Not My Inconvenient Truth
The polling site Five Thirty Eight has an analysis of a sobering George Mason University survey on climate change. Unlike years past, people now believe climate change is a significant problem....just not for them. The poll shows that most Americans still see climate change as an abstraction far removed from their day-to-day lives. While Nate Silver notes climate change policy is polling pretty well right now, this perspective has to remain a concern for those who want to see legislation enacted soon.
Is Bio-Char the Next Great Hope?
Never heard of bio-char? I was only vaguely familiar with ituntil this Tuesday. That's when McKenna Long & Aldridge's DC office played host to this year's EPA Climate Leaders award winners in a program co-sponsored by the firm and the Association of Climate Change Officers.
The event brought together some of the foremost thought leaders on climate change science andfeatured several enlightening presentations, including one by Durwood Zaelke, president of the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development.
He described the dramatic effects on climate change of acting to control "non-CO2 climate forcers" such as black carbon (which we've written about) and bio-char.
A Business Model Stimulus
Most companies, naturally, are choosing to tighten their belts in this recessionary economy.
In this week’s New Yorker, James Surowiecki makes a compelling case for ramping up spending in a downturn. He cites Kellogg’s success launching and marketing Rice Krispies during the Great Depression.
I don’t know of many companies doubling down on consumer marketing right now, but I know plenty of companies looking to understand how the federal stimulus plan might be relevant to their business.
Continue Reading...CCS: Is it Really That Far Off
The new fashionable observation in energy circles is that Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) is not ready for prime time.
US News and World Report ran a feature making the point a couple weeks back. Now Energy Secretary Steven Chu made the same point at a DC energy conference this week. The secretary told audience members that "CCS" technology might not be ready for "serious deployment" for eight to 10 years.
Really? Every time I turn around, I read about another carbon storage and sequestration project that is up and running or about to be.
Climate Legislation Made Easy
Democrats in Congress released their most recent climate change bill yesterday.
The so-called Waxman-Markey discussion draft attempts to satisfy all constituencies:
The US Climate Partnership -- the powerful coalition of utilities, car makers, manufacturers and environmental organizations -- got its vision of a cap-and-trade scheme adopted. That means the environmentalists are pleased with strong GHG emission reduction targets (80 percent below 2005 levels by 2050). Meanwhile, heavy industrials (iron and steel, aluminum, cement, glass, chemicals and paper) will benefit from a 15 percent reserve of the system's emission allowances -- a structure designed to keep down allowance prices (and thus the cost of compliance) for businesses most vulnerable to international competition.
The renewable industry got a renewable portfolio standard, which would force utilities to provide at least 25 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2025. The coal industry also came out with $10 billion to fund carbon capture and sequestration research. (That's on top of the billions already provided under the recently enacted stimulus plan.)
