Floridian tipped to be Climate Czarina

Are we going to have our first Climate Czar in the White House? If so, it looks like it could be a Czarina, according to The New York Times.

And she's a UF grad ('77) and was also born in Florida! She is Carol M Browner, 52, former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under President Clinton. She also sits on the board of the Audubon Society, the League of Conservation Voters and the Alliance for Climate Protection, all strong advocates of the need to control greenhouse gas emissions.

Before joining the Clinton administration, Browner was Secretary Florida's Department of Environmental Regulation in Florida, 1991-93. She served as General Counsel for the Florida House of Representatives Government Operations Committee in 1980. From 1986 to 1988, she worked in Washington as chief legislative aide for then-Senator Lawton Chiles. She later served as Legislative Director for Senator Al Gore ('88-'91).

Her bio says she grew up in south Florida, where the Everglades were a bike ride away. Her parents were college professors at Miami-Dade Community College.

- David Adams, Times staff writer

Green initiatives in Tampa Bay schools

I recently wrote about schools in South Florida teaching students about the challenge of energy and climate change.
Progress Energy tells me it is working on several projects to help students learn about energy efficiency and alternative energy in Tampa Bay.
"More than 2400 Pinellas County School students will learn about electricity, alternative energy and energy efficiency, this year at the Pinellas Science Center’s Progress Energy room that opened in October, says Progress' spokesperson, Suzanne Grant.

"Teachers will conduct classes for third, fourth, and fifth grades on solar energy, hydrogen fuel cells, energy efficiency, electricity, and much more. Prior to attending the energy room, students will receive a home energy check toolkit for kids. Working with their parents and caregivers the kids will conduct an energy audit of their home and bring the information to the science center. Students ... will receive a detailed report from Progress Energy showing how they can reduce energy use and save money," she adds.

New group promises REAL solutions

Promising real solutions to Florida’s energy quandary, a new group calling itself REAL announced a coalition of environmentalists and businesses that will push for strong renewable requirements in the state.

REAL, which stands for Renewable Energy Alliance, included several environmental groups alongside businesses like Covanta, which converts trash to electricity, Florida Crystals, one of the largest U.S. sugar businesses which has an interest in using crop waste for biofuels and Kyocera Solar, a Japanese solar manufacturer.

The group called on the Florida Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities, to set a renewable energy target of 20 percent of the state’s electricity by 2020, the same goal set out by Gov. Charlie Crist and opposed by many of the state’s utilities. The commission has a hearing next week on the issue.

-Asjylyn Loder, Times staff writer

For the group's press release, read on...

SNL's auto manufacturers bailout spoof

If you haven't already seen Saturday Night Live's hilarious spoof of the House Financial Services Committee hearing with the Big Three auto companies, it's worth viewing.

Here's the link

Detroit car dealers and parts makers are planning a caravan to Washington for the next bailout hearings in early December. It's not clear yet of the CEO's of the Big Three automakers plan to arrive. They will not be taking their private jets this time, according to a spokesman for GM.

- David Adams, Times staff writer.

Solar cemetery! How the dead can power the living.

The town of Santa Coloma de Gramenet in Spain deserves a prize for most innovative green solution.
It put solar panels on mausoleums in the local cemetery. AP has a slideshow.

The 462 panels produce the equivalent energy to power 60 homes for a year. They cost about $900,000 to install and each year will keep about 62 tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, according to Esteve Serret, director Conste-Live Energy, a Spanish company that runs the cemetery project.

"The best tribute we can pay to our ancestors, whatever your religion may be, is to generate clean energy for new generations. That is our leitmotif," says Serret.

- David Adams, Times staff writer

Pirates still holding oil tanker for undisclosed ransom.

In case you were wondering whatever happened to that oil tanker that was seized by pirates off the Horn of Africa last week, the matter remains unresolved.

Turns out the pirates are ex-fishermen who claim to be victims of environmental degradation.
"Our fish were all eradicated so we can't fish now so we're going to fish whatever passes through our sea because we need to eat,"said their spokesman, who goes by the name, 'Daybad' (maybe he should change his name to 'Badday.' That has more of a pirate ring to it!)

The Sirius Star is now anchored off the coast of Somalia, still fully laden with about 2 million barrels of Saudi crude oil. The 25-man crew are in "good shape," according to the captain.
Here's the latest from the BBC.

- David Adams, Times Staff writer

Falling oil prices and the impact on renewable energy policy

Plunging oil prices have stilled the hand wringing over energy security. With all eyes on the economy, veterans of past oil shocks may wonder if Americans will once again forget about weening the nation off suddenly cheap oil.
This time, though, looks different, Asjylyn Loder writes in The St Petersburg Times in an article titled 'Is Obama's energy policy a cure for oil addiction?'
Nearly 30 states, including Florida, are forging plans to boost renewable energy and slash greenhouse gases. Business leaders nationwide have called for a clear, nationwide policy. A political consensus has emerged in Washington that something must be done.
"We go from shock to trance," President-elect Barack Obama said in an interview with 60 Minutes that aired last Sunday night. "… Prices go back down, and suddenly we act like it's not important, and we start, you know, filling up our SUVs again. And, as a consequence, we never make any progress. It's part of the addiction, all right. That has to be broken. Now is the time to break it."

Read more ......

Obama: 'Strong annual targets' for emissions, $15-billion each year for clean energy

Although President-elect Barack Obama was too busy to attend this week's Global Climate Summit that California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger held in Beverly Hills, he did send this videotaped greeting that praises Schwarzenegger and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist. In it, he gives details on his plans to launch "a new era" on combating climate change:

Obama's efforts to spur action on climate change are likely to be made easier by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., taking over as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, replacing longtime auto industry ally Rep. John Dingell, D-Michigan.

Craig Pittman, Times staff writer

*

Florida Farm to Fuel rebroadcast

The Florida Channel will be rebroadcasting the 2008 Farm to Fuel Summit this coming Monday and Tuesday. They will broadcast Day One on Monday at 8 a.m. It will repeat that evening at 8 p.m. Day Two will air at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Tuesday. A list of stations that carry the Florida Channel’s coverage can be found at: http://www.wfsu.org/tfc/carriage.html

We will also shortly be adding a link to the Farm to Fuel Web site with details on next year's Orlando summit under our "Government Links" on the right hand side of the blog home page.

*

Brazil and U.S. expand biofuels cooperation

The State Department has announced an expansion of the U.S.-Brazil agreement to cooperate on biofuels that was signed last year.
The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Ed Schafer, and Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, announced the agreement at the International Biofuels Conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil, which expands scientific collaboration in biofuels.

The new announcement builds upon an agreement signed in October between the U.S. National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) and Petrobras’ Center for Research and Development (CENPES) to accelerate the development and integration of next generation biofuels feedstock, production and distribution systems in the U.S. and Brazil.

The private sector in Brazil and the U.S. are both engaged in a race to develop second generation cellulosic ethanol from non-food plants, and agricultural/municipal waste. Brazil is more advanced in some areas, particularly sugar cane and bagasse, while the U.S. leads in enzymatic and bacterial research.

The expanded plan involves nine countries in Central America, the Caribbean and Africa interested in developing local biofuels industries.

David Adams, Times staff writer

*