Red, Green, and Blue

On Tuesday, more than 600 environmental officials and activists, along with five U.S. governors and regional politicians from local and foreign regional entities gathered in Beverly Hills for a two-day Global Climate Summit, hosted by California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Conferees were greeted with an unannounced video welcome from president-elect Barack Obama, which, according to reports, received a standing ovation from those in the Ballroom at the Beverly Hilton. Read the rest of this entry »

One Million Acts of Green is a new website from the Canada Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), to promote and encourage Canadians to take steps to make the environment greener.

While not a radical approach, One Million Acts of Green is encouraging website viewers (and Canadians in general) to take the small steps, the small actions, that cumulatively add up to something significant. Read the rest of this entry »

The EPA’s Appeals Board ruled last Thursday that coal-fired power plants must limit CO2 emissions.

Good news! Although it’s shocking that it took this long for a ruling that would limit CO2 emissions from new coal-fired power plants…

…Equally shocking is the fact that it took me since Thursday to come up with this very average cartoon to immortalize said ruling.

Gov. tells state agencies they must prepare for the impacts of climate change, especially those caused by rising sea levels.

California’s water supply and coastal resources, including valuable natural habitat areas, are particularly vulnerable to sea level rise over the next century, and according to an executive order issued by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday, the state could suffer devastating consequences if adaptive measures are not taken.

In a first-of-its-kind executive directive, Schwarzenegger, a Republican, has ordered the state to begin taking immediate action to mitigate the impending damage to state resources caused by climate change. Read the rest of this entry »

The Icelandic singer used her spot at a climate change conference in Brussels to give an impassioned speech warning about the risks of allowing the economic crisis to override environmental regulation.

In her home country, Iceland, thermal energy from the volcanic system that makes Iceland one of the youngest countries in the world has also created a thriving industry in aluminium smelting. The three largest smelters in Europe are sited there, and Alcoa and Rio Tinto both have substantial investments in the Icelandic economy. Read the rest of this entry »

A new report says that global warming could cost the Californian economy billions of dollars each year, through a combination of rising sea levels, and the increased frequency of wild fires and extreme weather events.

The comprehensive study (PDF), published by researcher’s at UC Berkeley, also claims that $2.5 trillion of Californian real estate assets are at risk. The clear message, says co-author Prof. David Roland-Holst, is the strong economic case for timely action to slash carbon emissions and adapt to the already unavoidable effects of climate change.

“Our report makes clear the most expensive thing we can do about climate change is nothing,” he said. “As we learned in New Orleans, turning your back on the threat of natural disaster doesn’t make it go away.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Huh, maybe a clean energy future does lie ahead. The Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) ruled today that the EPA had no valid reason for refusing to limit from new coal-fired power plants the carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming.

The board sided with the Sierra Club and found that since Massachusetts v EPA Supreme ruled that Carbon Dioxide is a pollutant under the Clean Air Act, new coal-fired power plants must implement Best Available Technology for controlling CO2.

What? The EPA cannot refuse to protect the environment? Awesome!

This decision means that all new and proposed coal plants nationwide must readdress their carbon dioxide emissions.

“Today’s decision opens the way for meaningful action to fight global warming and is a major step in bringing about a clean energy economy,” said Joanne Spalding, Sierra Club Senior Attorney who argued the case. “This is one more sign that we must begin repowering,  refueling and rebuilding America.”

The EAB shot down every lame Bush excuse for failing to regulate what is the largest source of greenhouse gases in the United States. This should make things easier for when Obama takes over - and am I the only person that wants that to happen…like now?

According to the Sierra Club, coal emits 30% of our nation’s global warming pollutants. And this was an issue, why? “Everyone has a role to play and it’s time that the coal industry did its part and started living up to its clean coal rhetoric,” Bruce Nilles, Director of the Sierra Club’s National Coal Campaign, went on to say.

Source: Sierra Club |  Image: Jan Tik on Flickr under Creative Commons

Shiva Nataraja is the Hindu god whose endless dance embodies creation, preservation, and destruction. For the past eight years, George W. Bush has lead the world in a dance of environmental destruction. Will Obama lead us in a dance of creation of renewable energy policies and environmental preservation? Like Nataraja, will Obama dance atop the demon Apasmara (aka Bush) who represents ignorance?

Obama was elected because he ran a campaign of optimism that countered the fear mongering of the Republican Party since 9/11.

In the eight days following election day, the world has been filled with hope. From energy policies to economic recovery, President-Elect Obama’s plans has been front page news.

Obama and Climate Change

Obama has called the earth a “planet in peril” and created a 30-point environmental plan that includes creating green jobs, reducing US oil consumption, and increasing renewable sources of energy.  John Podesta, part of Obama’s transition team, stated, “I anticipate him moving very aggressively and very rapidly on the whole question of transforming the energy platform in the United States from high carbon energy to low carbon energy.”  This week Obama sent Jason Grumet, a policy adviser who may be appointed to an energy post, to an environmental conference in DC sending the message his administration will act swiftly on climate change legislation. Grumet said, “The whole transition team felt it important to be here.” Read the rest of this entry »

Global warming could cause a lot of islands to be covered by the rising ocean. But what do you do if that island is your country and home? President Mohamed “Anni”  Nasheed of the Maldives has an answer: move your country.

On Monday, Nasheed told The Guardian that he would start setting aside some cash to buy a new homeland if he loses his to global warming. The money would come from the country’s tourism industry, which brings in a billion dollars annually, and would go into a sovereign wealth fund, reports Australia’s Age.com.

Australia is on the shortlist of possible real estate. So is India and Sri Lanka because they are like the Maldives culturally.

While out there, this may be the only reasonable idea for the island country that doesn’t have the political backing to have much say in international global warming policy. The other option, according to the old Maldives president, is to build a wall around the island. But apparently that’s more expensive than relocating an entire country.

This is most definitely an adaptation strategy - the Maldives are looking beyond merely stopping carbon emissions. But small countries may not have any choice anymore.

Is it time for drastic action like this? Or will this drastic action put a stop to mitigation techniques because politicians will just look for the easy way out (if moving a homeland can be considered the easy way!)?

Related Posts:

Climate Change and a Slow Death
Rising Seas and Powerful Storms Threaten Global Security

Photo Credit: naxief at Flickr under a Creative Commons License

Mike Hilliard is no ordinary gardener. He’s the Managing Director of his own property development firm and an environmental architect. His banana plants are the variety musa japonica, and they’ve been living in the solar room which enriches the oxygen in the Hilliard family home, Tranquility, often described as the most energy-efficient house in the world. It has total energy costs of just £150 ($300) per year.

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