The world can't wait for George Bush

Public protests and condemnation forced modifications in Bali and in Washington.

Democratic Senate leadership was forced to strip important provisions from the energy bill by Republicans owned by energy interests and an out-of-touch Administration:

Senate Energy Bill Establishes Breakthrough Fuel Economy and Fuels StandardsRenewable Energy Development in Limbo
WASHINGTON (December 13, 2007) – In an 86 to 8 vote, the Senate today passed a landmark energy bill strengthening vehicle fuel economy standards for the first time in 30 years and requiring a significant increase in biofuel production. Lawmakers twice failed to muster the necessary 60 votes to end debate on more comprehensive legislation including renewable energy standards and tax incentives. So to avoid a filibuster and a veto by the White House, Senate leadership moved forward with a trimmed down bill, which is expected to pass early next week in the House before going to President Bush to be signed into law. UCS

DetroitFreePress

I am reminded that 20 years ago, we owned a vehicle that got 40 MPG. 10 years ago, we owned a vehicle that got 60 MPG. The auto industry and lawmakers seem to have sacrificed the consumer and the environment.

The Independent offered excerpts of Al Gore's speech:

Al Gore: The world can't wait for George Bush

Bali climate change summit hears a passionate appeal for action by the Nobel Prize-winner
Published: 14 December 2007
We, the human species, face a planetary emergency. That phrase still sounds shrill to some ears but it is deadly accurate as a description of the situation that we now confront.

They'll look back, and either they will ask "What were you thinking? Didn't you hear the IPCC four times unanimously warning the world to act? Didn't you see the glaciers melting? Didn't you see the deserts growing, and the droughts deepening, and the crops drying up? Didn't you pay attention to what was going on? Didn't you care? What were you thinking?"

Or they'll ask a second question, one that I'd much prefer them to ask. I want them to look back on this time, and ask: "How did you find the moral courage to successfully address a crisis that so many said was impossible? How were you able to start the process that unleashed the moral imagination of humankind to see ourselves as a single, global civilisation?" And when they ask that question, I want you to tell them that you saw it as a privilege to be alive at a moment when a relatively small group of people could control the destiny of all generations to come.

IndependentUK





Reuters





BBC





NYT





Bloomberg

Nations Set Timetable to Revive Climate Treaty

Fuel Economy: The Single Most Effective Step for Cutting Oil Dependence

Big Coal's Dirty Plans for Our Energy Future (with shocking photos) LINK

Just as the American people and the world are beginning to recognize the necessity of shifting to renewable energies, Big Coal, in collusion with an out-of-step administration, is pushing their dirty fossil fuel as the solution to our nation's energy crisis.

Energy Bill Update: Senate Approves Compromise Legislation

EMCORE to Supply Solar Systems in Canada

GE Energy Completes Wind and Solar Deals

Xcel Energy Announces 1,000th MW of Wind in Minnesota

PacWind Delta II Turbines Make Silent Leaps of Progression

Blue Mass Group

Other cities and towns are seeking alternatives, attempting to reduce their municipal consumption. And Middleboro? It might seem that the Selectmen are more interested in adjourning their meetings early than fulfilling their responsibilities.

Wind

The 12/6/07 Middleboro Gazette published a letter to the editor written by Kevin J. Cook that filled half the page promoting wind energy in Middleboro.

While I'm highly critical of the Cape Cod Commission and the legislature for their inaction in aggressively supporting coastal wind development, the feasibility of wind energy was not within my consideration when criticizing the Middleboro Board of Selectmen's inactions.

After reading Mr. Cook's letter, which itemizes solely coastal communities with prevailing winds, a little google searching provided the information listed below.

It appears from the DOE maps, that mountains and coastal zones are the appropriate locations for wind energy generation.

Should the G&E pursue a joint coastal venture with other communities more appropriately situated, it would appear a progressive solution.

As is pointed out in pingswept, reducing energy consumption should be the beginning, but falls sadly short, and is totally ignored by the Middleboro BOS.

This map indicates that Massachusetts has wind resources consistent with utility-scale production. Excellent-to-outstanding resource is located on the northern part of Cape Cod and good-to-excellent areas are found in the southern part of Cape Cod and along the shore of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Particular ridge crest locations of the Berkshires in western Massachusetts also have excellent wind resource. DOE

TrueWind

The outcry against Cape Wind is a travesty. It comes down to an unpleasant choice of how we get the energy we need. We have to satisfy our rising energy needs somehow. If you’re opposed to using local energy sources to fulfill our energy needs, you have to be in favor of either reduction of our energy needs (which have been strictly increasing for all of recorded history) or getting the energy from somewhere else.
The first choice, reducing energy consumption, requires either widespread, voluntary efficiency gains among the populace, forced efficiency gains via government intervention, or the arrival of the hard times. I think it would be imprudent to plan on any of those events occurring. Our understanding of efficiency improvements falls vastly short of what we need. Even the NPR-listening Prius drivers among us are making decisions around the level of 20% improvements by 10% of the population, while the population continues to increase. We’re excited about skyscrapers with green roofs, which collect water for irrigation of the plants in the lobby, and building-integrated solar, which can supply maybe 1% of the heating and cooling requirements of the building. We’re not thinking about changes on the level of, “You don’t get to heat your house in the winter any more.” pingswept

MilfordDailyNews

Aquinnah

Changes may buoy Cape Wind project

Wind turbines 'could fuel all homes by 2020'

Wind energy expansion unveiled

Off-Shore Wind Could Power All U.K. Homes

Energy Resources

Several years ago, Cooper Hewitt in New York hosted a photovoltaics exhibition. PV are solar panels that generate electricity.

When asked about the cost of installation, the architect's first comment was that the household energy requirement had to be reduced to the lowest possible level.

He didn't mean to sit in the dark, pump water by hand from a well, or eliminate the amenities we're accustomed to.

His intent was to mandate personal responsibility to reduce energy consumption by employing the most energy efficient technology prior to considering photovoltaics.

Previous posts offer some basic tips, but an internet search provides an endless array of ideas and sources.

It is frequently striking that those who complain about high energy costs, haven't installed CFLs (compact fluorescent lights) or taken any action to reduce their consumption. Since lighting accounts for ~ 15% of household energy consumption, it's an inexpensive place to start. CFLs have declined drastically in price and a wider selection of sizes and uses are available. Or those who have windows that remain uncovered.

And the silence from the Middleboro Board of Selectmen continues to amaze.

Effective Energy Policy requires an integrated approach: 1. Municipal and Household energy reduction; 2. Employment of appropriate alternatives by municipalities and households; 3. Construction of Alternative Energy Sources, as just the beginning.

Understanding the surrounding issues and creating a dialogue is of utmost importance for our survival.

UAW supports major boost in fuel economy standards; compromise bill includes safeguards for U.S. auto manufacturing jobs
The UAW “strongly supports” new fuel economy provisions in energy legislation being considered by Congress, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said today.
“The UAW strongly supports this historic bill, which contains aggressive but still achievable fuel economy requirements,” said Gettelfinger. “It will help consumers and the environment, and at the same time protect U.S. jobs.” UAW

Broad Energy Bill Passed by House
Car Mileage, Renewable Power Addressed
By Jonathan Weisman and Steven MufsonWashington Post Staff Writers Friday, December 7, 2007; Page A01
The House yesterday brushed aside a new White House veto threat and handily approved a comprehensive energy bill that would raise automobile fuel-efficiency standards for the first time in 32 years and require increased use of renewable energy sources to generate electricity.
The 235 to 181 vote sends the measure to the Senate today. There, Republicans hope to strip it of tax increases on the oil industry and the renewable-source requirement before a final version goes to President Bush. The White House objects to the bill on multiple fronts, including the prospect of tax boosts on oil companies, saying Bush would veto it. WP LATimes SFChronicle AP Reuters

Renewable Energy

Bissfield Michigan Home, Model of Sustainability, Earns LEEDS Platinum
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Blissfield, Michigan - Michigan’s first platinum-level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) award has been given to “Burnside’s Inn,” a home designed by Riverbend Timber Framing, Blissfield, and built by Robert Burnside’s Fireside Home Construction, Dexter. ENN

Inaction on greener buildings puzzle experts
They said the technology already existed to dramatically cut electricity use for very little cost, and yet it was puzzling that governments, industries and home-owners weren't cashing in on the energy-saving ideas.

"The entire current emission reductions commitment under the Kyoto Protocol can be achieved in the building sector alone. And the costs of achieving these reductions are low, very low."
ENN Reuters

U.S. Emissions Reductions May Be Cheaper Than Thought
The report predicts that mitigation efforts will cost less than $50 per ton of greenhouse gas emissions, or an amount in the tens of billions of dollars overall. One reason for the lower cost, explains Stevenson, is because the United States currently wastes large amounts of energy, and simple changes could make the country vastly more efficient. ENN

Tanker Leaks Oil Off S.Korea Coast
By Jack Kim
SEOUL (Reuters) - A large oil tanker gushed thousands of tons of oil into the sea near one of South Korea's most scenic coastlines after being hit by a barge, South Korea's maritime ministry said on Friday.
The Hong Kong-registered Hebei Spirit was struck while at anchor off Daesan port in the Taean region on the country's west coast and the ministry said it had already leaked some 10,800 metric tons of crude oil. ENN USAToday Reuters Bloomberg AFP

Gash Found on Vessel's Cargo Tank after Delaware River Oil Spill
PHILADELPHIA − Divers found a six-foot gash on the tanker that leaked 30,000 gallons of crude oil into the Delaware River, creating a 20-mile-long slick that killed dozens of birds and threatened other wildlife, officials said Sunday. ENN

NewAmericanDreamHome

Greens Take Heart at Final Energy Bill By Kelpie Wilson
Meanwhile, Senate Republicans have literally declared war on the bill. Sen. Pete Domenici said, "If it comes over here, we have no alternative but to have war." In other words, a filibuster. And President Bush has warned he is likely to veto the bill if it does pass the Senate.
Senate Republicans have drawn the line on two provisions: the Renewable Electricity Standard and the $21 billion tax package that will fund the bill, especially the $13.5 billion in higher taxes on oil companies. Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, of Texas, was the one who put a hold on the bill back in October, preventing the appointment of a conference committee. She called the tax increase "discrimination against one industry." Hutchison received $2,029,825 in contributions from the oil and gas industries in 2006. TO

'The biggest environmental crime in history'

FOE

Rewarding Polluters

Bali Conference: Diplomats warned that climate change is security issue, not a green dilemma

NYT: Oil-Rich Nations Use More Energy, Cutting Exports

It's time to lobby for renewable energy

CapeWind

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Reduce Junk Mail

This Week In Congress
House Passes Energy Bill