This sweet little British girl KNOWS WHAT’S UP. Check out a gorgeous video, created by The Big Ask campaign:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kRP5x2MsAw]
Posts Tagged ‘climate change’
Act Now!
Posted in Global Warming, tagged big ask, climate change, Global Warming, Texas on February 23, 2009 |
Green Jobs, Clean Power!
Posted in Global Warming, tagged 81st Texas Legislative Session, alliance for a clean texas, California, clean jobs, climate change, denver museum of nature, Energy Efficiency, green power, Lloyd Doggett, mark strama, obama, Rodney Ellis, solar, state legislature, State Representative Mark Strama, Texas, texas capitol, van jones, wind energy on February 19, 2009 |
Bright and early yesterday morning, US Representative Lloyd Doggett, State Senator Rodney Ellis, State Representative Mark Strama, and environmental and civil rights advocate Van Jones stood together to tout the Alliance for a Clean Texas’ Texas Energy Future: Clean Jobs, Green Power Conference.
Rodney Ellis opened up the press conference, stating that this year’s legislative session looks to be a very green session. He also mentioned, as he has before, that the legislature is at a crucial moment in terms of climate change action. If the legislature doesn’t act this year, the federal government will likely pass and begin implementing comprehensive global warming legislation before the state legislature will have a chance to meet again. If Texas is not prepared for this kind of drastic policy change, we may not have a chance to address these issues again until 2011.
Senator Ellis then gave the mic over to the group he termed the “Dapper Three” (swoon!).
Continue Reading and watch video of Van Jones after the jump! (more…)
If You Lead, They Will Follow
Posted in Global Warming, tagged Barack Obama, Carbon Dioxide, China, climate change, developing nations, emissions, Global Warming, green new deal, grist, India, japan, leadership, prime minister, stimulus package, taro aso, Texas on February 9, 2009 |
Throughout the global warming debate, I have often heard an argument I like to call “the China cop-out.”
It goes somewhere along the lines of, “Developing nations like China and India are growing so quickly, adding so many new coal-fired power plants, and emitting so much carbon dioxide that it isn’t worth it for the US to take action on climate change until they are on board as well.”
To which my response has always been, “Since when does America look to China to lead?”
Recent news shows that if America is willing to rise to the challenge of mitigating climate change impacts and become a leader once again, other nations will follow. To prove my point, this just in: Japan jumps on the green stimulus bandwagon.
Just as President Obama has been shepherding the stimulus package, loaded up with green goodies, through the House and Senate, Prime Minister Taro Aso of Japan has announced his intention to draft a “Green New Deal” to counter both climate change and the global economic downturn.
Grist reports that Aso will “order a stimulus package focusing on slashing greenhouse gases at a meeting of his global warming advisory panel Wednesday.” At this meeting his government will also ” present various plans to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 15 percent from 1990 levels by the year 2020.”
If America commits to lead by example, who knows how many other leaders we may be able to influence?
Could this be Texas’ solar session?
Posted in Global Warming, tagged Air Quality, andrew mccalla, Austin, business and commerce, Carbon Dioxide, climate change, CPS Energy, distributed solar, eliot shapiro, emerging technology fund, energy conservation office, Energy Efficiency, environment texas, green jobs, greenhouse gas, hb 516, jose beceiro, kirk watson, leticia van de putte, made in texas, mark strama, meridian energy systems, peak energy prices, peak power, Public Citizen, rafael anchia, renewable energy, Rodney Ellis, sb 435, sb 541, sb 542, sb 545, sb 546, sb 598, sb 603, senator rodney ellis, Sierra Club, solar legislation, solar power, Texas, texas center for sustainable business, texas solar roadmap, troy fraser, tx, wildcatting the sun on February 5, 2009 |
At last! I can fill you in on Monday’s fantastic solar press conference at the capitol!
Senator Rodney Ellis and Public Citizen Director Tom "Smitty" Smith
Public Citizen, Environment Texas and the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club hosted a statewide round of press conferences this week to roll out our solar report, Texas Solar Roadmap — which of course can be downloaded at www.cleanenergyfortexas.org. Our report highlights how a robust solar program would help put Texans back to work, reduce peak energy prices, curb climate change, improve air quality, and position the state as a world leader for solar production. The full report is a pretty good read, but if you’re short on time I suggest the condensed version, Wildcatting the Sun.
Our press conference in Austin was particularly exciting because we were in such great company. Senators Troy Fraser, Leticia Van de Putte, Kirk Watson, Rodney Ellis, and Representatives Mark Strama and Rafael Anchia all appeared and championed the solar bills they have introduced thus far.
Rafael Anchia’s HB 278 and Florence Shapiro’s SB 427 would require the state’s electric utilities to support the development of 2000 megawatts of solar and other on-site renewable technologies by offering direct incentives to consumers and businesses.
This is right in line with Public Citizen’s distributed solar goal, outlined in both Wildcatting the Sun and Texas Solar Roadmap . According to our report , such a standard could lead to installations on as many as 500,000 roofs in Texas by 2020 at a cost of about 98 cents per month per Texan (Polls have shown that 81% of Texas voters are willing to pay up to a dollar a month to encourage solar power. What about you?). This investment would create an estimated 22,000 jobs and reduce emissions of carbon dioxide emissions by 29 million tons, the equivalent of taking 4.3 million cars off the road for a year.
Anchia stressed that this should be Texas’ solar session because it would answer two of our major challenges: air quality, and global warming.
Senator Fraser was the first legislator to speak, proclaiming that this would be Texas’ solar session. Chairman of the Business and Commerce Committee, Fraser is well positioned to be an effective solar champion. As such, Fraser was particularly proud to forecast a sunny session for solar power. He joked that there are so many solar bills being filed this session, they are going to have to lay them all out at once and have a “solar day” where they can pick out the best bills and key components of each (this is the second time I’ve heard him say this though, so he may be serious. If so, you better bet I’ll be there with bells on!)
Fraser also said that he found the idea enumerated in Kirk Watson’s bills — that Texas was very successful in promoting wind power but missed out on manufacturing opportunities — particularly in need of our attention.
Fraser’s big solar bill is SB 545, which
would create a five-year program for distributed solar generation incentives offered through the state’s transmission and distribution utilities. The incentive program would be funded by a nominal monthly fee on residential, commercial and industrial customers.
Check out his press release from last week, when that bill was filed, for more information. Or if you’re feeling really geeky, read the bill. Watson has also filed SB 546, relating to the state goal for energy efficiency. This bill sets stepped goals for how much of the state’s growth in energy efficiency will be met by efficiency, culminating in a goal of getting 50% load growth through efficiency by 2015.
Senator Van de Putte was then called up to champion CPS Energy’s new distributed energy commitment and her own solar in schools bill, SB 598. This would set up a pilot loan program to retrofit public schools with PV panels and other efficiency measures. Solar on schools is a pretty smart idea, because during summer months when the lights are off and their electricity use dips way down, they could make a lot of money pumping of energy back into the grid.
Senator Watson, a member of the Business and C0mmerce Committee and my Very Own senator, has three solar bills introduced so far. (more…)
Stimulating Facts on the Green Stimulus
Posted in Efficiency, Energy, Global Warming, Renewables, tagged climate change, Energy Efficiency, green spending measures, house of representatives, mass transit, president obama, public transportation, renewable energy, republican minority whip eric cantor, senate, speaker nancy pelosi, stimulus package, Texas, ways and means committee on January 30, 2009 |
This week the House passed the $819 billion stimulus package, and even more exciting is that over $100 billion of the package is allocated to green spending. Amazingly, the package passed without a single Republican vote. Only 11 Democrats voted against the bill, with a final vote of 244-188.
Here is a breakdown of the green spending measure as stated in stimulus package:
- $14.6 billion to fund the expansion of public transportation. This number is actually $3 billion more than initially agreed upon, thanks to the efforts of mass transit supporters during debate.
- $37.9 billion towards energy efficiency
- $27.8 billion for renewable energy
- $20 billion in renewable-energy and energy efficiency tax credits and other financial incentives, added by the Ways and Means Committee.
So far, it seems like the House has made significant headway to ensure that green energy and climate change are important issues this session.
But wait, let’s not get our hopes up too high quite yet…we still have the get the package through the Senate. Voting on a specific package should not begin until later next week, and there is some speculation that it might not look as great as the current package. So far, appropriation to mass transit is only up to $8.2 billion. The Republican no-show was certainly intended to make a statement. The New York Times reported Republican Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) to say that he hoped the zero-vote showing would pressure Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to make changes to the bill during negotiations between the House and Senate.
President Obama issued the following statement, touching on the expected dissidence between the House and the Senate:
The plan now moves to the Senate, and I hope that we can continue to strengthen this plan before it gets to my desk. But what we can’t do is drag our feet or allow the same partisan differences to get in our way. We must move swiftly and boldly to put Americans back to work, and that is exactly what this plan begins to do.
So far so good, Mr. President! I just hope that by “strengthen this plan” you mean to keep those green spending measures intact!
New Study By NOAA Shows Climate Change Irreversable For 1000 Years
Posted in Global Warming, tagged climate change, Global Climate Change, noaa, Texas on January 28, 2009 |
In case you haven’t heard, a scientific study released by NOAA on Monday shows the need for immediate action to curb Global Climate Change. According to this study, “changes in surface temperature, rainfall, and sea level are largely irreversible for more than 1,000 years after carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are completely stopped.” This is truly horrible news.
We as citizens of the world must make great changes if we want to preserve at least part of the world we live in for our children and grandchildren (or for that matter our great-great-grandchildren). The CO2 we are putting into the atmosphere today will still be affecting the earth’s climate in a millennium.
The full text of this developing story is located below via the link:
This finding should be an indisputable marker to everyone that the time for debate on this issue is over. Great changes are now inescapable and the time to make them is upon us.
Public Citizen and The Texas Observer: Voices in the Same Choir? Come sing along!
Posted in Global Warming, tagged Bea Moorehead, Carbon Dioxide, Citizen Action, climate change, Congress, Eliot Shapleigh, Energy Efficiency, Obama administration, Solar Incentives, Texas, Texas Impact, Texas Legislature, texas observer, The Observer, The Texas Observer, Who Represents Me? on January 28, 2009 |
The Texas Observer just ran an article on the top ten issues the Texas Legislature should address this session. Anybody want to guess what number two was?
If you guessed climate change… you’ve probably been reading this blog. And you’d be right!
The Observer expects for Texas leaders to more amenable to climate change action than they have been in years past. Their reasoning?
Congress and the Obama administration have signaled that major federal climate change legislation is in the works. “The Obama package will give Texas a choice: lead or get left behind,” says state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso. “Luddites need to move away and let leadership take the day.”
The article continues:
As the nation’s top emitter of carbon dioxide, Texas arguably has the most to lose and the most to gain from federal action, says Bea Moorehead, executive director of Texas Impact, an interfaith advocacy group. States that move sooner to cut their greenhouse-gas emissions will have an easier time adapting to a carbon-restrained world. Advocates like Moorehead want to build on the successes Texas has had with wind power and energy conservation by pushing incentives for the solar industry and expanding efficiency standards. Such measures, they say, will create jobs and cut air pollution while replacing sources of greenhouse gas.
I was particularly excited about this article because we’ve been singing the same tune in informational handouts to all your legislative members.
If you agree that this is the message your legislators need to hear, loud and clear… TELL THEM SO. We can print out brochures and hand them to legislative staffers, and the Observer can print articles on what they think the legislature ought to be doing, but ultimately, politicians respond to what their constituents want.
This is a novel idea, I know. You’re thinking; “But Sarah, I’ve been wanting politicians to pursue a whole host of progressive policies for years, and they haven’t happened.”
Well, have you every straight up asked? Politicians aren’t mind readers, you know. Sometimes we’ve got to count ourselves lucky if they are readers at all. So if you want them to know what you want, you’ve got to tell them. When you contact your legislators, they take it much more seriously than a small record of your personal opinion. As few as five personal letters can key a legislator in that an issue is important. Just ten letters can lead them to think they’ve got “constituent trouble” and cause them to support or vote against a particular bill.
Visit the website Who Represents Me? If you know your address, it will only take about 30 seconds to know who your legislators are as well. Write them a letter. Or pick up the phone and give them a call. You probably won’t get to speak with your rep directly, but you can definitely ask for the staffer that works on energy and give them your two cents. Make your voice be heard!
A Clean Energy Economy
Posted in Global Warming, tagged California Waiver, climate change, Energy, environment, Environmental Policy, EPA, Executive order, fuel efficiency, Global Warming, green, obama, Texas on January 26, 2009 |
This morning President Obama outlined his energy and environmental policy and how it fit into his broader effort to jump start our flailing economy. It was a like taking a breath of fresh air to hear someone actually addressing the environmental problems we face reasonably. Finally!
He focused on the problems we face as an opportunity to secure our interests and security, create jobs, and restore America’s moral standing in the world. Outlining his plan in four pragmatic steps, he stated unequivocally that “it will be the policy of [his] administration to reverse our dependence on foreign oil while building a new energy economy that will create millions of jobs.”
1) The plan aims to create 460,000 jobs that will provide the workforce to double the domestic production capacity of energy. Among the projects he listed were 3000 miles of transmission lines to move this energy and to increase the energy efficiency of government buildings and private residences.
2) It aims to revitalize the American Auto Industry by encouraging energy efficient innovation, hoping the new cars will be produced in the US and meet more stringent emissions standards by model year 2011. He ended by saying that by 2020 all cars would get at least 35 mpg, reducing daily oil consumptions by 2 million barrels a day.
3) Referencing the Bush Era EPA’s rejection of California’s and 13 other state’s waiver requests to increase emissions standards, he said “Washington stood in their way”. California had sued the EPA for inaction…it took them two years to review their application. And they rejected it. He wants the EPA to empower rather than stifle states to make these changes. He said that the EPA will review the California waiver rejection and insinuated that it would be approved.
4) He argued that energy independence was important to secure our interests and safety, as hostile governments maintain power over the US because we depend on them for oil. Dwindling resources, hostile regimes, and unhealthy climate problems are the facts that underpin his plan and it is his intention to use these to guide pragmatic problem solving. He emphasized that facts, not ideology would be used to inform the conversation on these issues. (What a concept!) He said the aim ought to be for America to set the standard and call nations like India and China to greater participation in what needs to be a global effort to clean up our environment.
Mirroring the talking points of Public Citizen, Mr. Obama has taken the first sensible step toward a real remedy for this problem. We are happy to see someone is finally thinking in the Whitehouse. How refreshing…
You can read the president’s full remarks here.
Go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/energy_and_environment/ to see the Obama/Biden Energy and Environmental Plan.
Don’t Say We Didn’t Tell You So…
Posted in Global Warming, tagged climate change, Gov. Rick Perry, Texas on January 6, 2009 |
In an editorial published yesterday, the Austin American Statesman agrees: Texas needs to take the lead on climate change.
And I quote (bold my own),
…sea levels could rise by 4 feet by 2100 – versus the 1.5 feet predicted by a United Nations panel on climate change. That’s a warning that ought to be taken seriously now – especially along the Texas coast.
Unfortunately, it appears Texas government will try to ignore the problem of climate change. Gov. Rick Perry, digging in his boot heels, seems to admit only grudgingly that climate change is occurring, never mind that science has concluded that it is being driven by humankind’s use of fuels that produce carbon dioxide – coal, oil and natural gas, primarily.
Perry says potential federal legislation to begin limiting carbon dioxide production could harm the Texas economy. But drought and rising sea levels won’t? Texas needs to find a way to take the lead on this problem, not try to pretend it will go away.
Well done, Statesman editorial board. You make us proud.
If you thought this financial crisis was bad…
Posted in Global Warming, tagged climate change, financial crisis, global financial crisis, Nicholas Stern, Texas on October 27, 2008 |
Nicholas Stern, formerly of the British Treasury, said over the weekend that the risks of inaction over climate change far outweigh the turmoil of the global financial crisis.
The risk consequences of ignoring climate change will be very much bigger than the consequences of ignoring risks in the financial system… That’s a very important lesson, tackle risk early.”
Suggestion noted. And just as people were sounding the alarm about the unsustainability of the housing market and the risks in the subprime lending market, so too have people been sounding the alarm about climate change. We can still tackle the risk early or we can face the consequences.
Stern also warned not to use the current financial problems as a reason to not tackle climate change now. Investments in efficiency will put people to work immediately and start bringing down electric bills for consumers. Investing in solar and wind will put people to work in manufacturing, constructing, and installing these new forms of low carbon energy.
We have the technology, we can do it. We can choose a new energy future and receive the economic benefits of investing in it, or we can face the consequences of inaction, which we are already seeing today.
Now all we need is a catchy slogan, easily shouted at campaign rallies. Weatherstrip, baby, weatherstrip?
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