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| JANUARY 17, 2008 THIS ISSUE'S SPONSOR
 Subscribe to ClimateBiz.com RSS Headlines The Latest News on Climate Management Matsushita to Include Emissions as Performance Indicator Banks Take Steps Addressing Climate Change but Long Road Ahead: Report Climate Registry Gains 54 New Members F.T.C. Kicks Off Green Marketing Hearings All Commercial Buildings Can Be Carbon Neutral, U.K. Report Finds Calif. Leads Legal Challenge Against EPA Dow, FPL, Bloomberg and Goldman Sachs Join Climate Group Peabody Joins Chinese Clean-Coal Project U.C. San Diego Joins Chicago Climate Exchange PPG Sets New GHG Emissions Goal World Bank Launches Finance Program to Reward Forest Preservation  Features & Columns Leading Thinking on Climate Issues Is Mainstream Media Stepping up to Its Role in Climate Fight? Asia and The Age of Sustainability: Where The East Has an Edge Renewable Energy Firms Strike Gold with Green Employee Benefits Tools & Resources Reports, Research and Tips You Can Use A New Mindset for Corporate Sustainability RETScreen Clean Energy Decision Making Tool |   FEATURED EVENT Host: Koelnmesse, Inc. Carbon Forum America is set to become the leading trade show and conference program in North America serving international business, government and science communities in trading, monitoring, crediting and compliance of carbon emission.    YOUR AD HERE! Become a ClimateBiz News sponsor or advertiser, reaching tens of thousands of businesses every month. Click Here to receive more information. Please e-mail content queries to the Editor. | |||
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A personal quest to promote the use of wind energy and hydrogen technology in the Great Lakes area of the United States. The Great Lakes area is in a unique position to become an energy exporting region through these and other renewable energy technologies. *Update 2014: Just do it everywhere - Dan*
Thursday, January 17, 2008
ClimateBiz News : January 17, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Dean Baker | A Green Lining
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/011608E.shtml
In The Guardian UK, Dean Baker writes: "According to the business press, a near majority of economists are now predicting recessions. Economists don't predict recessions. Almost all of them missed both the 2001 and the 1990-1991 recessions. Economists' predictions of a recession are a lagging indicator showing that we are in fact in a recession."
Got News for 1/23/08 Issue of the IREC State & Stakeholder Newsletter?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Got News for 1/23/08 State & Stakeholder Newsletter? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The next issue of IREC's State & Stakeholder Newsletter will be on Wednesday, January 23, 2008. If you have news you'd like to have in that issue, send it to me by Monday, January 21, 2008. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
| Contact Information ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ email: jpulaski@austin.rr.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
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Great Lakes Daily News: 16 January 2008
A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network and The
Environment Report.
For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/
Ontario Premier reveals support for offshore energy plan
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Offshore wind could play an important role in the development of renewable energy resources in Ontario, said Premier Dalton McGuinty in confirming that an official announcement on wind power in the Great Lakes is coming soon. Source: The Toronto Star (1/16)
'Pigboats' once called on Grand Traverse Bay
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At the turn of the 20th century, vessels called pigboats because of their distinctive bows were closely identified with the Great Lakes, most of them serving as bulk carriers. Source: Leelanau Enterprise (1/16)
COMMENTARY: Fix economy with manufacturing jobs
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A well-funded education reform, targeted tax policies and a national energy policy are some of things needed to restore America's manufacturing might and fight the current recession. Source: Detroit Free Press (1/16)
Worry in Michigan as forests change hands
----------------------------------------
Land development companies have acquired thousands of forest acres in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, causing many people there to be concerned about possible changes in their traditional way of life. Source: The New York Times (1/16)
Herons persist in Chicago wetlands despite exposure to banned chemicals
----------------------------------------
Herons nesting in the wetlands of southeast Chicago are still being exposed to chemicals banned in the U.S. in the 1970s, but the chemicals do not appear to be affecting the birds' reproductive success. Source: Physorg.com (1/16)
Iron ore shipping season wraps up
----------------------------------------
The last iron ore freighter of the season pushed through the Soo Locks before they closed Tuesday, ushering in the official winter break for the Lake Superior shipping season. Source: The Marquette Mining Journal (1/16)
Ontario reconsidering Great Lakes wind farm moratoriun
----------------------------------------
News that Ontario may end a moratorium on offshore wind turbines in the Great Lakes is drawing a mixed reaction from those who live around Lake Erie. Source: The Windsor Star (1/15)
Ship runs aground, sinks in Duluth-Superior Harbor
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A 1,000-foot lake freighter is aground in the Duluth-Superior Harbor after it took on water and sank while docking for the winter. Crews are scrambling to get water out of the ship before it freezes in sub-zero temperatures. Source: Minnesota Public Radio (1/15)
Biofuels law attracts opposition
----------------------------------------
The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, recently signed by President Bush, is facing criticism from stalwarts of environmental protection who are concerned with the consequences of increased corn production. Source: United Press International (1/15)
Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story
archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html
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Great Lakes Daily News is a collaborative project of the Great Lakes
Information Network (www.glin.net) and The Environment Report
(www.glrc.org), both based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
TO SUBSCRIBE and receive this Great Lakes news compendium daily, see
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Support GLIN Daily News: http://www.glin.net/news/sponsor/
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Great Lakes Daily News: 16 January 2008
A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network and The
Environment Report.
For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/
Ontario Premier reveals support for offshore energy plan
----------------------------------------
Offshore wind could play an important role in the development of renewable energy resources in Ontario, said Premier Dalton McGuinty in confirming that an official announcement on wind power in the Great Lakes is coming soon. Source: The Toronto Star (1/16)
'Pigboats' once called on Grand Traverse Bay
----------------------------------------
At the turn of the 20th century, vessels called pigboats because of their distinctive bows were closely identified with the Great Lakes, most of them serving as bulk carriers. Source: Leelanau Enterprise (1/16)
COMMENTARY: Fix economy with manufacturing jobs
----------------------------------------
A well-funded education reform, targeted tax policies and a national energy policy are some of things needed to restore America's manufacturing might and fight the current recession. Source: Detroit Free Press (1/16)
Worry in Michigan as forests change hands
----------------------------------------
Land development companies have acquired thousands of forest acres in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, causing many people there to be concerned about possible changes in their traditional way of life. Source: The New York Times (1/16)
Herons persist in Chicago wetlands despite exposure to banned chemicals
----------------------------------------
Herons nesting in the wetlands of southeast Chicago are still being exposed to chemicals banned in the U.S. in the 1970s, but the chemicals do not appear to be affecting the birds' reproductive success. Source: Physorg.com (1/16)
Iron ore shipping season wraps up
----------------------------------------
The last iron ore freighter of the season pushed through the Soo Locks before they closed Tuesday, ushering in the official winter break for the Lake Superior shipping season. Source: The Marquette Mining Journal (1/16)
Ontario reconsidering Great Lakes wind farm moratoriun
----------------------------------------
News that Ontario may end a moratorium on offshore wind turbines in the Great Lakes is drawing a mixed reaction from those who live around Lake Erie. Source: The Windsor Star (1/15)
Ship runs aground, sinks in Duluth-Superior Harbor
----------------------------------------
A 1,000-foot lake freighter is aground in the Duluth-Superior Harbor after it took on water and sank while docking for the winter. Crews are scrambling to get water out of the ship before it freezes in sub-zero temperatures. Source: Minnesota Public Radio (1/15)
Biofuels law attracts opposition
----------------------------------------
The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, recently signed by President Bush, is facing criticism from stalwarts of environmental protection who are concerned with the consequences of increased corn production. Source: United Press International (1/15)
Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story
archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Great Lakes Daily News is a collaborative project of the Great Lakes
Information Network (www.glin.net) and The Environment Report
(www.glrc.org), both based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
TO SUBSCRIBE and receive this Great Lakes news compendium daily, see
www.glin.net/forms/dailynews_form.html
TO UNSUBSCRIBE: Send a message to majordomo@great-lakes.net with the
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UW-Madison News Release--2008 Wisconsin Idea awards
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
01/16/08
PHOTO EDITORS: High-resolution images are available at
http://www.news.wisc.edu/newsphotos/baldwin2008.html
CONTACT: Peyton Smith, (608) 262-8214, plsmith@wisc.edu
2008 WISCONSIN IDEA GRANTS LOADED WITH COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
MADISON - Interested in having more locally grown meat and produce available in your hometown grocery store?
How about exploring thousands of aerial photos online that show what Wisconsin's landscape looked like 70 years ago, including your own neighborhood?
Or a project that could tell you how global climate change may affect your spring planting patterns, or your hunting and fishing seasons in Wisconsin?
The 2008 Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment will be covering those interests and much more this year, with more than $900,000 in support for 15 projects targeting issues related to education, health, the economy and the environment.
This represents nearly twice the average payout of past years, thanks to the 6-year-old endowment reaching financial maturity.
"The Baldwin endowment is a powerful way to keep The Wisconsin Idea at the forefront of our strategic direction," says University of Wisconsin-Madison Provost Patrick Farrell. "The collaborative projects in this generous endowment show there is a strong desire on campus and across the state to build more direct partnerships between the campus and communities. This endowment provides a level of financial support that can make a real impact."
More than 100 proposals were submitted this year, and all of them require a community co-sponsor, says Peyton Smith, assistant vice chancellor for campus outreach. The projects range in support from $5,000 to $100,000, depending on their length and scope.
"What we're funding now through the Baldwin endowment competition is long-term capacity-building efforts for providing value to the state, as well as one-time individual projects," Smith says. "We're now able to ask, 'what projects are going to have a longer life beyond the grant?'"
For example, one 2008 project coordinated by the School of Education and the Center for Biology Education will help the university better serve schools and community organizations across Wisconsin by connecting students and teachers to science-based programs. Literally hundreds of science outreach programs already exist on campus, but a more coordinated effort will help match interested parties with the right service.
Another such project is the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts, developed by the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. This center will team UW-Madison experts with the Department of Natural Resources and other agencies to look at the real policy impacts of climate change in Wisconsin - on agriculture, business, recreation, city management and other areas.
Horticulture professor Brent McCown is behind another funded project that could have a wide-ranging impact on both farmers and consumers in the state. The project will look at tackling distribution challenges that make it difficult to get more regionally grown food into mainstream grocery chains.
Building regional distribution networks could reinvigorate state rural areas, improve farm profitability and feed a growing appetite for locally grown foods, he says.
"Existing local food projects have tended to focus on niche markets and localized efforts," McCown says. "In light of the soaring popularity of local foods, it is time to move from the specialty boutique market to the mainstream."
The state Department of Agriculture and other regional food coops and planning groups are supporting the project. McCown says he plans to convene advisory panels and begin discussions with key stakeholders this spring.
Another funded 2008 project will take a rare and fragile existing resource and open it to the public online. UW-Madison's Robinson Map Library has a collection of the oldest aerial photos on record of Wisconsin, taken from 1937-1941 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. One out of every three visitors to Robinson Library come to access this unparalleled collection, says library Director Jaime Stoltenberg, to investigate issues such as invasive species, property disputes, real estate development, urban sprawl and other land use changes.
"We hope that by making the collection available online, every resident of Wisconsin and elsewhere will have a much easier time getting the information they need or want," she says.
Private companies may charge $300 an hour on digitization efforts, but this project will be done at a fraction of the cost and provide valuable training to students, says geology Professor Mark Harrower. It also saves a resource that is getting more brittle by the day.
"Anyone interested in studying Wisconsin's past and how the landscape has evolved should benefit from this," Harrower says.
Now in its sixth year, the Baldwin endowment has supported 55 diverse projects. The grants are meant to further the century-old Wisconsin Idea, which holds that the impact of the university should extend beyond its borders and address the pressing needs of state residents.
Other projects include:
• African storytelling on wheels: This project will bring UW-Madison's renowned African storytelling program to elementary schools across the state, with a special focus on districts that lack racial diversity.
• Global 'hot spots:' One of the most popular international outreach programs, "Global Hot Spots" is a monthly lecture series by UW experts on current events around the world. This project will create an online video archive of two years' worth of lectures, giving it greater state exposure.
• Developing a 3-D Globe: UW-Madison's Space Science and Engineering Center helped create an interactive weather globe for a Virginia museum which provides the perception of looking at world weather patterns from outer space. Organizers are going to reproduce the awe-inspiring exhibit for K-12 students in Wisconsin.
• Animal science in northern Wisconsin: More than 600 northern Wisconsin students will participate in this workshop, which uses veterinary medicine as a pragmatic tool to show the real-world value of science. It's based on successful pilot programs run by UW-Madison's Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.
• The evolution literacy project: A team of science and education faculty at UW-Madison is planning to public education projects on the importance and relevance of evolution science - a timely issue given recent political battles over evolution teaching.
• Hip-hop for all: An innovative UW-Madison program centered around spoken word and hip-hop culture will take a theater ensemble on the road, with performances geared toward K-12 schools, juvenile detention centers, colleges and other public venues.
• Literacy in the pediatric setting: Tapping into the great influence health care providers have over families, this project will get nursing and medical staff directly involved in an early-childhood reading program at American Family Children's Hospital.
• Sharing in the discovery: This effort seeks to build a greater understanding of the potential of stem cell research and regenerative medicine into science outreach programs. The program will harness many existing programs, including "Science Expeditions" and "Grandparents University."
• Strategic strikes on invasives: Only a small fraction of the state's lakes are vulnerable to infestation by damaging invasive species. This project will arm lake associations with the research knowledge to put their prevention efforts to the best possible use against problem species.
• Small-scale science: The new Microbial Sciences Building will be home to an interactive science museum called "Microbe Place: Learning Science through Small Things." This grant will help fund an exhibit of leafcutter ants that illustrate the world of microbiology.
• Madison math makeover: This project will help the Madison Metropolitan School District conduct a review of its K12 math curriculum and develop a report on effective math teaching and learning strategies that can shared statewide.
###
- Brian Mattmiller, (608) 262-0930, bsmattmi@wisc.edu
****************************************************
For questions or comments about UW-Madison's email
news release system, please send an email to:
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University Communications
University of Wisconsin-Madison
27 Bascom Hall
500 Lincoln Drive
Madison, WI 53706
Phone: (608) 262-3571
Fax: (608) 262-2331
ENN: Inflatable cars, Barroso hits back, family cars consuming US grain crop and much more...
| |  |  | Wednesday, January 16, 2008 | ||
| News of Note BEIJING (Reuters) - China's wind power generating capacity surged to 5.6 gigawatts by the end of last year, but over a quarter of it is still not connected to the grid because of bad planning, an industry expert said on Wednesday. Shi Pengfei, vice-president of the Chinese wind energy association, said capacity growth in 2008 is likely to speed up, with another 4 GW expected to be added by the booming industry. Top Stories Inflatable cars? What?!! A Bay Area startup, XP vehicles is tossing in its radical idea for a proposed ultra light, ultra-efficient car that is powered by both fuel cells and batteries. The body of this radical concept is proposed to be made up of preinflated airbags, of which, the company claims will be so safe that you could actually drive the car off of a 25-ft cliff without inflicting injury. The inflatable car is scheduled to be targeted at Asian markets initially. Water, our most basic need, is poised to be the most baffling challenge of the 21st century. It is being ignored wantonly at a time when more than 1 million people per year die from its scarcity and contamination. Children under age five account for at least 90 percent of water-related deaths. Meanwhile, economic productivity and educational opportunities are lost to illness, leaving millions more in an impoverished state even if they do survive their first five years of life. Access to water is a human right. Yet that statement makes many people uncomfortable. Most in the developed world can hardly imagine water being anything more than a nominal expense that is easily drawn from a faucet. They think, "Surely it is a commodity to be bought and sold. It hardly costs anything, and it is even reusable, so what's the big deal?" The World Bank has emerged as one of the key backers behind an explosion of cattle ranching in the Amazon, which new research has identified as the greatest threat to the survival of the rainforest. One car gets 46 miles per gallon, features fancy accessories, and sports two engines with a combined 145 horsepower. The other car reportedly gets 54 miles per gallon, runs on a diminutive 30-horsepower engine, and is positively spartan in its interior trimmings. The first is a darling of the environmentally conscious. The latter is reviled as a climate wrecker. These two vehicles are the Toyota Prius and the newly unveiled Tata Nano, dubbed “the people’s" car. Is there a double standard? | ENN Spotlight
But could something in the environment also be making Americans fat in epidemic numbers? More Top Stories
A week before the European Union executive unveils a fiercely contested package of proposals to cut greenhouse gas emissions, boost renewable energy sources and promote biofuels, Barroso said the EU must "put our money where our mouth is."
Grain prices are near record levels as the United States produces more ethanol, now made mostly from corn, to blend with gasoline and stretch available motor fuel supplies.
The discount retailer also said the stores will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by cutting down on refrigeration costs. The first of these new energy-saving stores is set to open January 23 in Romeoville, Illinois. |  |        | ||
| Explore ENN.COM Animals | Agriculture | Ecosystems | Energy | Business | Climate | Pollution | Green Building | Sci/Tech | Lifestyle | Health | |||||
| Member Press Releases By: the Center for Biological Diversity In a January 7, 2008, memo, Mike Lockhart, who retired from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in frustration after 32 years - including the past eight years as the leader of the black-footed ferret recovery program - strongly criticized the agency's leadership for making back-room deals with the state of South Dakota and U.S. Forest Service that undermined the black-footed ferret recovery program by allowing poisoning of prairie dogs. Black-footed ferrets depend on prairie dog colonies for survival; prairie dogs are their primary prey, and prairie dog burrows are used as shelter and dens. By: the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment The National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) will present a Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr. Robert W. Corell, Global Change Program Director at The H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment, and Senior Policy Fellow of the American Meteorological Society, on Thursday, January 17, 2008 in Washington, D.C. Given for a lifetime of leadership and achievement in advancing environmental science and its use in decision-making, the award will be presented during NCSE's 8th national conference, Climate Change: Science and Solutions, at a special ceremony at 5:30 p.m., at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. By: the Environmental Law Institute The deadline for nomination forms for the 2008 National Wetlands Awards Program has been extended by 15 days. The National Wetlands Awards Program honors individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary commitment to the conservation and restoration of our nation's wetlands. All submissions for the 2008 Awards program must be received by January 31, 2008. By: Great Ape Trust of Iowa The Rwandan government, Great Ape Trust of Iowa and Earthpark have announced that the Gishwati Forest Reserve is the future site of the Rwanda National Conservation Park, setting into motion one of Africa's most ambitious forest restoration and ecological research efforts ever. The selection of Gishwati as the location for Rwanda's first national conservation park comes less than three months after the project was unveiled at the Clinton Global Initiative by Rwanda President H.E. Paul Kagame and Ted Townsend, founder of Great Ape Trust and Earthpark. By: the International Fund for Animal Welfare The International Fund of Animal Welfare (IFAW) held a landmark "Lobster Gear Summit" today in conjunction with the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen's Association (AOLA), connecting regional lobstermen groups with fishing gear manufacturers, federal and state fisheries officials and rope-recycling specialists for a day of information sharing, fact-gathering and strategic planning. The meeting was held in order to discuss what is needed for industry-wide compliance toward recent equipment mandates issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). By: the Globe Foundation of Canada A report by the National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE), states Canada can achieve greenhouse gas reduction targets of 20 percent by 2020 and 65 percent by 2050 by implementing a clear, consistent and certain emission price signal across the Canadian economy as soon as possible. The report, Getting to 2050: Canada's Transition to a Low-emission Future, argues the immediate introduction of market-based policy in the form of an emission tax or a cap-and-trade system or a combination of the two is economically feasible and quite likely only way of achieving the government's stated emission reduction targets. By: the Center for Biological Diversity The federal government Friday proposed protecting the black abalone as "endangered" under the Endangered Species Act. The action comes in response to a formal administrative petition filed by the Center for Biological Diversity in December 2006 that sought protection of the species. The black abalone, an intertidal mollusk historically ranging from near the California-Oregon border to Cape San Lucas, Baja California, has declined by as much as 99 percent in most of its range. By: World Land Trust On the 17th January the World Land Trust and their Patron, Sir David Attenborough, will launch Webcam in the Forest at the Linnaean Society of London, as part of its ongoing program of showing to the world at large, conservation in action. Editor's Note : 'Network News' features press releases submitted directly by organizations in ENN's member network. This content is not specifically endorsed or supported by ENN and is not subject to ENN's editorial process. | |||||
| Home | Member Press Releases | Submit News | Contact ENN | | |||||
Being fat has long been seen as a personal problem, fixed only by struggling against the proliferation of fast food restaurants, unlucky genes, and a sedentary life.
STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso hit back on Wednesday at criticism from member states and industry of planned radical proposals to fight climate change and save energy.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Almost a third of the U.S. grain crop next year may be diverted from the family dinner table to the family car as fuel, putting upward pressure on food prices, a leading expert warned on Tuesday.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's largest retailer, said on Tuesday it will open four stores that use 25 percent less energy than its supercenters that were in operation in 2005.
Earth Policy Institute News Release -- Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization
Earth Policy Institute
News Release
January 16, 2008
PLAN B 3.0: MOBILIZING TO SAVE CIVILIZATION
http://www.earth-policy.org/Books/PB3/index.htm
Lester R. Brown
“In late summer 2007, reports of ice melting were coming at a frenetic pace. Experts were ‘stunned’ when an area of Arctic sea ice almost twice the size of Britain disappeared in a single week,” writes Lester R. Brown in his new book, Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization (W.W. Norton & Company).
“Nearby, the Greenland ice sheet was melting so fast that huge chunks of ice weighing several billion tons were breaking off and sliding into the sea, triggering minor earthquakes,” notes Brown, President and Founder of the Earth Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based independent environmental research organization.
These recent developments are alarming scientists. If we cannot stop this melting of the Greenland ice sheet, sea level will eventually rise 23 feet, inundating many of the world’s coastal cities and the rice-growing river deltas of Asia. It will force several hundred million people from their homes, generating an unimaginable flood of rising-sea refugees.
“We need not go beyond ice melting to see that civilization is in trouble. Business-as-usual is no longer a viable option. It is time for Plan B,” Brown says in Plan B 3.0, which was produced with major funding from the Farview, Lannan, Summit, and Wallace Genetic foundations, the U.N. Population Fund, Fred and Alice Stanback, and Andrew Stevenson.
“Plan B 3.0 is a comprehensive plan for reversing the trends that are fast undermining our future. Its four overriding goals are to stabilize climate, stabilize population, eradicate poverty, and restore the earth’s damaged ecosystems,” says Brown. “Failure to reach any one of these goals will likely mean failure to reach the others as well.”
Continuing rapid population growth is weakening governments in scores of countries. The annual addition of 70 million people to world population is concentrated in countries where water tables are falling and wells are going dry, forests are shrinking, soils are eroding, and grasslands are turning into desert. As this backlog of unresolved problems grows, stresses mount and weaker governments begin to break down.
The defining characteristic of a failing state is the inability of a government to provide security for its people. Somalia, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, and Pakistan are among the better known examples. Each year the number of failing states increases. “Failing states,” notes Brown, “are an early sign of a failing civilization.”
“Even as the accumulating backlog of unresolved problems is leading to a breakdown of governments in weaker states, new stresses are emerging. Among these are rising oil prices as the world approaches peak oil, rising food prices as an ever larger share of the U.S. grain harvest is converted into fuel for cars, and the spreading fallout from climate change.”
“At the heart of the climate-stabilizing initiative cited above is a detailed plan to cut carbon dioxide emissions 80 percent by 2020 in order to hold the future temperature rise to a minimum. This initiative has three major components -- raising energy efficiency, developing renewable sources of energy, and expanding the earth’s tree cover. Reaching these goals,” says Brown, “will mean the world can phase out all coal-fired power plants.”
In setting the carbon reduction goals for Plan B, we did not ask “What do politicians think is politically feasible?” but rather “What do we think is needed to prevent irreversible climate change?” This is not Plan A: business-as-usual. This is Plan B: an all-out response at wartime speed proportionate to the magnitude of the threats facing civilization.
“We are in a race between tipping points in natural and political systems,” says Brown. “Which will come first? Can we mobilize the political will to phase out coal-fired power plants before the melting of the Greenland ice sheet becomes irreversible? Can we halt deforestation in the Amazon basin before it so weakens the forest that it becomes vulnerable to fire and is destroyed? Can we cut carbon emissions fast enough to save the Himalayan glaciers that feed the major rivers of Asia?”
Although efforts have been made in recent decades to raise the efficiency of energy use, the potential is still largely untapped. For example, one easy and profitable way to cut carbon emissions worldwide is simply to replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs that use only a fourth as much electricity. Turning to more efficient lighting can reduce world electricity use by 12 percent -- enough to close 705 of the world’s 2,370 coal-fired power plants.
In the United States, buildings -- commercial and residential -- account for close to 40 percent of carbon emissions. Retrofitting an existing building typically can cut energy use by 20–50 percent. The next step, shifting to carbon-free electricity to heat, cool, and light the building completes the transformation to a zero-carbon emissions building.
We can also reduce carbon emissions by moving down the food chain. The energy used to provide the typical American diet and that used for personal transportation are roughly equal. A plant-based diet requires about one fourth as much energy as a diet rich in red meat. The reduction in carbon emissions in shifting from a red meat–rich diet to a plant-based diet is about the same as that in shifting from a Chevrolet Suburban SUV to a Toyota Prius hybrid car.
In the Plan B energy economy, wind is the centerpiece. It is abundant, low cost, and widely distributed; it scales easily and can be developed quickly. The goal is to develop at wartime speed 3 million megawatts of wind-generating capacity by 2020, enough to meet 40 percent of the world’s electricity needs. This would require 1.5 million wind turbines of 2 megawatts each. These turbines could be produced on assembly lines by reopening closed automobile plants, much as bombers were assembled in auto plants during World War II.
In the development of renewable energy resources, Brown notes, we are seeing the emergence of some big-time thinking -- thinking that recognizes the urgency of moving away from fossil fuels. Nowhere is this more evident than in Texas, where the state government is coordinating an effort to build 23,000 megawatts of wind-generating capacity (the equivalent of 23 coal-fired power plants). This will supply enough electricity to satisfy the residential needs of over 11 million Texans -- half the state’s population. Oil wells go dry and coal seams run out, but the earth’s wind resources cannot be depleted.
Solar technologies also provide exciting opportunities for getting us off the carbon treadmill. Sales of solar-electric panels are doubling every two years. Rooftop solar water heaters are spreading fast in Europe and China. In China, some 40 million homes now get their hot water from rooftop solar heaters. The plan is to nearly triple this to 110 million homes by 2020, supplying hot water to 380 million Chinese.
Large-scale solar thermal power plants are under construction or planned in California, Florida, Spain, and Algeria. Algeria, a leading world oil exporter, is planning to develop 6,000 megawatts of solar-thermal electric-generating capacity, which it will feed into the European grid via an undersea cable. The electricity generated from this single project is enough to supply the residential needs of a country the size of Switzerland.
Investment in geothermal energy for both heating and power generation is also growing fast, notes Brown. Iceland now heats nearly 90 percent of its homes with geothermal energy, virtually eliminating the use of coal for home heating. The Philippines gets 25 percent of its electricity from geothermal power plants. The United States has 61 geothermal projects under way in the geothermally rich western states.
The combination of gas-electric hybrid cars and advanced-design wind turbines has set the stage for the evolution of an entirely new automotive fuel economy. If the battery storage of the typical hybrid car is doubled and a plug-in capacity is added so that batteries can be recharged at night, then we could do our short-distance driving -- commuting to work, grocery shopping, and so on -- almost entirely with cheap, wind-generated electricity.
This would permit us to run our cars largely on renewable electricity -- and at the gasoline-equivalent cost of less than $1 per gallon. Several major automakers are coming to market with plug-in hybrids or electric cars.
With business as usual (Plan A), the environmental trends that are undermining our future will continue. More and more states will fail until civilization itself begins to unravel. “Time is our scarcest resource. We are crossing natural thresholds that we cannot see and violating deadlines that we do not recognize,” says Brown. “These deadlines are set by nature. Nature is the timekeeper, but we cannot see the clock.”
The key to restructuring the world energy economy is to get the market to tell the environmental truth by incorporating into prices the indirect costs of burning fossil fuels, such as climate disruption and air pollution. To do this, we propose adopting a carbon tax that will reflect these indirect costs and offsetting it by lowering income taxes. We propose a worldwide carbon tax to be phased in at $20 per ton each year between 2008 and 2020, stabilizing at $240 per ton. This initiative, which would be offset at every step with a reduction in income taxes, would simultaneously discourage fossil fuel use and encourage investment in renewable sources of energy.
“Saving civilization is not a spectator sport,” says Brown. “We have reached a point in the deteriorating relationship between us and the earth’s natural systems where we all have to become political activists. Every day counts. We all have a stake in civilization’s survival.”
“We can all make lifestyle changes, but unless we restructure the economy and do it quickly we will almost certainly fail. We need to persuade our elected representatives and national leaders to support the environmental tax restructuring and other changes outlined in Plan B. Beyond this, each of us can pick an issue that is important to us at the local level, such as phasing out coal-fired power plants, shifting to more-efficient light bulbs, or developing a comprehensive local recycling program, and get to work on it.”
We all need to educate ourselves on environmental issues. For its part, the Earth Policy Institute is making Plan B 3.0 available for downloading free of charge from its Web site, earthpolicy.org.
“It is decision time,” says Brown. “Like earlier civilizations that got into environmental trouble, we have to make a choice. We can stay with business as usual and watch our economy decline and our civilization unravel, or we can adopt Plan B and be the generation that mobilizes to save civilization. Our generation will make the decision, but it will affect life on earth for all generations to come.”
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Contact for additional information:
Lester R. Brown, Author & President (202) 496.9290 x 11
Janet Larsen, Director of Research (202) 496.9290 x 14
Media Contact: Reah Janise Kauffman (202) 496.9290 x 12
Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization is now available online for free downloading at http://www.earthpolicy.org/Books/PB3/index.htm.
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