Patricia's EcoNews Blog: Archive
Nov 2004 through May 2007
May 30, 2007 - Recipe for Hope, Susan Swartz, Press Democrat
Evelyn Cheatham is not just a chef and foodie, but a portal to a world of cuisine for students in her care
...
Cheatham today comfortably inhabits the nexus between the sophisticated world of artisanal gourmet eating and the everday, practical world of struggling to put healthy food on the table -- and toggles back and forth effortlessly. She has cooked for celebrities at an upstate New York meditation retreat favored by stars such as Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid. She's a regular at the international Slow Food conference in Italy. Yet she's down-home enough to put together free Christmas dinners for Sonoma County shelters and other people in need, which she's done for 17 years.
...
Cheatham, who can go on and on about "the shining beauty of raw cauliflower," makes reverence for food an essential part of her message to her students. A former instructor at Sonoma County's juvenile probation camp, she now teaches in the culinary program at Santa Rosa Junior College and runs her own Worth Our Weight, or WOW, Program for teenage apprentice cooks.
It's a different concept for teens who grew up thinking dinner is handed to them from a drive-through window.
May 27 - Sprawl clashes with warming in California, Mark Martin, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau
California's pioneering push to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is colliding with one of the state's most ingrained legacies: urban sprawl.
In litigation and legislation, environmentalists, lawmakers and Attorney General Jerry Brown are using a landmark law enacted last year by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to argue that the state must rethink the kind of immense and far-flung housing developments that have defined California land-use patterns for decades.
The global warming fight has given new ammunition to the battle against sprawl, which detractors argue creates more cars on the road and energy use and is therefore a key ingredient in the climate-change crisis that threatens the California coastline and snowpack.
The need to rein in sprawl has not received much attention from Schwarzenegger, who has garnered international attention as he has talked about creating more efficient cars, boosting solar power, and developing new carbon-trading markets for industry. But experts, including the governor's own climate advisers, argue that changing how housing is developed is key to meeting the emissions reductions that AB32 calls for.
Those changes, aimed at nothing less than altering how and where Californians live and encouraging a car-crazy state to drive less, may be the most profound -- and difficult -- challenge for the state's global warming fight.
... Last month, the newly elected attorney general filed an unusual lawsuit against San Bernardino County over the county's recently adopted 25-year growth plan.
...The lawsuit is one of at least seven around the state using the global warming threat to challenge building or planning proposals by developers and local governments.
... Brown and the groups behind the other lawsuits argue that state environmental review laws require planners to calculate the effects on climate change that a project or general growth plan would have, and to attempt to mitigate them.
... Defendants argue, however, that the lawsuits are asking them to consider an issue they've never considered before, and one that isn't legally required.
May 25 - As earth warms, shareholders speak up, By Robert Schroeder, MarketWatch
Climate-change proposals hit record volume; withdrawals also up
PD NOTE: It's fun to see this long-term strategy, once on the fringes, now building up real impact!
At ConocoPhillips's May 9 shareholders' meeting, the temperature in the room was a notch cooler than it could've been, thanks, ironically, to global warming.
Call it climate change détente. About a month earlier, investors including Trillium Asset Management Corp. and North Carolina Retirement Systems withdrew a proxy resolution calling for the oil and gas titan to explain how it will develop renewable energy sources. The move -- which headed off a clash between shareholders and the Houston-headquartered behemoth -- came in response to the company's announcement that it would support a mandatory national framework to address greenhouse gas emissions, and that it joined a business-environmental group dedicated to new laws curbing emissions. The investors pulled their ballot measure the same day the company made the announcement.
"The resolution has done its job," said Shelley Alpern, director of social research and advocacy at Trillium, a "socially responsible" investment advisory firm with about $1 billion under management. A withdrawal by investors, Alpern said in an interview, reflects well on the company: "It indicates a responsiveness and a willingness to do dialogue with stakeholders," she said.
...The case of ConocoPhillips (COP : news, chart, profile ) is illustrative of a wider trend this corporate proxy season: as the earth warms up, investors are using annual meetings to ask their companies what they're doing about global warming--or prod them into action on it. And investors' eyes are often as much on the bottom line as on rising sea levels or temperature-related food shortages. "They're looking at the long-term health of the company," says Meg Voorhes, director of social issues at proxy-advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services. Environmental consciousness and saving and making money "are related now," Voorhes said in an interview.
Record proposals
Climate change is on investors' minds this year like no other year before, statistics show. Investors have filed a record 45 global warming-related proposals this year with 37 companies spread across multiple industries. It's a 28% increase over the 35 resolutions filed in 2006, and more than double the number filed in 2002, according to data from ISS.
Resolutions typically ask companies to report on or reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, though some urge companies-- including ExxonMobil Corp. (XOM : news, chart, profile ) -- to develop renewable energy alternatives. Targets of resolutions this year include Allegheny Energy Inc. (AYE : news, chart, profile ) , EOG Resources Inc. (EOG : news, chart, profile ) , Prudential Financial Inc. (PRU : news, chart, profile ) and TXU Corp. (TXU : news, chart, profile ) Energy companies are visible targets, but the list also includes non-energy companies like Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ : news, chart, profile ) , Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (HOT : news, chart, profile ) and the Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (HIG : news, chart, profile ) .
Filers include socially responsible investors like Trillium and Calvert, as well as religious groups, state pension plans, labor unions and environmental groups like the Sierra Club.
Withdrawals of proposals, an indication of corporate action on a given issue, are up slightly this year, to 16 as of May 24 compared to 15 for all of last year. Besides ConocoPhillips, investors have withdrawn proposals at companies including Ameren Corp. (AEE : news, chart, profile ) , Anadarko Petroleum (APC : news, chart, profile ) , EOG Resources, Sempra Energy (SRE : news, chart, profile ) and Wells Fargo and Co. (WFC : news, chart, profile ) .
...Advocates predict investors' pressure on companies will only increase as global warming stays at the forefront of public concern.
"I'm convinced we will see more action on the part of corporations next year," says Lubber. "Those companies that don't act will certainly be where this investor network focuses."
May 25 - Still Not Running Out Of Gas, By Marilyn Alva, Investor's Business Daily
The world might be getting smaller. But demand for practically everything is soaring.
This is especially true for the emerging giants China and India. Their insatiable demand for oil to fuel development has oil producers working harder to generate enough supply for everyone.
There's not much excess capacity relative to the amount of worldwide demand, and it is continuing to shrink. Meanwhile, North American natural gas production has peaked, but demand continues to grow.
"What we have here is the classic squeeze," said Michael Henzi, senior energy analyst with Sterne, Agee & Leach.
The result: oil and gas fields are busy places these days.
PD NOTE: This is the dynamic described by peak oil, although it skirts around the real issue - that supply could increasingly actually fall short of demand, and the implications of that.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ibd/070525/industry.html?.v=1
May 25 - High gas prices prompt shorter trips, By The Associated Press
PD NOTE: I found this a fascinating window into American psychology and the real dynamics of changing our gasoline usage. Even in the face of high gas prices, causing hardship, many people aren't drastically changing their habits. Despite the headline, the article says, "fewer people than last year are reducing their driving, trimming other expenses or curtailing vacation plans due to higher energy costs." Why not? Reasons include (1) They have to get to work - which is really a land use problem, as people live far away from work to get a place they can afford. (2) They feel that price increases are just a temporary problem. (3) They compare net gas costs to other costs and it doesn't seem like that much. (4) People are fatalistic and just "go with the flow," and want to at least have fun.I see two key things: (1) This is largely not a picture of people who feel their actions make a difference, and (2) this is why price feedback is helpful but insufficient to change our culture's harmful behavior.
Americans are expected to do slightly more driving this Memorial Day weekend than they did last year. But the near-record gas prices are prompting some travelers to take shorter trips and economize in other ways.
...An AP-Ipsos poll showed that nearly half the country says gas prices are causing a "serious hardship," but fewer people than last year are reducing their driving, trimming other expenses or curtailing vacation plans due to higher energy costs.
...Vacationers seem resigned to current gas prices and confident that, as in previous years, prices will drop after the traditional start of the summer driving season.
..."Well, this trip was planned for a long time, but we didn't plan on spending a lot on gas," Stephanie said. "But what are you going to do? Enjoy your weekend vacation or stay home? We decided to enjoy our weekend."
May 25 - GE says clean energy bets pay off; Wall Street waits, By Laura Mandaro, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- For General Electric. Co., can green energy lead to green dollars -- and a consistently green ticker?
The Fairfield, Conn., conglomerate says it's already reaping benefits from a two-year push into energy-efficient equipment and technology. It reeled in $12 billion in sales last year of what it calls its "ecomagination" products, which include wind turbines, super-efficient jet engines and long-lasting lightbulbs.
"Green is green," GE (GE : news, chart, profile ) Chief Executive Jeff Immelt told an audience in Los Angeles. "This is about a hard-nosed business initiative," not a soft touch to mollify critics chiding the company for its environmental policies, he added.
Faster-growing units, such as GE's energy-infrastructure practice, are hiring thousands of engineers and rolling out hundreds of new products, including the recent debut of a hybrid freight-train locomotive. Power-hungry China and India beckon.
"I think this stuff has real potential, and they're off to a good start, and that's why we continue to own the stock," said Mike McGarr, a portfolio manager and analyst for Becker Capital Management in Portland, Ore., which owns 900,000 shares of General Electric.
Now Wall Street is waiting for the revenue from some of these fast and fresh business lines to translate into market gains.
Shares in the second-largest U.S. company by market capitalization have failed to climb above $40 since 2002 and are up less than 1% since the beginning of the year. On Friday they traded 8 cents higher at $37.41.
The stock's performance has prompted calls by some analysts to split apart the company. See Ratings Game.
The market appears to be awaiting the outcome of this transitional period, when GE is selling some of its laggard business lines and ramping up investment in new markets, said McGarr.
"Investors will want to look at the numbers. They will want to see those hybrid locomotives selling," he said.
The benefits of being green
Meanwhile, GE is intent on flagging its recent success in business lines that combine GE's established presence in heavy industry -- it ranks among the world's three biggest makers of commercial jet engines -- and the demands of energy conservation.
On Thursday it said sales of products that cut carbon emissions and energy generated $12 billion in revenue last year, about 7% of the year's total sales, up 20% from 2005.
Revenues from GE's "ecomagination" products could amount to 10% by the end of this year, McGarr predicted.
...Continued success in the burgeoning clean-energy field hinges on whether public concern over climate change and soaring oil prices translates into public policy that rewards companies that cut down on fossil fuels and harmful emissions.
Building more wind farms, Krenicki noted, has long been tied to tax breaks and subsidies. But coal-fired power plants have been slow to install gasification technology to reduce emissions because it costs more and there is no national restriction on carbon-dioxide emissions. See related story on coal.
...Not surprisingly, GE supports a national standard on carbon-dioxide emissions.
Among other ventures, GE unveiled investments in hydroelectric power, wind farms and sale of light-emitting-diode lightbulbs that use much less energy than the incandescent bulb created by GE founder Thomas Edison.
Wal-Mart said more than 500 of its U.S. stores will be using LEDs from GE to illuminate their refrigerated display cases. See related story.
And GE and BP announced they will jointly develop technology for at least five power plants designed to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from electricity generation.
"What intrigues me is going right to China and India with these technologies in a different format," said Immelt during a presentation. The company stands to double or triple its current "ecomagination" sales in those two countries, he said.
If it does that, "we can blow the lid off," Immelt said.
May 24 - Survey: Car buyers want size, power and better mileage, By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Most Americans want a car with better fuel economy, but only about half say they would be willing to sacrifice size or performance to get it, according to a national survey conducted by Consumer Reports.
...Three-quarters of respondents said they would drive less or drive more slowly to save fuel.
Gas prices would have to go even higher than they are now before people would drastically change their behavior. On average, respondents said gas would need to cost $3.90 a gallon before they would make major changes.
http://biz.yahoo.com/cnnm/070524/052407_cr_mpg_survey.html?.v=5&.pf=loans
May 23 - The farmers' market gets fancy, by Meg McConahey, Press Democrat
The Sonoma Plaza on Tuesday evening is pulsing with intergenerational activity.
As the sunlight slowly fades, sophisticated picnickers set up elaborate wine tastings on wooden tables on the green while teens and tweens bunch around a corn dog wagon. Skateboarders rocket around on a patch of concrete behind City Hall as toddlers and small tots dance before a live band set up near the fountain facing Broadway.
Welcome to the Farmers Market -- that one night a week when locals accustomed to patiently sharing their favorite park with thousands of wine-tasting tourists every weekend get a brief chance to reclaim the town all for themselves.
It's a community scene playing out all over the agricultural North Bay -- from Santa Rosa to Healdsburg, Sebastopol to Petaluma.
Not just a place to pick up some fresh asparagus or vegetable starts for the spring garden, farmers markets have become mini-bazaars, featuring prepared treats like Thai spring rolls and kettle corn and hand goods like Adirondack chairs and aprons. Shoppers are apt to have a knit vest or a tie-dye T-shirt tucked into their market basket -- right there with the tangerines and the salad greens.
PD NOTE: I thought this was an interesting picture of farmers markets and local farming. It also includes information about location and times of local farmers' markets.
May 23 - Power Plant Will Run on Turkey Litter, By Steve Karnowski, Associated Press Writer
AP Centerpiece: Turkey Coops' Waste Will Power First U.S. Poultry Litter Electric Plant
BENSON, Minn. (AP) -- The gray, sandy mix of turkey droppings and other bits and pieces flowing through Greg Langmo's fingers back onto the floor of his barn isn't just funky dirt, it's fuel.
With 16,000 hens gobbling around him, Langmo is standing on a 15-inch layer of turkey litter -- some 750 tons of the stuff -- that represents a new source of energy.
It will help fuel a $200 million power plant due to begin full-scale production next month. The 55-megawatt Fibrominn LLC plant will be the first poultry litter-fired power plant in the United States, tapping a novel source of renewable energy to produce enough power for 50,000 homes. Its developers are planning similar plants in other major poultry states.
Poultry litter -- a combination of droppings, wood chips, seed hulls, shed feathers and spilled feed -- has long been spread on fields as a fertilizer. That's cheap and effective, but it can cause nitrates and phosphates to build up in soil, groundwater and runoff. So poultry producers across the country have been looking for another way to get rid of it.
...The poultry industry's dilemma created an opportunity for Fibrowatt Ltd., which developed three smaller poultry litter power stations in Britain in the 1990s. As it happens, Minnesota is the nation's largest turkey-producing state.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070523/turkey_litter_power.html?.v=2
GOOD DAY FOR: Green yellow cabs, as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed replacing New York's 13,000 taxis with fuel-efficient hybrid cars within five years. About 90 percent of the current taxis are Ford Crown Victorias, which get between 10 and 15 miles per gallon in city traffic.
May 22 - NYC's Taxi Fleet Going Green by 2012, By Sara Kugler, Associated Press Writer
NYC's Yellow Cab Fleet Will Be Entirely Hybrid Within 5 Years, Mayor Says
"There's an awful lot of taxicabs on the streets of New York City," Bloomberg said. "These cars just sit there in traffic sometimes, belching fumes.
...Nearly 400 fuel-efficient hybrids have been tested in the city's taxi fleet over the past 18 months, with models including the Toyota Prius, the Toyota Highlander Hybrid, the Lexus RX 400h and the Ford Escape.
...The standard yellow cab vehicle, the Ford Crown Victoria, gets 14 miles per gallon. In contrast, the Ford Escape taxis get 36 miles per gallon.
In addition to making the yellow cab brigade entirely green within five years, the city will require all new vehicles entering the fleet after October 2008 to achieve a minimum of 25 miles per gallon. A year later, all new vehicles must get 30 miles per gallon and be hybrid. Bloomberg made the announcement on NBC's "Today" show.
Hybrid vehicles are typically more expensive, but the city said the increase in fuel efficiency will save taxi operators more than $10,000 per year. Yahoo Inc. said it would donate 10 hybrid Ford Escapes for the city's effort.
Shifting the taxi fleet to hybrids is part of Bloomberg's wider sustainability plan for the city, which includes a goal of a 30 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070522/green_taxis.html?.v=2
May 21 - Not Enough Pain from $3 Gas, by David Kiley, BusinessWeek
Gas prices still aren't high enough to spur the needed transformation of the U.S. auto fleet to much higher average fuel economy
Aretha Mullins has been driving her 2002 Ford Explorer from her home in Ann Arbor, Mich., to her job as a bookkeeper at an insurance office in Southfield some 35 miles away for the past five years. That's a minimum of 70 miles a day, at least 350 miles a week, depending on what else she does.
Her SUV gets about 16 mpg, and she is spending about $3.30 per gallon these days. Her last fill-up cost her almost $75. If gas creeps up to $4 per gallon, her price at the pump for a full tank will be $90. If and when it hits that level, her daily commute will cost her in excess of $18.
"We bought the Explorer when discounts were really high and gas prices were still relatively low," says Mullins. "I like my Explorer, but I'm getting to where I want a new car and I'm going to be making a serious change."
What is the 48-year-old looking at in the car magazines? "Ford Focus, Honda Fit, Scion xB, which all get into the mid-30s [mpg] on the highway," she says.
This kind of deliberation over a new car purchase is taking place all over the country as gas prices again climb above $3. While White House and Presidential candidates are debating carbon taxes and other regulations that will compel automakers to build more fuel-sipping vehicles and improve the fuel economy, consumers like Mullins are already voting on which car to buy next.
..."We're seeing a broad, long-term&emdash;but gradual&emdash;movement to smaller vehicles," says Tom Libby, senior director of industry analysis at PIN. "For example, during periods of high gas prices over the past two years, we've seen movement from larger to smaller SUVs. However, the total SUV pie remains largely intact." Total SUV sales are still strong in large part because of the influx of car-based "crossover" SUVs that get better gas mileage and drive more like cars.
Additionally, sales of small vehicles, including cars and light trucks, as a percentage of total new vehicle retail sales, have risen from 26.3% in the first quarter of 2004 to 31.8% in the first quarter of 2007. That trend is due to consumer demand, which has prompted some automakers to enliven their small car offerings.
That's a start. But most consumers won't trade in their Ford Expeditions, Toyota Sequoias, and Chevy Tahoes until gasoline moves permanently north of $4 per gallon.
...So how do we achieve higher fuel economy? President Bush said this week that he intends to issue an executive order of some kind forcing government regulators to impose higher fuel economy standards on the auto industry by the end of 2008&emdash;just as he is getting ready to leave office.
...The aim of the Bush proposal is to reduce the country's gasoline usage 20% a year by 2017, with 5% of the reduction coming from improved required fuel-efficiency standards for passenger cars and light trucks. GM estimates that meeting that challenge would add a minimum of $5,000 per car in costs, which would have to be passed on to the consumer.
...Higher gas taxes have also been suggested as a way to compel drivers here to move to smaller, more fuel-efficient cars as they have in Europe, but such a move would be politically difficult.
...Polling data tell candidates a gas tax would be the most unpopular kind of tax Congress could pass, even though it's the most sure way of achieving greater fuel economy fast.
If the U.S. adopted taxes that would keep gas above $4 per gallon for the long term, many experts and politicians believe the demand for smaller vehicles would drive the average fuel economy in the U.S. to 35 mpg inside of 10 years, up from 24 mpg today.
The real goal, believe many who are advocating higher fuel economy, should not be to make a Chevy Suburban, which gets about 14 mpg on a good day, achieve 20 mpg. Rather it is to have public policy that gives consumers the incentive to buy a vehicle that gets 35 mpg instead of one that gets only 15. Part of that incentive has to be a guaranteed price floor of $50 per barrel of oil, so that consumers know that cheap gasoline is no longer around the corner.
Many U.S. drivers have already found inspiration to cut fuel consumption. Take Anne Harris of Plainfield, N.J. A retired high school teacher, Harris sold her Jeep Grand Cherokee that got only about 17 mpg and bought a Honda Civic hybrid, which she says can get as much as 50 mpg depending on how she drives.
..."It's the money savings, but it's also the right thing to do," says Harris. She finds herself needing something like a minivan or SUV about six times a year for visits to antique fairs and the like. For that, she rents a vehicle. "I come out way ahead at the end of the year."
That attitude is becoming more common, but not common enough to create widespread change. A sharp leap in demand for high-fuel-efficiency vehicles is around the corner, though. That corner is probably $4 per gallon.
http://www.businessweek.com/autos/content/may2007/bw20070521_785924.htm?campaign_id=yhoo
May 19 - Gas cost fuels small car boom, By John O'Dell, Los Angeles Times
Sales account for 31.8% of market in first quarter, up from 26.3% a year ago
In case plunging sales of gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles and big pickups didn't get the point across, a new report provided further evidence that sky-high pump prices were influencing car buyers' choices.
Small vehicles accounted for 31.8 percent of all new vehicle sales in the first quarter of the year, up from 26.3 percent in the first quarter of 2004, according to data tracker J.D. Power & Associates.
"We are seeing a broad, long-term -- but gradual -- movement to smaller vehicles," said Tom Libby, Troy, Mich.-based senior director of industry analysis for Power.
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070519/NEWS/705190374/1036/BUSINESS01
May 17 - Senegal facing "unprecedented" power cuts- sources, By Diadie Ba, Reuters
DAKAR, May 17 (Reuters) - A wave of power cuts in Senegal could reach "unprecedented" levels as the West African state has a maximum of eight days of fuel left to run its power plants, energy sector sources said on Thursday. Power shortages across the poor country of 11 million people have steadily increased in recent years due to rising consumption, high fuel prices and a cash crunch at the state-run electricity company, Senelec.
Many neighbourhoods of the breezy coastal capital Dakar have recently suffered 10-hour power cuts several times a week, disrupting local businesses unable to afford their own generators and undermining Senegal's image as one of West Africa's most developed countries.
Blackouts tend to worsen during the steamy June-October rainy season, when energy use climbs dramatically due to air conditioning while the wet weather hampers infrastructure.
"There is only enough fuel to cover eight days of consumption in the country," a senior energy sector executive, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters.
"We have crossed the red line. If an urgent measure is not taken in the coming hours, Senegal will face unprecedented power cuts."
...Like many African countries, Senegal has suffered long-term underinvestment and neglect of its power infrastructure, hampering its economic development despite one of the region's most stable democracies since independence from France in 1960.
President Abdoulaye Wade, re-elected in February at polls dismissed by opponents as flawed, has contacted foreign experts to advise on building a nuclear power plant -- part of an ambitious programme to overhaul the country's infrastructure.
Together with Guinea, Gambia and Guinea-Bissau, Senegal is also planning two hydro-electric power plants on the Gambia river, which would enter operation by 2012.
PD NOTE: Is this hints of our future, if we don't treat peak oil risks as reality and prepare for them? Building energy infrastructure takes YEARS. That's why estimates for transitioning from oil take years. We can't wait for price signals - that's very late in the game.
May 14 - Whole Foods, take two, Press Democrat, Kevin McCallum
ORGANIC EXPANSION: Santa Rosa's Coddingtown Mall finds taker for former Ralph's supermarket spot, empty for nearly two years
Whole Foods Market, the nation's largest organic grocer, announced plans Thursday to open a second Santa Rosa store at Coddingtown Mall.
The fast-growing Austin, Texas-based grocer has signed a lease for the 50,000-square-foot space that was home to a Ralph's supermarket until it closed in the summer of 2005.
The new store, expected to open in the fall of 2008, will be twice the size of Whole Foods' existing Santa Rosa location on Yulupa Avenue.
Together with existing stores in Petaluma and Sebastopol, and a fourth opening next month in Sonoma, Whole Foods will have a total of five stores in Sonoma County.
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070511/NEWS/705110350/1036/BUSINESS01
May 10 - A Greener SoCo to Come, Press Democrat, Michael Coit
ROHNERT PARK -- Envision what Sonoma County might look like in 2037 -- that was the opening challenge for participants at the Sustainable Enterprise Conference.
A cast of local environmental leaders helped spur the conversation, describing what they expected the future to bring. Sonoma County would be a place where: More people live in city centers and biking to work and school isn't unusual; small businesses pay enough for workers to own homes; homeowners generate enough solar and wind energy to sell on the power grid; farmers and other regional food producers provide much of what we eat.
"We are gathered here today as dreamers. And we are gathered here to make our dreams come true," said Jerrel Ross Richer, a Sonoma State University assistant professor in environmental and natural resource economics.
For the business leaders, resource managers, nonprofit organizers and others attending the conference, the task is directing their enterprises to create strong local economies alongside healthy environmental climates.
Workshops over the two days range from reducing greenhouse gas emissions to developing environmental best practices, the costs and benefits of going solar, how California's environmental policies affect businesses, sustainable product design, thinking local to meet business needs, and conservation investing.
"For us to remain a viable society, business must succeed and it must be sustainable," said Jake Mackenzie, a Rohnert Park councilman.
May 10 - Business Books: Striking oil is a curse on Africans, Reuters, Chris Baltimore
WASHINGTON, May 10 (Reuters) - The United States and other developed countries are increasingly turning to West Africa in their scramble for oil, but for Africa the oil boom is like a disease that creates poverty, conflict and corruption.
That's the diagnosis of Nicholas Shaxson, an Africa expert whose book "Poisoned Wells - The Dirty Politics of African Oil" (Palgrave Macmillan, $26.95) tours some of Africa's poorest and most violent hot-spots.
From simmering conflicts in the Niger Delta to civil war in Angola to rampant corruption in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, Shaxson contends that these countries are worse off than they were before they struck it rich.
Traveling the region for 10 years as a freelance oil reporter, including for Reuters, Shaxson gathered a cast of characters for his book, including Nigerian musician Fela Kuti, who rages against the oil-bloated bureaucracy as he cavorts with a harem of admirers.
There are cameos by now-disgraced Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter's son Chip, who blesses a rigged election in Equatorial Guinea and promptly goes fishing with the winner -- President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.
These characters put a compelling face on the well-documented "oil curse," in which some countries in Africa draw in more money from oil than they do from foreign aid but tend to get poorer and more violent over time, while their rulers jet off on shopping excursions to Paris.
May 8 - Citigroup commits $50 bln to green projects
Citigroup Inc., the largest U.S. bank, said on Tuesday it plans to commit $50 billion to environmental projects over the next decade, the biggest commitment from Wall Street to address climate change.
..."It's a dramatic announcement," said Daniel Esty, a Yale University environmental law professor who co-wrote "Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage."
"To the extent it signals a sea change in Citigroup's attitude toward the environment, it could have a sweeping impact across economies globally," said Esty.
Citigroup's program comes as U.S. companies such as General Electric Co. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. look to boost environmental efficiency, amid growing demand for alternative energies and emissions reduction.
Charles Prince, the bank's chief executive, said the program is "not a wish list, but a realistic, achievable plan that serves a critical global need and responds to an emerging investment opportunity." He called for global and U.S. frameworks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
... In March, Bank of America Corp., the second-largest U.S. bank, pledged $20 billion over 10 years to support environmentally friendly activities and reduce global warming.
...Citigroup's markets and banking group plans to invest in and finance more than $31 billion in clean energy and alternative technology. It said it has nearly $7.5 billion in commitments.
..."It's the right thing to do," said Michael Klein, co-head of markets and banking, in an interview. "Climate change is one of the single biggest drivers of investment decisions and capital expenditures. We are using all of our 100 countries to ... offer the best advice we can based on evolving policy, technology and regulatory standards."
...Citigroup said its consumer unit, its biggest business, will also offer climate-friendly mortgage, card and commercial finance products. For example, borrowers may obtain home equity loans to buy and install solar electric systems, the bank said.
..."We have reached a tipping point in business where the risks of inaction outweigh risks of dealing with a fluid and uncertain regulatory and competitive environment," said Michael Lenox, a business professor at Duke University. "Corporations need to address climate change now."
PD NOTE: This shift in business, money, and action is so inspiring and amazing to witness. In this article, I see concrete action and a real shift of thinking and talking that encourages me. Nevertheless, we need to keep watchdogging this process, to not think the problem is solved with these initiatives, and to stay aware of the full range of actions the corporations do that can harm or help the earth and our shared future. Significant work is yet to be done to change the direction of our society and economy. We can do it, if we all pitch in and help.
May 8 - GM Joins U.S. Climate Action Campaign
WASHINGTON (AP) -- General Motors Corp., and nearly a dozen other major companies, have joined the growing number of businesses calling for limits on greenhouse gases to combat global warming.
... "With this lineup of companies and environmental groups endorsing it, a carbon cap is clearly the consensus solution to climate change," said Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense, one of the original coalition members.
... General Motors said in a statement that the automaker views "the need to promote energy security and reduce greenhouse gas emissions as both a business necessity and an obligation to society."
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070508/climate_business.html?.v=4
PD NOTE: Fascinating, after all this time, to see the momentum finally start pulling in the big corporations. However, I advise cautious optimism, to welcome them aboard and be glad that we can finally talk about how to best address these issues, but to look not just at their PR and spin but the wisdom of the actual proposals they support.I looked the US CAP website and their logo is a globe with this phrase "We are committed to a pathway that will slow, stop, and reverse the growth of U.S. emissions while expanding the U.S. economy." I hear same basic old-economy thinking in here, amidst the new words.
I appreciated these comments from article today on WSJ.com:
May 8 - Now Even GM is Turning Green, WSJ.com
GM and auto makers have resisted efforts to raise fuel-economy standards for their vehicles, saying the costs of compliance would be crippling and arguing that the burden of fighting carbon emissions should be shared throughout the economy.
GM said in a statement that it sees "the need to promote energy security and reduce greenhouse gas emissions as both a business necessity and an obligation to society.''
But it also sees the need to keep selling its profitable big trucks and SUVs. Today, GM said it was rolling out a new round of sales incentives, including zero-percent financing, for its redesigned lineup of full-size pickup trucks.
http://blogs.wsj.com/energy/2007/05/08/now-even-gm-is-turning-green/?mod=yahoo_hs
May 8 - Committee Approves Fuel Economy Increase
U.S. Senate Committee Approves Fuel Economy Increase to 35 Mpg. The bill is expected to be considered before the full Senate in June.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070508/fuel_economy.html?.v=7
May 4 - Climate Plan Arms World for Key Talks
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- From nuclear power to reforestation to better toasters, the world now has a game plan from climate experts for fighting global warming, a report their chief scientist says will have a "profound influence" on upcoming negotiations.
American officials questioned the economic cost, and the Chinese questioned whether fast results could be achieved. But a leading expert said there was little choice.
"If we continue doing what we are doing now, we are in deep trouble," said Ogunlade Davidson, co-chairman of the U.N.-sponsored group that produced the report, approved by consensus by more than 120 nations Friday at the end of a weeklong meeting.
A 35-page summary of a 1,000-plus-page study, the report said the world must significantly cut emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by sharply improving energy efficiency in buildings, vehicles and even kitchen appliances; shifting from fossil fuels to nuclear, wind, solar and other renewable energy sources; saving forests as "carbon sinks"; capping agricultural emissions, and taking many other steps.
The document says the world has the technology and wealth now to act decisively in time to avoid a sharp rise in temperatures that scientists say would wipe out species, raise ocean levels, trigger droughts in some places and flooding in others, and wreak economic havoc.
...The summary did not attempt to estimate economic damage that might occur if the world does nothing about warming, but a British government report last year said unabated climate change might eventually cost between 5 and 20 percent of global GDP every year.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070504/climate_report.html?.v=5
May 3 - Wind farms can generate more power, but may kill birds and bats, By Randolph E. Schmid, AP
Wind farms could generate up to 7 percent of U.S. electricity in 15 years, but scientists want more study of the threat the spinning blades pose to birds and bats.
The towers appear most dangerous to night-migrating songbirds, bats and some hunting birds such as hawks and eagles. The risk is not understood enough to draw conclusions, a National Research Council panel said Thursday in a study requested by Congress.
"The human impacts of wind farms can be both positive and negative," said Paul G. Risser of the University of Oklahoma, who was chairman of the committee that prepared the report.
Clearly the farms provide jobs and in some cases can be a recreational attraction, he said. But they can also affect property values, and reflections off the rotor blades can be distracting to some people, said Risser, who is currently acting director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.
...Betsy Loyless, senior vice president of the nature group Audubon, said the report "recognizes that properly sited wind power holds great promise as a source of renewable energy that can reduce global warming pollution."
"The report rightly concludes that our challenge is to design and locate wind-power projects to minimize the negative impacts on birds. It is essential that industrywide environmental safeguards be developed so that each wind project can be considered on its own merits with appropriate studies before and after construction."
..."Wind power is an essential element of the solution to both climate change and America's exponentially increasing demand for electricity," he said.
PD NOTE: The article then discusses the specific conclusions of The Research Council, as arm of the National Academy of Sciences.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/science/20070503-1403-windfarms.html
May 3 - Fifteen Ways to Save Money on Gas
PD NOTE: Conservation is key, a place that personal interest and global/environmental interests meet, a way we can seek to get our needs met but reduce our harmful impacts in doing so.
http://finance.yahoo.com/college-education/article/102967/fifteen-ways-to-save-money-on-gas
May 2 - Offsetting pain at the pump, Money magazine
Rising gas prices got you down? The travel industry wants to help.
With gas prices expected to top $3 a gallon again this summer - and even go much higher in some areas - tourism groups are doling out free gas and other promotions to encourage Americans to stick with their traditional summer road trips.
The travel industry fears aren't unfounded. Half of Americans say they will cut back on travel plans if gas prices reach $3.50 a gallon this summer, according to a survey released Wednesday by the nonprofit environmental think tank Civil Society Institute and its 40MPG.org project, which is lobbying for more fuel-efficient cars.
"Experts often say that Americans will grin and bear these higher gas prices. But that's clearly not the case," said Civil Society Institute president and 40MPG.org founder Pam Solo.
PD NOTE: My alternate title - "Travel industry supplies oil addicts." I can understand their self-interest in doing so, especially since I live in a place where tourism is one of our top income sources. However, they're also stopping the price mechanism from reducing our use of oil, and the price mechanism is a LATE mechanism for reflecting both the environmental harm of petroleum use and the anticipated upcoming shortfalls of supply.
http://biz.yahoo.com/hmoney/070502/050207_pump_pain_moneymag.html?.v=2&.pf=personal-finance
May 1 - Venezuela Seizes Last Private Oil Fields, AP
Chavez Takes Over Venezuela's Last Private Oil Fields, but Seeks to Entice Big Oil to Stay
BARCELONA Venezuela (AP) -- President Hugo Chavez's government took over Venezuela's last privately run oil fields Tuesday, intensifying a power struggle with international companies over the world's largest known petroleum deposit.
Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez declared that the fields had reverted to state control just after midnight. State television showed cheering workers in hard hats raising the flags of Venezuela and the national oil company over a refinery and four drilling fields in the Orinoco River basin.
Chavez, a strident critic of the U.S. and a leader of the leftist movement in Latin America, traveled to the refinery for a ceremony with red-clad oil workers on May Day, the international workers' holiday. The military planned a fly-over by Russian-made fighter jets.
While the state takeover had been planned for some time, BP PLC, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., France's Total SA and Norway's Statoil ASA remain locked in a struggle with the Chavez government over the terms and conditions under which they will be allowed to stay on as minority partners.
...Analysts say the companies have leverage because Venezuela's state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA, cannot transform the Orinoco's tar-like crude into marketable oil without their investment and experience.
...An enormous Venezuelan flag was hung between two cranes at the refinery, and smaller flags flew from lamp posts. Red balloons were attached to power lines.
The oil companies, meanwhile, still needed convincing that Venezuela will be a good place to do business.
...The stakes are high for both sides as Venezuela stands to surpass Saudi Arabia as the nation with the most reserves. If the big oil companies were to leave, Chavez says state firms from China, India and elsewhere can step in, but industry experts doubt they are qualified.
...Pulling out would be damaging for the companies. They have invested more than $17 billion in the projects, now estimated to be worth $30 billion. Venezuela has indicated it is inclined to pay the lesser amount for taking over control -- with partial payment in oil and, some experts suspect, tax forgiveness.
Venezuela may still prove enticing because three-quarters of the world's proven reserves are already controlled by state monopolies.
PD NOTE: These are just the early warnings of the type of dynamics generated by the tight supply of oil - which is expected to become actual shortfalls of supply relative to increasing demand. As long as we stay addicted to oil, the ones with the oil have a lot of power to get what they want. I also have to appreciate the pagentry, images, and symbolism that Chavez used in taking this action!
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070501/venezuela_oil_takeover.html?.v=13
April 27 - Pro-Global Warming Fund Heats Up
It's probably a safe bet that Al Gore does not invest in the Free Enterprise Action Fund (FEAOX), whose managers insist global warming is a ruse. However, had Gore invested in the fund, he'd already be up more than 5% so far this year.
PD NOTE: I find this argument suspect. First, didn't the overall market go up by at least that much this year? Also, how clearly do their investments support their thesis? For instance, the fund's second largest holding is GE, which the article even says is part of "environmental protection groups in the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, whose goal is federal greenhouse gas regulation." GE's wide-ranging investments include those that assume global climate change is real (including a story below). How is investing in them a bet against global warming? From the information in this article, this fund feels more like a PR stunt, and a way to try to use stockholder action to pressure corporations to not act on global warming.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ts/070427/10353118.html?.v=2
April 23 - Ahead of the Bell: Energy Hearings, AP
NEW YORK (AP) -- Members of the Senate Energy Committee will meet Monday to begin hearings on the Energy Efficiency Promotion Act.
Topics on the agenda include promoting efficient use of oil, natural gas and electricity; reducing oil consumption and heightening energy efficiency standards for consumer products and industrial equipment.
According to the bill, gasoline use in the U.S. should be reduced 20 percent by 2017; 35 percent by 2025; and 45 percent by 2030.In addition, a strategic plan will be developed by the U.S. Secretary of Energy that will "establish future regulatory, funding and policy priorities to ensure compliance with national goals; include energy savings estimates for each sector; and include data collection methodologies and compliations used to establish baseline and energy savings data."
Monday's meeting comes as scientists and environmentalists continue raising awareness of global warming.
Under consideration by Congress are a number of proposed bills aimed at curtailing the release of so-called "greenhouse" gases into the atmosphere. Scientists say that unless those emissions are rolled back, the planet will become warmer, causing severe climate consequences later this century.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070423/energy_ahead_of_the_bell.html?.v=1
April 16 - ConocoPhillips, Tyson: Fuel From Fat, AP
Oil major ConocoPhillips and Tyson Foods Inc., the world's largest meat producer, said Monday they were teaming up to produce and market diesel fuel for U.S. trucking fleets using beef, pork and poultry fat.
The companies said they've been collaborating over the past year on ways to leverage Tyson's expertise in protein chemistry and production with ConocoPhillips (nyse: COP - news - people )' processing and marketing knowledge to introduce a renewable diesel fuel with lower carbon emissions than petroleum-based fuels.
...ConocoPhillips and Tyson, based in Springdale, Ark., said the finished product will be renewable diesel fuel mixtures that meet all federal standards for ultra-low-sulfur diesel. Production is expected to rise to as much as 175 million gallons a year, the companies said.
.. The processing technology was developed at ConocoPhillips, which began commercial production of renewable diesel using soybean oil in Ireland late last year.
But the rising cost of soybean and other oils, which account for the bulk of biodiesel fuel stock, has led to the push to use cheap and plentiful animal fats. That shift to animal fat as a fuel stock could be key to making the budding biodiesel industry a reliable fuel source for U.S. trucking fleets, among other uses, experts say.
Biofuels are seen as a way to reduce harmful emissions and wean Americans and the rest of the world off fossil fuels. President Bush has proposed increasing production of such alternative fuels, like those used in some vehicles. For now, they account for an extremely small percentage of the world's fuel market.
For companies like Tyson, the attraction is simple. Being the nation's biggest meat company, Tyson is also the biggest producer of leftover fat from chicken, cattle and hogs. Tyson said the alliance is expected to be a positive step for its "long-term financial performance."
..Last week, ConocoPhillips became the first major U.S. oil company to join a corporate/environmental coalition urging Congress to require limits on greenhouse gases tied to global warming. The decision could give the company an important voice in helping to guide legislation that might alter the way the industry produces fuel - and almost certainly make that production more costly, analysts say.
PD NOTE: Brilliant! Our feedstock for biofuels can't be all virgin crops. Therefore, using waste is key. In this story, it' amazing to see such a huge waste stream now headed into reuse in biofuels. (Yes, I know some will say it's a short-term solution, or they have issues with big meat producers, which is all valid, but I believe our need to transition to alternative energy is so urgent and dire, and the threat from trying to do this all with virgin crops so catastrophic, that we need to go for as many of the smarter solutions as possible, even if just to help the transition.)
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/04/16/ap3616535.html
April 15 - Seismic Firms See Business Skyrocket, AP
Seismic Firms See Business Skyrocket As Search for Oil, Gas Intensifies
...The ongoing global rush to explore for new sources of hydrocarbons, fueled by higher prices, has contributed to hectic activity at companies like Dawson Geophysical, Schlumberger Ltd. and Petroleum Geo-Services ASA, all of which perform high-tech seismic surveys for oil companies. Finding and gaining access to new reservoirs is an increasingly difficult task, taking oil companies into deeper waters and rugged, more intricate terrain.
"The age of easy oil is over," Schlumberger Chairman and CEO Andrew Gould said at a recent energy conference in New Orleans.
...The company says advancements in its seismic technology allow it to provide more detailed images in a shorter period, which in turn allows oil companies to develop more difficult, and sometimes smaller, reservoirs.
Demand for seismic services has created a record $1.1 billion backlog at WesternGeco, Schlumberger's seismic division, one of the world's largest. "We see no slackening in activity before 2010," unless the economy sours, Gould said.
PD NOTE: Signs of peak oil. Oil is getting harder to find, takes more effort and money to get the same amounts, which supports the notion that we are at or near the peak possible production per year. Still, demand strongly increases, for instance in rapidly developing countries like China and India. This is expected to lead to supply shortfalls, drastic price increases, ripple effects throughout our economy, and more petro-drama on the world stage.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070415/seismic_boom.html?.v=3
April 10 - TXU hopes to build nuclear reactors instead of coal-fired power plants, Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com
Texas energy company TXU will abandon plans to build coal-fired power planets and will instead focus on building the largest nuclear power plants in the United States according to an article from The Wall Street Journal. Despite reduced emissions of greenhouse gases, the decision will likely prove controversial due to the high cost of nuclear energy. Without substantial subsidies nuclear energy is rarely cost-competitive with coal or renewable power sources.
PD NOTE: Oh, and the enormous risks of very long-lasting nuclear waste that threatens health and offers terrorist fuel. Yeah, that. Hey, I have an idea - how about investing that money in - ecological and healthy renewables! (Thanks to Rick Theis for letting me know about this update to the earlier 2/26 story that TXU had cut back plans for new coal plants.)
The Wall Street Journal reports that NRG Energy Inc., Exelon Corp. and Amarillo Power are also planning to build power plants in Texas raising the prospect that the state could have more nuclear reactors than any other within a decade.
..."For energy security and carbon emission concerns, nuclear power is very much back on the national and international agenda," said study co-author Dan Kammen, UC Berkeley professor of energy and resources and of public policy. "To evaluate nuclear power's future, it is critical that we understand what the costs and the risks of this technology have been. To this point, it has been very difficult to obtain an accurate set of costs from the U. S. fleet of nuclear power plants."
...Environmental controversy brews over TXU deal. Initially hailed as a victory for the environment, the private equity deal to acquire Texas-energy company TXU Corp is now facing criticism from some green groups reports the Saturday issue of The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
http://news.mongabay.com/2007/0410-txu.html
March 30 - Ethanol Demand Boosts Corn Planting, AP
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- High demand from the ethanol industry and strong export sales are expected to translate this year into the biggest U.S. corn planting since 1944, according to a report released Friday.
Corn planting will be up 15 percent this year to 90.5 million acres and 12.1 million more acres than in 2006, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's annual prospective plantings report said.
..."A lot of the producers in the Midwest are planting more corn and not as much soybean," said Greg Thessen, field crops section head for the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service.
...He said even some southern farmers are choosing corn over cotton and rice.
That switch means an 11 percent drop in soybean acres from 2006, with farmers planning to plant 67.1 million acres this year. Cotton is expected to reach 12.1 million acres, down 20 percent from 2006, and rice will drop 7 percent to 2.64 million acres.
Some grains are expected to rise. Wheat is expected to rise 5 percent with 60.3 million acres. Other increases include: sorghum, up 9 percent; canola, up 12 percent; and barley, up 7 percent.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070330/planting_report.html?.v=3
March 7 - Energy Ventures Go Low Tech, U.S.News & World Report
Although high-tech gurus helped to triple venture capital investment in alternative energy in 2006, a large share of that $2.4 billion went in a decidedly low-tech direction. A new study by investment research firm Clean Edge and San Francisco venture firm Nth Power shows that instead of pouring money into the breakthrough idea that will free the nation from the grip of oil, the financiers focused on workaday projects like factories and electric transmission enhancement.
The authors of the report, "Clean Energy Trends 2007," are bullish on the sector; they estimate the market for ethanol, wind and solar power, and fuel cells grew 39 percent last year to $55.4 billion, and they predict it will expand to $226.5 billion within a decade. Alternative energy accounted for 10 percent of venture-capital funding in 2006, up from less than 5 percent a year earlier and less than 1 percent seven years ago, the report said.
But a close look at where that money is flowing raises questions of whether it is chasing a game-changing technology or assured returns. The age-old science of making fuel alcohol from grain--ethanol and biodiesel--attracted nearly one third of the energy venture capital money.
...There was, however, at least one high-tech energy idea grabbing attention and money. About 20 percent of the energy venture funding went into "intelligent energy" companies, which propose to use software or hardware to improve electricity transmission and distribution. This field could begin to make advanced metering widely available, allowing consumers to pay lower electricity rates when they use power at off-peak hours.
...Adds Joel Makower, cofounder of Clean Edge, "Clean-energy advocates have been saying for a long time that the sector would grow much faster if only there were political will. Corn-based ethanol may be the first clean energy that truly has political will and all that comes with that." He says "one can argue over whether it's the optimum technology" and adds that he and his colleagues see it as a bridge to the next generation of ethanol--the far more expensive pursuit of fuel from cellulosic material such as agricultural waste or fast-growing reedy crops that need little fertilizer.
http://biz.yahoo.com/usnews/070307/070306_6venture.html
Feb. 28 - U.S. sets aside up to $385 mln for bio-refineries
The U.S. Energy Department said on Wednesday it will spend up to $385 million over four years to fund six new bio-refineries which will turn cellulosic sources like wood chips and wheat straw into ethanol fuel.
... Corn is the main ingredient for most ethanol produced in the United States, but advances in non-food sources like switch grass are key to achieving Bush's goal of using 35 billion gallons a year of ethanol by 2017.
PD NOTE: Cellulosic ethanol is the key to solving key problems with corn ethanol, especially when it's from waste. It's amazing to see the feds funding this.
Feb. 26, 2007 - TXU's emissions U-turn shocks power industry
TXU Corp.'s decision to whittle down plans to build 11 carbon-spewing, coal-fired power plants as part of its buyout deal with private-equity firms sent a chill Monday through both Wall Street and Washington, signaling that utilities can no longer afford to ignore climate change.
But with coal becoming too toxic to handle, nuclear plants taking too long to build and natural-gas prices going through the roof, little in the way of specifics is being offered on how utilities will provide clean and affordable power to an energy-hungry nation as more states push to deregulate their electrical grid and open it to the market's machinations.
..."The decision by the buyers to reach out to our organization reflects a conclusion by the business community that they can't simply ignore global warming and come up with sound business strategies," said Dave Hawkins, director of the Natural Resource Defense Council's Climate Center during a call with journalists. "It's an earthquake that happened in Texas but the shock waves will be felt in Wall Street and Washington."
... "It's a wake-up call to the whole industry and the whole economy," said Jeffrey Holzschuh, a vice chairman at Morgan Stanley. "The auto guys, the airline industry, everyone" has to deal with carbon emissions now, he said.
...Around the country, there are about 150 new coal-fired power plants on the drawing board. Following TXU's move, many will likely have to recalculate their expansion plans.
"As utilities seek low-cost generation capacity, it's clear that coal continues to look attractive. But as air quality standards become more stringent, we expect the costs will continue to increase," said Eric Kane, an analyst with Innovest Strategic Value Advisors.
PD NOTE: It's an amazing time we're in, when climate change concerns actually change the actions of utilities and the big money guys. Fascinating to watch this sea change. Now's the time for us to step forward with SOLUTIONS, while the door is open.UPDATE: See above April 10 - Unfortunately, they plan to do risky nuclear instead.
Feb 13 - Union Pacific and GE Transportation Host Green Locomotive Technology Tour
Multi-City California Tour Showcases Current and Experimental Emission-Reduction Technologies
Union Pacific and General Electric today announced the Green Locomotive Technology Tour to showcase current and experimental technologies that are helping reduce locomotive emissions. The environmental rail tour will wind through California Feb. 20 - 28 with planned stops in West Colton, Fresno, Stockton, Roseville, Oakland, Los Angeles and Long Beach.
At each stop, UP and GE representatives will brief federal, state and local air quality officials, regulatory and elected officials, and high school students on the companies' leading-edge emissions reduction technologies. Guests will also receive an overview of fuel conservation initiatives and railroad safety practices along with an on-board tour of environmentally friendly locomotives.
...Trains, like those operated by Union Pacific, are already one of the nation's most environmentally friendly modes of moving freight - and are three times more fuel efficient than over-the-road trucks. Investment in new technology and infrastructure have made the railroad industry environmentally "cleaner and greener" than ever before.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a typical over-the-road truck emits three times more nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulates per ton-mile than a locomotive. According to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, if just 10 percent of intercity freight now moving by highway were shifted to rail, 2.5 million fewer tons of carbon dioxide would be emitted into the air.
"GE Transportation is proud to partner with Union Pacific on this environmental tour through California," said John M. Dineen, president and CEO, GE Transportation. "This tour demonstrates our commitment to protecting the environment by investing in technologies like GE's Evolution Series locomotive and other fuel-saving technologies. Together, our efforts are establishing a gold standard in the industry for investing in new, reliable technologies that continue to reduce emissions and improve fuel savings."
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070213/20070213005951.html?.v=1
Feb. 13 - Corporate Laggards on Global Warming Named
Shareholder activists named 10 U.S. companies as the top laggards in their industries in responding to global warming, arguing they have failed to plan for the possibility of new greenhouse gas regulations that could cost them money.
A list to be released Tuesday by Ceres, an environmental investment group, criticizes energy firms such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips, and even retailer Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., accusing them of failing to adequately address the industrial causes -- and consequences -- of climate change.
...Also named on the list were coal producer Massey Energy Co., insurance firm ACE Ltd. and utility TXU Corp.
TXU was criticized by the investors' group for its proposal to build 11 new coal-fired power plants in Texas.
Lisa Singleton, a spokeswoman for TXU, said her company is working to develop cleaner energy technologies. "We believe strongly that technology will be the solution," she said.
Companies outside the energy industry such as Bed Bath & Beyond also made the list because, they have been "unresponsive" to requests that they make public their emission reduction and energy efficiency goals, the activist shareholders said.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070213/warming_shareholders.html?.v=2
Feb. 12 - Report: Producing Oil, Gas More Costly
The cost of producing oil and gas has risen about 53 percent the past two years, and the trend is expected to continue this year, according to a report released Monday.
...Still, despite the volatility in oil and gas markets, most companies involved in oil exploration and production say they plan to boost capital spending on E&P in 2007, according to a recent research report from Raymond James analysts. At a minimum, Raymond James said, it expects the average E&P budget to grow by roughly 5 percent this year.
"While there is no doubt that oil service price pressures are noticeable ... drilling all but the most marginal prospects remains a highly profitable proposition," the Raymond James report said.
PD NOTE: I think this a usually unnoticed sign of peak oil and natural gas. Demand is rising but these fuels are harder to find, so it takes more equipment and labor for same quantity. So, even though production costs are drastically higher, companies still pay, to feed our addiction.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070212/oil_rising_costs.html?.v=1
Feb 1 - Reuters
HOUSTON - President George W. Bush's goal of increasing U.S. renewable fuel use five-fold to 35 billion gallons annually by 2017 is impossible under current technology, the chief executive of leading U.S. refiner Valero Energy Corp. (VLO.N: Quote, Profile , Research) said on Thursday.
At best, current technology could double renewable fuel output to 15 billion gallons a year, Bill Klesse said during a Thursday morning conference call to discuss fourth-quarter earnings.
"Without some technology breakthrough, those goals are impossible," he said.
Increasing reliance on ethanol, which accounted for 5 billion gallons of U.S. green fuel in 2006 and is typically made in North America from corn, could affect more than the world's refiners, Klesse said.
"Yesterday I believe there was a demonstration in Mexico over the price of tortillas," he said. "It shut down the streets. Corn has doubled from around $2.00 a bushel to $4.00 a bushel."
... Environmentalists, farmers, and commodities traders have said Bush's goal is impossible to reach using only ethanol derived from corn, and will require technological breakthroughs in cellulosic ethanol.
Current law calls for 7.5 million gallons of renewable fuels to be blended with gasoline by 2012.
PD NOTE: I'm delighted to see Valero joining the voices of realists here. It's reasonable that we'd like to just be able to substitute these alternative biofuels and continue our current rate of consumption. But the earth doesn't have the capacity to make that quantity of biofuels, and to try to do so will plow down even more of our precious wild lands on this sacred earth.
Jan. 24 - Sunopta Endorses Cellulosic Ethanol Initiatives in the State of the Union Address
SunOpta Inc today commended the current administration for its focus and commitment to commercial deployment of cellulosic ethanol in the State of the Union Address. The new Renewable Fuels Standard will mandate production of 35 billion gallons of biofuel by 2017, a five-fold increase. In addition, the new Farm Bill will include $2 billion dollars for funding of cellulosic ethanol plants.
...
The availability of corn (starch) as an ethanol feedstock is expected to limit production of ethanol to a maximum 15 billion gallons per year, making a move to cellulosic feedstocks inevitable. To achieve 35 billion gallons per year of ethanol production by 2017, it is clear that cellulosic ethanol will be required in massive quantities in order to fill that 20 billion gallon per year gap as a large part of an overall effort towards energy security and reduction of greenhouse gases.
Cellulosic ethanol addresses the moral issue of using food (corn, wheat) for fuel as numerous agricultural wastes and underutilized forest products can be utilized without impacting costs and supply within the food chain. As economist Lester Brown of the Earth Policy Institute has pointed out, ethanol plants in the U.S. are expected to consume 50% of the U.S. corn crop in 2008 and this will have a significant impact on the cost and availability of foods around the world. Mr. Brown has estimated that the corn needed to fill a 25 gallon tank with ethanol could feed a person for a year.
Cellulosic ethanol also provides significant energy efficiency versus corn starch-based ethanol and produces 95% less carbon emissions than gasoline, a very important factor as the impacts of global warming are felt around the world.
SunOpta's participation in existing cellulosic ethanol projects in China, Europe and the United States confirms that large-scale commercial cellulosic ethanol production is viable now and that production of upwards of 20 billion gallons of cellulosic biofuels by 2017 is an achievable goal. ..."
PD NOTE: Cellulosic ethanol is a vital part of an alternative energy solution, especially that based on agricultural waste. We don't have enough corn to use that as the base for our increasing ethanol needs. Already the increased demand for corn for ethanol has greatly increased its cost for food. Cellulosic ethanol isn't just in the labs. SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL) has working cellulosic ethanol plants!
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070124/20070124005637.html?.v=1
Dec. 14, 2006 - Sebastopol's Fiesta Market takes Pacific Market name to be in conformity with SR, RP stores, Carol Benfell, Press Democrat
Jan. 23 - Creating Green-Collar Jobs, By Van Jones and Ben Wyskida
It was 70 degrees in New York City last week, setting flowers into bloom and residents into T-shirts in the dead of winter. Here in Oakland, Calif., we scraped ice off of our windshields for the first time in years. Even the most well-funded Exxon research study couldn't convince us&emdash;or America&emdash;that global warming is a hoax.
Meanwhile, Saturday saw the third bloodiest day since the war on Iraq began, with 19 U.S. soldiers dead in the streets of Baghdad. Our dependence on foreign oil&emdash;and the fight to protect our oil interests&emdash;is taking more and more lives every day. Many of the dead are people of color from America's poorest communities; others are young men and women who would have different jobs to go to&emdash;if America still had well-paying middle class jobs to offer.
...Unfortunately, it's no longer enough to declare a war on warming. We're all missing the point, and Democrats are close to missing a real opportunity to propose visionary policy that steps outside of traditional issue silos. The solution is a green jobs agenda that bridges economic and environmental development. It's an idea that could transform entire communities, and that has the potential to unite once-hostile factions of the progressive left for a generation."
www.tompaine.com/articles/2007/01/23/creating_greencollar_jobs.php
Jan 22 - CEOs Ask Bush to Back Climate Protection, AP, By H. Josef Hebert, Associated Press Writer
Industry Executives Call on Bush to Accept Mandatory Action Against Climate Change.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The chief executives of 10 major corporations, on the eve of the State of the Union address, urged President Bush on Monday to support mandatory reductions in climate-changing pollution and establish reductions targets.
"We can and must take prompt action to establish a coordinated, economy-wide market-driven approach to climate protection," the executives from a broad range of industries said in a letter to the president.
PD NOTE: What Bush did was very tepid. It's great to see more and more mainstream business leaders taking this on. Finally.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070122/ceos_climate.html?.v=12
January 19 - In Green Push, GM Still Lags Japan
The Detroit automaker's Chevy Volt is getting a lot of attention, but Toyota and Honda won't relent in their drive to lead the hybrid market
http://yahoo.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jan2007/gb20070119_906171.htm
Jan 19 - Beyond The Green Corporation, BusinessWeek Online, By Pete Engardio et al
Under conventional notions of how to run a conglomerate like Unilever, CEO Patrick Cescau should wake up each morning with a laserlike focus: how to sell more soap and shampoo than Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE:PG - News) But ask Cescau about the $52 billion Dutch-British giant's biggest strategic challenges for the 21st century, and the conversation roams from water-deprived villages in Africa to the planet's warming climate."
... A remarkable number of CEOs have begun to commit themselves to the same kind of sustainability goals Cescau has pinpointed, even in profit- obsessed America. For years, the term "sustainability" has carried a lot of baggage. Put simply, it's about meeting humanity's needs without harming future generations. It was a favorite cause among economic development experts, human rights activists, and conservationists. But to many U.S. business leaders, sustainability just meant higher costs and smacked of earnest U.N. corporate- responsibility conferences and the utopian idealism of Western Europe. Now, sustainability is "right at the top of the agendas" of more U.S. CEOs, especially young ones, says McKinsey Global Institute Chairman Lenny Mendonca."
http://biz.yahoo.com/bizwk/070119/b4019001.html?.v=1
Jan. 14 - Quote of the day
"Only to the white man was nature a "wilderness" and only to him was the land infested with "wild animals" and "savage" people. To us it was tame. Earth was bountiful and we were surrounded with the blessings of the Great Mystery."
Luther Standing Bear 1905-1939
Jan. 13, 2007 - Culinary School to be near campus - SRJC decides to use own land in SR or Petaluma, citing timing, costs, By Bob Norberg, The Press Democrat
Santa Rosa Junior College's new culinary arts school, once planned as part of a proposed Railroad Square food and wine center, will be built instead on land owned by the district at or near its Santa Rosa or Petaluma campuses.
PD NOTE: Update on SRJC, one of the places listed in The Organic Guide under Education. See the Guide for more information on what aspects of their offerings qualified them for inclusion in the book.
www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070113/NEWS/701130330/1033/NEWS01
Jan. 13, 2007 - Sonoma County: La Tortilla forced to raise prices, By Steve Hart, The Press Democrat
The surge in U.S. corn prices has hit home at Santa Rosa's La Tortilla Factory, where the tortilla maker is raising prices 10 percent to cover the cost.
"We just sent the letter out to retailers," said Willie Tamayo, vice president for sales and marketing at the family-owned food company. La Tortilla Factory produces more than half a million tortillas a day and ships them to all 50 U.S. states.
Corn prices Friday hit $3.965 a bushel, one of the highest benchmarks in the past 20 years. For most of the past decade, the price averaged $2.40 a bushel.
The price hike is being driven by demand for corn used for production of ethanol, an alternative to oil in gasoline. Ethanol, which is subsidized by the U.S. government, has become more popular as gas prices have soared.
Meanwhile, this year's corn crop is expected to be smaller than usual and there's growing demand from booming Asian countries for meat from corn-fed livestock."
PD NOTE: I included this here for two reasons - as an update on La Tortilla Factory, a local tortilla maker included in The Organic Guide because they have a few organic options - and as information on peak oil, alternative energy, and ethanol. Folks tracking these issues have long predicted that we couldn't just replace ethanol for oil, because of supply issues, and that this would threaten supply for food uses. Cost is just an expression of that threat. A related concern is the enormous amount of new farmland that would need to be established to grow all the corn - rapaciously taking even more of our previous wild areas to feed our unabated fuel hungers. Instead, we must reduce our usage notably, including by notably increasing efficiency, buying local, etc. Cellulosic ethanol I think is also key, deriving ethanol from waste and more efficient crops. But no alternatives will allow us to use and waste energy at our current rates.
www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070113/NEWS/70113004/1036/BUSINESS01
Jan 11, 2007 - 2007: Renewable Energy Gets Real, Part One, By Chris Nelder
In my earlier article, "2006: A Time of Transition ," I looked back at some of the major changes and trends of the last year. The most obvious to me were 1) a major change in public consciousness about global warming and our vulnerability in oil and gas supply, 2) confirmation of peak oil theory in the data from last year's supply and demand, and 3) some very weighty changes in the geopolitical balances of power, as influenced by oil and gas. Now let's take a look at how those trends will develop in 2007.
RE Explodes
First and foremost, I think it's clear that 2007 is the year when renewable energy finally gets real. That is, it will make sense as an investment just on the return alone, no matter what your politics or your view on climate change may be. This tipping point for RE has been awaited for so long that the veterans in the wind and solar businesses (especially) have grown gray and wrinkled, waiting at the altar with a handful of long-dried brown flowers while their beards grew to the floor. But no more. This is it, baby!"
PD NOTE: This is analysis is better than most found in the mainstream, and it's fun to finally have a mainstream conversation about these vital issues!
http://greenchipstocks.com/eac_article.php?id=339
Jan. 10 - HYBRID VEHICLES: Automakers want money for electric car batteries - U.S. firms push Bush to help them catch up to Japan, By Justin Hyde, Free Press Washington Staff
Detroit automakers have suggested that the Bush administration triple money devoted to battery research and give incentives for building electric vehicle batteries in the United States, company executives said Tuesday.
The suggestions were sent to the White House in December, about a month after the heads of General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and the Chrysler Group met with President George W. Bush for an hour in the Oval Office. Officials said that conversation included a discussion of what the government could do to speed basic research into batteries."
PD NOTE: Amazing! American automakers actively disdained hybrids, fuel efficiency, environmental concerns, etc. Meanwhile, Japanese paid attention to these and zoomed ahead, with Toyota positioned to take over #1 automaker from GM this year. Now Detroit, after making and promoting serious gaz-guzzling planet-destroying machines for years, wants U.S. taxpayers to subsidize their catchup to the ones with foresight, the ones who looked and listened. Where were they then we needed them? When we were ringing the bell, they were raking in millions. Now they want our help? What happened to capitalistic survival of the fittest? Or is that just for "welfare mothers," teachers, and others who care about their communities? (See article about GM and hybrid below.)
www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070110/BUSINESS01/701100303/1002/BUSINESS
Call for Workshop Proposals - The Sustainable Enterprise Coalition, the Green MBA, and Sonoma State University are gearing up for our second annual conference, Sustainable Enterprise 2007: At Work. For Life. We are accepting proposals for workshops until Feb 2, 2007.
Our goal is to provide practical and interactive 90-minute workshops that stimulate discovery of what participants can do to develop sustainable practices in their enterprises, whether business, government, nonprofit or educational. We anticipate a broad-based audience and will be looking for a variety of workshops that address one or more of the following conference objectives."
...Last year the conference sold out at 230 participants and had close to 40 sponsors and 35 exhibitors. The theme of the conference was "Tools for the Transition." Check out <www.sec2006.com> for more details. This year we are planning for 400 participants. It will again be focused on practical tools that all types of enterprises can use to become more financially, environmentally, and socially sustainable. Check out <www.sec2007.com> and watch for more details."
For an email with more specfics about what they seek, contact <program@sec2007.com>.
Jan. 4, 2007 - What Every Company Should Know - Developing Business Leadership Know-How - by Ram Charan
There's something seriously wrong with the way we think about business leadership. We spend so much time debating the exact set of personality traits our leaders should have that we miss the most important thing: the know-how of running a business.
What difference does it make if a leader can rile up the troops if the direction is fundamentally wrong?
PD NOTE: I found this article a fascinating model/overview of key leadership skills in an enterprise. They talk about business, but the ideas could be applied to nonprofits or just to being successful leaders on sustainability issues - and supporting businesses and others in successfully leading on them as well. Our caring and good ideas aren't enough - what skills and manifestation do we need to accomplish to ensure vital changes are implemented? I found this article good food for thought...
http://finance.yahoo.com/columnist/article/companyknow/19125
Jan 4, 2007 - Smoke, Mirrors & Hot Air, Union of Concerned Scientists
A new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists offers the most comprehensive documentation to date of how ExxonMobil has adopted the tobacco industry's disinformation tactics, as well as some of the same organizations and personnel, to cloud the scientific understanding of climate change and delay action on the issue. According to the report, ExxonMobil has funneled nearly $16 million between 1998 and 2005 to a network of 43 advocacy organizations that seek to confuse the public on global warming science."
Smoke, Mirrors & Hot Air: How ExxonMobil Uses Big Tobacco's Tactics to Manufacture Uncertainty on Climate Change details how the oil company, like the tobacco industry in previous decades, has
* raised doubts about even the most indisputable scientific evidence
* funded an array of front organizations to create the appearance of a broad platform for a tight-knit group of vocal climate change contrarians who misrepresent peer-reviewed scientific findings
* attempted to portray its opposition to action as a positive quest for "sound science" rather than business self-interest
* used its access to the Bush administration to block federal policies and shape government communications on global warming."
PD NOTE: Corporate tactics like these pollute the public conversation and disempower our democracy, our right to make informed choices about our future, our health, and our world. Don't just accept information on face value, or average the information, assuming the truth is in the middle. Realize that even mainstream information can be enormously distorted and polluted with disinformation. Pay attention to the quality of your information. This is essential for our well-being and survival!
www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/ExxonMobil-GlobalWarming-tobacco.html
Jan. 3, 2007 - All and Nothing, By Joy Lanzendorfer, North Bay Bohemian
Marin County psychologist Marilyn Levine explains the price privilege exacts from our kids
The children of the wealthy are everywhere these days. Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie are always in the gossip columns. On MTV, 16-year-old princesses pout about their million-dollar birthday parties, and other rich teens star in their own faux-soap opera. Wealthy teenagers even go on talk shows like Dr. Phil and Oprah to explain their lives to the audience.
In the North Bay, we have our own share of affluent teenagers. There are dozens of private schools filled with teenagers who drive luxury cars, wear designer clothes and have an army of tutors to help them get into Ivy League schools. But unlike the wealthy teens you see on TV, these kids are usually articulate, high-achieving and polite. And many of them are also unhappy.
At least that's according to Marin County clinical psychologist Madeline Levine. For the last 25 years, Levine has been treating teenagers in her private practice for everything from drug addiction to eating disorders to clinical depression. She says that affluent teens are more depressed and anxious than teens from any other socioeconomic group, including the very poor. Wealthy adolescent girls can be three times more likely to suffer from clinical depression than other teen girls, and substance abuse rates are significantly higher among wealthy boys. On top of that, affluent adolescents have twice the rate of anxiety of most teenagers.
Last summer, Levine published The Price of Privilege, a book based on observations from her practice. The book sold so fast that it went through nine printings in the first four months.
I either hit a nerve or my editor wasn't that confident in me," she laughs, seated in her comfortable Kentfield home. "This problem is an epidemic. Everybody knows kids who are in trouble. Everybody knows that kid who slammed the Maserati into the wall or overdosed on methamphetamines."
PD NOTE: Another generation discovers through their children that money doesn't buy happiness, and that if it's obtained at the cost of one's heart and soul, by being superficial not authentic, then the deep darkness of depression, addiction, emptiness, etc. can be the cost.Even the "winners" in our current economic game are losing, because the game is too often built on destroying the planet, taking from the community, image over substance, and numbing ourselves so we don't feel the truth inside and out. I tried to play that game when I was younger and it was just too painful for me. It hurts me so much to see the predictable suffering that it brings to everyone, even those who succeed, but more importantly to me, to those who don't get a choice, those harmed by the destructive economic systems that these winners stand upon.
I dream, yearn, seek to help build economic systems that respect living systems and authentic hearts, with more equality of income, and fair pay for the wide range of contributions people make to society. Not just high sums to the current upper echelon who knows how to manipulate abstracts but isn't necessarily contributing, and is even harming, our community's quality of life and our survival - while those who do the real work in our society scrape by for just the necessities of life, while watching luxury on TV.
www.wbcsd.org/plugins/workspace/message.asp?WspaceId=50&msgId=NTU5OA
Jan. 3, 2007 - Money > Real Estate: Is going eco-friendly worth the cost?, By Sarah Max, Money Magazine contributing writer
Jason and Kelly Joseph don't drive a hybrid car. They don't shop exclusively in the natural foods aisle. And they don't lose sleep worrying about global warming.
But their house, a 2,800-square-foot Craftsman near Grand Rapids, would make the Environmental Defense Fund proud."
PD NOTE: Finally, environmental information is reaching mainstream sources, and being let in the door!
Jan. 2, 2007 - Alternative Energy - 2006 in Review, SeekingAlpha
Neal Dikeman submits: It's that time of year, when we look backwards over the past orbit of the sun, rise above the mundane of the day-to-day, and take stock of long-term trends.
I'll take my turn: in the world of clean energy, here's what I'll remember about 2006, Letterman-style (though, alas, not as wittily)"
http://biz.yahoo.com/seekingalpha/070102/23321_id.html?.v=1
Dec. 25, 2006 - Who Says It's Not Easy Being Green? - Investing in environmental technology may be more rewarding under the new Democrat-led Congress, By Emily Thornton, Business Week
Seven months ago, the shares of alternative energy producers were on fire. But a jittery stock market and plunging oil prices sent them tumbling. After surging 26% in 2006 through May 8, the Cleantech Index of 75 stocks was up just 5% in 2006 through Dec. 8, while the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index had risen 13%.
The slump is encouraging some analysts and money managers, who say bargains abound for investors willing to take a risk on people's desire to save the planet. Strategists tend to look past more familiar names, such as Pacific Ethanol (PEIX ) and Suntech Power Holdings Corp. (STP ), in favor of niche players. But most agree that the new, Democrat-led Congress is likely to benefit everyone in the green arena. In the first few trading sessions after the November election, for example, the PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy Portfolio, an exchange-traded fund of clean-energy stocks, rose 5%."
http://yahoo.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_52/b4015048.htm
PD NOTE: Another resource for green investing:
Dec 22, 2006 - Homeland Security unveils chemical-plant rules, By Laura Mandaro, MarketWatch
The U.S. Homeland Security Department proposed new regulations on Friday that would require chemical companies like DuPont and Dow Chemical Co. to tighten security at their U.S. plants.
The rules, which stem from concerns that an attack on chemical plants could prompt a deadly spill or explosion, would require companies to put in place a buffer zone outside the facilities, require personnel background checks and allow the DHS to perform site visits.
PD NOTE: In the Nov.-Dec. edition of The Next STEP newsletter, I discussed the huge hidden costs of to all of us from toxics in our society - to our health, safety, environment, and pocketbooks. I included in this the risk of terrorism at chemical plants. It's good to see some movement finally happening to reduce this risk. However, the costs for imperfect protection just adds to the total costs of toxics. The easiest solution is to drastically reduce our use of toxics to only those situations where the risk of harm is truly warranted and necessary.
>> For a related story, see: Chemical Plant Explodes Near Boston, By Glen Johnson, Associated Press Writer, Nov. 22, 2006
A chemical plant exploded early Wednesday, sparking a massive fire and blowing debris for blocks that damaged nearly 90 homes but caused only minor injuries, officials said.
"It looks like a war zone," Danvers Fire Chief James P. Tutko said after surveying the area by helicopter. "It's just - it's devastating."
www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=17027
Dec. 14, 2006 - Sebastopol's Fiesta Market takes Pacific Market name to be in conformity with SR, RP stores, Carol Benfell, Press Democrat
PD NOTE: The article has more about the store and the change. Note that they've changed the name on the store, but the vintage Fiesta sign on the highway will remain, with a change from "Market" to "Center". Also note the new store in Rohnert Park.
www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061214/NEWS/612140377&SearchID=73269946318567
Dec. 4, 2006 - Grist (a wonderful website for enviro info) has gathered together articles on biofuels, the pros and cons.
www.grist.org/news/maindish/2006/12/04/biofuels/
November 30, 2006 - GM pledges to make plug-in electric vehicle - CEO says development of vehicle is "top priority" as automaker tries to distance itself from gas-guzzler image, By Reuters
General Motors on Wednesday became the first automaker to commit to make a rechargeable hybrid vehicle, a move intended to distance the world's largest automaker from its reputation for producing gas-guzzling trucks.
Plug-in hybrid vehicles have the potential to sharply increase fuel efficiency by using advanced batteries to power them over short distances, according to proponents.
PD NOTE: GM was one of the ones that mocked Toyota when their hybrid first came out; now amazingly Toyota is set to overtake GM's lead position in automaking this year. GM abandoned their electric car, as described in the movie "Who Killed the Electric Car?" Now, way late, they want to get in the game. Well, better late than never, but some watchers have a "we'll see" attitude about whether this time they're really commit the resources, and more importantly, if they'll adjust their thinking from their gaz-guzzler, "I want to be macho, who cares about the planet" suicidal-for-us-all (including American industry) approach.
http://news.com.com/GM+pledges+to+make+plug-in+electric+vehicle/2100-11389_3-6139571.html
Nov. 29, 2006 - Business In The Beltway - Memo To Enviros: Go Easy, By Andrew T. Gillies, Forbes
Washington, D.C. - Five years ago, Roger Ballentine opened a lobbying and consulting shop, Green Strategies, to counsel companies on setting environmental agendas and dealing with eco-policy in Washington. At the time, he says, that corner of business was relatively quiet.
"Things have picked up. "It's just absolutely booming," says Ballentine.
PD COMMENT: Interesting advice in this column. However, I think it's less important to try to get something Bush would agree with and more important to hear the author's lesson about educating. Respect where Americans are, not politicians. Americans have heard Gore; Bush has not.
www.forbes.com/2006/11/29/beltway-elections-green-biz-wash-cz_ag_1129beltway.html?partner=yahootix
Nov. 28, 2006 - Death by Dust - The frightening link between the 9-11 toxic cloud and cancer, by Kristen Lombardi, Village Voice
To date, 75 recovery workers at ground zero have been diagnosed with blood cell cancers that a half-dozen top doctors and epidemiologists have confirmed as having been likely caused by that exposure. Ernie Vallabuona is one of them.
PD NOTE: In the Nov.-Dec. edition of The Next STEP newsletter, I discussed the huge hidden costs of to all of us from toxics in our society - to our health, safety, environment, and pocketbooks. I included in this the risk of terrorist events that widely spread high amounts of our everyday toxics into our air, water, and food. I also mentioned the growing evidence of such harm from 9/11. Just another example of the harm that we cause ourselves by allowing such high amounts of toxics in our daily lives. The easiest solution is to drastically reduce our use of toxics to only those situations where they're the only option and the risks truly warrant their use.
http://villagevoice.com/news/0648,lombardi,75156,2.html
Nov. 28, 2006 - Carbon emissions show sharp rise, By Richard Black, Environment correspondent, BBC News website
The rise in humanity's emissions of carbon dioxide has accelerated sharply, according to a new analysis.
The Global Carbon Project says that emissions were rising by less than 1% annually up to the year 2000, but are now rising at 2.5% per year.
It says the acceleration comes mainly from a rise in charcoal consumption and a lack of new energy efficiency gains.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6189600.stm
Nov. 26, 2006 - Green Energy: How alternative resources have gone from responsible to cost-effective, By Clark Mason and Michael Coit, The Press Democrat
The steam plumes rising from The Geysers geothermal field may be accompanied in a few years by another conspicuous sight - wind turbines as high as 30-story buildings.
PD NOTE: Information on local Sonoma County activities and ideas.
www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061126/NEWS/611260304/1033/NEWS01
Nov. 12, 2006 - BOOK REVIEW: The dilemma of America's 'disposable' workers, By STEPHANIE R. OLSON, ASSOCIATED PRESS
"The Disposable American" is a heartbreaking book by Louis Uchitelle, a business and labor reporter for the New York Times.
It discusses the economic rationale (or lack thereof) and the human repercussions of the recent increase in employee layoffs as an acceptable business strategy, Uchitelle outlines the evolution (and current devolution) in employee-employer relationships during the past century and the accompanying shift in mainstream economic theory.
October 30, 2006 - Slow Food movement has global outreach - Farmers, producers share knowledge at Italy convention, By Carol Ness, Chronicle Staff Writer
Turin, Italy -- Americans who think of Slow Food as an elite supper club for snobby food purists would be stunned by the scene unfolding inside the former Olympic speed skating arena here over the past four days.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/10/30/SLOWFOOD.TMP&nl=top
March 20, 2006 - Ethanol Industry Braces for Growing Pains, By Brad Foss, AP Business Writer
After Spurt of Good Fortune, Fledgling U.S. Ethanol Industry Anticipates Some Growing Pains
... But there's trouble looming: The ethanol industry might not be ready to satisfy the expected summertime jump in demand. And by crimping the overall supply of motor fuel, this could contribute to a spike in gasoline pump prices at the start of the country's peak driving season."
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=1747163
Nov. 16, 2005 - Senate Group to Unveil Oil-Saving Plan, By H. Josef Hebert, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - Efforts to stem America's appetite for oil, nearly two-thirds of which is imported, is getting new attention in the U.S. Congress with a push from an unusual coalition of environmentalists, evangelical Christians and conservatives.
The diverse groups are putting pressure on lawmakers to find ways to curtail oil use, especially in transport, and to promote alternative fuels and new technologies less dependent on fossil fuels.
Environmentalists view reduced oil use as a way to curtail pollution and lower the risk of climate change. A number of conservatives and others argue the dependence on oil imports poses a security threat.
Both liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans in Congress are listening. "
PD NOTE: This includes real actual solutions (like alternative energy) and tangible oil use reduction goals. Wow!
www.nrdc.org/news/newsDetails.asp?nID=1916
www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051117/NEWS/511170376/1036/BUSINESS
November 30, 2005 - How GE Captures New Energy Markets - Hydrogen, biofuels, solar, nukes-GE has staked big R&D bets on every energy future, By Gene Bylinsky, Fortune
PD NOTE: Although it is a bit of boosterism for GE (General Electric), and I don't necessarily agree with all the options, I thought this Fortune article had some interesting info on the current state and thoughts about alternative fuel sources and technology. Even though there's evidence that alternatives won't match all of oil's output, I think they will still be key. As oil gets more expensive and scarce, humans will develop energy sources, and if we don't want nuclear, coal, and deforestation to rule the day, we need to encourage healthier alternatives. And if business can find it profitable to make these, that's good, because they'll do more of it!
www.suite101.com/discussion.cfm/investing/78099/1146255
Also see article summarizing it at:
http://thefraserdomain.typepad.com/energy/2005/12/how_ge_captures.html
Nov. 16, 2005 - Sugar In The Tank, David Adams, Forbes
PD NOTE: This article discusses ethanol-based fuels in cars, current car-maker plans, and a trip by US Senators to Brazil, where drivers can buy "flex-fuel" cars (launced by Volkswagen in March 2003) and can buy either ethanol or ethanol/gas mix, but not just gas.
November 15, 2005 - PROZAC BACKLASH: Trouble in Prozac Nation, Fortune, By David Stipp
Wonder drugs of the 1990s, Prozac and its kin have been prescribed to tens of millions of people. But a growing backlash may portend the end of an era."
PD NOTE: Some of the real problems with these anti-depressant pharmaceuticals is finally coming to light. How often are people depressed by real problems in this world? Instead of trying to just stay happy, perhaps the real solution might be to address those problems. Perhaps, at times, the real solution for depression is action!
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2005/11/28/8361973/index.htm
November 8, 2005 - Sonoma County rejects GMO ban, By Bleys
W. Rose, Press Democrat
http://go.pressdemocrat.com/election2005/gmo.html
PD NOTE: Sadly Measure M, Sonoma County's GE-Free Initiative, did not pass. For more information about the Measure, including about the opponent's misinformation, see our information page.
Nov 7, 2005 - Agency sees world demand for oil climbing, By Anthony Deutsch (AP)
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - Global energy needs will surge 50 percent by 2030 and prices will rise if capacity is not significantly increased, the International Energy Agency said Monday in its 2005 World Energy Outlook.
PD NOTE: The Press Democrat's headline for this article (11/8/05 E2) was "Energy needs predicted to surge by 50% in 25 yrs. Report says reserves exist but $20 trillion needed to bring them to market"
www.newsobserver.com/24hour/business/story/2875009p-11538412c.html [Sorry, this link is gone and I can't find another copy of this article elsewhere]
Oct. 18, 2005 - Fuel costs threaten county's economy, Press Democrat, By Kevin McCallum
Analyst says wine, tourism may face consumer spending cuts
"There's a good chance that in the next six months things will look better, but ... there are risks out there that may prove me wrong."
... Two of the three foundations of Sonoma County's economy - wine and tourism - rely upon robust consumer spending, and if energy prices continue to take a larger bite out of people's budgets, trouble could lie ahead for those sectors.
http://pressdemocrat.com/evergreen/stories/101805_mccallum.html
Sept. 13, 2005 - Town to turn stinking hog manure into power, Reuters
www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/32480/story.htm
PD NOTE: A creative and offbeat example of how a whole (very small) town is thinking creatively about the alternative energy sources literally in their backyard. Where else can this approach be applied? What other creative ways can we use resources we already have in our communities.The local organic Straus dairy is using methane gas from their farm to power their farm. For more information, see
August 26, 2005 - Washington to be sued over global warming, By Andrew Buncombe in Washington
www.climateark.org/articles/reader.asp?linkid=45525
SUMMARY: "In a landmark judgment, a court in California has allowed a coalition of environmental groups to sue the US government over global warming - the first time a court has recognized the potentially disastrous impact of climate change." Two groups and four U.S. cities are suing "two federal development agencies that provide billions of dollars in loans to fund projects overseas. Some of the projects are power plants that emit greenhouse gases while others include pipeline projects that allow the transfer of oil....The lawsuit was brought by Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, along with the cities of Boulder, Colorado, and the Californian cities of Oakland, Santa Monica and Arcata. In the filing the cities argued that the impact of global warming - including rising sea levels and warmer ocean temperatures - would have a negative impact on their communities.
August 8, 2005 - SunOpta Signs Steam Explosion Equipment
Contract for a Wheat Straw to Ethanol Plant
Press Release
SunOpta Inc. signed a contract (worth 4.7 million Euros ($7.1M Cdn)) to supply its patented steam explosion equipment and process technology to Abener Energia S.A. of Seville, Spain, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Abengoa S.A., for the first commercial production facility in the world to convert wheat straw into ethanol. This facility, which is scheduled to be operational in the fall of 2006, will be built in Babilafuente (Salamanca), Spain and is located adjacent to an existing cereal grain to ethanol plant operated by Abengoa. Abengoa is the largest ethanol producer in Europe and the second largest in the world.
SunOpta is recognized as the world leader in the preparation, pretreatment, steam explosion and extraction of value added compounds from plant biomass material.
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=82712&p=irol-newsArticle&t=Regular&id=740842
June 22, 2005 - Fueling Fears, Philadelphia Inquirer, By Harold Brubaker
High crude oil prices - near $60 a barrel this week - are fueling debate about how much of nature's economic elixir is left on the planet.
http://peakoil.blogspot.com/2005/06/fueling-fears.html
May 2005 - Creating Cellulosic Ethanol: Spinning Straw into Fuel, eNews Bulletin
PD NOTE: This article makes what I think is a key point - that there are other sources than corn and soybeans, and that this can avoid some of the concerns about biofuels. I personally think that biofuels will need to be a key component of our next energy future, and that using waste, starting with ag waste, is a key idea that makes biofuels viable.The article says (when talking about using straw as the source): "While chemically identical to ethanol produced from corn or soybeans, cellulose ethanol exhibits a net energy content three times higher than corn ethanol and emits a low net level of greenhouse gases. Recent technological developments are not only improving yields but also driving down production cost, bringing us nearer to the day when cellulosic ethanol could replace expensive, imported "black gold" with a sustainable, domestically produced biofuel." Sounds good to me!
www.harvestcleanenergy.org/enews/enews_0505/enews_0505_Cellulosic_Ethanol.htm
Nov. 10, 2004 - Farm Fresh: Children learn to grow, cook, and eat seasonal foods from their own school garden, Press Democrat, Diane Peterson
PD NOTE: Includes inspiration and information about local places and projects.
www.canvasranch.com/FarmFresh111004.htm
For more about local Farm to School programs, see
http://groups.ucanr.org/GIM/Homegrown_Kids/
Very inspiring and informative speakers offering refreshing perspectives on the state of our shared work for the environment, saner politics, and healthier communities.
I especially commend the incredible speech by Robert F. Kennedy, jr. His writing and speaking offer a compelling combination of clear sight, essential facts, and moving feelings and experiences, so that through his eyes we can see what is and be inspired to join together to create what we want to be. He's also deft at avoiding mental traps that don't serve the larger cause - for instance, false separations between Democrats and Republicans. He says he's committed to being non-partisan, just describing what he sees, and that Americans of both parties share certain core values. Polls show, he says, that they're just getting vastly different information. I highly recommend hearing and reading anything he writes. www.sierrasummit2005.org/sierrasummit/coverage/r050.asp
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