http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2009/12/09/dont-let-the-americans-know-theyre-killing-the-globe/
This editorial on Climate Change runs in 56 Papers Worldwide, but Only 2 in the US – and with Key Edits.
via Reddit.com
Archive for the ‘Climate Change’ Category
Re-post: Don’t Let the Americans Know They are Killing the Globe
December 10th, 2009
Re-post: Coal Industry Passing Off Stock Photos as Supporters
August 28th, 2009http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/08/faces-of-coal-just-stock-photos.php?dcitc=th_rss
Apparently the Coal Industry could not find anyone that would be willing to pose for a photo to support the coal cause.
Talking to Climate Change Skeptics
August 26th, 2009I’ve been doing some political blog trolling, and it seems that a majority of the skeptics in the political realm just don’t have all the information. The deniers are not scientist, or even malicious energy company pawns, they are just average people that don’t understand a lot of the science. Here is an example of one that just doesn’t understand math and statistics:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/08/my_global_warming_epiphany.html
I’ve given up on trying to explain things myself, and always end up referring them to what I feel is the best comprehensive list of evidence for man made climate change:
http://www.grist.org/article/series/skeptics/
If you’re faced with the challenge of explaining/arguing any of the points, the series of posts on Grist is definitely a big help.
Population Control for the Environment – Crazy Talk?
August 25th, 2009Population control is not a new idea, but it has recently been discussed in the context of the environment, some articles with tact and some not. China’s one child policy was instituted in 1979 to address social, economical and environmental issues. While the policies of the Chinese government were not because they were green, and I don’t condone them, they illustrate the reality of scarce resources. Because of the population density, more people led to poverty, poor living conditions, disease and famine. There simply were not enough resources in some areas to sustain the population. Fortunately, the world is not to the point where we cannot sustain its current population. However, we may be soon.
One article with good coverage of some of these issues is in a recent Scientific American Earth 3.0. The article discusses Malthusian limits, where population growth outpace the growth in agriculture. Since the Industrial Revolution, where production of all types increased, world population has exploded. Most people are aware of issues caused by increased energy consumption, like climate change. Climate change can have various effects on agricultural output, changing weather patterns make areas previously suitable to grow crops completely desolate. Many people are also aware of fresh water issues, especially if you live somewhere like Australia. Fewer people are aware that peak phosphorus could limit fertilizer production, severely reducing agricultural output.
There is not a question of if these issues will limit the growth of the population, it is a matter of when they will limit growth. Whether population control is mandated and enforced or not, environmental factors will limit the population. If sustainable practices are adopted, and resources are used wisely, maybe we can avoid another Malthusian catastrophe.
Oceans the Hottest on Record
August 21st, 2009For some reason from Yahoo Finance:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/In-hot-water-World-sets-ocean-apf-1959202083.html?x=0
“The average water temperature worldwide was 62.6 degrees, according to the National Climatic Data Center, the branch of the U.S. government that keeps world weather records. That was 1.1 degree higher than the 20th century average, and beat the previous high set in 1998 by a couple hundredths of a degree. The coolest recorded ocean temperature was 59.3 degrees in December 1909.”
Greenpeace Exposes Oil Industry Astroturfing
August 20th, 2009http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/exposed-oil-tricks190809
Astroturfing: a word in English describing formal political, advertising, or public relations campaigns seeking to create the impression of being spontaneous “grassroots” behavior, hence the reference to the artificial grass, AstroTurf.
Greenpeace has exposed the tactics of the American Petroleum Institute (API), a lobbyist organizations paid by oil companies, to create fake grassroots campaigns against the Climate Bill. A leaked API memo has been posted on the Greenpeace website here, which urges employees to go to climate action rallies to masquerade as “concerned citizens.”
Video: More Papertrail on the Energy Bill Opponents Astroturfing
August 19th, 2009This video is mostly political, but it recaps some of the recent reports about the falsified letters from lobbyists to Congress. These lobbyists are funded by the coal industry to try to derail climate legislation.
Via: ThinkProgress.org
Comments Reply: Cost of Energy
August 16th, 2009In reply to comments on the More Coal Industry Propaganda post.
You are right, Jesse, the cost of power is important. Legislation does drive up the price of dirty energy, but it only brings the cost closer to the true social costs of power from coal. If you are a believer in the free market, then with some other economic principles you are likely to see that as prices go up, consumption goes down. Demand for electricity is elastic, just like the price of gas. When the cost in the US went up in 2008, consumption went down, causing the prices to drop again. It’s arguable that the cost of electricity generation does not fluctuate enough for there to be a dramatic effect, but that’s only true if there is only a single source of power.
As clean technologies become *relatively* cheaper, they are more cost competitive. For one, the economies of scale make clean technologies cheaper as more is bought. I did say relatively cheaper because even with prices stay the same, they become more competitive as the others go up. Even if clean options do not become more widespread, energy efficiency subsidies are being introduced, which will also benefit low income consumers and offset a large amount of the costs introduced by emissions legislation.
Energy markets right now are not free because there are a lot of subsidies and tax incentives for energy producers that are not incorporated in final energy prices. The coal industry is very dependent on the railroad industry, which has been highly subsidized by the US government. Oil companies receive tax incentives for exploration, and in states like CA have to pay disproportionately low taxes on sales of what they find. Ignoring the cost of wars in the Middle East (because they were about terrorism, right?), the US protects shipping lanes used to import oil from the region, at no direct cost to oil companies.
The solution to saving money when coal gets more expensive is to stop using coal. Many (not all) power companies offer options for consumers to buy their energy from renewable sources. If that’s not an option, first reduce wasteful energy consumption. Second, use subsidies to make your home more energy efficient.
The coal industry is right in that consumers should care about what they pay for energy. However, keeping coal prices artificially low is not the answer.
More Coal Industry Propaganda
August 16th, 2009The Coal Industry is back spending millions of dollars trying to sway public opinion of coal power by talking about “the importance of low-cost electricity.” Fortunately for those in favor of the climate bill (despite its flaws), it does not have the same scare factor as “death panels” or that “politicians are out to kill grandpa” seems to be pervasive in debates about health care reform in the US.
Video: The Awesome Power of the Word Clean
July 23rd, 2009This one has been around a while, but I thought it would be worth another post since the coal companies have brought out the “clean coal” greenwashing again because of the Climate Bill: