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We are a group of environmental advocates united in providing a one-stop source for Virginia's environmental news. We each focus on different issues, but share the vision of a Commonwealth that preserves and protects its natural resources. Please join us!
10,000+ people are descending on Congress to lobby on climate change as part of Powershift 09. And, many of those will participate in what might be the largest climate change disobedience action in history: the Capitol Climate Action against the coal-fired Capitol Power Plant. Meanwhile, the DC area (along with much of the East Coast) is hit with a major snowstorm. The Federal Government is on a two-hour delay and schools around the area are shut down.
For those who don't get that weather isn't climate, a snowy day in March is not some contradiction of science on Global Warming, they are confused when mass efforts to highlight the seriousness of the climate crisis intersect with major weather events that seem (SEEM) to contradict the realities of the dangerous changes that humanity is recklessly driving. Some joke about "The Gore Effect", suggesting that the best predictor of a DC snow storm is Al Gore being scheduled to testify before Congress. (They will, of course, forget when he is there in hotter weather if they can find a snow or ice event ...) Today reinforces that shallow observation.
President Obama has issued a clear call for climate action, saying on Tuesday night, "I ask this Congress to send me legislation that places a market-based cap on carbon pollution and drives the production of more renewable energy in America."
Want to know which Virginia companies will benefit from a cap on carbon pollution? Check out this new interactive map of Virginia from the Environmental Defense Fund.
For just one example, the furthest southwest icon on the map belongs to Royal Mouldings in Marion. It makes cellular vinyl, a lumber substitute that insulates 70 percent better than wood for a substantial energy savings (plus, no chopping down trees).
Roanoke County Sets Aggressive Emissions Reduction Target, Recognizes Work of Cool Cities Coalition and Affiliates
Culminating nearly two years of planning and analysis, the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors approved three resolutions yesterday, paving the way for a multi-year campaign to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions are widely acknowledged to be a principal cause of global climate change. Prior to introducing the resolutions, Cave Spring District Supervisor Charlotte Moore acknowledged the work of county staff, local scientists who provided technical expertise, Roanoke Valley Cool Cities Coalition and several of its affiliates, and Roanoke Cement, a Titan America Company that provided funding for expert assistance to the County in this project. All three resolutions passed by unanimous vote of the five members of the Board of Supervisors.
Following the Board action, Roanoke Valley Cool Cities Coalition's Diana Christopulos commented, "We're so grateful to Charlotte Moore, without whose efforts this great achievement might not have been possible. We are very excited to be a part of this landmark decision, and we look forward to working with the new citizens' committee, the Board of Supervisors, and county staff, as they sustain their quest to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and strive toward a smart, clean energy future for our community."
It is important that we pass meaningful energy efficiency legislation this year, because it is the cheapest, quickest and cleanest way for Virginia to meet its growing energy demands.
* CHEAP: It can help customers lower their end of the month electricity bills through weatherization, more efficient appliances & heating and cooling systems, lighting.
* QUICK: Utility programs can be rolled out immediately;
* CLEAN: Reducing electricity usage also reduces air pollution, including emissions contributing to climate change.
HB 2506 will be voted on in the Senate THIS WEEK! SB 1248 (Northam), which is now comparable to HB 2506, could be voted on in the House of Delegates as early as TODAY!
This is our last chance in 2009 to pass legislation to move energy efficiency forward in Virginia!
This week the Obama administration announced it'll take another look at regulating global warming pollution from coal-fired power plants. The New Republic's Bradford Plumer talks about what that means:
In a letter today to the Sierra Club, EPA director Lisa Jackson announced that it would reconsider a Bush-administration 11th hour policy memo prohibiting controls on global warming pollution from coal plants.
In response, David Bookbinder, Chief Climate Counsel for the Sierra Club issued the following statement:
"Today's victory is yet another indication that change really has come to Washington, and to EPA in particular. This decision stops the Bush Administration's final, last-minute effort to saddle President Obama with its do-nothing policy on global warming.
"Not only does today's decision signal a good start for our clean energy future, it also signals a return to policy based on sound science and the rule of law, not deep pocketbooks or politics. Lisa Jackson is making good on her promises to bring science and the rule of law back into the center of the decision making process at EPA.
"With coal-fired power plants emitting more than 30 percent of our global warming pollution, regulating their carbon dioxide is essential to making real progress in the fight against global warming.
"Holding coal-fired power plants accountable for their global warming emissions was one of the top actions the Sierra Club has been encouraging President Obama to take on global warming as soon as possible as part of the "Clean Slate" agenda. Building on the monumental economic recovery package to be signed today and his administration's quick decision to reconsider the California clean cars waiver, this is one more part of President Obama's vision for building a clean energy economy that will create millions of new green jobs while curbing global warming.
"Today's announcement should cast significant further doubt on the approximately 100 coal-fired power plants that the industry is trying to rush through the permitting process without any limits on carbon dioxide. New coal plants were already a bad bet for investors and ratepayers and today's decisions make them an even bigger gamble."
Talking Points Memo has been trying to get to the bottom of how George Will's Saturday column made it to print with so much misinformation about climate change. So far, the Washington Post seems to be going into cover-up mode:
[H]ere's what happened when we tried to talk about all this yesterday morning with Will and [editorial page editor Fred] Hiatt:
Will's assistant told us that Will might get back to us later in the day to talk about the column. And Hiatt said he was too busy to talk about it just then, but that he'd try to respond to emailed questions. So we emailed him yesterday's post, with several questions about the editing process, then followed up with another email late yesterday afternoon.
But still nothing from either of them, over twenty-four hours after the first contact was made. Nor has the online version of Will's column been updated, even to reflect the fact that the ACRC has utterly disavowed the claim Will attributes to it.
If the target of a news story stonewalled a Post reporter to this extent, how much would Post editors be flipping out? You can't help but wonder.
"We are basically looking now at a future climate that's beyond anything we've considered seriously in climate model simulations," Christopher Field, founding director of the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology at Stanford University, said at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Field, a member of the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said emissions from burning fossil fuels since 2000 have largely outpaced the estimates used in the U.N. panel's 2007 reports. The higher emissions are largely the result of the increased burning of coal in developing countries, he said.
Of course, developing countries are only catching up to ours. And America's carbon emissions rose two percent in 2007 at a time when scientists say we need to be cutting our global warming pollution now.
Will Congress lead efforts to reverse the trend by passing climate legislation in 2009? We'll find out.
(I completely agree; the corporate media has been horrible when it comes to reporting on global warming. "On the one hand, on the other hand..." Blech. - promoted by Lowell)
The Washington Post has a strong history of being "fair and balanced" within its pages when it comes to Global Warming issues, providing column inch after column inch of space to those actively seeking to deceive when it comes to what might (what likely will be) the most critical issue for this century. Without question, deniers / skeptics / delayers get far too much time and space in the OPED pages. Lomborg has been above the fold in Outlook. Multiple of these 'regular' columnists (Krauthammer / Samuelson / Will) have regularly launched inanities on the Post's pages. (See: TRADITION! WashPost Global Warming reporting Fair and Balanced.) Dana Milbank's recent piece using "Goracle" time after time is an example where this travesty goes past the OPED section. Yes, yes, yes. There is "fair and balanced". The Post's editorials, themselves, clearly state that Global Warming is real and that humanity is a driving factor. Yes, people like Bill McKibben and Al Gore have had editorials in the Post's opinion section. But, that is the point: there is, it seems, a striving for "fair and balanced" rather than accurate and truthful when it comes to Washington Post editorial decisions about articles and opinion pieces on climate issues.
In today's Washington Post, it's renowned climatologist...er, hot-air-spewing, right-wing pundit George Will vs. the world's leading climate scientists. Who do you believe?
1. George Will, the noted expert on...uh, baseball I guess...who mocks "Dark Green Doomsayers" by quoting a few sensationalistic and erroneous articles from the 1970s. Uh, George, I do believe that science has made a few advances over the past 30 years, but perhaps you missed all that...what's it called, empirical evidence? Data? Yeah, that stuff.
OR
2. The scientists, who say - and explain in great detail, using what conservatives like George Will disparage as "damn facts" - that "The pace of global warming is likely to be much faster than recent predictions, because industrial greenhouse gas emissions have increased more quickly than expected and higher temperatures are triggering self-reinforcing feedback mechanisms in global ecosystems."
Tough choice, I know, but I think I'll take the climate scientists over the bow-tied baseball "expert." How about you?
A report released [yesterday] by the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy demonstrates that the Southeast has sufficient renewable energy resources to fulfill an aggressive national mandate for renewable energy.
"Yes We Can: Southern Solutions for a National Renewable Energy Standard" confirms that utilities across eleven Southeastern states can tap homegrown clean energy resources to meet a significant percentage of electric power demands. The analysis indicates near-term renewable energy resources can generate more than 15 percent of electricity demand by 2015 and achieve the proposed renewable energy standard (RES) of 25 percent by 2025.
The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Union of Concerned Scientists and other allies are looking for organizations, companies and individuals in the Southeastern U.S. that support a national Renewable Electricity Standard (RES). Congress will consider an RES this year. This provision can help the Southeast:
• Reduce the $ billions of dollars spent every year importing fuels from other states and countries by developing local renewable energy resources;
• Support national and local economic development in the Southeast;
• Create thousands of manufacturing jobs and increase global export opportunities; and
• Reduce global warming pollution levels.
We hope you can join us in showing Congress that the Southeast is ready to contribute to our country's energy security.
We're looking for sign-ons by close of business Friday, February 20, 2009.See attached letter. If you would like to sign-on to this letter please email Colin Hagan at SACE at colin@cleanenergy.org. Please include name/city/state and affiliation if you are signing on on their behalf.
Pink flamingos in the Chesapeake? Sounds ridiculous, right, especially since the range of this species is generally no further north than southern Florida. However, if this trend continues, who knows?
Analysis of four decades of Christmas Bird Count observations reveal that birds seen in North America during the first weeks of winter have moved dramatically northward-toward colder latitudes-over the past four decades. Significant northward movement occurred among 58% of the observed species-177 of 305. More than 60 moved in excess of 100 miles north, while the average distance moved by all studied species-including those that did not reflect the trend-was 35 miles northward.
And yes, this is our responsibility. Sorry, climate change deniers!
The evidence is staring us in the face. Global Warming is not just about being able to bike in shorts in February (okay, as long as I can forget about why its happening, it can be really enjoyable to have a warm day in winter). Global Warming is not just about rising sea levels. Nor just about increased droughts and major fires. Nor about more violent storms and flooding. Nor just about disrupted weather patterns. Nor just about disrupted agriculture. Nor just about changed bird migration and habitation patterns. We (you, I, all of US and all humanity) are conducting humanity's the largest scientific experiment ever, using our own habitat (the earth) as the test tube. And, the data collection is coming in every day to show that the changes are multifaceted, are increasing in rate of change, and that the complexity of the interaction of change is perhaps, quite literally, beyond our ability to conceive and understand.
The birds are moving north ... for winter. They have moved hundreds of miles. Evidently they will run out of miles to move. Will we act to turn back the rising tides of Global Warming's menacing seas before time and space runs out?
So...do pink flamingos eat Chesapeake Bay oysters? We may find out soon enough (oh wait, that assumes that global warming and other pressures haven't completely wiped out the Bay's oyster population as well).
At first glance, this would appear to be encouraging news.
Confronted with a sharp change of priorities in Washington, international oil executives are expressing an eagerness to work with President Obama to fashion new policies to tackle global warming.
At an industry conference here this week, the executives struck a conciliatory tone on how to limit the emissions that are contributing to climate change, with many of them sounding like budding conservationists as they stressed energy efficiency and the need to develop renewable fuels.
Believe it or not, one of ExxonMobil's top executives is even backing a carbon tax, "while criticizing a so-called cap-and-trade approach." And Dan Yergin of Cambridge Energy Research Associates says that the oil companies "are not arguing about basic philosophy anymore, but about practical steps."
It all sounds good, so why aren't I getting too excited? Mainly, because looking at these companies behavior - including funding global warming deniers - I don't trust 'em as far as I can throw 'em. In addition, I worry that the involvement of oil companies in fashioning measures to tackle global warming will simply water them down until they're worthless, sort of like Virginia House Republicans just did to the smoking ban. Still, I admit to a bit of optimism that Big Oil might really be seeing the political writing on the wall. Should I be optimistic, or is Big Oil simply putting out public relations talking points here? What do you think?
UPDATE 2/12: OK, so AFP pulled the ads off YouTube, deleted their blog post, and told the Wonk Room that the view expressed in the ads that global warming is a hoax "is not our position." Now the ads are back on YouTube. That's the way to build credibility, AFP - behave more erratically than Joaquin Phoenix.
Hey, Old Virginny! Put down that bottle of moonshine and stop chewin' yer tobaccy for a second. Americans for Prosperity has somethin' to tell you.
Listen up, Joe Sixpack. Don't you hate rich people? Aren't you jealous? Don't they get your overalls in a bunch? Don't they make your bourbon-laden blood boil? Why, it's enough to make a good ol' boy jump in his pickup, drive down to the gen'rul store and give the shopkeep a bit of what-for!
That's apparently the view of Virginia's intellect from the tenth floor office of Americans for Prosperity just south of Dupont Circle as they launch a new ad campaign in Virginia.
Honestly, I haven't been able to pay any attention to the content of the ad. I'm just dumbfounded they'd think we're this, well, dumb. Is this guy supposed to be a rich snob, a surfer dude, or some combination - Spicoli with a trust fund? And what's he eating, cheese and crackers? That's snobby rich people food?
You'd think Americans for Prosperity, with millions rolling in every year, would be able to buy some better propaganda for its buddies in the dirty fossil fuel industry.
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From Mark McClain, 
It is important that we pass meaningful energy efficiency legislation this year, because it is the cheapest, quickest and cleanest way for Virginia to meet its growing energy demands.
In a letter today to the Sierra Club, EPA director Lisa Jackson announced that it would reconsider a Bush-administration 11th hour policy memo prohibiting controls on global warming pollution from coal plants.
In today's Washington Post, it's renowned climatologist...er, hot-air-spewing, right-wing pundit George Will vs. 
... as a clean energy leader!
Pink flamingos in the Chesapeake? Sounds ridiculous, right, especially since the range of this species is generally no further north than southern Florida. However, if 
At first glance, 
