Climate Change

Friday, August 15, 2008

GREEN JOBS: Oregon creates hot jobs in green energy. The green energy sector in Oregon is an economic and environmental success story in an area hard-pressed for family-wage jobs, an example of "green collar" employment blossoming in reaction to high energy costs and concerns about global warming. Portland Oregonian, Oregon. 15 August 2008.

Friday, August 8, 2008

SOLAR HIGHWAY: Oregon installs first highway solar project. In an attempt to spur the spread of solar power, the Oregon Department of Transportation on Thursday unveiled the nation's first solar panel project on a major U.S. highway. Portland Oregonian, Oregon. 8 August 2008.

Friday, August 1, 2008

WIND ENERGY: Wind energy: Much potential, but also daunting challenges. Pioneers in the emerging wind-power industry are touting their product as The Next Big Thing as they chart a course to produce at least 20 percent of the nation's electricity in just over two decades. McClatchy Newspapers. 1 August 2008.

I was in Beijing last week and noticed the smog, of course, but as China grapples with Olympics and air quality I also saw something much more important. China is serious about energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gases.

In recent months, the Chinese government has closed over 21 gigawatts of the dirtiest, most inefficient power plants. They didn't do this just for a temporary clean air benefit around Beijing - - it was done permanently all across the country. They also closed inefficient foundries, furnaces, and cement makers in huge numbers.

(By Sasha Abelson, Guest Blogger to the Climate Program)

Photo by Ira Meyer - http://irameyer.com/

Friday, July 18, 2008

HYDROGEN CARS: Hydrogen cars could rule road by 2050, slash oil need. A government-backed study says America could nearly eliminate its need for gasoline for cars, pickup trucks and SUVs by 2050 if the government helps build a market for hydrogen fuel cells and other technologies. McClatchy Newspapers. 18 July 2008.

Scanning the news for stories on climate change can be depressing. For example, I read this week about a report put out by the Green New Deal Group that says that humanity has only 100 months or less to stabilize concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere before we hit a potential point of no return. According to a BBC report the group says that rising greenhouse gas emissions, combined with escalating food and energy costs, mean the globe is facing one of its biggest crises since the 1930s. When I saw the headline it made me pause. 100 months - that's a little over eight years.

Friday, July 11, 2008

U.N CONTROVERSY: U.N. warming program draws fire. A United Nations program designed to combat global warming has started doing something no one expected: It is subsidizing fossil-fuel power plants that spew millions of tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere annually. Wall Street Journal. 11 July 2008. [Subscription Required]

I attended Governor Crist's Florida Summit on Global Climate Change a few weeks ago, and Lord Adair Turner, Chairman of the United Kingdom Climate Change Committee, discussed climate change and economics. He said there has been a concern that cutting greenhouse gas emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 2050 (which is California's law) is a "threat" to the American way of life. He went on to prove why that is not true (which I will discuss later in this blog).