FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 7, 2006
www.emagazine.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EarthTalk Media Partners: FREE reprint rights are available. Contact:
Doug Moss: (203) 854-5559/x106; doug@emagazine.com. For
interviews, contact editor Jim Motavalli/x107, jimm@emagazine.com.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E – The Environmental Magazine:
From Seattle to Stockholm, Ambitious Programs Seek to
Reduce Carbon Emissions to Fight Climate Change
In 1995, some 2,000 scientists from 100 countries reported to the United Nations that our burning of oil, coal and natural gas is changing the Earth’s climate. Ten years later, many of the same researchers believe the climate is changing faster than projected; and that the planet’s systems are far more sensitive to even very small degrees of warming than they had realized. The average global temperature, the report said, will rise by three to 10 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of this century.
New studies say that such changes are likely to cause a catastrophic meltdown on the roof of the world: in Greenland and Antarctica. Scientists say we have a decade to cut emissions to avoid a nightmare scenario that would flood not only below-sea-level New Orleans, but many other coastal areas around the world as well. “Climate change may be the greatest environmental challenge of this generation,” says the “Climate Change and Ecological Health” paper prepared by the Consultative Group on Biological Diversity.
As E – The Environmental Magazine reports in its July/August 2006 issue, states and countries around the world have begun making major changes in the way they do business. The debate over global warming is over, but the hard work of combating it is only just beginning, starting small with initiatives that, alone, can't turn the climate juggernaut around but, taken together, can have discernible impact.
The best initiatives use novel approaches to achieve real emission reductions, tapping into and modifying consumer habits and ingrained business practices. E’s story is a nation-by-nation guide to climate change reduction initiatives, told by the people who are making them happen. Compiled from correspondents around the world, E’s feature highlights innovation, circa 2006, that can be easily duplicated anywhere:
Seattle, Washington: As of May 4, 230 U.S. mayors had signed onto the Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement, which commits signatories to acting locally to address global warming. The agreement, launched by Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, started with 10 signers in March 2005, but has been expanding daily. Check Mayor Nickels’ web site today and you’re likely to find far more than 230 names.
San Francisco: There are 60,000 square feet of solar panels on San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center, enough to power 675 houses, and all new municipal buildings in the city by the bay must comply with U.S. Green Building Council standards.
Portland, Oregon: Transportation activists and the “Green Team” (made up of city employee volunteers) sponsor Car Free and Care Free (CFCF) weeks that encourage employees to get out of their cars by tele-commuting or using alternative transportation. In 2005, 1,900 commuters took part, avoiding 37,630 auto trips, 317,000 vehicle miles and 317,974 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
Hull, Massachusetts: Hull now has not one but two wind turbines. Hull Wind II, a 1.8-megawatt Vestas turbine, was recently installed at the town’s landfill and is expected to produce three times the electricity of the first and enable Hull to get 10 percent of its energy from wind. By 2010, the city wants to install four offshore turbines totaling 15 megawatts, and in time to have 100 percent renewably generated power.
Chicago: Mayor Richard Daley ordered all new police and fire stations, schools and libraries to be certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, an initiative that spurred programs in New York, Salt Lake City and elsewhere. Since 2001, when the mayor installed an energy-conserving, heat-reducing roof on City Hall, 200 other green roofs have been constructed in the city. The city has also planted 500,000 trees.
New Mexico: The land of enchantment is stepping up to the climate change challenge by lassoing its most abundant resource: the sun. In April, state officials signed a lease for a massive, $1.6 billion solar facility on state lands near the town of New Deming, in the southern part of the state. The 300-megawatt solar farm will generate enough juice for 240,000 homes, and will be the world’s largest solar operation.
Sweden: In 2005, Sweden announced its goal to break the country’s dependency of oil by 2020. Green friendly cars in Sweden already receive a package of tax reductions, free parking and exemption from environmental charges, such as Stockholm’s congestion fee. Further, all major gas stations in Sweden are obligated by law to offer either sustainably produced ethanol or “biogas”methane from landfills.
Estonia: Internet mogul Rainer Nõlvak wants to establish 100 percent green energy in Estonia. Marek Strandberg, chair of the Estonian Fund for Nature, likes the idea. “Estonia could be 100 percent sustainable,” with regard to power and heat, he says. “We have adequate wind resources. We can combine wind with a power link to Sweden, allowing us to buy energy on calm days and to sell on windy days.”
Nigeria: Gas flaring, or the burning off of natural gas by-products, has been going on in the Niger Delta for 40 years. Flaring in Nigeria releases more CO2 than all other climate-related emissions in Sub-Saharan Africa combined. Due to pressure from environmental groups, Nigeria has set a deadline for 2008 to end the practice, and to get oil companies to capture and re-use the gas for export and local use.
China: China passed a comprehensive renewable energy law that went into effect last January. It enabled widespread development of solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower and biomass, and encourages research into tidal power. The government has set an impressive target of 15 percent renewable energy by 2020.
India: The Centre for Science and Environment is pressuring its government to introduce fuel-efficiency standards and research new vehicle technology. India is also working to develop its first battery-powered electric car, the Reva, which is being test marketed in other countries, including Japan and China.
E’s comprehensive feature story on climate change initiatives is available for reprinting at no cost to magazines, newspapers, websites and other periodicals. Interested editors should contact publisher Doug Moss at: (203) 854-5559/x106 or at doug@emagazine.com.
July 7, 2006
www.emagazine.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EarthTalk Media Partners: FREE reprint rights are available. Contact:
Doug Moss: (203) 854-5559/x106; doug@emagazine.com. For
interviews, contact editor Jim Motavalli/x107, jimm@emagazine.com.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E – The Environmental Magazine:
From Seattle to Stockholm, Ambitious Programs Seek to
Reduce Carbon Emissions to Fight Climate Change
In 1995, some 2,000 scientists from 100 countries reported to the United Nations that our burning of oil, coal and natural gas is changing the Earth’s climate. Ten years later, many of the same researchers believe the climate is changing faster than projected; and that the planet’s systems are far more sensitive to even very small degrees of warming than they had realized. The average global temperature, the report said, will rise by three to 10 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of this century.
New studies say that such changes are likely to cause a catastrophic meltdown on the roof of the world: in Greenland and Antarctica. Scientists say we have a decade to cut emissions to avoid a nightmare scenario that would flood not only below-sea-level New Orleans, but many other coastal areas around the world as well. “Climate change may be the greatest environmental challenge of this generation,” says the “Climate Change and Ecological Health” paper prepared by the Consultative Group on Biological Diversity.
As E – The Environmental Magazine reports in its July/August 2006 issue, states and countries around the world have begun making major changes in the way they do business. The debate over global warming is over, but the hard work of combating it is only just beginning, starting small with initiatives that, alone, can't turn the climate juggernaut around but, taken together, can have discernible impact.
The best initiatives use novel approaches to achieve real emission reductions, tapping into and modifying consumer habits and ingrained business practices. E’s story is a nation-by-nation guide to climate change reduction initiatives, told by the people who are making them happen. Compiled from correspondents around the world, E’s feature highlights innovation, circa 2006, that can be easily duplicated anywhere:
Seattle, Washington: As of May 4, 230 U.S. mayors had signed onto the Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement, which commits signatories to acting locally to address global warming. The agreement, launched by Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, started with 10 signers in March 2005, but has been expanding daily. Check Mayor Nickels’ web site today and you’re likely to find far more than 230 names.
San Francisco: There are 60,000 square feet of solar panels on San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center, enough to power 675 houses, and all new municipal buildings in the city by the bay must comply with U.S. Green Building Council standards.
Portland, Oregon: Transportation activists and the “Green Team” (made up of city employee volunteers) sponsor Car Free and Care Free (CFCF) weeks that encourage employees to get out of their cars by tele-commuting or using alternative transportation. In 2005, 1,900 commuters took part, avoiding 37,630 auto trips, 317,000 vehicle miles and 317,974 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
Hull, Massachusetts: Hull now has not one but two wind turbines. Hull Wind II, a 1.8-megawatt Vestas turbine, was recently installed at the town’s landfill and is expected to produce three times the electricity of the first and enable Hull to get 10 percent of its energy from wind. By 2010, the city wants to install four offshore turbines totaling 15 megawatts, and in time to have 100 percent renewably generated power.
Chicago: Mayor Richard Daley ordered all new police and fire stations, schools and libraries to be certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, an initiative that spurred programs in New York, Salt Lake City and elsewhere. Since 2001, when the mayor installed an energy-conserving, heat-reducing roof on City Hall, 200 other green roofs have been constructed in the city. The city has also planted 500,000 trees.
New Mexico: The land of enchantment is stepping up to the climate change challenge by lassoing its most abundant resource: the sun. In April, state officials signed a lease for a massive, $1.6 billion solar facility on state lands near the town of New Deming, in the southern part of the state. The 300-megawatt solar farm will generate enough juice for 240,000 homes, and will be the world’s largest solar operation.
Sweden: In 2005, Sweden announced its goal to break the country’s dependency of oil by 2020. Green friendly cars in Sweden already receive a package of tax reductions, free parking and exemption from environmental charges, such as Stockholm’s congestion fee. Further, all major gas stations in Sweden are obligated by law to offer either sustainably produced ethanol or “biogas”methane from landfills.
Estonia: Internet mogul Rainer Nõlvak wants to establish 100 percent green energy in Estonia. Marek Strandberg, chair of the Estonian Fund for Nature, likes the idea. “Estonia could be 100 percent sustainable,” with regard to power and heat, he says. “We have adequate wind resources. We can combine wind with a power link to Sweden, allowing us to buy energy on calm days and to sell on windy days.”
Nigeria: Gas flaring, or the burning off of natural gas by-products, has been going on in the Niger Delta for 40 years. Flaring in Nigeria releases more CO2 than all other climate-related emissions in Sub-Saharan Africa combined. Due to pressure from environmental groups, Nigeria has set a deadline for 2008 to end the practice, and to get oil companies to capture and re-use the gas for export and local use.
China: China passed a comprehensive renewable energy law that went into effect last January. It enabled widespread development of solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower and biomass, and encourages research into tidal power. The government has set an impressive target of 15 percent renewable energy by 2020.
India: The Centre for Science and Environment is pressuring its government to introduce fuel-efficiency standards and research new vehicle technology. India is also working to develop its first battery-powered electric car, the Reva, which is being test marketed in other countries, including Japan and China.
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E’s comprehensive feature story on climate change initiatives is available for reprinting at no cost to magazines, newspapers, websites and other periodicals. Interested editors should contact publisher Doug Moss at: (203) 854-5559/x106 or at doug@emagazine.com.
E/The Environmental Magazine
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