of the IPCC report, due to be released in March and April, will deal more directly with the impacts of climate change and how humans might mitigate these impacts. In the mean time, many global citizens are actively volunteering with Earthwatch scientists to understand glacial melt in Iceland and Alaska or the impact temperature increase has on rainforests.

In the next five years, Earthwatch will support $40 million in climate change research, education, and engagement programs involving 100,000 volunteers. These programs promote practical and integrated solutions to climate change impacts, from restoring ecosystems to supporting regional economic development.

"Earthwatch provides a vital opportunity for scientists from many disciplines to work towards an understanding of how global climate change impacts upon our environment and its delicate ecosystems," said Dr. James Crabbe of the University of Bedfordshire. Crabbe, principal investigator of Earthwatch-supported research on coral reefs in Jamaica and Belize, was awarded the Aviva/Earthwatch Award for Climate Change Research last October.

Already, Earthwatch volunteers are assisting in research on climate change impacts in the Canadian Arctic, Australian rainforest, the western Atlantic Ocean, and the forests of Ecuador, Costa Rica, and the United States. Teams in Samburu, Kenya are mapping water resources subject to variability from global warming, and teams in Madagascar are identifying how rare lemurs are vulnerable to changing climates.

"It is through the hard work of Earthwatch volunteers that we are beginning to fit together the pieces of this ecological jigsaw puzzle," said Dr. Rob Thomas (Cardiff University), principal investigator of Earthwatch's Storm Petrels over Portugal project. "By providing hard facts and thorough case studies that illustrate the biological effects of climate change, our hope is that environmental policy makers will be better able to develop appropriate responses to promote the survival of marine biodiversity in the face of climate change."

See Earthwatch's Climate Change Statement.
Learn about the impacts of climate change in our local lecture series.
Read what four Earthwatch-supported scientists say about how humans can mitigate the impact of global warming on ecosystems: Feeling the Heat.

Find out what Dr. Suzanne Jenkins, Earthwatch North Queensland field director, is doing about climate change after participating in a training with Al Gore: Earthwatch Australia Meets Al Gore.

Earthwatch Institute is a global volunteer organization that supports scientific field research by offering members of the public unique opportunities to work alongside leading field scientists and researchers. Earthwatch's mission is to engage people worldwide in scientific field research and education to promote the understanding and action necessary for a sustainable environment.

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Earthwatch Institute

New Evidence That Global Warming Fuels Stronger Atlantic Hurricanes

Atmospheric scientists have uncovered fresh evidence to support the hotly debated theory that global warming has contributed to the emergence of stronger hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean.

The unsettling trend is confined to the Atlantic, however, and does not hold up in any of the world's other oceans, researchers have also found.

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported the finding in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. The work should help resolve some of the controversy that has swirled around two prominent studies that drew connections last year between global warming and the onset of increasingly intense hurricanes.

"The debate is not about scientific methods, but instead centers around the quality of hurricane data," says lead author James Kossin, a research scientist at UW-Madison's Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies. "So we thought, 'Lets take the first step toward resolving this debate.'"

The inconsistent nature of hurricane data has been a sore spot within the hurricane research community for decades. Before the advent of weather satellites, scientists were forced to rely on scattered ship reports and sailor logs to stay abreast of storm conditions. The advent of weather satellites during the 1960s dramatically improved the situation, but the technology has changed so rapidly that newer satellite records are barely consistent with older ones.

Kossin and his colleagues realized they needed to smooth out the data before exploring any interplay between warmer temperatures and hurricane activity. Working with an existing NCDC archive that holds global satellite information for the years 1983 through 2005, the researchers evened out the numbers by essentially simplifying newer satellite information to align it with older records.

"This new dataset is unlike anything that's been done before," says Kossin. "It's going to serve a purpose as being the only globally consistent dataset around. The caveat of course, is that it only goes back to 1983."

Even so, it's a good start. Once the NCDC researchers recalibrated the hurricane figures, Kossin took a fresh look at how the new numbers on hurricane strength correlate with records on warming ocean temperatures, a side effect of global warming.

What he found both supported and contradicted previous findings. "The data says that the Atlantic has been trending upwards in hurricane intensity quite a bit," says Kossin. "But the trends appear to be inflated or spurious everywhere else, meaning that we still can't make any global statements."

Sea-surface temperatures may be one reason why greenhouse gases are exacting a unique toll on the Atlantic Ocean, says Kossin. Hurricanes need temperatures of around 27 degrees Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit) to gather steam. On average, the Atlantic's surface is slightly colder than that but other oceans, such as the Western Pacific, are naturally much warmer.

"The average conditions in the Atlantic at any given time are just on the cusp of what it takes for a hurricane to form," says Kossin. “So it might be that imposing only a small (man-made) change in conditions, creates a much better chance of having a hurricane."

The Atlantic is also unique in that all the physical variables that converge to form hurricanes - including wind speeds, wind directions and temperatures - mysteriously feed off each other in ways that only make conditions more ripe for a storm. But scientists don't really understand why, Kossin adds.

"While we can see a correlation between global warming and hurricane strength, we still need to understand exactly why the Atlantic is reacting to warmer temperatures in this way, and that is much more difficult to do," says Kossin. "We need to be creating models and simulations to understand what is really happening here. From here on, that is what we should be thinking about."

The work was funded by the National Science Foundation. Co-authors Daniel Vimont, a UW-Madison atmospheric scientist, Ken Knapp, a scientist at the NCDC, and Richard Murnane, a scientist at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, also contributed to the study.

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University of Wisconsin-Madison

TXU to Set New Direction As Private Company

Public Benefits Include Price Cuts, Price Protection, Investments in Alternative Energy and Stronger Environmental Policies

Dallas, February 26, 2007 – TXU Corp. (NYSE: TXU), a Dallas-based energy company, together with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) and Texas Pacific Group (TPG), two of the nation’s leading private equity firms, and Goldman Sachs & Co., a leading global investment bank, announced today the execution of a definitive merger agreement under which an investor group led by KKR and TPG will acquire TXU in a transaction valued at $45 billion. GS Capital Partners, Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley intend to be equity investors at closing.

As a result of this transaction, the newly privatized company will deliver price cuts and price protection benefits to electric customers, strengthen environmental policies, make significant investments in alternative energy and institute corporate policies tied to climate stewardship.

Stronger Environmental Policies and New Investments in Alternative Energy
- Planned coal-fueled generation units reduced from eleven to three, preventing 56 million tons of annual carbon emissions $400 million investment in demand side management initiatives Transaction endorsed by Environmental Defense and Natural Resources Defense Council Increased commitment to exploring renewable energy sources and investing in alternative energy technologies

Corporate Leadership and Climate Stewardship
- Former U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker, III will serve as Advisory Chairman to the investment group of new owners William Reilly, Chairman Emeritus of the World Wildlife Fund and former EPA Administrator, will join board of directors and lead effort in making climate stewardship central to corporate policies

- Donald L. Evans, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce; James R. Huffines, Chairman of the University of Texas Board of Regents; and Lyndon L. Olson Jr., former Texas State Representative and former U.S. Ambassador to Sweden, will join the board of directors
TXU will create an independent Sustainable Energy Advisory Board comprised of individuals who represent the following interests: the environment, customers, Texas economic development and ERCOT reliability standards.

The acquisition of TXU by the investor group will be accompanied by an environmental focus that will make TXU a leader in conservation and energy efficiency, creating a fundamental change in the Texas electric market. In addition, the company’s new strategic direction will seek to achieve top environmental News Release performance in the industry and greater involvement and dialogue with environmental, government and community leaders.

C. John Wilder, chairman and chief executive officer of TXU Corp., said, “This is a momentous event for our company in our long journey to transform TXU from a former integrated monopoly to high performance businesses. The new ownership and business structure will enable us to better meet the growing energy needs of Texans. The long-term capital, expertise and resources of the investor group will allow us to increase our focus on reliability, lower prices, outstanding customer service and innovative products, and investments in long-term environmentally sound technology. TXU is a proud Texas corporate citizen, and the company will continue to operate with the same commitment and dedication to serving Texas.

“KKR, TPG and the rest of the investor group are all world-class investors who bring valuable experience in the industry. With these long-term and very informed investors, we can execute a new strategy that will allow us to reshape TXU’s program to build new electric generation units,” Wilder continued. “Our new strategy will meet two important objectives: addressing Texas’ immediate and future energy and reliability needs; and doing so in a manner that responds to the desires of policy makers and other key stakeholders to incorporate new technology advancements and conservation.”

Henry Kravis, founding partner of KKR, said, “TXU has outstanding employees dedicated to meeting the increasing long-term energy needs of Texas. We have listened to the various TXU constituencies, including customers, Governor Perry, Lt. Governor Dewhurst, Speaker Craddick, members of the Texas Legislature and those expressing environmental concerns. As a result, we have developed a new vision with management of how we can turn TXU into a more innovative, customer-centric, environmentally friendly company, and we plan to work with management to implement it. Our experienced energy team looks forward to providing strong support for this transformation, including making substantial, long-term capital investments in new innovation across each business – from customer product and service offerings including demand side management, to generation and grid technologies, and superior risk-management strategies. We intend to hold this as a long-term asset, and we recognize the need to balance growth with environmental considerations.”

Rich Friedman, Global Head of Goldman Sachs' Merchant Banking Division, said, “This transaction serves as a model for long-term environmental stewardship. By investing in new technologies, encouraging conservation and reducing carbon emissions and pollutants, TXU is on the path to being a 21st century power company. We, together with KKR and TPG, are proud to have been able to play a constructive role in the development of the significant environmental elements that help set this transaction apart.”

Stronger Environmental Policies and New Investments in Alternative Energy
Planned Coal Units Reduced from Eleven to Three, Preventing 56 Million Tons of Annual Carbon Emissions

This scale-back represents a 75 percent reduction in new coal capacity. In addition, the company is committed to continuing its efforts to meaningfully reduce existing carbon emissions and seeks to join the United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP). USCAP is a broad-based group of businesses and leading environmental groups organized to work with the President, the Congress and all other stakeholders to enact an environmentally effective, economically sustainable and fair climate change program. As part of the company’s support for USCAP, TXU is also pledging to support the mandatory cap and trade program to regulate carbon emissions.

To satisfy ERCOT’s requirement for immediate additional capacity to meet the state’s increasing electricity demand, TXU expects to build two coal units at the Oak Grove site and one coal unit at the Sandow site. TXU will immediately seek to suspend the permit application process for the other eight units and withdraw them once the transaction closes. TXU does not intend to apply or reapply for permits to build additional coal units utilizing current pulverized coal-fueled technology.

$400 Million Investment in Demand Side Management

InitiativesTXU will implement an aggressive demand reduction program through a $400 million investment in conservation and energy efficiency activities over the next five years.

Transaction Endorsed by Environmental Defense and Natural Resources Defense Council

KKR, TPG and the investor group are committed to addressing TXU’s environmental issues through substantial new investments in research and demand side management initiatives and a 75 percent reduction in planned new coal capacity. Recognizing this, key environmental groups are supporting the transaction.

Fred Krupp, President of Environmental Defense, said, “This is one of the most significant developments in America's fight against global warming. Environmental Defense commends KKR and TPG for not only dropping TXU's applications for eight proposed coal plants in Texas, but also for the many other commitments they have made to reduce air pollution and global warming emissions, including their support for a mandatory federal cap and trade program to regulate carbon emissions, doubling TXU’s expenditures on efficiency measures and their overall desire to rebuild TXU as a leader in the clean energy economy.

“The debate over this issue has been a top priority for Environmental Defense and we plan to work just as hard with the new TXU to implement this agreement. We also look forward to working closely with TXU as a member of its planned Sustainable Energy Advisory Committee and to settling our federal lawsuit against TXU,” concluded Krupp.

“The NRDC fully supports this transaction and the new company's support for mandatory global warming legislation. This turnaround marks the beginning of a new, competitive focus on clean, efficient, renewable energy strategies to deliver the power we need while cutting global warming emissions,” said Frances Beinecke, President of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “It is a big step forward for the State of Texas and for the American energy economy as a whole.”

Increased Commitment to Exploring Renewable Energy Sources and Investing in Alternative EnergyTechnologies

As a private company, free from the short-term financial pressures affecting all public companies, TXU will be able to accomplish important goals for customer service innovation and new generation technology development on a scale and schedule that would otherwise not be possible.

The investor group is grateful for Governor Perry’s commitment to a long-term reliable supply of energy for Texas and his advocacy for investment in clean energy alternatives, such as IGCC. TXU is committed to the development and deployment of advanced technologies with a commitment to exploring IGCC’s potential to meet Texas’ reliability requirements. With the support of the Governor, the company is evaluating the dedication of an attractive site for the exploration of clean coal technologies and partnership with technology leaders.

- TXU will reduce mercury (Hg) emissions, sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 20 percent from 2005 levels, as previously committed, through reductions at existing units and installation of emission controls on the new Oak Grove and Sandow units.

- TXU will reduce its own carbon emissions by increasing efficiency of its generating facilities by up to 2 percent.

- TXU will become a leader in providing electricity from renewable sources by more than doubling its purchase of wind power to more than 1,500 MW, maintaining its status as the largest buyer of wind power in Texas. TXU will also promote solar power through solar/photovoltaic rebates.

The company also intends to join the FutureGen Alliance, a non-profit consortium of companies supporting FutureGen, the U.S. Department of Energy project intended to create the world’s first near-zero-emissions fossil-fuel power plant.

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Read the complete press release from KKR

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Governor Bill Richardson Leads Regional Climate Change Initiative

(Santa Fe, NM) – Governor Bill Richardson today joined the Governors of Arizona, California, Oregon and Washington to announce the formation of the Western Regional Climate Action Initiative to implement a joint strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

At the annual winter meeting of the National Governors Association, Governors Janet Napolitano, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bill Richardson, Ted Kulongoski and Chris Gregoire signed the agreement that directs their respective states to, within the next six months, develop a regional target for reducing greenhouse gases. During the next 18 months, they will devise a market-based program, such as a load-based cap and trade program to reach the target. The five states also have agreed to participate in a multi-state registry to track and manage greenhouse gas emissions in their region.

“With this agreement, states are once again taking the lead on combating global climate change – while Washington, D.C. sits on its hands,” said New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. “This historic agreement signals our commitment to tackling the problem head-on at the regional level and building on efforts in our individual states.”

The Western Regional Climate Action Initiative builds on existing greenhouse gas reduction efforts in the individual states as well as two existing regional efforts. In 2003, California, Oregon and Washington created the West Coast Global Warming Initiative, and in 2006, Arizona and New Mexico launched the Southwest Climate Change Initiative.

During the Richardson Administration, New Mexico has been a national leader on combating global climate change. These efforts have included becoming the first state in the nation to join the Chicago Climate Exchange and the first major oil and gas producing state to tackle climate change comprehensively.

Governor Bill Richardson also recently signed an executive order that directs state agencies to follow many of the recommendations of his Climate Change Advisory Group, which produced a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of 267 million metric tons.

The Governor’s executive order creates a state government implementation team tasked with ensuring policies from the order are carried out. Those policies include:
• Creating a market-based greenhouse gas emissions registry and reduction program
• Advancing carbon capture and sequestration technology
• Promoting the use of manure from the dairy industry in power generation
• Developing an education and outreach program on green buildings for private sector builders
• Creating new procurement rules that ensure state government offices have energy efficient appliances
• Mandating that state vehicles use mainly clean, renewable fuels
• Proposing a one-time tax credit of up to 40 percent for the purchase, construction or retrofitting of alternative fuel filling stations.

Governor Richardson has also endorsed seeking regulations to sharply reduce greenhouse gas emissions of new cars and trucks sold in New Mexico and more than quadrupling New Mexico’s renewable energy use by mandating that 15 percent of the state’s electricity come from renewable sources by 2015 and 20 percent by 2020.

In spring 2005, Governor Richardson issued an executive order establishing greenhouse gas emission reduction goals for New Mexico. These goals are 2000 levels by 2012, 10 percent below 2000 levels by 2020 and 75 percent below 2000 levels by 2050. New Mexico, along with Arizona and California, is among a growing number of states to create climate change advisory groups.

Western states have suffered from prolonged drought, decreased snowfall, increased and earlier snowmelt, and more severe and devastating forest and rangeland fires in recent years as a result of changes in the climate. The just-released Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that the Western United States will be especially affected by increased temperatures and climatic changes resulting from the build up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

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Governor’s Office State of New Mexico

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About CleanAIR Systems, a New Mexico company working to reduce emissions of particulate matter, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and nitrous oxides.

An Inconvenient Truth Wins at the Oscars

Former Vice President, Al Gore turned a power-point presentation about global warming into an award-winning documentary. On Sunday, February 25th, An Inconvenient Truth won an Oscar for Best Documentary Film.

Gore’s thank you speech was short and to the point: "My fellow Americans, people all over the world, we need to solve the climate crisis. It's not a political issue, it's a moral issue. We have everything we need to get started with the possible will to act. That's a renewable resource. Let's renew it."

And backstage he added: "It is the overriding world challenge of our time," Gore said. "I really hope the decision by the academy to honor the work by director Davis Guggenheim and these producers will convince people who did not go see it before to see the movie and learn about the climate crisis and become a part of the solution."

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FOX News

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How CleanAIR Systems is developing products to virtually eliminate NOx, a key precursor to smog, from power plant emissions.

Code Green: Stanford Medicine Explores Health Impacts of Climate Change

STANFORD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Until recently, few scientists investigated the impact of global warming on health. Aside from the World Health Organization and the United Nations, only a handful of institutions focused on the coming crisis — or the other planetary systems at risk. In addition to the climate, humans have altered atmospheric ozone, biodiversity, food production on land and sea, and water cycles in ways that harm health.

But change is in the air. Environmental researchers are beginning to find common ground with physicians, as exemplified by collaborations among researchers at Stanford University’s new Woods Institute for the Environment. And in January, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced its intention to tackle health threats posed by climate change.

The spring issue of Stanford Medicine magazine, which is produced by the Stanford School of Medicine, contains a special report on the health impacts of the global environmental crisis, from climate change to sewage-filled seas. Among the stories:

The heat wave that hit California last summer, killing 138
- An account of one man’s education about his own body’s inventory of environmental toxins
- A peek at the future health impacts of climate change in the United States
- A beginner’s guide to reducing carbon emissions
- A look at what cholera can teach us about climate change, and what climate studies can teach us about preventing cholera
- The growing problem of disease-causing microbes in the surf

The magazine is available online at http://mednews.stanford.edu/stanmed/. Bonus content on the magazine’s Web site includes a video interview with writer David Duncan Ewing on the reporting of the story on his chemical inventory, and a podcast on writer Tracie White’s trip to Fresno to report on the heat wave.

To request the print version of the magazine, call (650) 723-6911.

Stanford University Medical Center integrates research, medical education and patient care at its three institutions — Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford.

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MedNews

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How using emissions control technology reduces diesel emissions that can be harmful to health.

EPA Seeks Public Comment on U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is seeking public comment on a draft report that analyzes sources of greenhouse gas emissions. The report, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2005, will be open for public comment for 30 days after the Federal Register notice is published.

After responding to public comments, EPA will submit, through the U.S. Department of State, the final inventory report to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, fulfilling its annual requirement as a party to this international treaty on climate change. The UNFCCC treaty, ratified by the United States in 1992, sets an overall framework for intergovernmental efforts to tackle the challenge posed by climate change.

The inventory tracks annual greenhouse gas emissions at the national level and presents historical emissions from 1990 to 2005. The inventory also calculates carbon dioxide emissions that are removed from the atmosphere by "sinks," e.g., through the uptake of carbon by forests, vegetation, and soils.

EPA prepared the annual report in collaboration with experts from multiple federal agencies. The major finding in the draft report is that overall emissions during 2005 increased by less than one percent from the previous year. Total emissions of the six main greenhouse gases in 2005 were equivalent to 7,262 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. These gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride. The draft report indicates that overall emissions have grown by 16 percent from 1990 to 2005, while the U.S. economy has grown by 55 percent over the same period.

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Information on the draft 2007 report and how to submit public comments

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How nitrogen oxides can be reduced from power plant emissions using CleanAIR’s selective catalytic reduction

EU Agreed to Binding Cuts in Carbon Emissions

Feb. 20 -- European countries have approved a binding accord to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 20 percent by 2020. The environmental ministers are also pressing for a global reduction in CO2 emissions of 30 percent.

According to Germany’s Environmental Minister, Sigmar Gabriel, a 40 percent cut in carbon emissions may be attainable by Germany.

The cuts were met with mixed reaction by environmental groups who want EU countries to enforce a more stringent 30 percent reduction.

Mahi Sideridou of Greenpeace said: "We happily welcome the 30 per cent emission cut proposed for the EU and for developed countries for 2020. Ministers have listened to the science and made a leap forward in addressing the climate crisis. But to then suggest a meager 20 per cent unilateral EU emissions cut, while admitting this is inadequate and that a 30 per cent cut will be necessary is a bizarre discrepancy."

David Miliband, the Environment Secretary, said: "The unilateral commitment to cut EU greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent by 2020 - the first of its kind - shows we're willing to take concrete action on an issue that citizens care about.

"Action in the EU alone is not enough. Our commitment to a 30 per cent cut in emissions as part of a global agreement strengthens the EU's ability to lead the debate at the G8 and UN climate change talks and to secure an ambitious outcome."

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The Independent

Environmental Policy Tipsheet

Looming regulation is worse than no regulation at all.
Environmental talks in Congress are currently backfiring by motivating energy companies to build more coal-burning power plants, said Evan Ringquist, a professor of environmental science at Indiana University. "The sense of looming regulation is causing energy producers to rush out and build more old-style, coal-fired energy plants," he said. "These businesspeople know they have more bargaining power over regulations concerning existing facilities, especially if they just spent a ton of capital building new plants. If new regulations aimed at addressing greenhouse gasses are inevitable, politicians should enact these measures quickly, because it's clear that uncertainty in the regulatory environment is a recipe for higher emissions."

Ringquist studies energy policy in IU's School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

Ethanol is Not a Climate Change Solution
Curbing climate change and moving toward energy independence have been conflated in political speech, but the two goals are not interchangeable, said Marc Lame, a professor of environmental science at Indiana University. "Our President's remarks addressing climate change have focused on reducing gasoline consumption by relying on new technologies such as ethanol. This type of messaging has stimulated a great deal of confusion due to its false implication that developing new technologies is the same thing as decreasing energy consumption. Those of us living in the corn-growing heartland would love to believe that by producing ethanol we can solve our planet's climate crisis, but the truth is, unfortunately, there is no evidence that ethanol uses less energy or produces less carbon emissions than conventional fossil fuels. The President seems to be saying that we can have it both ways -- we can continue to consume carbon-based energy sources so long as they are produced in the United States, rather than acknowledging that we must use less energy and work together to change our consumptive habits. Reducing consumption will address both energy independence and global warming, but switching to ethanol is only a political solution not an answer to environmental problems."

Bring on the Bacteria
Bacteria hold great promise for cleaning up contaminated soils and water sources, said Flynn Picardal, an associate professor in Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs. He has been working to isolate bacteria capable of breaking down polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a class of toxic organic chemicals found in some industrial wastes. Picardal now holds a patent on several strains of bacteria that can destroy hard-to-degrade PCBs in waste water, sludge, and sediment. "Bacteria have been successfully used to clean up oil spills and degrade petroleum products, but it is harder to find bacteria that can manage man-made chemicals like PCBs because they haven't had time to evolve alongside these new compounds. What we've been able to do in the lab is to isolate those few bacteria that can grow on different types of PCBs in the hope that they can be utilized as a tool for remediation," he said. Bacteria may also be useful in controlling substances that cannot be broken down, Picardal said. "In the case of contamination from metals and radionuclides, we are dealing with elemental substances that cannot be broken down any further. Although we can't destroy these elements, we may be able to utilize bacteria that will immobilize them so they stay in the soil instead of migrating into groundwater." Picardal said that one obstacle to the growth of bioremediation technologies is bacteria's poor public image. "People typically think of bacteria in terms of disease, but only a small percentage of bacteria are harmful to human health. The vast majority perform vital environmental maintenance. Our existence really depends on bacteria, and our ability to clean up toxic environmental waste is going to depend on them too."

Cooling Through Atmospheric Injections? Not a Hot Idea
"It's like the little old lady who swallowed the fly." That's how environmental science professor Phil Stevens describes his objections to Nobel Prize Laureate Paul Crutzen's recently-announced plans to experiment with injecting sulfur into the atmosphere as a means of cooling the earth.

"We don't know what the consequences would be," he explained. "The sulfur is intended to remediate problems from greenhouse gases, but pretty soon we might need something to remediate the problems caused by the sulfur, which could include interference with the ozone layer. There's no telling how long this could go on adding more and more layers to the mix." Stevens said the interaction of different chemicals in the atmosphere can produce unanticipated effects. For example, natural emissions from trees are capable of destroying ground-level ozone, the primary component of photochemical smog. But when mixed with emissions from human-built power plants, these natural emissions contribute to atmospheric pollution instead of curtailing it. "Global environmental engineering is becoming a serious consideration because of our failure to reduce our production of greenhouse gases. But we really have no idea what we are risking. I think Crutzen's ideas are a wake-up call telling us that if we don't get serious about reducing our emissions, we may be headed for some frightening global experiments."

Stevens's research deals with the chemical mechanisms in the atmosphere that influence regional air quality and global climate change.

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Newswise

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How selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology reduces NOx emissions from coal-fired power plants.

Emissions Trading Allows Companies to Purchase Additional Allowances from the Market

DUBLIN, Ireland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets announced the addition of GHG Emissions Credit Trading to their offering.

Greenhouse Gases Emissions Trading is emerging as a key instrument in the drive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The rationale behind emission trading is to ensure that the emission reductions take place where the cost of the reduction is lowest thus lowering the overall costs of combating climate change.

Emissions trading is particularly suited to the emissions of greenhouse gases, the gases responsible for global warming, which have the same effect wherever they are emitted. This allows the Government to regulate the amount of emissions produced in aggregate by setting the overall cap for the scheme but gives companies the flexibility of determining how and where the emissions reductions will be achieved. By allowing participants the flexibility to trade allowances the overall emissions reductions are achieved in the most cost-effective way possible.

Participating companies are allocated allowances, each allowance representing a ton of the relevant emission, in this case carbon dioxide equivalent. Emissions trading allows companies to emit in excess of their allocation of allowances by purchasing allowances from the market. Similarly, a company that emits less than its allocation of allowances can sell its surplus allowances. In contrast to regulation which imposes emission limit values on particular facilities, emissions trading gives companies the flexibility to meet emission reduction targets according to their own strategy; for example by reducing emissions on site or by buying allowances from other companies who have excess allowances. The environmental outcome is not affected because the amount of allowances allocated is fixed.

The case for a tradable entitlements system is based on the advantages that it would offer over other politically feasible alternatives. In the short term, it offers the possibility of reaching the environmental goals at a lower cost than would be possible if each country were limited to reduction options within its own borders. Making it easier to reach the goals may encourage more countries to sign the Protocol and would probably increase compliance with those goals. Because it separates the issue of who pays for control from who implements control, it facilitates trans-boundary cost- sharing, an item of particular importance to both the developing countries and the transition economies of Eastern Europe.

This 150+-page report on GHG Emissions Credit Trading covers all the practical details of emission trading. Covering the basics of the industry to understanding the industry in-depth, the report looks at monitoring issues, issues with the Kyoto Protocol, the various emission-trading projects, and much more. It is a complete guide to GHG Emissions Credit Trading.

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Research and Markets

Concert to Combat Climate Crisis

“Live Earth” Concerts in All 7 Continents to Reach Global Audience of Over 2 Billion

Los Angeles, CA – Detailing a historic effort to engage billions of people across the globe, Kevin Wall, Al Gore, Pharrell Williams, Maná, Cameron Diaz, and the MSN Network today launched Save Our Selves (SOS) – The Campaign for a Climate in Crisis. The announcement was made at the California Science Center.

SOS is designed to trigger a global movement to combat our climate crisis. It will reach people in every corner of the planet through television, film, radio, the Internet and Live Earth, a 24-hour concert on 7/7/07 across all 7 continents that will bring together more than 100 of the world’s top musical acts. Live Earth alone will engage an audience of more than 2 billion people through concert attendance and broadcasts. MSN has partnered with SOS to use its reach to make the Live Earth concerts available across the globe. The Live Earth audience, and the proceeds from the concerts, will create the foundation for a new, multi-year global effort to combat the climate crisis led by The Alliance for Climate Protection and its Chair, Vice President Al Gore. SOS was founded by Kevin Wall, who won an Emmy as Worldwide Executive Producer of Live 8.

“Our climate crisis is the paramount challenge facing humanity. SOS is more than a global distress call. SOS will give the world the tools we need to answer that call with meaningful action. The most important part of SOS is how individuals, corporations, and governments respond,” Wall said. “Our climate crisis affects everyone, everywhere, and that’s who SOS is aimed at. Only a global response can conquer our climate crisis. SOS asks all people to Save Our Selves because only we can.”

“In order to solve the Climate Crisis, we have to reach billions of people. We are launching SOS and Live Earth to begin a process of communication that will mobilize people all over the world to take action,” Gore said. “The Climate Crisis will only be stopped by an unprecedented and sustained global movement. We hope to jump-start that movement right here, right now, and take it to a new level on July 7, 2007.”

“At MSN, we have the worldwide audience and the technology stage to help unite a global community around SOS and Live Earth,” said Joanne Bradford, corporate vice president and chief media officer of MSN. “Anyone around the world with an Internet connection will be able to come to MSN to view not just the concert events, but also an extensive collection of interactive media that will entertain, educate, inspire and ultimately drive change.”

Wall announced 25 of the 100 top musical acts that have answered SOS’s call and are performing at Live Earth. SOS is also engaging other celebrities, CEOs, athletes, academics and government leaders to engage their constituencies. Please see that attached list of 25 artists.

“More than 100 artists are performing at Live Earth and they’re all headliners. That’s what it takes to engage billions of people. We’re not just engaging fans of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Snoop Dogg, or the Foo Fighters and Faith Hill. We’re engaging them and everyone in between,” Wall said. “We’ve been overwhelmed by the response from the artist community and are feverishly working out the logistics for all of the bands that want to be involved. Today we are announcing just the first 25 and will soon be announcing even more headliners who, for contractual reasons, cannot be announced today.”

The campaign’s identity is based on SOS, the international Morse code distress signal: three dots, followed by three dashes, followed by three dots. SOS is the most urgent, universal message we have, and SOS will use that signal as a continuous distress call to prompt individuals, corporations and governments around the world to respond to our climate crisis with action.

“SOS is creating an unmatched communications platform to take on an unparalleled crisis,” Wall said. “Our message must saturate the globe if we’re to succeed, and we will. In the US, we’re partnering with NBC-Universal and its networks. On satellite radio, we have SIRIUS and XM. In the UK, we’re partnering with the BBC. In Japan, we have a historic partnership with two broadcast partners. We have already secured television, Internet and wireless coverage in 120 countries, and the rest are soon to come.”

Wall announced that Live Earth concerts will take place in Brazil, Shanghai, Japan, Johannesburg, London, Sydney, and the Eastern United States.

Live Earth will be broadcast worldwide on MSN, which was the first sponsor to answer SOS’s call. MSN is one of the world’s most popular Internet destinations, and as such will allow the SOS campaign to have a global reach. MSN has services in over 42 markets and 21 languages, and more than 465 million people around the world visit MSN each month. Beginning today, people can go to http://liveearth.msn.com/ and begin participating in the global movement, and on 7/7/07, to watch the Live Earth concerts.

Live Earth is being produced by Control Room, of which Kevin Wall is the CEO. Control Room has produced and distributed more than 60 concerts since its founding a year and a half ago featuring Beyoncé, Madonna, Green Day, Dave Matthews Band, Keith Urban, James Blunt, Snoop Dogg, the Rolling Stones, among others. Its multi-partner network provides a global reach for live offerings through broadband, television, digital movie theatres and mobile phones throughout the U.S. and the world.

Live Earth will implement a new Green Event Standard that will become the model for carbon neutral concerts and other live events in the future. The Green Event Standard is being developed in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Commission to create a way for venues to be LEED-approved.

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Save Ourselves and Live Earth

City of Austin Climate Protection Plan

(Austin, TX – February 7, 2007) - The City of Austin today announced a groundbreaking initiative to reduce the city's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The plan represents the most aggressive GHG reduction plan of any city in America.

The following statement can be attributed to Jim Marston, regional director of Environmental Defense.

"The City of Austin is already a leader in clean energy and environmental stewardship. This plan launches the city to the forefront of the fight against global warming. This isn't just the strongest plan in Texas, it's the strongest plan in the country. This is the kind of leadership that makes us proud to live in Austin and hopeful that Texans will accept responsibility for the role we should play in solving this global crisis."

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Environmental Defense
Austin Climate Protection Plan

Gore and Branson Team Up for The Virgin Earth Challenge

Former vice-president Al Gore and British financier Sir Richard Branson have joined forces in offering a $25 million award to any individual or group who can develop and demonstrate a technology to remove at least 1 billion tons of CO2 per year for ten years from the atmosphere.

“Earth Challenge” was announced Friday morning. The design must be commercially viable, cause no harmful effects, have a long term effect on the environment and contribute to the stability of the Earth’s climate. The challenge is the largest science/technology prize ever offered.

Gore told CBS co-anchor Harry Smith, "What we are facing is a planetary emergency. So some things you would never consider otherwise, it makes sense to consider. I think you really are going to see change in the way people demand politicians in both parties make this their top priority."

At the news conference Branson stated "The Earth cannot wait 60 years. We need everybody capable of discovering an answer to put their minds to it today.” He feels that if governments aren’t doing enough then there is an urgent need to offer incentive to the private sector to come up with a solution.

The judges for Earth Challenge include a NASA scientist as well as environmental researchers from around the world.

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CBS News
Environmental Leader

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How CleanAIR Systems is helping the environment through emissions control technology

Concert Series to Benefit the Environment

The Financial Times and The Environmental Leader reported on February 8th a series of concerts are being planned to bring global attention to the environment. The concerts hope to reduce worldwide pollution by getting the public to take action in the form of pledges to lower emissions. Al Gore is said to be a part of the event scheduled for July 7.

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The Environmental Leader

Excerpt from White House Press Briefing by Tony Snow With Comments on Global Warming

White House Conference Center Briefing Room - February 7, 2007

Q I had a couple questions on -- the first being a response to what you just said a moment ago. Are you saying, then, in terms of the President's position on greenhouse gas emissions, that five years ago you said with 90 percent certainty -- contributes to greenhouse gases –

MR. SNOW: What you're talking about is having the President, five years before the fact, read out something that was in a draft report in the year 2007 at the International Panel on Climate Change. What he said was that global warming exists and humans are significant contributors. That's what he said. Since then, what has this administration done? Well, we have spent more money on technology and also research than anybody else -- $9 billion on basic scientific research strictly into global warming, which very likely is more than the rest -- any other -- the rest of the world combined.

In addition, $29 billion total on technology. What happened, for instance, in the previous administration is that there was talk of Kyoto, which would have been economically ruinous and would have thrown a lot of people out of work. The President, instead, has aggressively pursued ways of trying to clean the environment that don't have to make people lose their jobs, and in effect -- and at the same time, proceed on all the major areas where pollution is concerned.

You and I have talked before about industrial pollution. We've got clean coal technology programs. We have alternative fuel programs for auto emissions. We're talking about nuclear development, which is now championed by, among others, Greenpeace. The fact is no administration has been more aggressive, no administration has put more money into research, and none has been more committed to basic peer review research on climate change than this one. And that one you can look up and we'll be -- I'm sure Jim Connaughton has already supplied you with plenty of data on it, but if not, he will be happy to do so.

Q Well, in respect to opposing views, companies such as -- Energy, Whirlpool, are coming out and saying we need mandatory federal constraints –

MR. SNOW: Well, they're talking about carbon caps.

Q -- is the administration meeting with these groups at all, these groups that believe that mandatory -- whether it's a carbon tax, or –


MR. SNOW: Yes, as a matter of fact, if you'll recall, one of the first trips -- it may have even been the first trip right after the State of the Union was to DuPont, which was one of those companies.

Q Greenpeace has signed on to nuclear?

MR. SNOW: I think there's some Greenpeace people who are certainly advocates of nuclear power. Why? Because it's clean and it provides for energy.

Q I'm sorry -- did they discuss greenhouse gas emissions at that event?

MR. SNOW: I don't know. I don't know. Paula, we constantly have conversations with people on this, as well as with scientists. And I think what you're trying to do is to lend the impression that if a President does not meet with people who are corporate leaders, that somehow that issue goes unexamined within the administration. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Again, think about what happened. In the Clinton administration they went -- they talked about Kyoto and did nothing to get it passed, knowing what kind of a ruinous economic impact it would have. What we did is instead, we said, we believe in the goal -- and early on, the President talked about the linkage between climate change and the human elements -- and began to proceed on the most aggressive program of research and technology ever, when it comes to this.

And furthermore, on the negotiation side, not only are we talking about follow-on negotiations when it comes to climate change with our allies, we've also been dealing with the developing world, which was not at all included within Kyoto, offering them technology, and really taking the kinds of steps that demonstrate real seriousness, not simply giving the speeches, but walking the walk.

So the idea that somehow we are -- that we don't understand the arguments, or we're not contemplating or taking serious the arguments about carbon caps -- of course, we are. I would point out that the carbon -- that there is a carbon cap system in place in Europe. We are doing a better job of reducing emissions here.

Q I just want to make clear something about 2001. Wasn't this President's position then that, yes, he acknowledged there is global warming, but there's too much scientific uncertainty as far as how much of it was human-generated?

MR. SNOW: Well, again, go back to the statement. He talked about -- there was a certain amount of uncertainty about the percentage that is human-generated, and there continues to be controversy in scientific circles. But what the President said right then and there was that human behavior was a significant contributor. I don't know how to make you happy. When he says exactly what you've been wanting him to say, it turns out he's been saying it actually over a six-year period, I think you'd say, okay, I need to give him credit. And instead what you're saying is, well, golly, didn't he say what the IPCC said in 2007? I mean, come on, give us a break here.

Q -- on global warming, do you have any reaction to some apparent comments by Al Gore in Spain in an interview, where he suggested that the administration is paying scientists to dispute the global warming findings –

MR. SNOW: The reported remarks by the Vice President that the United States -- that the government is going out and paying money to those who dispute climate change research is just breathtakingly silly. I think maybe what he's done is he's mixed up a story about a think tank in Washington with government policy.

As I've said, this administration has spent more money than his administration and any other administration when it comes to doing serious, peer-reviewed scientific researches on the nature, causes and extent of global warming, and also has spent far more money on technology to try to ameliorate it without throwing people out of work.

The President really does believe that it is important to address climate change, and, incidentally, to address issues of pollution, as well, on the industrial side, on the transportation side. And that is why he laid out a whole series of initiatives in the State of the Union address. Those really build on the efforts -- and, again, just to reiterate, $9 billion for basic research when it comes to climate change, and $29 billion total on that research, plus technological innovation designed to make sure that Americans do get -- that we address carbon emissions, we address issues of pollution and, at the same time, we do it in a way that continues to make economic opportunity possible for everybody.

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White House

Calvert Supports Expansion of Carbon Disclosure Project to S&P 500

New report shows "severely lacking" disclosure by largest US companies

Despite growing financial losses in various business sectors from climate change, over half of the nation’s 500 largest publicly traded companies are doing a poor job of disclosing climate change risks to their investors, according to a first-ever report analyzing climate disclosure practices among S&P 500 companies last year.

The Ceres/Calvert report released on January 31st concludes that America’s largest companies still aren’t taking climate change seriously enough. Less than half (47 percent) of the S&P 500 companies responded to a global survey last year by the Carbon Disclosure Project requesting information about their climate risks and strategies, and those that did respond failed to provide much of the information investors are seeking. Nearly a third (30 percent) of the responders, in fact, declined to publicly release their responses, calling them “confidential.”

“Many US companies are still downplaying climate change and its far-reaching business impacts,” said Mindy S. Lubber, president of Ceres, a leading coalition of investors, environmental groups and other public interest organizations. “More-extreme weather events, regulatory changes and growing global demand for climate-friendly technologies are just a few of the ways that climate change will ripple across all sectors of the economy. Yet, many US companies are not addressing these trends and are leaving investors in the dark about their strategies for mitigating those risks.”

Poor survey responses among lower-emitting companies – in particular, retailers, banks and insurers – was especially conspicuous. Many companies in these sectors provide insufficient climate disclosure to investors, even after suffering large financial losses from climate-related events, such as the 2005 hurricanes. Lubber said that all companies should disclose their risks using the three most common disclosure mechanisms: SEC filings, CDP, and sustainability reports using Global Reporting Initiative guidelines.

“All companies have a duty to provide shareholders with more analysis and disclosure on climate risks and their strategies for managing or mitigating those risks,” said Dr. Julie Fox Gorte, vice president and chief social investment strategist at Calvert. “Lower-CO2-emitting sectors and companies also face potential risks from new regulations, physical changes, and other climate-related impacts. Power and oil companies are improving their climate disclosure and it is now time for retailers, banks and telecommunication companies to start doing the same.”

"This report underscores the need for the SEC to take action to include climate risk as part of their ‘materiality’ standard for corporate reporting, and for the companies of the S&P 500 to take heed,” said Howard Rifkin, Deputy Treasurer, State of Connecticut. “The good news is that a coalition of investors have developed a set of reporting guidelines—the Global Framework for Climate Risk Disclosure—that corporations can use."

The Ceres/Calvert analysis was based on S&P 500 company responses to a questionnaire distributed last year by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), to obtain more information relating to corporate management of climate change. CDP is a coordinated effort by 225 global investors with total assets of $31 trillion. The report authors used the Global Framework for Climate Risk Disclosure to analyze the quality of responses.

Other key findings from the Ceres/Calvert report include:
Poor Greenhouse Gas Emissions Management: 80 percent of the 228 companies that responded to the survey (182 companies) addressed the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but only a quarter (59 companies) disclosed measurable emissions reductions targets and specific time frames for reductions.

Physical Impacts Not on Radar Screen: Nearly 75 percent of the responding companies (171 companies) acknowledged bottom-line risks associated with extreme weather events such as hurricanes, fires and floods. However, very few of the companies surveyed link more-extreme weather to climate change and fewer still—only four percent – disclosed strategies for mitigating and adapting to the growing physical impacts from climate change.

The case for action is clear, since the climate problem for S&P firms – and the shareholders who invest in them – is expected to grow even more severe. The report notes that climate change is expected to increase the severity of future hurricanes, as scientific evidence indicates that ocean warming is increasing their intensity. In fact, the energy released by the average hurricane has risen by about 70 percent in the past three decades, just as sea surface temperatures have increased during the same period. Scientists say warming temperatures are also contributing to record heat waves and more damaging wildfires and hailstorms across the U.S.

International, national and state regulations will have a similar rippling effect, as companies will come under increasing pressure to improve their energy efficiency, switch fuels or invest in emission controls. While momentum for mandatory federal climate legislation is growing, California and seven Northeastern states are already taking regulatory action to reduce global warming pollutants. Meanwhile much of Europe is pushing to reduce GHG emissions under a cap-and-trade carbon emissions trading program already valued at about $30 billion a year. All companies—including retailers, banks, oil producers and utilities—will be affected by these regulations. Understanding how individual companies and industries incorporate these regulations into capital investment decisions and strategic planning is increasingly critical to a complete understanding of a company’s health and financial value.

ABOUT THE REPORT
The Ceres/Calvert Report is based on the responses of U.S. companies to the fourth request for information sent by the Carbon Disclosure Project in February 2006, on behalf of 225 investors. The responses were evaluated against the Global Framework for Climate Risk Disclosure, a statement of the information that a growing number of investors now expect from companies on their climate change risks. The Ceres/Calvert report is one of a family of 11 CDP reports that analyze the responses of over 900 companies worldwide and can be found on the CDP Web site at http://www.cdproject.net.

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Climate Risk Disclosure by the S&P 500

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How CleanAIR Systems can help with compliance of government emission regulations

EPA's FY 2008 Budget Focuses on Next Phase of Environmental Progress

(Washington, D.C. - Feb. 5, 2007) Pointing to 36 years of progress under both Republican and Democratic administrations, EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson today released his agency's $7.2 billion fiscal year 2008 budget. The new budget emphasizes using more citizen-partners as EPA shifts into the next phase of environmental progress – the green culture.

"As our nation shifts to a green culture, Americans are realizing that environmental responsibility is everyone's responsibility. Today, EPA has 300 million citizen-partners in our efforts to accelerate the pace of environmental protection," said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. "President Bush's budget request will fund EPA's role as our country enters this next phase of environmental progress."

The proposed 2008 spending plan includes $549.5 million for enforcement operations, the largest amount ever dedicated to that agency responsibility. It is a $9.1 million increase over the fiscal year 2007 amount.

This budget also features a major effort to restore, improve and protect four of the nation's most important water assets.

Chesapeake Bay: An additional $2 million, for a total of $28.8 million, to build on the continuing efforts of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, increase the pace of restoration, and implement the most cost-effective nutrient and sediment controls and key habitat restoration strategies.

Puget Sound: $1 million to focus on the highest-priority environmental challenges such as improving water quality, lifting shellfish harvest restrictions, and cleaning up contaminated sediments.

Gulf of Mexico: $4.5 million to assist the Gulf States and other stakeholders in developing a framework for restoring and protecting the Gulf. EPA is working with 12 other federal agencies and five states in the Gulf of Mexico Alliance to implement the 2004 U.S. Ocean Action Plan.

Great Lak