Top Stories
"The Toll From Coal report"—reliability
high.
The Clean Air Task Force has published "The Toll from Coal: An Updated
Assessment of Death and Disease from America's Dirtiest Energy Source".
"This study provides a new update on the burden of death and disease
from coal-based electricity production across the United States.
Estimated impacts are based on projected power sector emissions in
2010. ... Results from this latest assessment indicate that although
coal plant emissions of key particle-forming pollutants like sulfur
dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) have declined significantly
over the last several years, existing plants remain among the top
contributors to fine particle pollution in the United States." Provides
a map to learn health impacts in your state or county, with estimated
annual mortality of individual power plants. The "analysis finds that
fine particle pollution from existing coal plants is expected to cause
nearly 13,200 deaths in 2010. Additional impacts include an estimated
9,700 hospitalizations and more than 20,000 heart attacks per year. The
total monetized value of these adverse health impacts adds up to more
than $100 billion per year." See CATF site.
PDF of report here.
Map app here.
"On Clean Energy, China Skirts Rules"—reliability
high.
A New York Times feature article says: "The booming Chinese clean
energy sector, now more than a million jobs strong, is quickly coming
to dominate the production of technologies essential to slowing global
warming and other forms of air pollution. ... But much of China’s clean
energy success lies in aggressive government policies that help this
crucial export industry in ways most other governments do not. These
measures risk breaking international rules to which China and almost
all other nations subscribe, according to some trade experts
interviewed by The New York Times." More on how China helps exporters.
From The
New York Times.
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
"Brownsville, Texas Bans Plastic Bags"—reliability
medium.
Daniel Kessler posts that "Brownsville, TX, has taken action and
banned plastic bags. The ban goes into effect January 5. Shoppers who
forget their reusable bags can buy plastic bags for an extra buck." See
TreeHugger.
News story on the move at BusinessGreen.
[Brownsville takes
a different approach with its $1 per transaction charge if you forget
your reusable bag.]
"IKEA starts to assemble European wind energy
portfolio"—reliability high.
"It was revealed this week that the retail giant has acquired six
German wind farms from Spanish wind turbine firm Gamesa, giving it
access to 45MW of capacity, enough to power around 17 IKEA stores. The
acquisition, which was completed earlier this year, but only announced
by Gamesa yesterday, builds on a similar deal that saw it acquire four
French wind farms last year. In total the company now operates 52 wind
turbines boasting 93MW of capacity and providing enough energy to cover
10 per cent of the group's electricity needs." More at BusinessGreen.
"CBI: Businesses need better warning of
climate risks"—reliability high.
UK business lobbying organization CBI launched a report "Whatever the
weather: managing the risks from a changing climate" that called for
the Government to make its environmental data more easily available to
help businesses prepare for the risks of climate change. It also called
for the creation of a new public information bank showing the risk to
critical infrastructure. "It also notes that businesses need to take
action to improve their climate resilience and understand their climate
risks." Story at BusinessGreen.
CBI press release here.
PDF of report here.
Government and
Regulation
"Japan starts WTO dispute with Canada on
clean power"—reliability high.
Japan has initiated the process of objecting to a protectionist trade
provision of Ontario funding for alternative energy projects. Ontario
offers guaranteed long-term pricing for energy produced by renewable
projects using a certain percentage of locally produced components.
From Reuters.
"Norway says green taxes can help jobs and
economic growth"—reliability high.
Reuters quotes Norway's Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg: "One of the
ways that we can restore public finances is to try to have green
taxes." "One of the problems many countries in Europe are facing is
that they reduced taxes during times of high economic growth and now
they have problems in financing the public sector." "We see a very
close link between climate issues and economic recovery. Investments in
green technology are part of the solution." See Reuters
story.
And from sister
blog . . .
"'Peak Coal' And The Future Of Energy"—reliability
medium.
Is coal the fuel of the past? Will the rising price of energy from
coal make alternative energy sources more economically competitive?
Recent research says "Maybe." See Doc's
Green Blog.
"Storms of My Grandchildren--James Hanson"
(book review)—reliability medium.
"Dr. James Hansen has written a personal, idiosyncratic, urgent,
heartfelt book about climate change, past and future. ... Dr. Hansen
has decided that he knows something important, and that he must speak
out about it. Not everyone will agree with the urgent, even intolerant,
tone of his call to action. But it is based on true feelings founded on
decades of serious science." Also at Doc's
Green Blog.
