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Be the change you wish to see in the world
-- Alex -- 03/19/2007
Professed many years ago by Mahatma Gandhi, this simple yet powerful ethic came to mind while reading about Congressional hearings on global warming and the auto industry in the Washington Post.
An interesting column for sure, the author makes a unique case for new national leadership on the issues of alternative energies, conservation and global warming. However, there are many things people can do themselves while new national leadership emerges on these issues.
In this modern age of politics with "permanent campaigns" and 24-hour news cycles, who's to say there can't be 24-hour volunteers or advocates, too??
Whether a person gives their time working with leaders on these issue or drives a little slower on their commute to work to save fuel or bikes and walks to run some of their errands ... more and more people are "voting with their wallets" and being agents for change in ways both big and small to stem the tide on climate change.
Edwards Pledges 80% by 2050
-- Mike -- 03/16/2007
It's gone largely unnoticed, but yesterday at a campaign event at Howard University, John Edwards pledged to support efforts to reduce carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050.
Edwards' call for 80 percent reductions by the middle of the century, which, according to scientists and policy experts, is one of the suggested goals the U.S. should strive for in aiming to address global warming, mirrors the Sanders-Boxer Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act that has been introduced in the Senate. Chris Dodd is a co-sponsor on that piece of legislation.
His statement comes on the heels of an e-mail he sent to supporters earlier this week in which he announced his campaign was going "carbon neutral."
As we've discussed before, solving global warming is not a technological problem - we have all the tools we need to get started. This is fundamentally an issue of leadership and vision. That's why it's so encouraging to see Edwards, and so many other candidates, addressing the issue of global warming in a significant way.
Heed Your Grains
-- Adam -- 03/16/2007
Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab and Stanford issued an article today stating that global warming has already caused major yield declines in primary food crops, The Argus reports. The measured decreases have occurred in grain production, in particular, including those used to produce ethanol. According to the news story, "yields of corn, wheat and barley have declined by about 40 million tons every year since 1981 from what farms worldwide should have produced." Rising average temperatures have prevented grain growers from seeing the increases that producers of other crops have experienced during the same time period. The net impact is huge, with annual losses equal to the production of Argentina. "The annual value of those lost crops is about $5 billion." Some have speculated that increased carbon dioxide would help yields. However, one of the scientists argues, "I think what we're seeing is the direct effects of climate change are negative."
Edwards Visits the Granite State
-- Jessie -- 03/16/2007
When I arrived at the packed John Edwards event at St. Anselm's College today, I tracked down a suit-clad campaign staffer and asked him to give Edwards a Carbon Coalition "Stop Global Warming" lapel sticker. "I'll give it to him, but I don't think he'll wear it," he said "but he had on one of those bracelets recently." I had seen the photo-Edwards, surrounded by a group of college students, sporting a bright red wrist band-and it's great, but it was taken in Colorado, not New Hampshire.
I was a little miffed when Edwards came out onto the stage looking clean-cut and sticker-free, but I was quickly contented when he began his speech. In his opening remarks he reminded the audience that the last time he spoke in NH was three years ago while running for vice president. "A lot has changed in those three years," he said, and then provided the current status of many national issues such as health care, poverty, education, and global warming. There is "overwhelming evidence of the increase in temperature on earth, global warming," but he continued "I'm still optimistic." "Everything we do at home affects the world...we need to lead by example."
Edwards not only mentioned global warming, but he also included it as one of the priority focuses of his speech. "Global warming is a crisis now and it is not going away. If you're under 60, the odds are global warming will affect your life." He called for a national cap on carbon emissions and investment in renewable energy technologies (hmm, I've heard a similar idea somewhere...) He also announced that his campaign will be carbon neutral, and challenged all the presidential candidates to make the same pledge.
Including global warming as one of his priority issues, Edwards is making a clear statement. I shook his hand after his speech and offered a Carbon Coalition sticker for a photo. He took the picture, but declined the sticker. If he's really serious about global warming he better pay attention to what's happening in the Granite State-as of today 113 towns have passed the climate change resolution, and only 9 have defeated it.
Wilting the World
-- Adam -- 03/15/2007
Reuters environmental correspondent Alister Doyle reported today on how scientists think plants will react to increasing temperatures over the remainder of this century. According to the upcoming IPCC report, agricultural production will initially rise as the planet continues to warm. However, widespread decline is expected once a 3 degree increase is reached. Further, arid and tropical region agriculture are expected to also suffer from "desertification, drought and floods" that will lower yields and cause hunger. Most plants are expected to take in more carbon than they emit into the middle part of the century. But, before 2100, the report projects that temperatures will cause plants to become net producers of the pollutant.
American Electric Power Tests Coal-Capturing Technology
-- John -- 03/15/2007
According to yesterday’s New York Times, American Electric Power, a major electric utility company, is planning to demonstrate carbon-dioxide capturing technology at a New Haven, W. Va. plant. The process involves taking carbon dioxide from the flue, compressing it into liquid form and injecting it 9,000 feet beneath the earth’s surface. In February of 2007, AEP joined more than 85 international companies and organizations in signing a statement calling for a “post-Kyoto framework for addressing global climate change.” Called “The Path to Climate Change Sustainability: A Joint Statement by the Global Roundtable on Climate Change,” the statement offers principles for addressing global warming. While conservation groups are applauding the test, they point out that this should not take the place of meaningful legislation to reduce carbon emissions.
Candidates are Embracing Global Warming in a Big Way
-- Mike -- 03/15/2007
We're still several weeks away from the first official debates of the presidential primaries, but the candidates have already begun to attempt to distinguish themselves from each other - and just this week at least two candidates highlighted the issue of global warming in a significant way.
Yesterday, Bill Richardson's campaign sent an e-mail to its supporters from Stewart Udall, former Secretary of the Interior to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, in which he says Richardson will be "the leader we need on global warming" and that he "stands head and shoulders above the other candidates."
Udall goes on to describe some of the governor's recent achievements in New Mexico:
"Last week the Governor signed a new law that would quadruple New Mexico's use of clean energy by 2020, requiring that by then 20% of an electrical utility's power supply comes from renewable energy sources."
Earlier this week, John Edwards sent an e-mail to his supporters in which he announced that his campaign was going "carbon neutral." Edwards outlined how he planned to achieve this:
"First, we're implementing a number of simple but effective techniques to conserve energy in our national and field offices. And I've asked my staff to take concrete steps to reduce their own energy consumption. Conserving energy now is the single biggest thing we all can do as individuals to combat global warming.
"But presidential campaigns by their nature use an enormous amount of energy for travel and operations. Which is why today I have also directed the campaign to purchase carbon offsets that support alternative energy production to neutralize the global warming impact from our travel and office energy use."
A recent Wall Street Journal/NBC found that 73 percent of Americans say they are following the 2008 presidential race "closely." It's clear that the country is listening to what the candidates are saying. And it's clear that the candidates are responding - not only by explicitly addressing global warming - but by embracing the issue as a way to break through a crowded field.
With Friends Like This …
-- Alex -- 03/14/2007
OK ... not the best headline, but our closest ally in international affairs - the United Kingdom - is proposing legislation that will cut carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 60 percent, making Britain the first nation to limit greenhouse gases by law - "a move it hopes will prompt the United States, China and India to follow suit."
According to Treasury chief Gordon Brown (also Tony Blair's likely successor), governments and nations must "count the carbon, just as they count the pennies."
More evidence of the pressing importance of global warming and a key ally's commitment to show its own national leadership on this issue.
Edwards Goes Neutral
-- Adam -- 03/14/2007
Edwards announced this week that his campaign for the Presidency will be carbon neutral. This effort picks up where the late Vilsack campaign did in providing an example to Americans of what needs to be done in terms of self-sacrifice as we face the global-warming threat. The campaign plans to significantly reduce its energy consumption by timing light and appliance usage, improving thermostat efficiency, and using recycled products. The campaign will still produce substantial amounts of new carbon emissions, particularly related to Edwards's air travel. However, he has committed to buy carbon offsets from Native Energy to compensate. It should be interesting to see how this example influences voters, as to how they view their place in preventing climate change. At the announcement, Edwards said, "Global warming is an emergency and we can't wait until the next president is elected to take action. Each of us can take responsibility in small ways to make a big difference. I encourage all Americans to conserve energy in their own homes and workplaces and help fight global warming." He is also organizing a one-day event in which his volunteer group One Corps helps weatherizing homes and handing out fluorescent bulbs.
Global Warming a Critical Issue in the Republican Primary
-- Navin -- 03/14/2007
We all know the list of issues that play in the Republican primary, right? There's abortion, gay marriage, immigration, terrorism, global warming, and...waah? global warming? That's right. As the Hotline blog outlines today, global warming is shaping up to be a key issue in the republican primary. As the evangelicals continue to elevate the importance of global warming, it will become a central issue for candidates. South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford's recent oped in the Washington Post will certainly grab the attention of all the candidates competing in the southern state. And now with the state of California--and their uber-green Governor--headlining the February 5th mega-primary, candidates will be talking up their big plans to fight global warming in no time.
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