|
|
|
|
|
|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brought to you by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute
Kerry, Snowe Add Small Business Energy Efficiency Provisions to Energy Bill On June 21, Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) secured amendments to the Clean Energy Act (H.R. 6) that help small businesses increase their energy efficiency. The amendments also hold the Bush Administration accountable for failing to provide tools that will help small businesses reduce their dependency on fossil fuels. "America's small business owners will now have a partner in Washington to help them reduce their energy costs and empower them to be on the front lines fighting global climate change," said Kerry, Chairman of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. "As the Ranking Member on the Small Business Committee and as a longstanding steward of the environment, I firmly believe that small businesses should play a leading role in forging a solution to global climate change and rising energy prices," said Senator Snowe. "Our provisions will help to incentivize small businesses to make a smaller carbon 'footprint.'" The provisions introduced include support for energy efficiency audits, a telecommuting pilot program, and loans for small businesses implementing or conducting research on renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. Click on the following link for more information: On June 29, French Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo said that reaching a post-Kyoto climate agreement would be a priority of France's upcoming term as European Union president. The Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012, and a successor agreement has not yet been reached due in part to disagreement over who should bear the costs of emissions reductions. "We have an absolutely major European and international responsibility to make the post-Kyoto period a true change of course in the history of humanity," Borloo said. He pointed to an upcoming meeting in the Polish city of Poznan in December 2008 as a critical opportunity for progress. Due to the time needed for EU countries to ratify a new agreement, the meeting would likely be the last opportunity to reach a consensus. "If we don't want a pause in the fight against climate change but an acceleration, December 2008 must be a major advance because the end of 2012 is tomorrow,” Borloo said. Click on the following link for more information: Health officials from more than a dozen countries from the Asia-Pacific region met in Malaysia on July 3 to outline health problems they are experiencing related to climate change. They discussed ways to work together to limit the impact in a region expected to be hit hard by flooding, drought, heat waves, and mosquito- and waterborne diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that climate change has already directly or indirectly killed more than 1 million people globally since 2000. More than half of those deaths have occurred in the Asia-Pacific, the world's most populous region. "We're not going to have a magic bullet to fix climate change in the next 50 years. We need to motivate an awful lot of people to change their behavior in a lot of different ways," said Kristie Ebi of WHO's Global Environmental Change unit and a lead author of the health chapter in a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Scientists and health officials predict that climate change will take an increasingly heavy toll on the region if no action is taken. Dr. Shigeru Omi, head of the WHO's Western Pacific region, said that tackling current pressing diseases, and investing more in public health systems overall, will help prepare countries for the future effects of global warming while saving money in the long run. "The economic impact will be seen eventually.... I think it will pay off if we take action now," Omi said. Click on the following link for more information:
Scientists Link Disappearing Arctic Ponds to Global Warming Scientists at Canada's Queen's University and University of Alberta have found that Arctic ponds that have existed for thousands of years are drying up, and they attribute the change to global warming. The disappearing ponds may alter the ecological balance in the region. ''It's clear that it's warming and drying and the ponds are evaporating much more,'' John Smol, professor of geography at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, said. ''The ponds are smaller. Some are completely dry. The changes are happening much faster than we thought and it's going to start cascading through the ecosystem.... We have no evidence of these ponds being anything but permanent,'' Smol said. ''We're altering an ecosystem and very rapidly.'' The findings are published in the July 2 online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Click on the following links for more information: A study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society A confirms that the Sun is not the cause of recent global warming. The study, performed by Mike Lockwood, a physicist at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Chilton, UK, and Claus Fröhlich of the World Radiation Center in Davos, Switzerland, shows that neither an increase in solar radiation nor a decrease in the flux of galactic cosmic rays could have caused the warming observed since 1985. Lockwood said that misleading media reports ''galvanized'' him to carry out the study. ''This paper is the final nail in the coffin for people who would like to make the Sun responsible for present global warming,'' says Stefan Rahmstorf, a climate scientist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany. Some researchers have suggested that galactic cosmic rays may influence cloud formation, and therefore be associated with global warming. Drawing on 100 years of solar data, Lockwood and Fröhlich looked for a correlation between solar activity and global mean temperatures. Since the mid 1980's, trends in solar irradiance, sunspot number, and cosmic ray intensity have been in the opposite direction required to explain global warming. Click on the following link for more information:
South Australia Limits Greenhouse Gas Emissions On July 3, the state of South Australia passed the nation's first legislation limiting the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs). The Climate Change and Greenhouse Emissions Reduction Act of 2007 limits carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to 40 percent of 1990 levels by 2050, and implements a renewable energy standard. ''South Australia continues to lead the way for the rest of the nation when it comes to climate change – and we are on track to achieve the legislated target of 20 percent of our state’s power coming from renewable sources by 2014," said South Australia's Premier Mike Rann. Click on the following link for more information:
Hawaii is Second State to Limit Greenhouse Gas Emissions The Hawaii state legislature has passed The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2007, distinguishing Hawaii as the second US state after California to place a cap on greenhouse gases (GHGs). The law, which took effect on July 1, establishes a state policy to bring Hawaii's greenhouse gas emissions down to 1990 levels by 2020. The legislation contains strong language linking climate change to GHGs. "The scientific evidence is now compelling that recent climate change is caused at least in part by human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels, which has driven atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations to their highest levels in 420,000 years," the bill says. The bill charges the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism with updating a list of all sources of greenhouse gas emissions by the end of 2008. The Hawaii Department of Health will be responsible for enacting rules to limit GHG emissions. A 10 member GHG Emissions Reduction Task Force comprised of four members from business, two state department heads, two University of Hawaii representatives and two environmental group members will have until the end of 2009 to develop a plan for "maximum practically and technically feasible and cost-effective reductions in GHG emissions." The task force must deliver to the 2010 Legislature its plan and regulations for accomplishing the reduction. Click on the following link for more information: On July 7, Live Earth will stage concerts in New York, London, Sydney, Tokyo, Shanghai, Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg and Hamburg. Featured artists include The Police, Genesis, Bon Jovi, Madonna, and more recent stars like Kanye West, Kelly Clarkson, Black Eyed Peas and Jack Johnson. Founded by former Vice President Al Gore and Emmy-winning concert producer Kevin Wall, Live Earth aims to raise public awareness of climate change and “trigger a global movement to solve the climate crisis.” Concert attendees will be asked to sign the 'Live Earth Call to Action', a seven point pledge that includes a “...demand that my country join an international treaty within the next 2 years that cuts global warming pollution by 90 percent in developed countries and by more than half worldwide.” Among the first to sign the pledge were Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). "I am proud to sign this pledge to do my part to solve the climate crisis," Reid said. "By working together on all levels, at home, school, work, and church, we can all play a role in protecting our planet for future generations." Gore and Wall recognize that the highly visible concerts are only part of a long term commitment to climate change. "This concert is not the solution," Wall said. "This concert is providing, hopefully, that global tipping point to start to get us into empowering people, get them into the tent." In an interview with the Associated Press, Gore said, "The tipping point in the political system will come when the majority of the people are armed with enough knowledge about the crisis and its solutions that they make this cause their own. Then, you will see the entire political system shift dramatically." See the events section below for a Washington, DC event July 7. Click on the following links for more information:
Possible Successor to Kyoto Harvard University began a two-year, $750,000 project to develop a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, the international treaty aimed at reducing greenhouse gases warming the temperature of the Earth and its atmosphere. The Harvard Project on International Climate Agreements will draw on business, government and academic leaders, as well as advocacy groups, to create a plan to replace Kyoto, according to a statement issued by the school. ''The initiative aims to develop a scientifically sound, economically rational and politically pragmatic plan to succeed the Kyoto Protocol. That is doable – these are not mutually exclusive categories,'' said Robert Stavins, a professor of business and government at Harvard. “We can't just renew Kyoto, because Kyoto is doing nothing about the problem,'' Stavins said. Click on the following links for more information:
Need for ''Green'' Executives Increasing A recent survey by Hill & Knowlton consultancy showed that most companies in China, the United States, Canada and Britain have not laid out plans to improve their energy efficiency. Nearly two-thirds of the 420 senior business executives surveyed in these four countries said no one in their organization had been tasked with overseeing the company's energy strategy. Over three-quarters of the respondents said there was a need to create a new role of "Chief Energy Officer" to oversee the firm's energy strategy. Demand for such a role was highest in China, where 87 percent of the companies saw the need, followed by Canada at 84 percent. The United States lagged at 66 percent. There is already evidence of a response to this demand. An article published July 3 in the New York Times highlighted several US companies that have appointed Chief Sustainability Officers in an effort to ''profit from the push to go green.'' These green executives have diverse backgrounds, but all have the power to influence their companies' research, product development, and marketing decisions from an environmental perspective. “Environmental vice presidents usually spend company money, but this new breed is helping companies make money,” said Eileen Claussen, president of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. The upshot, said Geoffrey Heal, a business professor at the Columbia Business School, is that “what started out as a compliance job has evolved into one that guards the value of the brand.” Click on the following links for more information:
EESI Briefings July 11, 2007 Can a National Renewable Portfolio Standard Increase The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to learn about national renewable electricity portfolio standards such as those that have been introduced in the Senate and are likely to be introduced in the House this Congress. A study by the Network for New Energy Choices found that a 20 percent by 2020 national RPS could reduce as much carbon dioxide as taking 71 million cars off the nation’s roads and would decrease consumer energy bills by an average of 1.5 percent per year. The briefing will be held on Wednesday, July 11, from 1:30 - 3:00 PM at 210 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC. For more information see www.eesi.org
EESI Publications Issue Update: FY 08 House Appropriations for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency: House Votes for Increase in EERE
Events July 7, 2007 Live Earth concert near the Capitol Live Earth is a music event that will bring together more than 2 billion people on 7/7/07 to raise awareness about global warming. With 24 hours of music across 7 continents, and performances by more than 150 of the world's top musicians, Live Earth seeks to engage, connect, and inspire individuals, corporations and governments to take action to solve the climate crisis. In the United states the concert takes place beginning 12:30pm at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. Performers include The Police, Bon Jovi, Kanye West, Roger Waters, Fall Out Boy, Akon, Kelly Clarkson, The Smashing Pumpkins, Melissa Etheridge, John Mayer, Alicia Keys, Ludacris, KT Tunstall, Sheryl Crow, AFI and the Dave Matthews Band. Click on the following links for more information: The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the British Embassy are hosting a talk by Professor Sir David King, Chief Scientific Adviser to the United Kingdom, at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 12, 2007, at the AAAS auditorium, 1200 New York Avenue, NW, in Washington DC. Please RSVP by July 5 to Linda Stroud (lstroud@aaas.org).
Quick Links * SUBSCRIBE to our newsletters and other products * ARCHIVE: Past issues of the newsletter are posted on our website under "publications" * SUPPORT EESI: This newsletter and EESI's other valuable work in energy, climate change, agriculture, transportation and smart growth are made possible through financial support from people like you. Please donate now.
Fredric Beck This EESI publication is a free, weekly electronic newsletter intended to inform interested parties, particularly the policymaker community, of the latest climate change-related news. Permission for reproduction of this newsletter is granted provided that EESI is properly acknowledged as the source. The Environmental and Energy Study Institute is a non-profit organization established in 1984 by a bipartisan, bicameral group of members of Congress to provide timely information on energy and environmental policy issues to policymakers and stakeholders and develop innovative policy solutions that set us on a cleaner, more secure and sustainable energy path. |
|||
Printer-friendly version