Green Options

As discussions open in Congress today surrounding the American Clean Energy and Security Act (the Waxman-Markey Bill), I started to wonder what environmental advocacy groups’ attitudes are about the climate change/green jobs/clean energy/energy independence legislation. Here is a quick rundown of statements from some of the biggest and most influential environmental groups in the country.

Democrats in the House of Representatives unveiled the already heavily discussed Waxman-Markey bill on Friday, formally known as the American Clean Energy and Security Act. It is 932 pages long. And no, I haven’t read all of it. So don’t feel too bad.

May 9 is National Train Day, one of my favorite holidays. (Well, since it was created last year, at least.) I find trains to be a particularly great way to travel, for both short and long trips.

In what feels like an extension of Earth Day (Month), the Environmental Protection Agency has declared May to be Sustainability Month. EPA scientists and administrators will engage the public through in-person events and online communication, all aimed at teaching people how to meet “the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

A recent study by Canadian researchers published in the Journal of Animal Science indicate that by fine-tuning the balance of starch, sugar, cellulose, ash, fat and other elements of cattle feed, methane production by the cows can be reduced by as much as 25 percent.

The Environmental Protection Agency has launched an interesting campaign aimed at increasing citizens’ active efforts to help the environment: Pick 5 for the Environment. The idea is for people to choose five broad actions out of 10 listed on the EPA’s site to commit to, thus improving one’s overall environmental footprint. Don’t choose six, though; that’s one too many.

With billions in stimulus dollars heading toward improving the electricity grid and building sustainable energy infrastructure, emission-free power may be coming to your neighborhood sooner than you think. Here are five of the biggest, most ambitious projects that are in the pipeline, both in the US and elsewhere.

Okay, it’s Earth Day and everything, so maybe I’m imagining things, but it certainly feels like the renewable energy/carbon emissions/let’s-fix-global-warming conversation has picked up steam dramatically in the last couple of weeks. I thought it might be nice to take a step back and review where things stand in Washington and elsewhere.

The US Department of the Interior reports that they will start spending the stimulus money granted them in February, and among the $140 million-worth of projects is $15.2 million for Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s favorite activity: volcano monitoring!

The stimulus package approved in February contains items aimed at making everyone an environmentalist. Well, let’s say practical environmentalist.