It's a bird, it's a plane, it's...the Climate Action Team!

They don’t have nifty superhero costumes, but Gov. Charlie Crist’s “Action Team on Energy and Climate Change” is on a mission to save the planet. Instead of explosions and high-flying fisticuffs, the action team will issue their first report to the governor on Thursday.

In their draft report, the team recommends a cap-and-trade system for cutting carbon emissions, exploring additional nuclear power, and writing a new rule that allows utilities to profit from investments in conserving energy.

Maybe it will save the world, but “Wonder Twin powers, activate!” sounded a lot cooler.

Read the Draft Phase 1 report here.

-Asjylyn Loder

Kyoto limits: Seattle shows how to do it

For a long time opponents of the Kyoto Protocol have complained that it sets unreasonable limits that will hurt the economy. But one American city has actually achieved the Kyoto goals.

"Seattle has exceeded its immediate goal to curb global warming, cutting greenhouse gas emissions to 8 percent below 1990 levels," the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported this week.

This is timely to note because, starting Thursday, "more than 100 mayors will visit Seattle for a two-day national conference on how local leaders can curb global warming in their own communities and push for federal action. Former President Clinton is expected to give a keynote address and Al Gore will speak via satellite," the Seattle newspaper reported.

A city study, released Monday, measured the "carbon footprint" of the entire city, "from electricity used to power homes to tailpipe emissions to pollution from airplane trips that residents take," the newspaper reported.

"Most gains from 1990 to 2005 came from cutting pollution associated with residential, commercial and industrial energy use, the study found," according to the paper. "Roughly 60 percent of the reduction -- 350,000 fewer tons of carbon dioxide -- came from changes at Seattle City Light, which has worked to become "carbon neutral" by offsetting whatever greenhouse gases it creates."

In part, the utility achieved that goal with "accelerated efforts to boost conservation and expand its use of renewable energy."

But now here's the catch: "Greenhouse gas emissions from transportation -- Seattle's largest source -- increased by 3 percent over the 15-year period. Pollution from cars, trucks, buses, boats and trains all increased," the paper reported. "Because no more gains can be achieved by greening the city's electric grid, the next big improvements will have to come from getting people out of their cars and conserving natural gas, officials said."

To read the full story, click here.

--Craig Pittman

Florida Governor Charlie Crist headed to Brazil to look at biofuels

Florida Governor Charlie Crist is set to embark this weekend on the largest trade mission his state has mounted to Brazil. A major part of his focus will be Brazil's booming biofuels industry.

Crist's schedule in Brazil includes a visit to the Barra Bonita ethanol refinery, the world's largest biofuels production facility, as well as a roundtable with Brazilian biofuels experts.

Crist is keen to learn how Brazil has turned its sugar cane industry into a booming source of ethanol - and whether that model is applicable in Florida, also a large sugar cane producer.

"It is my goal while in Brazil to forge new alliances and develop new partnerships to promote trade in this hemisphere," Crist said. "Florida and Brazil can collaborate innovatively in both research and development."

Click here for my article in today's St Petersburg Times

- David Adams

Oil producers say don't blame us for prices. OPEC holds major summit next month.

Leaders of the oil producing nations (OPEC) say the current spike in oil prices is not their fault. They point to financial speculators jumping into the futures market due to the slump in real estate and unimpressive stock market activity, as well as a much discussed lack of refining capacity. They may have a point, consider the wild fluctuations in prices lately as oil prices have see-sawed the last couple of years on their way from $40 to $93 a barrel. Tuesday oil prices fell more than $3 to end at just over $90. Today it's up more than $4!

OPEC leaders are meeting next month (Nov 17-18) in Saudi Arabia for only the 3rd summit in the organization's history. OPEC calls the meeting "a milestone event,"  designed to "devise ways and means of ensuring the stabilization of prices in international oil markets with a view to eliminating harmful and unnecessary fluctuations."

Click here for more oil price analysis.

- David Adams

Hydro success story in Laos?

Hydro electric dams have gotten a bad rap in the developing world. They're accused of causing economic and environmental ruin ... and inviting massive corruption. But the South East Asian country of Laos is being hailed as a shining example of doing it right.

Click here to listen to this BBC report.

- David Adams

Energy costs beat food, health care

Household energy costs have more than doubled in the last five years, said the Consumer Federation of America on Tuesday. “No Time to Waste”, the report by the Washington, D.C. non-profit, warned that home heating prices are on the rise while relief at the gas pump is nowhere in sight. The nation’s uncertain energy future has consumers worried, according to the federation’s poll. The poll registered broad support for better automobile mileage, more renewable energy, and more biofuel production. One sobering finding: household energy expenditures beat health care costs by 50 percent. Americans spent 23 percent more on energy than they did on food.

-Asjylyn Loder

Florida loses leading conservationist

The Fueling Station has learned that one of Florida leading conservationists died this weekend.

Nick Bollman was at the forefront of climate policy in both Florida and California. He worked with Jim Murley at Florida Atlantic University’s Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions, and he was a huge part of the Florida climate change movement, working closely with lawmakers and scientists to craft policy solutions, all the way up to the Governor’s office.

Just last week he was busy working on a policy guide he put together suggesting adaptation strategies for coastal communities dealing with the impacts of climate change.  We are told he lost his life due to an accident at his home in Key West over the weekend.

Click here to learn more about his activities.

- David Adams

Europe's carbon trading system gets a boost - from U.S. break-away states.

The leaders of three U.S. states, California, New York and New Jersey announced today in Portugal their intention to join the European Union's carbon trading system. All three states say they are taking the action out of frustration with Washington's failure to create a U.S. carbon trading system.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger told a conference that he regretted Washington's lack of engagement on global warming but said the states were leading the way.

"Just because you don't see Washington leading this issue, don't be thinking that America is shirking its responsibilities," he said in a video message. The Emissions Terminator, as he is called these days, was unable to attend the conference due to the California wild fires. Florida Governor Charlie Crist was also invited to join the group, but was unable to participate due to a special legislative session in Tallahassee. Crist says he also plans to introduce a carbon trading system in Florida.

The newly-formed International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP) also includes Norway, New Zealand, and the Canadian province of British Colombia.

In a press release, the ICAP says it is designed to:

•    Rigorously and accurately monitoring, reporting and verifying emissions and working to determine reliable sources appropriate for inclusion in a globally linked program.

•    Encouraging common approaches and furthering partners’ ability to link together to expand the global carbon market, helping to prevent leakage.

•    Creating a clear price incentive to innovate, develop and use clean technologies.

•    Encouraging private investors to chose low carbon projects and technologies, generating the flow of money needed to support a shift to a low-carbon future.

•    Providing flexible compliance mechanisms that ensure reliable reductions at the fastest
pace and lowest cost.

Click here for more news from AP in Lisbon.

Click here to read my Oct 22 story on how the states are leading the charge on global warming in the U.S.

- David Adams

Local politicians step up for rally on global warming.

One of our readers, Melissa Meehan, is organizing a global warming rally in Largo, Florida  this Saturday.

Melissa writes:

“Step it Up Part 2: Who’s a Leader?”  will be held at Solar Source, a solar technology distribution company in Largo. On November 3rd, citizens will demand real leadership on global warming. From coast to coast, we'll rally in our communities and invite our politicians to join us.

There will be two rallies in Tampa bay — two out of literally hundreds held across the country all on the same day.

I’ve invited all of our local politicians to come and I’ve got interest from State Senator Mike Bennett as well as Largo Mayor Patricia Gerard. Bennett will probably submit written comments as he’ll be out of town. However,  I am very impressed with the Largo Mayor — she is not only looking at ways for the city to go green, but she is really putting her money where her mouth is. She recently installed a solar hot water heater, a solar pool heater, and solar attic fans to ventilate her house and reduce her personal energy consumption. She also had Progress Energy come do an audit of her home so she could find ways to save money and save electricity. Many citizens do not realize that one of the best things you can do for the environment is save money on your electricity bill.  (Because a lot of energy in the Southeast comes from dirty coal-fired power plants.)

Also, I hear that the Mayor of St. Petersburg, Rick Baker, will be leading a rally in St. Pete — biking along the scenic beaches.  

The purpose of Step It Up is for citizens to demand action on climate change — likely one of the biggest challenges facing us this century. Florida is particularly vulnerable, which is why it’s great to see city and state leaders “stepping up” and taking meaningful action. 


Where:
Solar Source
10840 Endeavour Way
(Off of Brian Dairy Road, just West of 66th Street)
Largo,  Florida 33777


When:
Saturday November 3,  2007
10am – 2pm
Group photo and formal remarks beginning at 12:00 noon 

• The honorable state Senator Mike  Bennett, Chairman of the Senate Energy Committee  (written comments)
• Largo Mayor  Patricia Gerard
  

What:

• A chance to hear from local leaders on  their plans to protect Florida's future 
• Educational information available on  all types of solar systems — solar thermal (for your hot water heater)  and solar electricity (also known as PV or photovoltaic).    
• Live Entertainment – Music by Helen  Daniels 
• Let's show our numbers to Congress —  please wear a blue shirt and join us for a group photo. As we did in  April, we will send that photo to all of our representatives in Congress  to let them know that Florida citizens want action on global warming!   
  

Event Contacts: 
Rachel Doll,  Solar Source at rachel@solarsource.net or 727-572-4247
Melissa  Meehan, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy at mmeehan@cleanenergy.org or  813-837-1236
Nikki Benoit, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy at nikki@1skyfl.org or  727-501-5513

Click here to register for the event. 

Glaciers disappearing in the southern Andes

Glaciers are disappearing in the southern Andes, posing problems for local agriculture and drinking water supplies. The Miami Herald sent a reporter to Chile to investigate.

"Chilean researchers have found that more than half of the 120 glaciers they monitor are shrinking, with many disappearing at twice the rate recorded just a decade ago," the Herald writes. "That includes glaciers near the capital of Santiago that provide water to the city's 6 million residents."

Click here to read the article

- David  Adams

Here comes the sun. A hippie gets some solar respect.

Richard 'Solar' Thompson is a longtime devotee of solar energy. After he fixed up his house in Tacoma, Washington to run on solar energy he is finally earning respect. The city of Tacoma is chipping in $1.5 million to put solar-powered lighting on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

Click here to read his story.

- David Adams

Carbon dioxide and the cement industry. How China's growth hurts the planet.

The New York Times Business Day section has a valuable story on the C02 emissions from the cement industry.

The article contains this astonishing statistic: China today accounts for 45% of worldwide cement output and usage. It also notes that cement is responsible for 5% of global emissions of CO2. It is also not a recycled product.

So, is anything being done to address cement industry emissions? Click here to read the article.

- David Adams

France's 'ecological New Deal'

French president Nicolas Sarkozy has announced an "ecological New Deal" to put France in the front line of those countries fighting global warming. In another sign of how bipartisan the issue of climate change is becoming, former U.S. Vice President and Nobel laureate Al Gore was at Sarkozy's side as he announced a series of proposals Thursday.

Click here to read more.

- David Adams

Globe could reach point of no return, UN says

The world's population faces a grim future of scarce drinking water, dead oceans and dwindling food supplies if we can not reverse the damage wrought by pollution, a UN report said today.

"The objective is not to present a dark and gloomy scenario, but an urgent call for action," wrote the United Nations Environmental Programme.

Click here for analysis of the UN report from The New York Times.

-Asjylyn Loder

Cheap and clean? Scientists say green power is both

Making renewable energy 15 percent  of our power will lower electricity costs and reduce greenhouse gas pollution, the Union of Concerned Scientists said today.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed an energy bill requiring utilities to get 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources like wind, solar, geothermal or bioenergy by 2020. The Union of Concerned Scientists analysis said that such a bill could save consumers more than $13-billion, and reduce global warming pollution by 126-million metric tons per year by 2020, the equivalent of taking 21-million cars off the road.

-Asjylyn Loder

NASA animiation of melting arctic sea ice

Check out this striking NASA animation of melting arctic sea ice between Sept 21 2005 and Sept 14 2007, courtesy of the Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio.

Click here to view.

(Disregard the advertisement at the beginning, you have to watch it to get to the animation.)

- David Adams

Florida Governor Charlie Crist exploring more solar options.

Florida Governor Charlie Crist is meeting today with The Solar Alliance, a Washington group promoting alternative energy.

Click here to read more on The Buzz blog.

- David Adams

The 'Smart car' is here.

The European 'Smart' car is finally reaching America. Reviewers say it is surprisingly roomy and can do 40 miles-per-gallon.

Click here to read about a test drive in The St Petersburg Times

- David Adams

AP: Another shrinking glacier

The Collier Glacier in Oregon's Cascade Range is receding, according to the AP.

It is in serious peril, says geologist Ellen Morris Bishop of the Fossil-based Oregon Paleo Lands Institute. "We have basically a really sad picture of Collier Glacier today."

Geologists blame among other things a warming climate, altering the landscape and perhaps the availability of water to high-elevation ecosystems. Collier is shrinking faster than most of the 35 glaciers in the state.

Read the AP story here.

-Asjylyn Loder

Health risks of global warming: the whole story?

When the head of the Centers for Disease Control testified to a senate committee about the health risks from global warming, did the senators get the whole story?

According to this report by the Associated Press, the answer is no.

"The White House severely edited congressional testimony given Tuesday by the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the impact of climate change on health, removing specific scientific references to potential health risks, according to two sources familiar with the documents," the AP is reporting.

The story quotes one of the sources as saying the testimony by Dr. Julie Gerberding had been "eviscerated" by the White House Office of Management and Budget. The original version ran for 14 pages, and what the Senate got was six. An OMB spokesman told the AP that OMB reviews of officials' testimony take into consideration "whether they ... line up well with the national priorities of the administration."

"The deletions directed by the White House included details on how many people might be adversely affected because of increased warming and the scientific basis for some of the CDC's analysis on what kinds of diseases might be spread in a warmer climate and rising sea levels, according to one official who has seen the original version," the AP reported.

Among the health risks: "fatalities from heat stress and heart failure, increased injuries and deaths from severe weather such as hurricanes; more respiratory problems from drought-driven air pollution; an increase in waterborne diseases including cholera, and increases vector-borne diseases including malaria and hantavirus," the story reported.

--Craig Pittman

Dude, where's my ethanol?

Finding ethanol and biodiesel in Florida just got easier. Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services just released a new Web site locator for those in search of bio-based fuels.

A reminder: E10 (a gasoline blend with 10 percent ethanol) can run in just about any gasoline engine, while E85 (an 85 percent blend) requires a special engine. Biodiesel can be used in virtually any diesel engine.

Tampa has three locations offering E10, and one offering E85 and a biodiesel blend. Hess and Hess Express stations offer E10 throughout the area, as do Murphy Oil stations, a fuel supplier at Wal-Mart parking lot stations.

--Asjylyn Loder

South Florida hotels 'going green.'

South Florida's hotels are attempting to be more eco-friendly in response to the state's 'green lodging' program designed to reduce pollution.
The program was introduced in 2004, but interest has picked up this year after Florida Governor Charlie Crist ordered that state-sponsored meetings and conferences be held at certified green hotels whenever possible, beginning Jan. 1.

Click here to read more about the efforts made by Bob O'Neill, director of security at the Four Seasons hotel on Brickell Ave.

Click here for a list of green certified hotels in South Florida.

- David Adams

Look for the lawsuit -- coming from Calif. and Fla. too

This is the week that California will file suit against the Environmental Protection Agency for for failing to take timely action on the state’s request to enforce its greenhouse gas standards for motor vehicles.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger "believes we can't afford to wait any longer," spokesman Bill Maile told the San Jose Mercury News last week.

Under the Clean Air Act, California (and the other states that have copied its tough new law, including Florida) need a waiver from the EPA to enforce their regulations. California filed its request for a waiver 22 months ago.

EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson has promised a decision by the end of the year, but "waiting two more months for that decision is not an option, state officials say," the Mercury News reported. "Citing Clean Air Act rules, Schwarzenegger notified Johnson in April that the state would sue after 180 days if there was no EPA decision. The deadline runs out Monday."

When Schwarzenegger attended Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's climate change conference in Miami back in July, Crist promised that Florida will join with California in that suit when it is filed.

Crist used his power as governor to issue a series of executive orders at the end of that conference aimed at curbing greenhouse gases. One of those orders called for the same emissions limits on new cars that are in the California law.

To read more of the Mercury News story, click here.

--Craig Pittman

The UK promotes renewable energy in Florida

Following the signing in July of a 'climate change partnership' between Florida and the UK, Britain's consulate in Miami has become a major resource for top Florida officials, providing technical expertise and hosting seminars.

The latest UK-sponsored event was a one-day conference Oct 18 in Miami, titled 'Renewable Energy - Trends in Global Innovation and Finance.'

The meeting was attended by Michael Sole, secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Florida Governor, Charlie Crist, was due to attend but had to cancel at the last minute due to a special legislative session in Tallahassee. Sole reported that the state's Climate Action Team is due to deliver its first report on ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on Nov 1st.

Jorge Arrizurietta, chair of the International Policy Group at Akerman-Senterfitt, spoke of how Florida had a "unique opportunity" to be at the center of an emerging biofuels industry in the western hemisphere. Despite being a fervent Republican free-market capitalist, Arrizurietta said he believes federal mandates are necessary to get the biofuels industry "kick-started."

As Crist heads to Brazil next week on a trade mission where biofuels will be a big focus, the state's chief financial officer, Alex Sink, will be in London at the U.K.'s invitation for a fact-finding mission to learn more about the financial risks of climate change.

British officials continue to be impressed by Crist's leadership. The highlight the importance of states like Florida in the bigger picture of global climate change talks and the efforts to get the major developing countries - India and china - to commit to emissions reductions.

"His (Crist) commitment and vision has put Florida firmly on the map as a state that is taking action, something which is being noticed not only in the US and Europe, but all over the world, including China and India," Keith Allan, the UK Consul General in Miami told the meeting.

(Click here to read more about the UK-Florida climate ties in today's The St Petersburg Times.)

Thursday's event focused on a broad range of issues, from new, emerging alternative energy technologies such as algae biofuel, waste management, and ocean wave energy, to prospects for carbon trading legislation in the US Congress (see my previous post on Friday). The main thrust of speakers was the idea that there is money to be made from wise investing in these new technologies, and that tackling climate change will not be as costly to the American economy as the Bush administration seems to fear.

Global sales from clean energy sources like wind, solar and geothermal power and biofuels could grow to as much as $1 trillion a year by 2030, U.S. bank Morgan Stanley has estimated. The bank said last week that global population growth and soaring prices for fossil fuels are driving the market, along with dropping costs in clean energy and concern about energy security and climate change.

(click here to read an article in The Miami Herald about the conference, focusing on the 'financial upside' of global warming. Click here for another report on the meeting in the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel.)

Here are some of what I consider the highlights of the event:

* Michael Sole, secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, confirmed that the state is looking seriously into adopting European-style carbon trading system, in conjunction with 'green' states like California. "Florida is open to the carbon market, and I mean it," he said.

* Miami Dade mayor Manny Diaz reported that the city is replacing 200 fleet vehicles with flex-fuel models. He hopes the entire fleet will be flex-fuel by 2012. He also noted that the city now requires all new buildings over 50,000 sq ft to be LEED certified at the silver level. He says the city already has $2 billion worth of new projects registered. "In Miami you are going to be building green or you are not going to build at all," he said.

* Dave Stewart, founder of Citrus Energy LLC of Boca Raton, which converts citrus peels and other citrus waste to ethanol, said the company hopes to inaugurate its first $10 million citrus waste-ethanol plant next year. He says he sees the potential for a dozen more similar plants across Florida located next to factories that make orange and grapefruit juice.

* Ted Michaels, president of the Integrated Waste Services Association, gave a fascinating presentation on how municipal waste can be most efficiently disposed of. Currently most waste is buried in landfills around the country, after 30 per cent has been recovered for recycling. While landfill gas can be captured and used to make electricity, this is not as efficient as modern incineration technology, says Michaels. For every ton of municipal waste, it's possible to generate 20 Kw hours of electricity from landfill, he noted, compared to 520 Kw hours from a waste energy plant. One ton of waste burned in this way saves one ton of CO2 emissions, he added.

The only downside is that waste energy plants are expensive to build, compared to landfill waste disposal (unless you factor in the carbon emissions).

He gave a literal "trash to cash" example of a paper company that prints official US banknotes, using energy drawn from a  waste management company next door.

With 11 waste-to-energy plants, Florida has more than any state, including one in Miami (Montenay Power Corp) and four in Tampa Bay (Veolia Es. Pinellas, Covanta Hillsborough Inc., Covanta Pasco Inc and Wheelabrator McKay Bay, Tampa) There are 87 in total across the US. Currently about 30 per cent of all waste is recycled, 8 percent goes to waste energy and 60 per cent goes into landfill.

* Representatives from Carnival Cruise Line attending the meeting say the company is very interested in exploring the possibility of running its diesel powered fleet on biodiesel. The only problem is that the Finnish company that builds the engines holds a virtual monopoly on the engines, and has so far not appeared very excited about testing them on biodiesel. A steady supply of biodiesel in the kind of bulk the cruise ship industry would need, may also not be available yet, though biodiesel production in Florida is growing, as are imports.

* Ian Waller, managing director of FiveBarGate Consultants described how US federal incentives are distorting trade in biodiesel between Europe and the US. A $1 a gallon excise credit in the US means that it is cheaper in parts of Britain to import US-produced biodiesel than purchase it domestically. This appears to make little sense for the UK and is hurting its own domestic biofuels production. Even crazier, to cash in on the $1 export credit, German biodiesel companies are shipping their product to the US to be splash-blended with small amounts of diesel, and then re-imported to Europe. he says this circular trade has been dubbed 'the German U-boat,' due to the physical U-turn in the trade route.

- David Adams

How New York's taxis went from yellow to green.

Thomas Friedman writes in The New York Times today about the greening of New York City's taxis.

Click here to read his column.

- David Adams

Warn Santa Claus: Warming = increased Arctic traffic

Don't tell the kids, but global warming is making Santa's seemingly remote North Pole workshop more accessible than ever. In fact, in a few years Santa may peak out his window and see a major traffic jam.

Don't believe it? Check out today's story in the New York Times on what the Coast Guard is up to in the Arctic.

The Times reports that "in one of the most concrete signs of the effect of a warming climate on government operations, the Coast Guard is planning its first operating base there as a way of dealing with the cruise ships and the tankers that are already beginning to ply Arctic waters."

"The Coast Guard says its base, which would probably be near the United States’ northernmost town, Barrow,  Alaska, on the North Slope coast, would be seasonal and would initially have just a helicopter equipped for cold-weather operations and several small boats," the Times story notes.

"But given continued warming, that small base, which could be in place by next spring, would be expanded later to help speed responses to oil spills from tankers that the Coast Guard believes could eventually carry shipments from Scandinavia to Asia through the Bering Strait," the Times story says. "Such a long-hoped-for polar route would cut 5,000 miles or more from a journey that would otherwise entail passage through the Panama Canal or the Suez."

Helping spur the Coast Guard to action: The State Department is urging other countries to cooperate to encourage international trade through the thawing Arctic.

“Having a safe, secure and reliable Arctic shipping regime is vital to the proper development of Arctic resources, especially now given the extent of Arctic ice retreat we witnessed this past summer,” Assistant Secretary of State Daniel S. Sullivan said Monday at an international conference in Anchorage, the Times reported. “We can have such a regime only through cooperation, not competition, among Arctic nations.”

To read more of the story, click here.

--Craig Pittman

Florida delays decision on emissions reduction targets

The state-appointed energy advisory board meeting in Orlando has deferred a controversial vote on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Florida.
The Florida Energy Commission is preparing recommendations for the Legislature. The commission agreed on green building energy use standrads, but were not able to agree on radical emissions reduction goals set by Governor Charlie Crist this summer. (click here to read his executive orders, 07-126/7/8)

Some members say the targets are unrealistic and want a return to 2000 levels by the year 2017, with Florida reaching pre-1990 levels by 2050. Crist's target is for pre-1990 levels to be reached by 2025.

I am told that the commission members decided they need more information. The utilities argued that there wasn't enough information on the economic impacts of the proposed recommendation. There will be another meeting scheduled for November 6th.

The commission includes several members representing the state's energy utilities, as well as one member who represents auto dealers. In a letter to the commission, the chief environmental officer for Progress Energy, J Michael Kennedy, noted that while his company is "committed to helping our region succeed in a possible carbon-constrained future," it must also bear its shareholders in mind.

With that in mind, Kennedy warned that while a range of new energy-efficient technology options is emerging, many of those options are either not available or remain more expensive than conventional technolog. He also notes that  Crist's  "aggressive targets" were presented "without economic analysis of their benefits and costs."

His letter concludes that "the emissions targets are beyond the capability of current technologies to achieve."

Another member, Bill Cramer, wrote a letter warning that Crist's proposal would  add approximately $3,000 on average to the cost of a new vehicle sold in Florida, according to the The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. Echoing industry opposition to the emissions standard set by California, Cramer adds that "federal law expressly preempts state and local regulation of fuel economy or related issues".

- David Adams

Landmark global warming bill introduced in the Senate

A landmark, bipartisan bill to tackle global warming was introduced in the Senate yesterday by John Warner (R-Va) and Joe Lieberman (Ind-Conn).

The bill marks the beginning of the first real legislative debate on global warming in Congress. More bills are expected in both houses. Analysts say its hard to tell which way the debate will go, with Democrats pushing for more radical measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and others on the Republican side urging greater caution.

The bill proposes mandatory, not voluntary, limits on greenhouse gases with the goal of reducing the nation's emissions more than 60 percent by 2050.

The America’s Climate Security Act claims to "establish the core of a federal program to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions substantially enough between 2007 and 2050 to avert catastrophic global warming."

The bill also proposes the skeleton of a European-style cap-and-trade system for carbon emission credits and offsets.
Analysts are not expecting comprehensive carbon trading legislation this year, and probably not next year either.
"All the pieces are coming together slowly, " says David Hunter, director of US policy at the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA). Hunter was speaking Thursday at a renewable energy conference in Miami sponsored by the UK government.
Hunter, a former Senate staffer dealing with energy and climate change issues, says carbon trading doesn't have "many champions on Capitol Hill" at present. "It will happen, but not in this Congress. It may take a couple more years," he said.

- David Adams

GOP candidates warming up to warming talk

"While many conservative commentators and editorialists have mocked concerns about climate change, a different reality is emerging among Republican presidential contenders. It is a near-unanimous recognition among the leaders of the threat posed by global warming," the New York TImes reports today.

Even Sen. Fred Thompson, who mocked climate change concerns in April, is now talking about it in serious terms.

"The debate among Republicans is largely not about whether people are warming the planet, but about how to deal with it," the Times reports.

The positions among the presidential contenders show a wide range -- Sen. John McCain wants to cap greenhouse gas emissions and demand higher fuel standards, while Gov. Mitt Romney and ex-Mayor Rudy Giuliani talk more about the need for independence from foreign oil and hardly mention capping emissions.

To read the New York Times story, click here.

And here's a helpful graphic.

--Craig Pittman

FP&L move closer to nuclear expansion in Florida

Florida Power & Light said Tuesday it was filing papers with state regulators formally asking for permission to construct new nuclear power plants.

FPL said it was seeking to add 2,200 to 3,000 megawatts in two additional units that would sit in the existing Turkey Point nuclear power complex. The additions could be operating by 2020.

Click here to read more.

- David Adams

It's not the heat, it's the -- no wait, it's the heat

Temperatures in September 2007 were the eighth warmest on record, scientists at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C., announced Tuesday. And that record goes back to 1895.

How hot was it?  Hot enough to break 1,000 daily high records across the United States.

The heat also helped spread the worsening drought to almost half of the contiguous U.S., with conditions across the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and Tennessee Valley hardest hit, NOAA's scientists reported.

The global surface temperature was the fifth warmest on record for September, and the extent of Arctic Sea ice reached its lowest amount in September since satellite measurements began in 1979, shattering the previous record low set in 2005.

Here are some details:

*The average temperature for September in the contiguous U.S. was 67.5 degrees F (19.7 degrees C), which was 2.1 degrees F (1.2 degrees C) above the 20th century mean, and made the month the eighth-warmest September since records began to be kept in 1895.

*Raleigh-Durham International Airport reached a high of 101 degrees F (38 degrees C) on September 10, the latest date in any calendar year with a maximum daily temperature greater than 100 degrees since records began in 1944.

*Alaska was so warm, Nome was completely frost-free for the months of June, July, August and September.

*Drought affected 78 percent of the Southeast, with almost one-quarter of the region affected by exceptional drought conditions, the  highest stage of drought, according to the federal U.S. Drought Monitor. Meanwhile Pasadena, Calif., experienced its driest water year since records began in 1878.

To read the full report click here.

--Craig Pittman

Does global warming cause war? Look at Darfur

By awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Al Gore and the UN's climate change panel, the Nobel committee has raised an intriguing question: Does global warming cause war?

The answer, according to this analysis on the Slate website, is: Yes.

"The idea of a connection between conflict and climate change is fairly new, and one that had been mostly relegated to academic journals until earlier this year," Slate author Stephen Faris writes. "Then, in June, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon went on record to suggest global warming as as a cause for the fighting in the Darfur region of the Sudan. "

The secretary-general "pointed out that warming in the tropical and southern oceans, fueled in some part by climate change, led to a decades-long drought and clashes between herders and farmers over the degrading land," Farris writes. "When a rebellion broke out against the central government, Sudan's leaders fought back by arming and supporting the herders against the farmers—and the entire region fell into war."

Now consider the ramifications: "If global warming did cause the Sudanese drought, then it's also responsible for the 200,000 to 450,000 lives that have been lost over the last four and a half years. We may very well be watching the first major conflict caused by emissions from our factories, power plants, and cars."

--Craig Pittman

Oil hits $86 a barrel

Oil closed above $86 a barrel today for the first time ever after OPEC said crude production by non-member countries is falling.

OPEC increased its own production last month by 500,000 barrels a day. But it simply is isn't enough to make up for the shortfall from non-members, coupled with rising international demand due to the rapid pace of economic growth in China and India.

There is also intense debate about output by one OPEC member: Venezuela. OPEC recently reduced Venezuela's quota to 2.47 million barrels a day, well below the 3.22 million barrels a day it was allotted. Venezuela insists its oil output is unchanged.

In case you are wondering, oil is still below the inflation-adjusted highs hit in early 1980 when prices hit $38 barrel, according to the Department of Energy. That is equivalent today to between $96 - $101.

Click here to read more from St Pete Times wires.

- David Adams

Paradise down the Drain. The mirage of Florida's vanishing water

The production of clean drinking water is one of the most wasteful consumers of energy, experts say. Especially in Florida, according to an excellent book just published, titled 'Mirage: Florida and the Vanishing Water of the Eastern U.S.," by Cynthia Barnett.

Most of our treated water ends up being flushed down our toilets! Then we pay excessive amounts to bottled water companies who get their product free from underground aquifers.

Click here for a review by Julie Hauserman in The St Petersburg Times.

Click here for an excerpt from the book.

- David Adams

What Gore's award means: for Gore ... for world peace ... and for the White House

It's been quite a turn around for Al Gore since he lost the 2000 election.

Click here for an article in The St Petersburg Times looking at how he has fared better as a private citizen.

Are you wondering why Al Gore, an environmental activist, won a peace award? Do you have trouble linking the idea of world peace with global climate change.

If so, click here for a helpful analysis of why the two are related.

And click here to tread about the White House reaction to Gore's award, as told to reporter on Air Force One yesterday.

- David Adams

Gore shares Nobel prize with United Nations Climate Change Panel

Al Gore and the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have won the Nobel Peace Prize for their work on raising awareness about global warming, it was announced in Oslo this morning.

The Nobel prize committee praised Gore as "probably the single individual who has done most to create greater worldwide understanding of the measures that need to be adopted", through his lectures, films and books.

The award is likely to renew calls for him to stand in next year's US presidential race. Supporters placed a full page ad in the New York Times on Wednesday urging him to run.

Click here for more news and comments on the peace prize awardees from the BBC.

Click here for a report on the 'Gore for 2008' election movement.

- David Adams

Driving or flying, which is greener?

Have you ever wondered which is greener, taking a trip by car, or flying?

Now researchers at National Geographic's Green Guide have come up with some answers.

Click here for a report from National Public Radio.

- David Adams

Another version of horsepower

The horse-loving community of Wellington in Broward County has for years been grappling with a smelly problem: what to do with all of its horse manure?

Now they may have found a solution: Burn it to create electricity.

This week "the Village Council unanimously approved negotiating with a local company to build a manure-burning power plant. If they reach an agreement, it will come back for approval," the Sun-Sentinel of South Florida reported.

"Wellington produces about 100 tons of manure a day during its horse season, which runs from December until April," the Sun-Sentinel reported. "Right now much of the manure is trucked to Loxahatchee Groves and dumped wherever landowners are willing to accept it."

But that has caused some serious water pollution problems, prompting a search for new solutions. "Wellington Energy, a limited liability company headed by Scott Swerdlin, a local equine veterinarian, proposed the power plant," the Sun-Sentinel reported, and that's the option the town will now pursue.

To read the full story, click here.

--Craig Pittman

Will Al Gore win the Nobel Peace Prize?

Speculation is rife that Al Gore may add the Nobel Peace Prize to the best documentary Oscar An Inconvenient Truth won earlier this year. The announcement is due Friday. Competition for the $1.5-million prize is tough, with 181 candidates in the running.

Gore is nominated together with Canadian Inuit activist, Sheila Watt-Cloutier, who has campaigned on how global warming affects Arctic peoples.

Gore will win, predicts Stein Tonnesson, director of the International Peace Research Institute (PRIO) in Norway. Tonnesson makes an annual prediction. He got it right in 2000 and 2001, but not in the last five years.

Click here to read an interview with Toennesson about why he thinks Gore deserves to win.

David Adams

Ethanol vs. water quality & quantity -- water loses, say scientists

The National Academies of Science released a study today that offers some new cautions about the impact of ethanol production on the nation's water supply.

"If ethanol production continues to rise, the effect on water quality could be considerable and water supply problems could develop," says a news release about the new study.

"Increased pressure on local aquifers used to grow and refine corn into ethanol, high levels of nitrogen in groundwater from pesticides and fertilizers, and runoff pollution in streams and rivers are a few of the potential impacts," the news release notes.

"In terms of water quantity, the committee found that agricultural shifts to growing corn and expanding biofuel crops into regions with little agriculture, especially dry areas, could change current irrigation practices and greatly increase pressure on water resources in many parts of the United States," the release says.

For links to the news release and to the report itself, click here.


--Craig Pittman

The story behind Ausra and its solar thermal electricity plan.

We recently wrote extensively about a major solar deal between Florida's FPL Group and a California company, Ausra.

An article in the latest edition of Business Week tells the intriguing story of Ausra, originally an Australian company, and the "crazy-ass" plan developed by the maverick scientists behind it, John O'Donnell and David Mills.

Ausra recently moved to California after striking an investment deal with renowned venture capitalist a major alternative energy player, Vinod Khosla.

The article says "the big question is not whether solar thermal plants work, but how much the electricity will cost."

Right now, the price for existing mirror and steam turbine systems is about half that of photovoltaic (PV) panels, which use sheets of semiconductors to convert sunlight to electricity. But that's still nearly twice as much as a new coal plant.

Ausra believes it has solved the biggest problem solar power has faced previously - its high cost.
But skeptics say the company still faces major engineering challenges to make its technology commerically viable. 

Click here to read the article.

- David Adams

Weeding out a potential biofuels problem?

Growers of plants for use as biofuels are looking for certain qualities in their crops: hardiness, a paucity of pests and diseases and the ability to outcompete other plants.

Unfortunately, according to a new report from the Invasive Species Council released at a global warming conference in Sydney, Australia, those are also hallmarks of invasive weeds, which government and farmers are trying to eradicate.

"It turns out that many potential biofuel species pose a weed risk," the council reported. "Some of the world’s worst weeds may be biofuel prospects for Australia—giant reed and spartina appear in the World Conservation Union’s list of 100 of the World’s Worst Invaders, and Chinese tallow tree is rated as one of the the 12 worst invasive pests in the United States."

"Australia should not try to solve one environmental problem by creating another," warned ISC spokesman and report author, Tim Low. "These plants have no proven value as biofuel crops but bad reputations as weeds."

In February St. Petersburg Times reporter Kris Hundley wrote about a Florida company that wants to grow the giant reed, also known as arundo, for use as a biofuel, despite objections from environmental groups and even from the chairwoman of the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council, University of Florida assistant professor Alison Fox. "Florida should not accept the risk posed by large acreage plantings of this species," Fox said. "The evidence is piling up that this is not a great idea.

To see the council's press release and find a link to the report itself, click here.

And to read the St. Petersburg Times story about arundo click here.

--Craig Pittman