Reactions to story from SFGate

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  In Case You Missed It

  http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/13/in-case-you-mis...
  50 days ago in Energy and Green Business - Green Inc. Blog - NYTimes.com · Authority: 161

  In Case You Missed It By The New York Times Energy and environment headlines from The New York Times and around the Web: THE NEW YORK TIMES Goals Are High in Energy Plan Seen as Vital to New Jersey New Jersey is earning a reputation for its efforts to
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  Climate Changes

  http://www.next100.com/2008/10/climate-changes-3.php
  46 days ago in Next100 - A Dialogue on the Next Century of Energy · Authority: 8

  Climate Changes Climate change remained a hot topic in the news this week: The worldwide meltdown of financial markets called into question the political will to enact cap-and-trade legislation or other curbs on carbon emissions. "The truth is there is a very large question mark hanging over the idea that Congress would take economywide action on global warming with the economy in such anemic shape," said Frank O'Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch. In Europe, one expert said, "The Germans are giving up and the Italians are getting ready to follow." California Gov. Schwarzenegger doesn't buy the calls for caution. "We all know we're going through tough economic times right now, but that's no reason to slow down when it comes to protecting our environment and investing in clean, green technologies," Schwarzenegger said while dedicating a new solar facility at Applied Materials in Sunnyvale. EU Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso rejected the go-slow crowd as well. Speaking to European leaders on Tuesday, he said "Climate change does not disappear because of the financial crisis. Tackling climate change is central to Europe's future prosperity and to preserve the quality of life on our planet." UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon issued a similar declaration to the European Union today. At least the British government doesn't appear to be shrinking from the challenge. It plans to issue legally binding targets in a new climate change bill that will require the UK to cut its carbon emissions by 80 per cent from 1990 levels by 2050. According to Johan Eliasch, the UK's Special Representative on Deforestation, major reforms in world forestry practices will be an essential part of any program to address climate change. "Without action on deforestation, avoiding the worst effects of climate change will be next to impossible, and could lead to additional climate change damages of $1 trillion a year by 2100," he said. Meantime, scientists say air temperatures in the Arctic have reached record levels, as the loss of sea ice reduces the amount of sunlight reflected back into space. Posted by: Jonathan Marshall
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  Economic Uncertainty Prompts Calls to Stay the Green Course

  http://www.climatelawupdate.com/2008/10/articles/economic-un...
  49 days ago in Climate Law Update: Climate Change & Sustainable Energy News : Thelen Reid Law Firm : Renewable Energy, Construction, Project Finance Lawyers & Attorneys · Authority: 31

  As the worldwide economy does its frightening impression of a bungee jumper who might -- or might not -- be attached to an actual bungee cord, it's probably no wonder there are a lot of different ideas of what this is all going to mean for renewable energy and efforts to tackle climate change. Just the other day, for instance, there was a report in the San Francisco Chronicle that progress in the United States toward curbing greenhouse gas emissions, derailed this year in Congress, could again stall as a byproduct of the economic situation. The Wall Street Journal's Environmental Capital, meanwhile, postulated that economic woes could put sand in the gears of the European Union's plans to tackle climate change because of worries there "that adding extra cost to business during a downturn will be suicidal." But powerful voices have also emerged with a much different message: That to delay or forego environmental protection -- including progress toward controlling climate change and beefing up renewable energy -- would be wrong-headed. One of those messengers was California's Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who made a surprise visit to a big solar power conference in San Diego to preach the gospel of green energy. It's a point that readers of Climate Law Update know he's made before and Monday he made it again, according to Fortune's Green Wombat: "We should not give in to those who say environmental goals should take a back seat until the economy improves. That's short-sighted thinking. Tough economic times mean we need more solar, more green jobs." Just Tuesday, an organization that bills itself as the world's oldest and largest environmental network, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, emerged with its own call for pushing forward with deep cuts in greenhouse gases by 2050, in the face of current economic uncertainty. The group, while saying heat-trapping gases should be cut by up to 85 percent over that time, also endorsed steps that would reduce emissions from deforestation and called on governments to regulate biofuels to limit their impact on people and nature. The cost of some environmental impacts, according to the group's statement, may exceed those of the world's financial woes. The group, which just wrapped up a huge meeting in Barcelona, also released a list of significant financial and policy commitments, including those aimed directly at climate change, that private groups and government have made recently. Said Julia Marton-Lefevre (pictured), who heads the organization, which includes members from governments, conservation groups and scientific organizations: "We’re showing how saving nature must be an integral part of the solution for any world crisis. The clear message coming out of this meeting is that biodiversity underpins the well-being of human societies and their economies. But conservation can only succeed if we attack the underlying causes of biodiversity loss, and action is taken at the same time to reduce the impacts of that loss.” And then there was also word from Reuters that the European Union's own environment chief was defending proposals to cut greenhouse gases via an emissions trading scheme. The news service reported that some countries have expressed concerns that their economies could be harmed. According to the dispatch, EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas told reporters: "We think this (climate) package is consistent with solving the financial crisis... At the moment, people are focused on the economic crisis, but our package is part of the solution." Dimas drew a direct connection between fighting climate change investing in "energy efficiency, promoting renewable sources and providing incentives to stimulate the economy and contribute to growth." The debate, of course, isn't a new one. It raged particularly hotly during the Congressional deliberations. Environmentalists clashed with the Bush administration over whether such legislation would boost the economy. Some also argued that doing nothing would prove economically counter-productive. Meanwhile, businesses emphasized the costs of putting a price on carbon emissions, as the bill would have done. Schwarzenegger, according to an account of his San Diego presentation from CNET News, laid out his notion of the future in somewhat less abstract terms: "I can envision going on a helicopter and seeing no more warehouses without solar panels." --Dennis Pfaff of Thelen LLP Photo: Courtesy of IUCN
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  In The News (October 13)

  http://www.climatelawupdate.com/2008/10/articles/in-the-news...
  50 days ago in Climate Law Update: Climate Change & Sustainable Energy News : Thelen Reid Law Firm : Renewable Energy, Construction, Project Finance Lawyers & Attorneys · Authority: 31

  In The News (October 13) Posted on October 13, 2008 by Dennis Pfaff Here's another journalistic take on the possible disconnect between the world's financial woes and efforts to deal with climate change, with environmentalists worried that economy trumps the green movement, from the San Francisco Chronicle. In a report that would seem to bolster that warning, the fallout from the financial crisis may claim as a casualty Europe's plans to tackle climate change, as the continent begins to realize the costs of environmental legislation, according to this posting from the Wall Street Journal's Environmental Capital. Then again, here's this analysis, in which a top U.N. climate official suggests that the global credit crisis could hasten countries' efforts to create "green growth" industries by revamping the financial system behind them -- if governments help poor countries, according to Reuters. An expert talks about how research into the technology of burying carbon dioxide from coal-fired is picking up, as reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Some out-of-the-climate thinking from British and American researchers predicts some fairly bizarre scenarios for a warmer world, including an influx of people to Antarctica, and Olympics held only in cyberspace, according to this dispatch from Reuters. Leading trade groups representing some of the world's largest electricity utilities have formed an international partnership to promote advanced technologies to lower carbon emissions, with nuclear power, "advanced" coal and renewables, from a statement issued by the groups, including Edison Electric Institute. A leading environmental group lauds California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for making 2008 a "banner year" for global warming legislation; however, the organization criticizes his veto of a bill to clean up air pollution from ports, in a statement from the Natural Resources Defense Council. The next president will have make reform of the entire food system one of his highest priorities, or else will not be able to make significant progress on other huge issues, such as health care, energy independence or climate change, argues the author of this New York Times Magazine article. Sewage treatment plants could be turned into power-generating stations, yet that potential is going largely untapped, says a private energy expert, as reported by the Kitsap (Washington) Sun. Climate change research -- it can be a dangerous and really cold business, as evidenced by the experiences of one Greenland ice sheet expert, in this report from the Toledo Blade. A lot of Wisconsin's ethanol plants have faced enforcement actions from state regulators for various alleged environmental violations, ranging from minor to more significant; it's a rate that one state officials calls unusual, according to the Janesville (Wisconsin) Gazette. Tags: Antarctica, Articles, Bio-fuels, California, Environmental and consumer, Federal, Financial, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Industry, Interest groups, Non-renewables, Nuclear, Renewables, State, regional and local actions, carbon capture, carbon dioxide, climate change, ethanol, food, sewage treatment
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  Fiscal woes could delay climate change efforts

  http://www.regionalgateway.org/news/wordpress/?p=1722
  50 days ago in Regional Gateway News > News from regularly covered publications monitored by SACOG. · Authority: 1

  Fiscal woes could delay climate change efforts Monday, October 13th, 2008 Fiscal woes could delay climate change efforts S.F. Chronicle Categories: Climate | |

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