Climate News Live

Al Gore has announced a 3 year, $300 million public advocacy campaign to push for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, focusing on the necessity of a national carbon emission cap and ratification of a new global pact on climate change.  Sponsored by the Alliance for Climate Protection, the "we" campaign will include a plethora of advertisements, 10 million volunteers, and a broad range of partnerships.

"This climate crisis is so interwoven with habits and patterns that are so entrenched, the elected officials in both parties are going to be timid about enacting the bold changes that are needed until there is a change in the public's sense of urgency in addressing this crisis," Gore said. "I've tried everything else I know to try. The way to solve this crisis is to change the way the public thinks about it."

Washington Post; March 31, 2008

Submitted by M. Brooks

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The World Wildlife Fund has organized Earth Hour - one hour on March 29 when people across the globe will turn off their lights.  At 8pm local time, WWF encourages you to turn off your electricity consumption to show that you care about climate change and our planet.

Earth Hour was created by WWF in Sydney, Australia in 2007, and in one year has grown from an event in one city to a global movement. In 2008, millions of people, businesses, governments and civic organizations in nearly 200 cities around the globe will turn out for Earth Hour. More than 100 cities across North America will participate, including the US flagships–Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix and San Francisco…

Earth Hour; March 28. 2008

Submitted by M. Brooks

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Some believe that the money being directed toward reversing climate change would be better off in a 'treat the symptoms' approach to mitigating the its impacts...

Instead of spending trillions of dollars to stabilize carbon dioxide levels across the planet -- an enormously complex and expensive proposition -- the world could work on reducing hunger, storm damage and disease now, thereby neutralizing some of the most feared future problems of global warming.

Hans von Storch, director of the Institute of Coastal Research in Germany, said that the world's problems were already so big that the added burdens caused by rising temperatures would be relatively small. It would be like going 160 kilometers per hour on the autobahn when "going 150 . . . is already dangerous," he said.

LA Times; March 26, 2008

Submitted by J. Andrews

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The United States adopted a massive increase to the mandate of alternative fuels in the 2007 energy bill. While Europeans outpace Americans in fuel economy, they are hesitant to adopt similar mandates due to a lack of evidence showing biofuels helps combat climate change; rather, evidence is slowly piling up that says biofuels contribute more to climate change than traditional gasoline and diesel.

Under the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation, all petrol and diesel must contain 2.5% of biofuels from April 1. This is designed to ensure that Britain complies with a 2003 EU directive that 5.75% of petrol and diesel come from renewable sources by 2010.

The EU plans to raise the compulsory biofuel quota to 10% by 2020, but [UK Prime Minister] Brown is understood to be ready to challenge this plan. A senior government source said last night: "There is a growing feeling that we need to get all the facts. Some biofuels are OK but there are serious questions about others. More work needs to be done."

Did the United States commit an egregious error by ramping up RPS without international consent? Will American automakers suffer further as American and European consumer preferences further diversify?

The Guardian UK; March 25, 2008

Submitted by B. Shapiro

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Coastlines endangered by rising sea levels are subject to new building codes, and the state of Rhode Island is leading the way in changing requirements for both public infrastructure and private developments. Regulations for bridges, roads, sewers, pipelines and residences are being modified to offset problems associated with climate change.

The coastal management team is recommending:

•Adopting an increase in the required first-floor elevation for new and improved structures in high hazard areas along the coast.

•Creating a standard method for determining whether improvements to buildings damaged by storms amount to more than 50 percent of the size or the value of the building — a determination that would force the owner to comply with more stringent, and expensive, building standards.

•Establishing a plan to remove debris that a storm would bring up the Bay and dump on the shores of East Providence and Providence.

•Tightening standards for structures built in so-called A-zones, where only minor wave damage would be expected.

Now the question is, will insurers adopt provisions to recognize these new standards to fight climate change and lower premiums?

Providence Journal; March 25, 2008

Submitted by B. Shapiro

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Developing nations suffer as climate change cuts off basic access to natural resources such as water, while developed nations have infrastructure to help better mitigate these effects. As the United States and the rest of the world debate climate change solutions, ideas are being crafted without Third-World input. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature released a paper, "Indigenous and Traditional Peoples and Climate Change," that highlights the plight of poor people and how climate change and its solutions could make life worse.

Here in New York this week I faced my own little climate-related disruption: because of global grain shortages, created in part by the rush into biofuels, the price of a bagel has gone to $1.20 from 60 cents in the past year. New Yorkers are all aghast at the rise, but it pales next to these larger problems.

In Bangladesh, a rise in the sea of 1.5 meters, or 5 feet, would submerge 22,000 square kilometers of land, or 8,500 square miles, and displace 17 million desperately poor people, more than 15 percent of the population. Where are they going to go?

Leading the fight against climate change is high-investment solutions and technological innovations, which most sovereign governments and major multinational corporations embrace. We never hear how best to help the Third World.

International Herald Tribune; March 18, 2008

Submitted by B. Shapiro

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Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, believes that a 50-cent tax on each gallon of gasoline will reduce consumption. His committee is responsible for the crafting and passage of climate change solution legislation such as cap-and-trade or a carbon tax.

[A poll] shows 48 percent don't support paying even a penny more, 28 percent would pay up to 50 cents more, 10 percent would pay more than 50 cents and 8 percent would pay more than a dollar.

The automobile is the nation's biggest polluter; Americans use more gas than the next 20 countries combined.

American commerce is already suffering at the hands of high gas prices. The Earth Policy Institute wants to increase the gas tax by 30 cents each year.

Rep. Dingell has served in Congress since 1955 and comes from an automotive industry district in Michigan.

Fox News; March 19, 2008

Submitted by B. Shapiro

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In a demonstration of the insurance industry's interest in climate change and carbon dioxide emissons, Progressive Insurance announced their sponsoring of the final prize for a contest aimed at producing super-efficient automobiles.

The Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize, modeled after earlier prizes for spaceflight and genetic research, is aimed at promoting the creation of cars that get the equivalent of 100 miles per gallon, while at the same time hitting targets for low greenhouse-gas emissions, safety and affordability.

More than 60 teams have announced their intention to compete, with cross-country stage races slated for 2009 and 2010. The spectacle could well hark back a century, to the first-ever transcontinental road race in 1909, said Peter Diamandis, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the X Prize Foundation.

MSNBC.com; March 20, 2008

Submitted by J. Andrews

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