Top Stories
"In Kansas, Climate Skeptics Embrace Cleaner
Energy"—reliability high.
In Salina, Kansas, activists work toward energy efficiency without
trying to convince people about global warming. "'Don’t mention global
warming,' warned Nancy Jackson, chairwoman of the Climate and Energy
Project, a small nonprofit group that aims to get people to rein in the
fossil fuel emissions that contribute to climate change. 'And don’t
mention Al Gore. People out here just hate him.'" The local Project
"set out to extricate energy issues from the charged arena of climate
politics. ... the project ran an experiment to see if by focusing on
thrift, patriotism, spiritual conviction and economic prosperity, it
could rally residents of six Kansas towns to take meaningful steps to
conserve energy and consider renewable fuels." See New
York Times story. The project's site is here. [While the science
vs. skeptic arguments get the ink, some people in Kansas know how to
just get the job done. Convincing James Inhofe is not on the critical
path.]
"New Tactic in California for Paying
Pollution Bill"—reliability high.
"Faced with a fine of at least $29 million for exceeding federal ozone
limits, the San Joaquin Valley’s air quality regulators are proposing
an annual surcharge of $10 to $24 on registration fees for the region’s
2.7 million cars and trucks beginning next year. ... regulators are
exploring what they can do to force consumers to face up to the
pollution they cause. ... it is extremely unusual, if not
unprecedented, for such an agency to make a point of penalizing drivers
for the smog they create." From The
New York Times. [Externalities?
Deposit $20 please. If your actions cost other people money, sooner or
later you might expect to receive a bill. (The board still has to pass
the rule, so it might not happen.)]
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
"PepsiCo aims to crunch carbon out of apples
and potatoes"—reliability high.
PepsiCo plans to work with its agricultural suppliers to reduce its
carbon and water footprints. "Under the initiative, farmers growing
potatoes, apples and oats for PepsiCo UK and Ireland have started
testing internet crop management tools, low carbon fertilisers and
greener machinery in a bid to halve carbon emissions and water usage
across PepsiCo core crops within just five years." See BusinessGreen.
PepsiCo press release on the global plan here.
PepsiCo's UK/Ireland "Sustainable Farming Report" here.
"Wind Power Soars by 16GW in first half of
2010"—reliability high.
The WWEA reports that global wind turbine capacity hit 175 GW in
mid-2010 and is heading for 200 GW by the end of the year. Total
capacity added in 2010 will be between 35 and 40 GW, they estimate, in
line with the 38 GW added in 2009. The association called for more
government support for the industry. See Renewable
Energy World. WWEA press release with table here.
Science and
Economics
"Low Carbon Competitiveness Report"—reliability
high.
Australian think tank The Climate Institute and European think tank
E3G have published a study on "G20 low carbon competitiveness". It
finds "Only two G20 countries – Mexico and Argentina – are currently
improving carbon competitiveness fast enough to be on track to a 450
ppm outcome. ... In a world that limits carbon, the countries that are
currently best placed to offer economic prosperity to their citizens
are France, Japan, UK, South Korea and Germany. ... China has shown a
strong improvement in its carbon productivity over the last fifteen
years and is well placed to play a leading role globally in the future,
although performance has recently lagged. Australia needs to more than
double its rate of carbon productivity improvement" if it is to meet
its share of the 450ppm target. See The
Climate Institute site. PDF of report here.
[An interesting
economic analysis that reveals that China is among the leaders in
making progress toward an economy in line with the 450ppm target. The
USA is doing better than some, in spite of confusion in Washington.]
"Britain leads major economies on carbon
pricing: survey"—reliability high.
Another take on the Economics for the Climate Institute study
notes that "Britain ranked first with an implied carbon price per tonne
of $29.30. ... China was second with an implied carbon price of $14.20
per tonne, followed by the United States at $5.10, Japan $3.10,
Australia $1.70 and South Korea $0.70." Reuters story quotes Erwin
Jackson, deputy chief executive of the Climate Institute: "Investment
in clean energy in the United Kingdom reached around $11 billion in
2009. In 2009, clean energy investment in China reached $35 billion
compared with $18 billion in the United States and less than $1 billion
in Australia." See Reuters.
Link to report in item above.
"UK crops to face water supply crunch, may
relocate"—reliability high.
"Agricultural crops in Britain may need to be moved to new areas as
the threat of both drought and flooding rises in the coming decades, a
report commissioned by the Royal Agricultural Society of England said
on Monday. ... River flow was seen reducing by about 20 percent by 2020
and 40 percent by the 2050s." From Reuters.
PDF of Society's press release here.
"Chile Measures Its 'Water Footprints'"—reliability
high.
Chile is starting to develop a database of the water footprints of
agricultural and mining companies to evaluate their impacts on local
watersheds. "In a pilot effort, the [Chile Foundation, formed by ITT,
the government, and copper miner Minera Escondida (owned by BHP
Billiton)] is measuring the water footprint of products and companies,
mostly in the northern region of Atacama, which is a semi- desert area,
with scarce water resources, several major mining projects, and
for-export agriculture. ... With a portion of that data, the
institution is calculating the situation of the entire Huasco
watershed. To create a complete map, it is preparing to measure -- for
the first time in the world -- the full impact of mining activity on
water resources." More about footprinting, water markets and water
policy in Chile. From IPS.
