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« November 2007 | Main | January 2008 »
The Economist magazine reports that new European Union regulations pose a big problem for some German carmakers specializing in larger, high performance engine models - especially BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Unlike other European carmakers who have turned out more and more smaller vehicles, Mercedes and BMW appear determined to stick to their big guns.
Click here to read the article.
- David Adams
Click here for an overview of the renewable energy scenario in Florida from the Palm Beach Post.
- David Adams
The cost of natural disasters rose to $75-billion this year, a sign of what climate change is doing not only to the planet but also to your pocketbook, according to the world's second-largest reinsurance company, Munich Re.
"Total economic losses from natural catastrophes in 2007 rose to $75-billion from $50-billion the year before as extreme weather conditions driven by climate change wreaked havoc across the world," Forbes reported.
"The trend in respect of weather extremes shows that climate change is
already taking effect and that more such extremes are to be expected in
the future," Torsten Jeworrek, a member of the reinsurer's board, told Forbes.
"Munich Re said that while it was ready to deal with the higher number
of natural catastrophes it would come at 'a cost to society as a whole'
as insurance companies were forced to raise their premiums and the
costs of repairing infrastructure made their way onto tax bills," Forbes reported.
To read the full story, click here.
--Craig Pittman
The city of Dunedin, on Florida's west coast has become the fourth local government in the state to have its commitment to the environment certified by the Florida Green Building Coalition.
The city recently hired its first sustainability coordinator to focus on environmental issues, and was commended for its efforts to educate city workers, as well as rfeduce water consumption.
Click here to read more.
- David Adams
Happy Christmas everyone!
To all our readers wherever you are, we hope you have a safe and happy holiday. Try and make it as energy efficient as possible, though it's never easy at this time of year. (My father refused to use scotch tape when wrapping presents and collected all the wrapping paper for next year.)
And remember, after all the festivities are over don't forget to recycle your Christmas tree.
Click here for more information.
- David Adams
South Florida's largest port, Broward County’s Port Everglades, received its first shipment of ethanol fuel today (Dec 21). The shipment of 2.52 million gallons will go to several petroleum terminals at Port Everglades to be blended with gasoline. Terminal operators are preparing for the future distribution of alternative fuels by constructing new tanks or converting existing tanks to handle ethanol. Most of the ethanol will be sold as E10 (a 10% blend with gasoline), or else as a 2-3% additive. Gas stations in South Florida have just began to advertise that regular gasoline pumps "may contain up to 10 per cent ethanol."
Click here for more information.
- David Adams
Gov. Charlie Crist joined a chorus of colleagues across the nation today in condemning a decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to block them from imposing tougher auto emission rules than the EPA requires.
And just as California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is promising legal action against the EPA, Crist said he will "consider taking them to court too, and suing on behalf of Florida’s citizens.''
At the end of his global warming summit in July, Crist signed three executive orders aimed at cutting Florida's greenhouse gas emissions. One of those orders mandated tough new standards for vehicles sold in Florida beginning in 2009. State environmental officials had already held two public workshops on the new rules and hoped to finalize them next year.
But to impose those new standards, Florida had to seek a waiver from the EPA from following national standards, which are not as tough. California and 16 other states concerned about how tailpipe emissions were affecting global warming had also sought EPA waivers.
Late Wednesday, EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson turned them all down, citing a need for one national standard instead of a patchwork that differs between states. On Thursday President Bush backed Johnson, even as governors from around the country objected and Democrats in Congress vowed an investigation.
"We think states have rights," Crist said in an interview, "and if we want to, we should have the ability to take the lead on climate change.”
-- Craig Pittman
Congress Tuesday passed the 2008 energy bill, which boosts auto fuel economy standards by 40 per cent to 35 miles per gallon. The bill also requires refiners to use 36 billion gallons of ethanol by 2022.
The president has indicated he will sign the bill.
But Democrats failed to get Congress to approve a package that would have rolled back $13.5 billion in tax breaks for the oil industry, transferring the money to alternative energy sources.
Click here to read more.
- David Adams
Good news for people who want to put a wind farm in their back yard. The Florida Public Service Commission on Tuesday approved rule changes for “net metering.” That’s when your electric meter rolls backward to reflect power you produce at home.
The commission expedited interconnection, expanded eligible power to any type of renewable instead of just solar photovoltaic systems, and increased the size of eligible systems from 2 kilowatts to 10 megawatts, enough to power more than 6,000 homes. If no comments or requests for hearing are received, the rule will be filed for adoption with the Secretary of State.
The rule changes allow people to come up with some innovative ways of producing power. For example, there's been some speculation that exercise equipment could generate power while in use, or large vacant properties could be turned into mini-solar arrays, or homeowners could start building their own windmills. Still, these mini power plants have to pass muster with the neighbors, as the New York Times noted in this article.
Local utilities Tampa Electric and Progress Energy have just a handful of interconnected customers now. It remains to be seen if the new rules will offer incentive enough to homeowners to offset the cost of solar systems or other types of power.
-Asjylyn Loder, Times staff writer
We recently reported on a major investment in waste-to-energy in Tallahassee, involving a large European investment group working with South Florida financial advisors.
Doreen Hemlock, a business writer at the The Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel reports today that the same team is scheduled to sign a $342 million deal today to nearly double production of ethanol in Colombia.
Controlsud International, a Luxembourg-based group, is providing loans to develop nearly 150,000 acres in sugar farms and to build three mills that will make ethanol, Hemlock writes.
Constrolsud already made headlines with "green" energy last month, when Florida Gov. Charlie Crist announced in Brazil that the group is financing a $182 million project in Tallahassee to convert municipal garbage to electricity and also, produce some ethanol.
Click here to read Doreen's article.
- David Adams
Biomass Investment Group, which planned a 20,000-acre "e-grass" farm and power plant in Florida, might instead build the farm in Texas, a company representative said Thursday.
The project also changed ownership to Innovative Energy Group of Florida based in Navarre, according to papers filed last week with the Florida Public Service Commission indicated the changes in their plans.
The company has been unable to find enough suitable land in Florida, said Robert "Schef" Wright, an attorney representing the project.
"We haven't given up on Florida," said Wright, "but we have not had success at getting 18,000 acres of land for 25 years at a price that would work."
Trouble finding the right property has already delayed the project two years. In May 2006, Progress Energy Florida agreed to purchase power from the company's planned 130-megawatt plant. The plant was supposed to come on line in 2009, but the in-service date has been pushed back to Dec. 1, 2011, Wright said. The company will try to have the plant working earlier.
The company plans to grow a fast-growing reedy grass known as arundo donax. Many environmentalists consider the grass an invasive species, and its growth is strictly regulated in California, which has spent millions of dollars trying to eradicate it.
Wright said he did not think the plant would be invasive in Florida or Texas. He also did not foresee any problems in getting the appropriate permission to grow the grass in Texas. The company plans to work with university agricultural cooperative services to help control the grass.
The grass would be heated and converted into a liquid fuel that would then be transported to the company's Florida power plant, probably by barge, Wright said. The company has not yet selected a site for either the farm or the power plant. Ideally, the farm would be located in southern, coastal Texas, near a port. The power plant would be located somewhere between Tampa and Apalachicola, again near a port, and near Progress Energy transmission lines.
If the fuel is shipped by fossil-fuel powered barges, will it still offset enough carbon dioxide emissions to be worthwhile from a climate change standpoint?
Wright said he was "99.9 percent sure" that the e-grass power plant would still produce less greenhouse gas emissions than fossil fuel plants. However, the company has not yet looked into it.
"I'll agree with you that ultimately everything needs to be looked at on a total carbon cycle, and I can't say we have done that," Wright said.
-Asjylyn Loder, Times staff writer
In an effort to increase its renewable energy portfolio, Progress Energy Florida announced Tuesday another agreement to buy power from a biomass plant.
The new plant will burn yard trimmings and waste wood and have a 75 megawatt capacity, or enough electricity to power about 46,000 homes. It will be built by Biomass Gas & Electric. The Atlanta-based company already has an agreement with Progress Energy Florida for a separate, 75 megawatt plant announced in July.
The new addition will add 75 megawatts of renewable power to Progress Energy Florida’s system. It brings the amount of renewable power Progress has agreed to buy in the last two years to 280 megawatts, or enough to power 170,000 homes.
Still, that’s just a tenth of the utility’s customers, and underscores the difficulty of finding reliable, cost-effective, renewable power on a large scale. Here’s a list of renewable agreements Progress Energy has signed in the last two years:
- In May 2006, Progress Energy agreed to buy 130 megawatts from a Biomass Investment Group plant powered by “E-grass.” Arundo donax is a fast-growing reedy grass. Considered an invasive species by environmental groups, its growth is tightly restricted in California, which has spent millions of dollars trying to eradicate it. Biomass Investment Group has so far not been able to find 20,000-acres to grow the grass and construct its plant. Originally slated to start producing power in 2009, the date has been pushed back to 2011.
- In July, Progress Energy agreed to buy power from a 75 megawatt biomass plant fueled by wood waste and yard trimmings. Atlanta-based Biomass Gas & Electric expects to have the plant on line in early 2011. The north Florida location has not yet been announced.
- On Tuesday, Progress Energy agreed to buy another 75-megawatts from BG & E. The plant is slated to come on line in June 2011, and will be built in central Florida.
-Asjylyn Loder, Times staff writer
The FutureGen Alliance picked Mattoon, Illinois for the first-of-its-kind zero-emissions coal plant. The FutureGen plant will pioneer carbon capture and storage for a coal-fired plant.
Coal is cheap and plentiful throughout the U.S. It provides about half of the country's electricity. But it is also high in carbon. That means burning it releases more greenhouse gases than burning, say, natural gas. Researchers have been trying to find a way to capture the carbon and store it, so it won't be released into the atmosphere.
Many believe that Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle -- IGCC -- offers the best chance for carbon capture. In typical coal plants, coal is burned to create steam to turn a turbine. The carbon dioxide escapes through a massive flue, along with coal's other pollutants.
In an IGCC plant, the coal is super-heated and turned into a compressed gas before it is burned. This makes it easier to remove regulated pollutants that cause acid rain and smog. The process might also make it easier to capture and store carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas believed to cause climate change.
Tampa Electric built a pioneering IGCC plant called Polk 1, about 40 miles southeast of Tampa in Polk County. The plant emits far less smog and acid rain pollutants than typical coal plants, but it releases about the same amount of carbon dioxide. Tampa Electric wanted to build another, larger IGCC plant called Polk 6, but had no plans to capture the carbon. (Read more about the plant here.) The utility decided to cancel those plans due in part to their fear that the new carbon regulation might substantially increase the cost.
-Asjylyn Loder, Times staff writer
A recent post here on the Fueling Station blog apparently struck a nerve at the Heartland Institute, a right-wing think tank that doesn't believe in global warming. The institute's president, Joseph L. Bast, has responded, at length.
What got him fired up was an item about the business editor of the Chicago Sun-Times, Dan Miller -- who, as it happens, is a former Heartland employee -- sending out letters to journalists around the country urging them to "keep an open mind" about global warming, rather than accept what the National Academy of Sciences, the National Aeronautic and Space Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and a host of other scientific organizations say about it.
Enclosed with his letter was a DVD package put together by the Heartland Institute containing both Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" and a BBC documentary called "The Great Global Warming Swindle," which has been discredited by scientists, including one who appeared in the film and said his position were misrepresented.
Click here for a link to the original blog item that gave Heartland so much heartburn.
In the interest of fair play, we thought we ought to post the entire response, so it appears below. However, we should note that Mr. Bast's terminology is a bit off. A "blind pig" is an establishment that serves alcohol illegally. In Florida, at least, the old saying is, "Even a blind HOG finds an acorn now and again."
--Craig Pittman
Here's the response:
Is ‘Journalistic Ethics’ an Oxymoron?
By Joseph Bast
President, The Heartland Institute
One of the saddest things I’ve observed in 23 years as the head of a “think tank” is the decline in the quality of American journalists. If you think I’m being unkind or too judgmental, read on.
‘Dear Colleague’
In early November, I asked my friend Dan Miller if he would send a letter to other journalists asking them to “keep an open mind” on the issue of global warming. He agreed to do so.
Dan is one of the country’s most respected and accomplished journalists. He began his career as a reporter for the now-defunct Chicago Daily News, then was editor and associate publisher of Crain’s Chicago Business, and then served as chairman of the Illinois Commerce Commission from 1994-1998.
For one year, from 1998 to 1999, Dan served as publisher at The Heartland Institute, and then he became business editor of the Chicago Sun-Times, one of the nation’s largest-circulation daily newspapers. In 2006 he was inducted into the Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame.
Dan agreed to send two DVDs on global warming — Al Gore’s propaganda film, “An Inconvenient Truth,” and the far superior British documentary film by Martin Durkin titled “The Great Global Warming Swindle” — with a “dear colleague” letter to some of his fellow journalists. This sort of thing is done all the time and is considered a professional courtesy in every profession except, apparently, journalism.
Because it caused quite a controversy, the entire text of the letter appears on page 15. I think you’ll agree with me that it was a model of neutrality and discretion.
The Low Blow
On November 18 the Chicago Tribune, the Sun-Times’ cross-town rival, ran a column by Phil Rosenthal, who (interestingly) was dropped by the Sun-Times a few years ago, accusing Dan Miller of violating journalistic ethics. The column starts with this snarky line: “Chicago Sun-Times Business Editor Dan Miller apparently believes this paper doesn’t have enough editors to guide its staff.”
Rosenthal admits Miller’s letter “does not explicitly urge a stance,” but he then quotes Bob Steele, “an ethics scholar at the Poynter Institute,” saying Miller “is actively urging a particular examination, and I would suggest a point of view, on a substantive public policy issue. He’s also pitching it in a problematic way to other journalists, using his journalistic connections in doing so.”
According to Steele, Miller’s offer to share both sides of a controversial issue with other journalists “raises serious ethical concerns.”
‘Journalistic Ethics’
Could it really be unethical for a newspaper editor to communicate with editors and reporters at other newspapers? Is asking people to “keep an open mind” the same as advocating “a point of view”? It seemed incredible to me.
So I sent Steele an email posing these questions. On November 20 Mr. Steele called me, and we had a long and interesting conversation. Steele said it is indeed unethical for an editor at a newspaper to communicate with reporters or editors at other publications about any issue that might have public policy implications, except perhaps in “one-on-one conversations.”
But other professionals communicate all the time with their colleagues on work issues, I said. It’s how they learn and improve their skills. Editors, he told me, are different. When editors communicate with other editors and with reporters, it creates the appearance of taking an advocacy role, which is contrary to the “independence” that is so important to the role of journalists in society.
Steele said “I don’t have a doubt in my mind” that Miller was “advocating a position” by sending out the letter and DVDs. I asked what position Miller was advocating, and he couldn’t say. I asked if there was anything in the letter that expressed anything other than a neutral stance on global warming. He couldn’t name a word or line. Nevertheless, he was “absolutely sure” Miller was “advocating something.”
How could he be so sure Miller was “advocating something” if he couldn’t name it or even point to where the letter “crossed the line” into advocacy? Because, he said, Miller chose a product of The Heartland Institute, and Heartland is an advocacy group. But, I said, he also chose a product by Al Gore, who anchors the left side of the global warming debate. Doesn’t that speak equally to his motives? He demurred, saying he wasn’t familiar enough with the global warming issue.
Objectivity Is Obsolete
At one point Steele delivered a long monologue on the meaninglessness of “objectivity.” I always thought journalists were supposed to be objective, and I thought being “open minded” was a necessary first step toward being objective. Apparently not anymore.
Facts are no obstacle to someone who believes his or her perspective or “narrative” ought to be validated, no matter how wrong-headed it is. An advocate’s knee-jerk response to a fact that contradicts his or her world view is not to think “maybe I’m wrong,” but to reply “yes, but” or “well, anyway,” and finally and more currently, “yeah, whatever.”
Is this how we want journalists to behave? Steele apparently thinks so.
I’ve concluded that the Tribune’s Rosenthal is just a disgruntled former Sun-Times employee who sought to stir up trouble for Dan Miller, and he found a head-in-the-clouds “ethicist” to make his case. But reactions to Dan’s mailing by other journalists show they are not alone.
A Closed Mind in Houston
Eric Berger, a science writer for the Houston Chronicle, wrote on his blog, “As a journalist I can say the last person I would expect to receive such a package from is another journalist. It would not surprise me if Miller gets fired for this. Oh, and I already have an open mind about global warming, thank you very much.”
Odd that someone with an “open mind” would then call Heartland “essentially a right-wing policy institute” and then repeat Steele’s brainless non sequitur, “In this case Miller didn’t actually endorse a position, but it’s pretty clear what his motives were.” Odd, too that rather than link to Heartland’s Web site, where people could judge for themselves what our perspective is, he linked to Sourcewatch.org, a left-wing front group devoted to attacking all groups to the right of Greenpeace. One wonders if Sourcewatch paid him to do that.
A Blind Pig in St. Petersburg
Far worse than Berger is Craig Pittman at the St. Petersburg Times, who blogged, “the content [of Miller’s package] was dictated by a right-wing group called the Heartland Institute that has relentlessly questioned the existence of global warming.”
“The institute gets a lot of its funding from ExxonMobil,” Pittman writes. “A lot”? Try less than 5 percent. “An ExxonMobil executive serves as Heartland’s ‘government relations advisor.’” Utterly false. Five minutes on Heartland’s Web site would have shown him the error of both assertions.
Pittman goes on: “A Heartland-created website asserts there is no scientific consensus on global warming and features a list of experts and like-minded think tanks, many of whom have received funding from ExxonMobil and other polluters.”
I’m reminded of the saying, attributed to Lyndon Johnson, that “even a blind pig can find an acorn sometimes.” Yes, our Global Warming Facts Web site lists 66 experts, with bios, who say global warming is not a crisis and has links to an international survey showing fewer than half of climate scientists believe human activity is responsible for the modern warming. None of them is on ExxonMobil’s payroll.
Either Pittman was too lazy to write that, or including this information would have contradicted his biased opinions on global warming. Is that ethical journalism?
Stunned in Detroit
My favorite response was from Tina Lam, an environment reporter for the Detroit Free Press, who wrote to me to say, “I was stunned to get [the DVDs] in the mail, and on stationery with no return address, email or phone number, making me wonder if he was even a real person or just someone Heartland invented. Unfortunately, I see he is a real person. I’m donating mine to our annual freebies sale, since as ethical journalists, we never keep such stuff.”
So I spent some time reading Lam’s articles for the Free Press and was “stunned” to discover that, so far as I can tell, she has never written a balanced article on an environmental issue, not even one. She’s alarmed by dioxin in rivers, pollution from mining and coal-burning electric plants, etc. etc. etc. But she never cites experts or data showing, e.g., plummeting levels of dioxin, advancements in mining technology, and the de minimis threat to human health posed by coal-burning electric plants.
Lam shamelessly cheerleads for politicians who announce initiatives to combat global warming and who oppose industries using more water or planning to “dump more pollutants into Lake Michigan.” You would think a reporter would ask politicians tough questions about whether or how their plans would work, rather than simply rewrite their news releases, but not Lam. Their word seems to be Gospel, so long as it promises a cleaner and safer environment. Is that ethical?
Conclusion
The Founding Fathers thought a free and skeptical press was essential to the preservation of our political and economic liberties. The First Amendment is first for just that reason. What would they think of today’s generation of reporters who hide from the truth, parrot the slogans of left-wing advocacy groups, fail to do their own research, and routinely give politicians a free ride?
My guess is they would be stunned.
The Bali conference on global warming came to a roller-coaster ending Saturday, as the U.S. first rejected the plan, then did a 180-degree turn and, amid cheers, accepted it. But the aftermath is not quite so uniformly positive.
The compromise sets the stage for intense negotiations in the next two years aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions worldwide.
When the head of the U.S. delegation, Paula Dobriansky, undersecretary of state for democracy and global affairs, announced the United States was rejecting the plan, she was met by booing from other delegations, CNN reported. A a delegate from the developing country of Papua New Guinea challenged the United States to "either lead, follow or get out of the way."
"Five minutes later, when it appeared the conference was on the brink of collapse, Dobriansky took the floor again to say the United States was willing to accept the arrangement," CNN reported. "Applause erupted in the hall..."
But in Washington, "the White House quibbled with it Saturday and said it does not sufficiently address the role of developing nations," the Associated Press reported. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said "the United States does have serious concerns" because the U.N.-sponsored talks have "not yet fully given effect to the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities."
Perino pointed out that commitments for emissions cuts cannot be required from developed countries alone, as that would be insufficient to reduce global warming and would be unfair, the AP reports. "Major developing economies must likewise act," Perino said.
In the end, the Toronto Globe & Mail reported, the ballyhooed Bali road map to the future was "disappointingly vague and unenforceable, weakened by politics and self-interest. Yet beyond the words of its compromised text, the Bali agreement could still herald a new era of tougher action against global warming."
To read the CNN story, click here. To read the AP story, click here. To read the Toronto Globe & Mail story, click here.
--Craig Pittman
The Miami Herald takes a good look today at the options for fixing Florida's emissions, including FPL's proposed carbon fee. Herald reporter John Dorschner, finds that it may not be as painful, or cost as much, as some people fear.
Click here to read the story, 'Cleaning up the Climate.'
- David Adams
Brazilian state oil company Petrobras signed a memorandum of understanding with Samsung last Friday that seeks to supply the South Korea market with ethanol, reports the Latin America Energy Advisor, published by the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington.
South Korea is adopting a 10 percent ethanol mix with gasoline, and is currently performing practical testing in several regions, according to a Petrobras press release.
If the US doesn't move soon to lift a 54 cent tariff on imported Brazilian sugarcane-based ethanol, there may not be any left. The current tariff does not run until the end of next year.
- David Adams
Bestirred by weird weather, bothered by dependence on foreign oil, and blitzed by advertising, many a motoring do-gooder has purchased a flex-fuel vehicle.
If said motorist lives here in Florida, a cruel surprise awaits: Sioux Falls has more ethanol stations than all of Florida.
Bringing biofuels to Floridians -- and to other ethanol-hungry parts of the U.S. -- is the theme of a two-day National Governors Association conference at Tampa’s InterContinental Hotel. Gov. Charlie Crist joined the governors of Minnesota, Montana, and Kansas 
on Thursday morning to voice their commitment to getting biofuels flowing.
“Governors have the opportunity in states across the country to drive a national conversation, and, frankly, to make some national policy by the agreements we forge with one another,” said Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius.
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, chairman of the governors association, said states can act as “laboratories of democracy.” They are smaller and more “nimble” than the federal government, he said.
Crist has styled himself a climate-change warrior in recent months, joining state-by-state efforts to reform energy policy in the Sunshine State and around the country. On Thursday, he cautioned against pessimism and politics, billing his green crusade as a bipartisan effort. He consistently side-stepped the issue of cost, an issue his critics have hammered in recent weeks.
“If you look at this full of gloom and pessimism, then you will depress people from moving forward and doing what’s right,” Crist said.
Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer echoed Crist’s optimism. “American has always led by converting adversity to opportunity.”
When it comes to reforming transportation, alternative fuels face several hurdles on their way to our cars, explained Rick Eggebrecht, co-founder of VeraSun Energy, a South Dakota company that produces 560-million gallons of ethanol each year. 
First, many states don’t make the fuels at home, and don’t have the rail resources to get it cheaply to market, Eggebrecht explained. Then there aren’t enough places that can store the fuels, and blend them with gasoline. Finally, retail stations face enormous costs to retrofit their stations to sell biofuels. This is where governors and legislators can help, creating tax breaks and incentives to help speed infrastructure development, he said.
Florida doesn’t yet produce ethanol, and has limited production of biodiesel. Several alternative fuel projects in the state have run into delays.
--Asjylyn Loder, Times staff writer
Republicans were able to stall the energy bill in the Senate Thursday, the New York Times reports. That prompted Democratic majority leader Harry Reid "to excise controversial parts of the measure in hopes of moving the legislation forward quickly," the Times says.
The unsuccessful move to advance the energy bill failed by one vote. A key sticking point for the president and his Republican allies is some $21 billion in new taxes, mostly on the oil industry, the Times reports. Opponents of the new taxes argue that they will increase energy prices.
Meanwhile, 2007 has been determined to be one of the warmest years since 1850, despite the cooling influence of La Nina conditions, the BBC notes. The head of climate prediction for the UK's Hadley Centre and University of East Anglia, Vicky Pope, who is at the Bali talks, said the data "confirmed the need for swift action to combat further rises in global temperatures because of human behavior."
And Science Daily reports today that the decade of 1998-2007 is the warmest on record, according to data sources obtained by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
To read the New York Times story, click here. To read the BBC story, click here. To read the Science Daily story, click here.
--Craig Pittman
States must act as "laboratories of democracy" in promoting alternative fuels, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and combatting climate change," Gov. Charlie Crist said Thursday.
Crist joined the governors of Kansas, Minnesota and Montana in Tampa to kick off a governors summit on alternative transportation, fuels and advanced vehicles. The National Governors Association sponsored the two-day conference as part of a yearlong campaign "securing a clean energy future, a call to action."
Crist, who has styled himself the "Green Governor," said Florida must pursue diverse energy resources in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including ethanol, biofuels, solar , wind and nuclear.
-- Asjylyn Loder, Times staff writer
On the next-to-last day of the Bali climate change conference, European Union ministers threatened to boycott a US-led climate summit next month over the Bush Administration's opposition to mandated cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, the BBC is reporting.
Europe wants developed countries to agree to make cuts of 25-40% in emissions from 1990 levels by 2020, but the US wants a more flexible agreement. Because of US resistance, the talks in Bali on creating a successor to the Kyoto climate change treaty have stalled, and United Nations officials say the talks are in danger of "falling to pieces."
"My own country, the United States, is principally responsible for obstructing progress here in Bali," said former Vice President Al Gore, who flew to Bali straight from accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway, according to the Associated Press.
So now the EU is threatening to skip the meeting of "major economies" that Bush has called for next month.
"No result in Bali means no major economies meeting, said Germany's Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel. "This is the clear position of the EU."
To read the BBC story, click here. To read the Associated Press story, click here.
--Craig Pittman
With U.S. opposition making it too difficult to gain consensus on a way to combat climate change, the focus of the U.N gathering in Bali has shifted to helping poor countries cope with the effects of a warming world, the New York Times reports.
The Associated Press quotes secretary general Ban-Ki Moon as saying that guidelines on greenhouse gas emissions cuts favored by Europe and developing countries may be "too ambitious" to include in a final statement on climate change.
"Drafts of a final statement at a U.N. global warming conference this week have included a call for industrialized countries to consider cutting emissions blamed for rising temperatures by between 25 percent and 40 percent by 2020," the AP reports. "Ban, however, said such goals demanded by the European Union and developing nations might have to wait for subsequent negotiations."
So instead the conference has shifted to finding ways to help poorer nations adapt to the changes that global warming is causing.
“Those who are least able to cope are being hit hardest," the UN chief said. "Those who have done the least to cause the problem bear the gravest consequences.”
The goal is to make it easier for poor nations to gain access to a fund that's fueled by a percentage of all carbon trading transactions -- although that's likely to fall short of the amount that's needed, the Times reports.
The most poignant call for action came from island nations, which face possible extinction by rising seas, the AP noted.
"Today, the catastrophe is looming large on the horizon," said Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, president of the Maldives. "Sea-level data over the past decade confirms our worst fears. Without immediate action, the long-term habitation of our tiny islands is in serious doubt."
Click here for the AP story. Click here for the New York Times coverage.
--Craig Pittman
The British government has announced hugely ambitious plans to generate the country's entire household electricity demand from offshore wind farms by 2020.
This would involve a colossal 60 fold increase in production. Wind currently
accounts for less than 2 percent of the UK's energy generation, but Britain's windy coastline is reckoned to be well-suited to offshore turbines.
The British Wind Energy Association has welcomed the plan, but remains skeptical about meeting the government's goal. Due to a lack of available turbines. However, the association says there is huge room for growth.
Click here to read more.
- David Adams
The battle over whether to include greenhouse gas emissions targets in a new climate accord intensified Tuesday at the international conference on global warming in Bali, reports the Associated Press.The Europeans and environmentalists are clamoring for the targets, the AP says, but the U.S. and others are resisting.
"A version of the revised text obtained by The Associated Press included guidelines for industrialized countries to cut emissions by between 25 percent and 40 percent overall by 2020 - a range that is sure to anger the United States, which has repeatedly said it opposes specific target ranges," the AP reports.
"The United States, the only major industrialized nation to reject the Kyoto Protocol, argues it is too early in the negotiation stage to put specific targets or emissions cuts guidelines in the Bali document," the AP story noted.
But Stavros Dimos, the European secretary of the environment, insisted the mandated cuts are necessary."We need this range of reductions by developed countries," he told reporters Tuesday. "Science tells us that these reductions are necessary. Logic requires that we listen to science."
To read one AP dispatch from Bali, click here. To read a somewhat different one, click here.
--Craig Pittman
Florida Governor Charlie Crist is continuing to show his keen interest in emerging alternative energy technologies. Yesterday he visited an eco-friendly roofing company, Advanced Green Technologies, in Fort Lauderdale.
The company designs different various systems, including solar-powered canopies (see photo) which uses a high light-transmissive polymer, instead of the traditional photo-voltaic roof panels.
On Thursday, Crist is due to attend a Governors Roundtable on Alternative Fuels and
Vehicles, as part of National Governors Association’s 'Securing a Clean
Energy Future Initiative,' taking place in Tampa.
While the Governor advocates increased state and federal involvement in promoting alternative energy he is also highlighting the important role of innovative private companies (something this blog has also focused on).
"I'm very proud of what these Florida corporations are doing. In my opinion, they are the leaders in green initiatives," Crist said. ''It's people that make a difference. It's private enterprise that makes a difference."
Click here to read more from The Miami Herald. Click here to read more from The Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel.
- David Adams
Click here to read BBC report on Gore's speech at the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony in Oslo.
- David Adams
If there is one palce that could stand to benefit quickly from the emergence of biofuels, it's the Caribbean. Several countries, Cuba, Haiti and Trinidad, have seen their sugar industries fall into ruin. Others, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and St Kitts, are already making plans to grow sugar for ethanol.
Click here to read an article in The Fort-Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel examining the Caribbean's biofuels potential.
- David Adams
The Economist magazine's cover story this week is about rising food prices. 'The End of Cheap Food,' argues that "dearer food is likely to persist for years."
This is going to be a recurring theme is coming years, and is inextricably linked to the quest to find alternatives to fossil fuels.
Food prices have jumped by 75% since 2005, The Economist calculates. While farmers will meet higher prices with more production,
this alone will not be enough to reverse the trend. (The US corn harvest this year - 335 millions tons - will beat last years' by more than a quarter.)
Part of the blame lies with US mandates to boost ethanol production, the article says, as well as droughts in some parts of the world. Some have alarmingly called this a "crime against humanity."
An increasing percentage of the US corn harvest is now being dedicated to biofuels (about 85 million tons). The US is the world's largest corn exporter, but this year it will use more more of its corn crop for ethanol than it sells abroad. This could adversely affect the poor in some countries, even while boosting the incomes of farmers.
The Economist does a good job of laying out the economic pitfalls, and suggests some answers. This includes the transition from corn to new "cellulosic technologies" than can convert biomass to liquid fuel. But it warns that the overall global picture will be "tricky to handle."
Click here to read The Economist article
- David Adams
I have a story in the paper today looking at how economic growth in Brazil is impacting the Amazon rain forest and the savanna that surrounds it. To write the story I travelled to Mato Grosso state, the heart of the soybean industry.
I visited the agri-industrial town of Lucas do Rio Verde to learn about a project created by The Nature Conservancy in conjunction with local farmers and municipal officials. The idea is to find a way to sustain agricultural growth without harming the environment.
A dusty highway carves through this agricultural boom town, lined by huge tin-roofed grain silos, bearing the names of the world’s largest, mostly U.S.-owned, agri-business giants, Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland, and Bunge (see photos). An endless procession of tractor-trailers rumbles down the dusty, two-lane highway, Route 163, which continues north into the Amazon.
With this kind of agricultural expansion going on, analysts question whether the notion of 'Responsible Soy' can compete with the huge economic interests at play?
Brazil
currently accounts for about 30 to 35 percent of an increasingly
lucrative world market for soybeans, which has seen prices rise to
all-time highs, in part because of the extra demand for biofuel.
A federal mandate that goes into effect in January will require
blending every gallon of diesel in Brazil with 2 percent biodiesel.
This is set to rise to rise in stages to 5 percent by 2018. (Brazil
already mandates the blending of gasoline with 25 percent ethanol.)
"Only soy today has the production capacity to meet that demand," recognizes Carlos Klink of The Nature Conservancy. "That means a lot of expansion."
Mato Grosso could increase two or three times double or triple its agricultural production without cutting down any more forest, local authorities say.
"Brazil has enormous potential to increase soy production without
causing any more deforestation," I was 
told by Miguel Vaz, president of Fiagril,
a local soybean company that is building a 30-million-gallon biodiesel
plant on the outskirts of town.
In April The Nature Conservancy joined with other
environmentalists, soy farmers and commodity traders to create the
'Round Table for Responsible Soy', an effort to draw up international
standards.
"We have to sit down and talk face to face," said Klink.
"They are asking for our help. It's a very strong, clear sign that
these guys are serious. They see how the market is going
internationally."
The big US agri-business companies, Cargill, ADM and Bunge, appear to be going along with this new thinking. I spoke with Scott Roney, ADM's vice-president for Compliance and Ethics.
" ADM has committed itself to responsible and sustainable bioenergy around the world," he told me. "We are working with NGOs to conduct supply chain analysis .... In my experience I have seen people in South America are pretty atuned to environmental issues," he added.
"We welcome engagement from parties who have good information and good faith intent to try and find solutions to issues, or give a positive direction for responsible development of agriculture. We think the environmental stewardship and agriculture go hand in hand, and so it is certainly not offensive to us to engage with any group that is interested in trying to address those issues and create sustainable agriculture."
Environmentalists aren't all in agreement with such collaborative efforts with big industry. But more and more, they recognize that it may be the only way to make progress. (in photo, The Nature Conservancy's Giovanni Malmann, left, helped soy farmer Darci Eichelt map his land, marking off with stakes where he needs to reforest.)
"I commend TNC's work," says Vasco van Roosmalen, field director for the Amazon Conservation Team, which works with indigenous groups in the Amazon. "Some balance has to be found. There's no option., economic expansion isn't going to cease."
But van Roosmalen, says there's no one solution for the Amazon. It's so vast, different ideas have to be used in different areas. Fundamental issues remain, such as protecting eco-diversity, limiting the impact of roads and hydro-electric dams will affect fish and water.
"What's missing most is that the legislation needs efficient and active presence in these areas. Any system for preserving standing forest should include payment for ecological services. That's one of the big solutions."
This raises one of the big issues being debated today. How can the evolving system of carbon credit be applied to the rain forest. Van Roosmalen, and many others, argue that the best way is to involve the indigenous people who have been living in the forest all these years and know how best to protect it.
"You can't expect (indigenous peoples) to protect those lands with bows and arrows," he said. "Nor will money do it alone. Conservation is inherently local. The indigenous people are the eco-system managers of the forest. It's really about getting the cash and transforming it into the right incentives on the ground."
Click here to read my article in The St Petersburg Times
Click here for some historical perspective from the AP.
- David Adams
Global demand for energy is expected to be one-third higher by 2030 than it is today, according to Scott Nauman, corporate planning manager for ExxonMobil.
Nauman was speaking recently at an Energy Business Forum hosted by the College of Business Administration at Florida International University in Miami.
In his presentation, titled "Outlook for Energy: A View to 2030," Nauman said Exxon estimates that annual energy demand growth is expected to average 1.3 percent per year from 2008 to 2030. Fossil fuels will continue to account for about eighty percent of energy demand through 2030, with oil and gas accounting for approximately sixty percent.
Among renewable energy sources, wind, solar, and biofuels will continue to grow rapidly, at about nine percent per year, according to Nauman. These energy sources, which currently represent about 0.5 percent of world energy, are expected to reach approximately two percent by 2030.
If Exxon is correct in this analysis, world governments will have serious difficulty meeting their CO2 emissions reduction targets. Some renewable energy experts predict a far faster growth in renewables than Nauman predicts, but this will require major commercial breakthroughs in a number of areas, particularly in the development of cellulosic ethanol as a replacement transportation fuel. Even so, it is most likely that fossil fuels - oil, gas and coal - will continue to be the largest source of energy.
Click here for more details on his presentation.
- David Adams
The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy has added its praise to Congress on passage of the energy bill.
"As the cost oil approaches $100 a barrel, we applaud the U.S. House of Representatives for passing a strong energy bill that will move us toward a clean, energy-efficient future while reducing global warming pollution," states Stephen Smith, executive director for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.
"A very important measure in this bill is the 15% renewable electricity standard (RES) for utilities that will dramatically increase renewable sources of electricity," he adds. "We are pleased to see that the House has rejected the false assumptions that the Southeast does not have renewable energy potential, and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy's analysis shows that this standard will significantly boost clean energy production in our region."
Other highlights of the bill include provisions that will:
Click here to read the Alliance's press release.
- David Adams
The passage of yesterday's energy bill in the House of Representatives marks an astonishing turn-around by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, observes The New York Times in a 'behind the scenes' report today.
The paper cites negative comments made in May by the AMA about increase fuel efficiency standards, and compares them to this week's comments. Which just goes to show what a little bit , or a lot actually, of political persuasion by Congressional leaders can do. Hats off to Nancy Pelosi for overcoming the resistance of Michigan Democrat, John Dingell.
Here are the aforementioned comments:
May 14 2007:
"Extreme, unrealistic CAFE increases could force manufacturers into offering vehicles for sale that do not match up with consumer demand for versatility, performance, affordability, and passenger and cargo space." - David McCurdy, AMA president. “If higher standards make vehicles less attractive to consumers, vehicle sales will drop, negatively impacting auto dealers, suppliers, automakers, and the U.S. economy.”
Dec 1 2007:
"We believe this tough, national fuel economy bill will be good for both consumers and energy security. We support its passage." - David McCurdy, AMA president in a statement.
Click here to read The New York Times article
- David Adams
The U.S. House of Representatives passed an energy bill today that includes the first increase in federal automobile fuel efficiency requirements in three decades.
The bill would also repeals billions of dollars in oil company tax breaks and encourage the use of renewable fuels.
The bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate and a possible veto by the White House.
Florida Representatives Corrine Brown, Kathy Castor, Alcee Hastings, Ron Klein, Tim Mahoney, Kendrick Meek, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Robert Wexler, all voted in favor.
Ros-Lehtinen was only one of 14 Republican members to vote for the Bill. In a press release her office noted she was "bucking her Party," but added that she did so, "knowing that the positive environmental impact made by this Bill are too important to discard."
She added: "Every American is being hit hard by incredibly volatile gasoline prices and it is our responsibility to assure that we help them look for a solution. While this legislation is not the answer to all of our energy woes, it is a good bill and I am pleased to have supported it."
In a statement, Environment Florida welcomed the passage of the bill:
"Environment Florida applauds the U.S. House of Representatives for passing a 21st Century energy bill that will harness American ingenuity and put us on a path to cleaner, smarter new energy future. This bill is a breakthrough on energy policy and sets the country firmly on a path to increasing clean energy, lowering energy demand, and reducing U.S. dependence on oil."
Among some of the provisions of the bill:
* Increases fuel economy standards. This provision requires that automakers increase fuel efficiency for cars, pickup trucks and SUV’s to an average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020—the first increase in the federal auto fuel economy standard in 32 years.
* Establishes a national renewable electricity standard. This standard requires non public utilities to generate 15% of all power from renewable sources, such as solar and wind power, by the year 2020.
- David Adams
The New York Times columnist, Thomas Friedman, has joined in the Iran debate with a clever column on why Iran can take satisfaction over the Bush administration's failure to promote alternative fuels. The same argument can of course be extended to other oil producing nations, such as Venezuela. But the argument is not that clear cut. High oil prices are helping some US allies as well, including Mexico, Brazil and Canada.
Click here to read Friedman's column, 'Intercepting Iran's Take on America.'
- David Adams
Some ethanol advocates argue that it may be better to run a car on a 20 or 30% ethanol-gasoline blend, rather than the current E10 option. They talk of a 'sweet spot' where some cars obtain better fuel efficiency at the higher blend, according to tests.
Click here to read more in The New York Times.
Click here to learn more about the study (courtesy of Nathan at the Rhapsody in Green blog)
- David Adams
Biofuels hold great potential for the poor countries of Central America and the Caribbean, helping them substitute expensive oil imports with local agricultural production, according to panel at the 31st annual Miami Conference on the Caribbean Basin.
''Biofuels are here to stay and they are going to get bigger over time,'' Jeffrey Jacobs, of Chevron Technology Ventures, told the conference.
Click here to read more in The Miami Herald.
- David Adams
Now here's an idea. Should there be a carbon tax on divorce?
After all, running two households is far less efficient than one, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Hmmm.
I wonder if it was really necessary to go to such academic lengths. I think we can all work that one out ourselves. Still, as a happily married man, I like the idea that marriage is greener than divorce.
Click here to read more from new wires.
Click here for a copy of the report by Michigan State University researchers, Eunice Yu and Jianguo Liu.
- David Adams
A report written by a special rapporteur on the right to food and submitted to the United Nations General Assembly in August labels biofuels production a "crime against humanity" and calls for a five-year moratorium, claiming biofuels are responsible for current and future increases in food prices that could lead to widespread hunger in poor countries.
What impact will the report have on biofuels production? Will the report dampen en
