Today the Center for Biological Diversity announced that the winner of its third annual Rubber Dodo Award is Michael Winer, portfolio manager for Third Avenue Management, LLC (”TAREX”).

The Center for Biological Diversity awards the Rubber Dodo each year to the person who has contributed the most to driving endangered species extinct. Winer was selected this year for his leadership role in Third Avenue Management, LLC (”TAREX”), a giant real-estate investment firm responsible for unsustainable sprawl in California and Florida - and the driving force behind the proposed destruction of Tejon Ranch with a luxury development known as Tejon Mountain Village.

Last year’s recipient was former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

Read more of this story »

Tejon Ranch Company (TRC) has received the Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award (GEELA) for its PR scheme designed to distract the public from condor-killing real estate development plans.

Apparently, in Schwarzenegger’s California, the development of a luxury mountain resort in the middle of designated California condor habitat is an award-winning event.

Read more of this story »

Editor’s Note: The is a guest contribution by Danny Kennedy, President of Sungevity. This is part of a series from the CEO’s of major solar companies. You can follow the complete series here.

Sometimes it is hard to contemplate what a good news story our industry – solar sales and installation – and the broader clean energy economy really represents. I was reminded on Monday at the graduation ceremony for the Oakland Green Collar Jobs Corps.

• » See also: Canvassers for solar energy and energy efficiency
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In short, forty diverse, young and not-so-young people graduated from a tough, practical 30 week training course to be job-ready for work in the solar, weatherization and green construction sectors. 8 of them were not able to attend their own graduation, which had the Mayor and the great and good of the East Bay present because they already had jobs!

That is a big deal given that at this time something like 25 – 40% of union electricians in the area are going without work. It speaks to the excellence of their training, their own caliber, and the fact that green collar jobs are hot jobs even in a recession. And cities like Oakland are leading the way out of it with programs like this, which, at a very human level mean a lot to the people involved. They are also important for the whole economy.

Yesterday, I heard someone from the government-backed California Clean Energy Fund say that a clean energy company employs 4 – 5 people more than a non-green company, for every unit of production. And of those jobs created in solar, most are in the community – not short-term construction gigs or heartless factory jobs - but service positions selling systems, installing them on roofs, or maintaining them in other ways.

Obama, the Arnold Schwarzenegger, and everyone on down has been talking about green-collar jobs and workforce development, which is great. There’s a lot more they can do to support the kinds of job creation that are possible with the clean energy economy but I won’t try to tell you just what they should be doing in DC and Sacramento right now with various bills being debated.

But I do want to point out that at the end of the day, people are the limiting factor on the success of the solar industry. It is not just about the hardware. It’s about employees that sell, install and service the solar systems that will make our business’ succeed and grow and spread the sunshine of solar electricity. We have to train more of them for all the functions required to get this great technology onto the rooftops of middle America.

I look forward to the time when there are too many Green Collar Jobs cohorts coming out of various programs nationwide to go to them all. That’s when we’ll know we’re winning! Shine on!

Photo Courtesy greenforall.org via Flickr under Creative Commons License.

Buildup of microtrash

“Microtrash” consists of bottle caps, pop-tops, small pieces of glass, plastic and metal (including pennies, etc.). Biologists believe that these items are mistaken for bone chips by adult condors who feed them to their chicks.

Adult condors usually regurgitate these materials, but it is another story with condor chicks. The baby condors cannot digest or regurgitate microtrash, and are dying of microtrash impaction.

Ventana Wildlife Society reported in July that a condor chick was found dead from ingesting microtrash. The chick’s stomach was clogged with shards of glass, a metal fragment, and a penny.

Appendix C of the Tejon Ranch California Condor Conservation and Management Plan prepared for Tejon Mountain Village LLC and TRC by Bloom Biological includes the following carefully-worded gem:

Development and ongoing operations of TMV could result in the buildup of microtrash associated with the development of residences and other structures within condor foraging areas. Associated Ranch activities such as film production, passive recreation, repair and maintenance of roads, and visits to backcountry cabins in areas of the Ranch outside of TMV after initial project development could also result in the leaving of microtrash that could be ingested by adult condors in areas frequented by the species. An increase in microtrash in areas accessible to condors would represent a potentially significant impact under CEQA and could result in take (harm) of condors. Measures are included in this plan (discussed further below) that would avoid and/or minimize impacts and potential “take” due to microtrash.

And those “included measures”?

TMV LLC will retain, or cause to be retained, professional environmental education specialists to create and disseminate a condor educational curriculum that will include information concerning the life history of the California condor, where condors potentially occur within TMV, prohibited behaviors related to condors such as the pursuit, capture, harassment, and all other potential direct interaction of the species. The information will also identify types of microtrash that could be ingested by adult breeding condors and describe measures to eliminate microtrash on and near all construction sites, recreational areas, outdoor filming projects, roads, and back-country areas where human presence has occurred. The education program will include training of key personnel at the Ranch, appropriate signage at trailheads or entrances to Open Space areas, and dissemination of pertinent information at on-site nature centers or other public areas.

And if hiring consultants to tell the residents and guests of Tejon Mountain Village not to litter condor habitat with microtrash doesn’t work?

If it is determined that condors are either ingesting microtrash within TMV or elsewhere on Tejon Ranch, Tejon Ranch and the FWS shall evaluate potential remedies to reduce, and, if possible, eliminate microtrash ingestion. Such remedies may include increased education and awareness to Tejon residents, guests, staff, and workers regarding the dangers of microtrash, increased monitoring of events and activities that are potential sources of microtrash, and more frequent collection of microtrash.

The bottom line:

More people = more microtrash. More microtrash = more dead condor chicks.

Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kainroadculdesac/ / CC BY 2.0

Project location

The location of Tejon Mountain Village in relation to condor feeding and nesting areas will disrupt crucial chick-rearing activities.

A study by Dr. Christopher Cogan - California Condor Activity in the Tejon Ranch Region - confirms that the Tejon Mountain Village is planned in a condor “commute” area - a flight path that connects condor feeding grounds with nesting areas.

Human disturbances

Nesting condors are extremely sensitive to human activity. Dr. Cogan also cited the following from an earlier research report:

One man can keep a pair of condors from the egg all night or prevent the feeding of a chick for an entire day merely by exposing himself within 500 years of a nest for a few minutes at one or two critical times of the day. Loud noises can alarm condors at distances of over one mile. Individuals or groups of persons moving about must keep at least one-half mile from condor nests in order to avoid disturbance of the parent birds.

Referring again to Appendix C of the Tejon Ranch California Condor Conservation and Management Plan prepared for Tejon Mountain Village LLC and TRC by Bloom Biological, let’s look at “Human disturbances”:

The intentional or inadvertent harassment of condors feeding on carcasses, roosting in trees or on rock outcrops, or that are otherwise using areas within the TMV Planning Area or adjacent areas could cause significant disruption of normal feeding or roosting behaviors at temporary roost sites in individual condors. Such disruption could occur as a result of noise, nighttime lighting, and activities associated with film production, passive recreation, and occupancy of backcountry cabins. Human disturbances to condors would represent a potentially significant impact under CEQA and could result in take (harassment) of condors. Measures are included in this plan (discussed further below) that would avoid and/or minimize impacts and “take” due to human disturbances.

Again, TRC expects to “avoid and/or minimize the potential for human disturbances” with a “condor education curriculum.”

A condor educational curriculum, as provided above, will be created and disseminated that will include information concerning prohibited behaviors related to condors such as the pursuit, capture, harassment, and all other potential direct interaction of the species …

Recreational activities, particularly organized events, and filming projects in areas where condors are known or expected to occur will be closely regulated to minimize any effects that could disturb feeding or roosting condors.

How will TRC ensure that “the potential for human disturbances” will be avoided and or minimized?

Compliance with condor protection measures will be enforced by means of CC&Rs …

CC&Rs to enforce protection of critically endangered California condors?

Map image: Cogan, Christopher B. 2009. California Condor Activity in the Tejon Ranch Region. Center for Biological Diversity Report, 12 June 2009. San Francisco, CA, USA. 22pp.

Wind turbines

Prop-style wind turbines are killing birds at an alarming rate. Some biologists believe that even these numbers are under reported.

It has recently been estimated that the 13,000 wind turbines operating in Spain are killing nearly 2,000 Griffon vultures every year.

According to the Center for Biological Diversity, the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area (APWRA) has caused a severe environmental impact to raptor populations due to wind turbines.

The APWRA has the highest numbers and rates of raptor kills of any wind facility in the world. The bird kill fiasco at Altamont Pass is a result of poor planning that allowed wind turbines to be built along a major raptor migration corridor in an area with high wintering concentrations of raptors and in the heart of the highest concentration of golden eagles in North America. Wind turbines at Altamont Pass kill an estimated 880 to 1,300 birds of prey each year, including up to 116 golden eagles, 300 red-tailed hawks, 380 burrowing owls, and additional hundreds of other raptors including kestrels, falcons, vultures, and other owl species. The APWRA is an ecological sink for golden eagles and other raptor species and may be having significant impacts on populations of birds that are rare and reproduce infrequently.

Biologist Jim Wiegand believes that several dozen missing captive-bred California condors have perished due to the Tehachapi Pass wind farm where 5,000 wind turbines are situated.

And according to Wiegand, wind projects are planned for property owned by Tejon Ranch Company.

It is called the PdV Wind Energy Project. A few miles away another new wind farm, the Alta Oak wind project is in front of the same planning department in Kern County that approved the PDV Wind farm. It too will kill free flying Condors. Several more undisclosed prop wind farms are also being planned for the southern slopes Tehachapi Mountains on land owned by Tejon Ranch Company.

Appendix C of the Tejon Ranch California Condor Conservation and Management Plan prepared for Tejon Mountain Village LLC and TRC by Bloom Biological does mention wind turbines.

No wind farms will be constructed anywhere on the Covered Lands (and TRC agrees to expand the ban to all Ranch lands). However, individual wind turbines, which have the primary purpose to serve electrical generation needs on site, may be constructed if, after review and approval by the FWS, such turbines are of a design and in a location that would not pose a threat to condors.

Jim Wiegand - who supports the development of vertical shaft turbine wind power - says that Tejon Ranch is sitting on one of the very best wind resource areas in California. The area reportedly has two to three times the wind speed and is more than 20 times the size of Altamont Pass.

Are we supposed to believe that TRC is just going to sit there on this potential gold mine of wind energy and do nothing with it?

How will TRC explain such waste their shareholders?

The loophole lurks in the “review and approval by the FWS.”

Wind farm location image provided by Jim Wiegand.

“A substantial positive impact”?

Appendix C of the Tejon Ranch California Condor Conservation and Management Plan prepared for Tejon Mountain Village LLC and TRC by Bloom Biological concludes with the following:

… the author and the Condor Panel believe that implementation of the plan proposed in this report would have a substantial positive impact on the long-term survival and recovery of condors in Southern California.

Such a statement brings to mind a recent OnEarth Magazine article in which environmental consultant Robert Moran was interviewed. Moran used to consult for big mining companies, and now he works with the nonprofits fighting against them.

It’s a kind of natural progression you see in a lot of scientists. As you mature, you look a bit more carefully at the consequences of what you’re doing. When I said controversial things about projects I was working on, the companies would put them in reports and lock them in a safe somewhere, and they’d never see the light of day. I got tired of that. It was clear that the public-interest side was being outgunned time after time. So I did make a conscious effort to switch sides.

How to help California condors

On Monday, October 5, the Kern County Board of Supervisors will decide the fate of the condor in the southern San Joaquin Valley.

The Center for Biological Diversity has set up a link for you to send a letter to the Kern County Board of Supervisors to stop Tejon Mountain Village.

You can voice your opposition to this development to the Kern County supervisors and ask them to deny the plan as proposed and get the development out of condor critical habitat:

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2167/t/5243/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1519

For more information, visit:

• Center for Biological Diversity
• Save Tejon Ranch

Image source: Wikimedia commons.

This column highlights the top economic stories of the week.

There is no gold left in California. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is threatening to layoff fire, police, and teachers. All of this is certain to further  increase unemployment and foreclosure rates. Schwarzenegger is now considering releasing nonviolent prisoners, shortening the school year, legalizing and taxing marijuana. Fred provides a unique perspective on the sorry state of California.

The Economist says that in America and Europe, new rules relating to the banking sector overhaul are facing stiff resistance , mostly from regulators themselves.

Tim Geithner plans to unveil a comprehensive regulatory overhaul by mid-June. The European Commission on the other hand, unveiled a blueprint for reform of financial supervision. It will create two new institutions aim to correct a fundamental flaw in European bank regulation and supervision; namely, that although banks are free to operate across borders, they are supervised only by their home countries.

And as GM, the nation’s largest automaker and for decades an icon of American manufacturing, teeters on the brink of bankruptcy and a de facto government takeover, President Obama prepares to address the nation at 11:30 a.m. ET on Monday to explain the rationale for the filing and his hopes that this is the best route for a turnaround. It’s the end of America’s great auto era.

Meanwhile on the renewable energy front, a new study from Greenpeace, the European Solar Thermal Agency, and the International Energy Agency’s SolarPACES Group has shown that concentrated solar power (CSP) could generate a quarter of the world’s energy needs by 2050–and create thousands of new jobs and prevent millions of tons of CO2 from being released. But, while basic renewable energy research is being conducted at numerous institutions around the world and much of this technology remains trapped in labs for want of commercialization know-how and funding. 

So, while the worl economy continues to paint a dark picture, Bill Maher throws shares humor by highlighting his “new rules” for America covering everything from the disappearance of bees, greed and health care, to climate change, war profiteering and Ronald Reagan. Enjoy!

Buildup of microtrash

“Microtrash” consists of bottle caps, pop-tops, small pieces of glass, plastic and metal (including pennies, etc.). Biologists believe that these items are mistaken for bone chips by adult condors who feed them to their chicks.

Adult condors usually regurgitate these materials, but it is another story with condor chicks. The baby condors cannot digest or regurgitate microtrash, and are dying of microtrash impaction.

Ventana Wildlife Society reported in July that a condor chick was found dead from ingesting microtrash. The chick’s stomach was clogged with shards of glass, a metal fragment, and a penny.

Appendix C of the Tejon Ranch California Condor Conservation and Management Plan prepared for Tejon Mountain Village LLC and TRC by Bloom Biological includes the following carefully-worded gem:

Development and ongoing operations of TMV could result in the buildup of microtrash associated with the development of residences and other structures within condor foraging areas. Associated Ranch activities such as film production, passive recreation, repair and maintenance of roads, and visits to backcountry cabins in areas of the Ranch outside of TMV after initial project development could also result in the leaving of microtrash that could be ingested by adult condors in areas frequented by the species. An increase in microtrash in areas accessible to condors would represent a potentially significant impact under CEQA and could result in take (harm) of condors. Measures are included in this plan (discussed further below) that would avoid and/or minimize impacts and potential “take” due to microtrash.

And those “included measures”?

TMV LLC will retain, or cause to be retained, professional environmental education specialists to create and disseminate a condor educational curriculum that will include information concerning the life history of the California condor, where condors potentially occur within TMV, prohibited behaviors related to condors such as the pursuit, capture, harassment, and all other potential direct interaction of the species. The information will also identify types of microtrash that could be ingested by adult breeding condors and describe measures to eliminate microtrash on and near all construction sites, recreational areas, outdoor filming projects, roads, and back-country areas where human presence has occurred. The education program will include training of key personnel at the Ranch, appropriate signage at trailheads or entrances to Open Space areas, and dissemination of pertinent information at on-site nature centers or other public areas.

And if hiring consultants to tell the residents and guests of Tejon Mountain Village not to litter condor habitat with microtrash doesn’t work?

If it is determined that condors are either ingesting microtrash within TMV or elsewhere on Tejon Ranch, Tejon Ranch and the FWS shall evaluate potential remedies to reduce, and, if possible, eliminate microtrash ingestion. Such remedies may include increased education and awareness to Tejon residents, guests, staff, and workers regarding the dangers of microtrash, increased monitoring of events and activities that are potential sources of microtrash, and more frequent collection of microtrash.

The bottom line:

More people = more microtrash. More microtrash = more dead condor chicks.

Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kainroadculdesac/ / CC BY 2.0

Project location

The location of Tejon Mountain Village in relation to condor feeding and nesting areas will disrupt crucial chick-rearing activities.

A study by Dr. Christopher Cogan - California Condor Activity in the Tejon Ranch Region - confirms that the Tejon Mountain Village is planned in a condor “commute” area - a flight path that connects condor feeding grounds with nesting areas.

Human disturbances

Nesting condors are extremely sensitive to human activity. Dr. Cogan also cited the following from an earlier research report:

One man can keep a pair of condors from the egg all night or prevent the feeding of a chick for an entire day merely by exposing himself within 500 years of a nest for a few minutes at one or two critical times of the day. Loud noises can alarm condors at distances of over one mile. Individuals or groups of persons moving about must keep at least one-half mile from condor nests in order to avoid disturbance of the parent birds.

Referring again to Appendix C of the Tejon Ranch California Condor Conservation and Management Plan prepared for Tejon Mountain Village LLC and TRC by Bloom Biological, let’s look at “Human disturbances”:

The intentional or inadvertent harassment of condors feeding on carcasses, roosting in trees or on rock outcrops, or that are otherwise using areas within the TMV Planning Area or adjacent areas could cause significant disruption of normal feeding or roosting behaviors at temporary roost sites in individual condors. Such disruption could occur as a result of noise, nighttime lighting, and activities associated with film production, passive recreation, and occupancy of backcountry cabins. Human disturbances to condors would represent a potentially significant impact under CEQA and could result in take (harassment) of condors. Measures are included in this plan (discussed further below) that would avoid and/or minimize impacts and “take” due to human disturbances.

Again, TRC expects to “avoid and/or minimize the potential for human disturbances” with a “condor education curriculum.”

A condor educational curriculum, as provided above, will be created and disseminated that will include information concerning prohibited behaviors related to condors such as the pursuit, capture, harassment, and all other potential direct interaction of the species …

Recreational activities, particularly organized events, and filming projects in areas where condors are known or expected to occur will be closely regulated to minimize any effects that could disturb feeding or roosting condors.

How will TRC ensure that “the potential for human disturbances” will be avoided and or minimized?

Compliance with condor protection measures will be enforced by means of CC&Rs …

CC&Rs to enforce protection of critically endangered California condors?

Map image: Cogan, Christopher B. 2009. California Condor Activity in the Tejon Ranch Region. Center for Biological Diversity Report, 12 June 2009. San Francisco, CA, USA. 22pp.

Wind turbines

Prop-style wind turbines are killing birds at an alarming rate. Some biologists believe that even these numbers are under reported.

It has recently been estimated that the 13,000 wind turbines operating in Spain are killing nearly 2,000 Griffon vultures every year.

According to the Center for Biological Diversity, the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area (APWRA) has caused a severe environmental impact to raptor populations due to wind turbines.

The APWRA has the highest numbers and rates of raptor kills of any wind facility in the world. The bird kill fiasco at Altamont Pass is a result of poor planning that allowed wind turbines to be built along a major raptor migration corridor in an area with high wintering concentrations of raptors and in the heart of the highest concentration of golden eagles in North America. Wind turbines at Altamont Pass kill an estimated 880 to 1,300 birds of prey each year, including up to 116 golden eagles, 300 red-tailed hawks, 380 burrowing owls, and additional hundreds of other raptors including kestrels, falcons, vultures, and other owl species. The APWRA is an ecological sink for golden eagles and other raptor species and may be having significant impacts on populations of birds that are rare and reproduce infrequently.

Biologist Jim Wiegand believes that several dozen missing captive-bred California condors have perished due to the Tehachapi Pass wind farm where 5,000 wind turbines are situated.

And according to Wiegand, wind projects are planned for property owned by Tejon Ranch Company.

It is called the PdV Wind Energy Project. A few miles away another new wind farm, the Alta Oak wind project is in front of the same planning department in Kern County that approved the PDV Wind farm. It too will kill free flying Condors. Several more undisclosed prop wind farms are also being planned for the southern slopes Tehachapi Mountains on land owned by Tejon Ranch Company.

Appendix C of the Tejon Ranch California Condor Conservation and Management Plan prepared for Tejon Mountain Village LLC and TRC by Bloom Biological does mention wind turbines.

No wind farms will be constructed anywhere on the Covered Lands (and TRC agrees to expand the ban to all Ranch lands). However, individual wind turbines, which have the primary purpose to serve electrical generation needs on site, may be constructed if, after review and approval by the FWS, such turbines are of a design and in a location that would not pose a threat to condors.

Jim Wiegand - who supports the development of vertical shaft turbine wind power - says that Tejon Ranch is sitting on one of the very best wind resource areas in California. The area reportedly has two to three times the wind speed and is more than 20 times the size of Altamont Pass.

Are we supposed to believe that TRC is just going to sit there on this potential gold mine of wind energy and do nothing with it?

How will TRC explain such waste their shareholders?

The loophole lurks in the “review and approval by the FWS.”

Wind farm location image provided by Jim Wiegand.

“A substantial positive impact”?

Appendix C of the Tejon Ranch California Condor Conservation and Management Plan prepared for Tejon Mountain Village LLC and TRC by Bloom Biological concludes with the following:

… the author and the Condor Panel believe that implementation of the plan proposed in this report would have a substantial positive impact on the long-term survival and recovery of condors in Southern California.

Such a statement brings to mind a recent OnEarth Magazine article in which environmental consultant Robert Moran was interviewed. Moran used to consult for big mining companies, and now he works with the nonprofits fighting against them.

It’s a kind of natural progression you see in a lot of scientists. As you mature, you look a bit more carefully at the consequences of what you’re doing. When I said controversial things about projects I was working on, the companies would put them in reports and lock them in a safe somewhere, and they’d never see the light of day. I got tired of that. It was clear that the public-interest side was being outgunned time after time. So I did make a conscious effort to switch sides.

How to help California condors

On Monday, October 5, the Kern County Board of Supervisors will decide the fate of the condor in the southern San Joaquin Valley.

The Center for Biological Diversity has set up a link for you to send a letter to the Kern County Board of Supervisors to stop Tejon Mountain Village.

You can voice your opposition to this development to the Kern County supervisors and ask them to deny the plan as proposed and get the development out of condor critical habitat:

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2167/t/5243/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1519

For more information, visit:

• Center for Biological Diversity
• Save Tejon Ranch

Image source: Wikimedia commons.

California regulators tonight approved the world’s first low-carbon fuel standard, a bold set of performance-based fuel rules that are being closely watched in more than a dozen other states and countries, as well as in Washington.

Many of the program’s details are still in flux, to be worked out by the Air Resources Board before the standard takes effect in 2012.

The goal was clear, though: achieve a 10 percent reduction in the carbon intensity of transportation fuels by 2020. Fully implemented, California’s LCFS is expected to cut those emissions by 15 million metric tons a year.

“The big picture is we want to incentivize the use of electricity for vehicles. … We want to incentivize innovation,” said Air Resources Board member Daniel Sperling.

Read more of this story »

Kilmer was recently quoted as saying: “What I do for a living is listen. If I run, I’m going to be the next governor.” Kilmer is registered as a Democrat, and donated to Ralph Nader’s and Bill Richardson’s campaigns for president in 2008.

Kilmer voted for Barack Obama though, and eagerly attended the new president’s inauguration ceremonies, comparing it to attending the Gettysburg Address. He also told the Boston Globe that actors when elections.

Better Than Arnold as an Environmental Governor?

Back when rumors began circulating about Kilmer’s potential run, we previewed his environmental credentials/views on Red, Green, and Blue. You can read our write-up by clicking here. One of the great tidbits we found was a quote from Kilmer about California’s famous governor: “I did get some lobbyists once saying that I’d make a good governor. Reagan wasn’t much of an actor and look how that worked out for him. And then there’s Arnold… I think you should be able to pronounce the name of the state.”

Another interesting environmental tidbit about Kilmer: he will be starring in two upcoming movies that have global warming tie-ins. One will be called The Steam Experiment. According to information on the Internet Movie Database, “In the film, Val Kilmer plays a former university professor who overheats his hostages to prove that humans will devolve into chaos under the pressures of global warming. He tells a detective that their location will be revealed if his hypothesis is printed as the local paper’s front-page headline.”

Photo Credit: Original unmodified image from shiherlis on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

Buildup of microtrash

“Microtrash” consists of bottle caps, pop-tops, small pieces of glass, plastic and metal (including pennies, etc.). Biologists believe that these items are mistaken for bone chips by adult condors who feed them to their chicks.

Adult condors usually regurgitate these materials, but it is another story with condor chicks. The baby condors cannot digest or regurgitate microtrash, and are dying of microtrash impaction.

Ventana Wildlife Society reported in July that a condor chick was found dead from ingesting microtrash. The chick’s stomach was clogged with shards of glass, a metal fragment, and a penny.

Appendix C of the Tejon Ranch California Condor Conservation and Management Plan prepared for Tejon Mountain Village LLC and TRC by Bloom Biological includes the following carefully-worded gem:

Development and ongoing operations of TMV could result in the buildup of microtrash associated with the development of residences and other structures within condor foraging areas. Associated Ranch activities such as film production, passive recreation, repair and maintenance of roads, and visits to backcountry cabins in areas of the Ranch outside of TMV after initial project development could also result in the leaving of microtrash that could be ingested by adult condors in areas frequented by the species. An increase in microtrash in areas accessible to condors would represent a potentially significant impact under CEQA and could result in take (harm) of condors. Measures are included in this plan (discussed further below) that would avoid and/or minimize impacts and potential “take” due to microtrash.

And those “included measures”?

TMV LLC will retain, or cause to be retained, professional environmental education specialists to create and disseminate a condor educational curriculum that will include information concerning the life history of the California condor, where condors potentially occur within TMV, prohibited behaviors related to condors such as the pursuit, capture, harassment, and all other potential direct interaction of the species. The information will also identify types of microtrash that could be ingested by adult breeding condors and describe measures to eliminate microtrash on and near all construction sites, recreational areas, outdoor filming projects, roads, and back-country areas where human presence has occurred. The education program will include training of key personnel at the Ranch, appropriate signage at trailheads or entrances to Open Space areas, and dissemination of pertinent information at on-site nature centers or other public areas.

And if hiring consultants to tell the residents and guests of Tejon Mountain Village not to litter condor habitat with microtrash doesn’t work?

If it is determined that condors are either ingesting microtrash within TMV or elsewhere on Tejon Ranch, Tejon Ranch and the FWS shall evaluate potential remedies to reduce, and, if possible, eliminate microtrash ingestion. Such remedies may include increased education and awareness to Tejon residents, guests, staff, and workers regarding the dangers of microtrash, increased monitoring of events and activities that are potential sources of microtrash, and more frequent collection of microtrash.

The bottom line:

More people = more microtrash. More microtrash = more dead condor chicks.

Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kainroadculdesac/ / CC BY 2.0

Project location

The location of Tejon Mountain Village in relation to condor feeding and nesting areas will disrupt crucial chick-rearing activities.

A study by Dr. Christopher Cogan - California Condor Activity in the Tejon Ranch Region - confirms that the Tejon Mountain Village is planned in a condor “commute” area - a flight path that connects condor feeding grounds with nesting areas.

Human disturbances

Nesting condors are extremely sensitive to human activity. Dr. Cogan also cited the following from an earlier research report:

One man can keep a pair of condors from the egg all night or prevent the feeding of a chick for an entire day merely by exposing himself within 500 years of a nest for a few minutes at one or two critical times of the day. Loud noises can alarm condors at distances of over one mile. Individuals or groups of persons moving about must keep at least one-half mile from condor nests in order to avoid disturbance of the parent birds.

Referring again to Appendix C of the Tejon Ranch California Condor Conservation and Management Plan prepared for Tejon Mountain Village LLC and TRC by Bloom Biological, let’s look at “Human disturbances”:

The intentional or inadvertent harassment of condors feeding on carcasses, roosting in trees or on rock outcrops, or that are otherwise using areas within the TMV Planning Area or adjacent areas could cause significant disruption of normal feeding or roosting behaviors at temporary roost sites in individual condors. Such disruption could occur as a result of noise, nighttime lighting, and activities associated with film production, passive recreation, and occupancy of backcountry cabins. Human disturbances to condors would represent a potentially significant impact under CEQA and could result in take (harassment) of condors. Measures are included in this plan (discussed further below) that would avoid and/or minimize impacts and “take” due to human disturbances.

Again, TRC expects to “avoid and/or minimize the potential for human disturbances” with a “condor education curriculum.”

A condor educational curriculum, as provided above, will be created and disseminated that will include information concerning prohibited behaviors related to condors such as the pursuit, capture, harassment, and all other potential direct interaction of the species …

Recreational activities, particularly organized events, and filming projects in areas where condors are known or expected to occur will be closely regulated to minimize any effects that could disturb feeding or roosting condors.

How will TRC ensure that “the potential for human disturbances” will be avoided and or minimized?

Compliance with condor protection measures will be enforced by means of CC&Rs …

CC&Rs to enforce protection of critically endangered California condors?

Map image: Cogan, Christopher B. 2009. California Condor Activity in the Tejon Ranch Region. Center for Biological Diversity Report, 12 June 2009. San Francisco, CA, USA. 22pp.

Wind turbines

Prop-style wind turbines are killing birds at an alarming rate. Some biologists believe that even these numbers are under reported.

It has recently been estimated that the 13,000 wind turbines operating in Spain are killing nearly 2,000 Griffon vultures every year.

According to the Center for Biological Diversity, the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area (APWRA) has caused a severe environmental impact to raptor populations due to wind turbines.

The APWRA has the highest numbers and rates of raptor kills of any wind facility in the world. The bird kill fiasco at Altamont Pass is a result of poor planning that allowed wind turbines to be built along a major raptor migration corridor in an area with high wintering concentrations of raptors and in the heart of the highest concentration of golden eagles in North America. Wind turbines at Altamont Pass kill an estimated 880 to 1,300 birds of prey each year, including up to 116 golden eagles, 300 red-tailed hawks, 380 burrowing owls, and additional hundreds of other raptors including kestrels, falcons, vultures, and other owl species. The APWRA is an ecological sink for golden eagles and other raptor species and may be having significant impacts on populations of birds that are rare and reproduce infrequently.

Biologist Jim Wiegand believes that several dozen missing captive-bred California condors have perished due to the Tehachapi Pass wind farm where 5,000 wind turbines are situated.

And according to Wiegand, wind projects are planned for property owned by Tejon Ranch Company.

It is called the PdV Wind Energy Project. A few miles away another new wind farm, the Alta Oak wind project is in front of the same planning department in Kern County that approved the PDV Wind farm. It too will kill free flying Condors. Several more undisclosed prop wind farms are also being planned for the southern slopes Tehachapi Mountains on land owned by Tejon Ranch Company.

Appendix C of the Tejon Ranch California Condor Conservation and Management Plan prepared for Tejon Mountain Village LLC and TRC by Bloom Biological does mention wind turbines.

No wind farms will be constructed anywhere on the Covered Lands (and TRC agrees to expand the ban to all Ranch lands). However, individual wind turbines, which have the primary purpose to serve electrical generation needs on site, may be constructed if, after review and approval by the FWS, such turbines are of a design and in a location that would not pose a threat to condors.

Jim Wiegand - who supports the development of vertical shaft turbine wind power - says that Tejon Ranch is sitting on one of the very best wind resource areas in California. The area reportedly has two to three times the wind speed and is more than 20 times the size of Altamont Pass.

Are we supposed to believe that TRC is just going to sit there on this potential gold mine of wind energy and do nothing with it?

How will TRC explain such waste their shareholders?

The loophole lurks in the “review and approval by the FWS.”

Wind farm location image provided by Jim Wiegand.

“A substantial positive impact”?

Appendix C of the Tejon Ranch California Condor Conservation and Management Plan prepared for Tejon Mountain Village LLC and TRC by Bloom Biological concludes with the following:

… the author and the Condor Panel believe that implementation of the plan proposed in this report would have a substantial positive impact on the long-term survival and recovery of condors in Southern California.

Such a statement brings to mind a recent OnEarth Magazine article in which environmental consultant Robert Moran was interviewed. Moran used to consult for big mining companies, and now he works with the nonprofits fighting against them.

It’s a kind of natural progression you see in a lot of scientists. As you mature, you look a bit more carefully at the consequences of what you’re doing. When I said controversial things about projects I was working on, the companies would put them in reports and lock them in a safe somewhere, and they’d never see the light of day. I got tired of that. It was clear that the public-interest side was being outgunned time after time. So I did make a conscious effort to switch sides.

How to help California condors

On Monday, October 5, the Kern County Board of Supervisors will decide the fate of the condor in the southern San Joaquin Valley.

The Center for Biological Diversity has set up a link for you to send a letter to the Kern County Board of Supervisors to stop Tejon Mountain Village.

You can voice your opposition to this development to the Kern County supervisors and ask them to deny the plan as proposed and get the development out of condor critical habitat:

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2167/t/5243/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1519

For more information, visit:

• Center for Biological Diversity
• Save Tejon Ranch

Image source: Wikimedia commons.

Campaign politics dominated the headlines in 2008, making it a banner year for the armchair pundit and the politically uninitiated alike. 2008 was also a year that issues like energy use, climate change and carbon footprints came to the forefront of popular culture and political reality. And that’s where we came in.

In the tradition of more credible media outlets, we’ve compiled our most popular stories of the year into an easily digestible top 10 list. As it is based purely on pageviews, we realize that our list of the top ten environmental politics stories of the year is by no means scientific - and we’re okay with that.

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Being a member of the President’s White House staff is no easy task.  President Andrew Jackson actually had two cabinets to hold the union together.  One was the formal cabinet which met in the White House and the other was known as his “Kitchen Cabinet” which met after hours across the street.

The Secretary of Energy will not be an easy role to assume.  The price of gas may have fallen recently, but that does not make us immune to future shortages and overseas skirmishes over resources.  President-elect Obama has been a symbol of American progress.  I sincerely hope his choice for the head of the DOE will share his vision and make sure we are on the right path to energy independence.

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Back in June, the Governator himself was lamenting about the prospect that Tesla Motors — one of the state’s own shining green corporate stars — might pass up California in favor of New Mexico as the location for its future facilities.

But, after some serious wheeling and dealing, Schwarzenegger convinced Tesla that California was the right place to build by promising beucoup tax incentives and major financial help. His package included a government-funded lease-to-own option that would save Tesla from purchasing $100 million of equipment up front, and waive $8 million in taxes to boot.

Above and beyond the state’s financial incentives, the deal with San Jose involves a 40-year lease in which Tesla has the first 10 years rent-free and all development fees rebated in the form of tax credits. Gotta hand it to Tesla, they certainly know how to work the system.

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Duke Energy has a few small obstacles to get past before it can move forward with its plan. The company is offering 100 million dollars to any company that can supply the necessary materials, panels, and labor for the project. They hope to get started in early 2009. In addition to finding a supplier, they must also gain the approval of the North Carolina Utilities Commission. It seems likely though that they will obtain approval in the next few months, given the considerable amount of public interest in clean energy projects.

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You look west to see a barren landscape, tumbleweed breezing lazily through the charred remains of a forest.  The rust laden skeleton of what used to be a city echoes the promise of a future long gone.  You are fighting out your days amidst gunfire and tribal warfare in armor composed of animal fur and long deserted hockey pads.  Ironically water isn’t the most important liquid on the planet that spins where the Earth once spun.  You begin to wash the grease smears off your face in a shallow pool…

…oh wait, am I jumping the gun here?

While our gas crises hasn’t quite reached ‘Mad Max’ proportions yet, things are close enough that the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers will make this September “Green Check-Up Month.” After countless years of making oversized and inefficient autos, Ford and Chevy are now going to tell us how to save gas.

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Some Democrats would dislike the choice of Hagel though, as it would put a Republican in good position to win the White House the next time around should Obama win. Of course there is also the possibility that John McCain might select the Independent and primarily liberal Senator Joe Lieberman as his vice president pick. So a dual-party ticket is possible on both sides.

Hagel’s opposition to the Iraq War is the principle reason why many Democrats label him the “new John McCain.” (the 2000ish John McCain that is– not the soulless hack we see now). From Nebraska, Hagel is one of the few prominent Republican politicians that Democrats like because he speaks with conviction and does not always file in with his party’s line. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Florida Governor Charlie Crist also to some extent fit into this category.

Hagel, along with Rhode Island Democratic Senator Jack Reed, is currently joining Barack Obama on his international world tour to places like Afghanistan and Iraq. By having Hagel accept Obama’s invitation to join him on the trip, it has only fueled additional speculation that his chances of being selected as vice president are real. Hagel has also said previously that he is open to the possibility of running with Obama: a bold gesture. Hagel’s status as a Vietnam War veteran and his foreign policy experience would add a lot to Obama’s candidacy, in addition to perhaps winning over some independent voters and moderate Republicans to Obama’s side.

So given this possibility, I thought it would be cool and exciting if Obama made Hagel his choice. Although I have read that Hagel’s positions on almost all issues other than the Iraq War seriously differ from those of Obama. Their differences of opinion on abortion is the one difference most commonly mentioned by reporters. So I asked myself earlier today, where is Hagel on environmental issues?

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Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the LORD. Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard. That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land. And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee, And for thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat.1

Like the people and even their God, then, the farmlands were given time to rest from their productive toil, to rebuild their strength in order to be fruitful again after the period of rest so that they might yield bountiful harvests for years to come. As the ancient Hebrews restrained from working their fields, they honored their God and the land itself.

I mention this practice of a “sabbath of the land,” almost entirely forgotten in modern farming (and especially in agribusiness), because it provides a potentially useful paradigm for more than just agriculture. It also provides a good model for us today, for how we might live sensibly and sustainably in a time when natural resources are threatened and the Earth is endangered, at least to some degree, by human actions.

One recent example of honoring/acknowledging the (imperiled) state of nature is in California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s call to Californians not to use, heck not even to buy, fireworks this Fourth of July. Gov. Schwarzenegger made this plea for sensibility with wildfires numbering in the hundreds throughout the state and with state resources to fight those fires as threatened as the homes, lives, and habitats themselves.

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Environmental sustainability is no longer the purview of boutique eco-brands. And it is no longer just about compliance with regulations or securing positive press coverage. It’s about driving cost savings through efficiencies, creating new markets and securing competitive advantage. Smart companies realize that what is good for the environment is also good for business.

At the launch, attended by California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the EDF called attention to the moves made by big companies toward saving the environment.

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That’s why California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s most recent analogy is more than just publicity drivel.

Speaking at a Wall Street Journal conference near Santa Barbara, the governor related curbing emissions to losing weight.

“There are some states and there are some countries that shoot for certain goals in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but they will never get there, I think. Unless you put a serious cap on it you won’t get there,” he said.

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Consider the Governator’s latest round of bill signings and vetoes: the green guv OKd bans on trans-fats in public schools, lead-based ammunition in areas frequented by the California condor, and phthalates (plastic softeners that can also act as endocrine disruptors) in toys and other products designed for children ages 3 and under. But the not-so-green Arnold vetoed legislation that would have required chain restaurants to post nutritional information on menus and boards, labels for food products made from cloned livestock, sustainable building standards for state buildings, and point-of-purchase information on where electronics buyers could properly dispose of their purchases later.

So what is Schwarzenegger? Is he a mostly environmental guy who, because he’s pragmatic, sometimes makes decisions greens don’t like? Or is he mostly a politician cut from the same cloth as so many others, who occasionally does the right thing environmentally because the public — especially in California — demands it?

Also on GO:

Opinion: California Governor Nixes Industrial Hemp While North Dakota Moves On

Western US, Cananda Announce Global Warming Goal

The Governator Guest Stars on Green Edition of MTV’s Pimp My Ride

5. Imagining a $700 Billion Bailout for the Environment

Stemming from the fall of mortgage-backed securities, spiking oil prices, and a host of other variables, the economic crisis came to a head in September and October when the federal government began looking at corporate bailouts of unprecedented proportions. In a piece that did particularly well at StumbleUpon, Jennifer Lance considered what investments of this size could do for the environment:

“What if the US government had responded to the twenty years of dire warnings by James Hansen in the same manner as the current economic crisis?  Such an aggressive response may have stopped climate change and saved our economy through green jobs and technology.”

4. New York City to Get LED Street Lighting

This is the story responsible for a major re-arrangement in this year’s best of.  Just last week, Jerry James stone reported on big news out of New York City that city officials would be testing energy efficient LED street lights. If successful, all of the city’s 300,000 street lamps could potentially be replaced with the LED models. This post did well at digg, reddit, and StumbleUpon.

3. Did McCain’s Colorado River Gaffe Cost Him in the West?

While campaigning in Colorado, Sen. John McCain told the Pueblo Chieftan that, as president, he would consider renegotiating the Colorado River Compact:  a virtual no-no in headwater states like Colorado where Democrats and Republicans alike think downstream states already get more than their fair share of water. In a post that did well at digg, Timothy Hurst wrote:

“John McCain has again said something to cause his fellow western-state Republicans to wince at his political inexpedience and apparent naivete for the issue at hand. And even though the Senator has now recanted and begun damage control, Democrats are hoping that this one will cost him. Some even argue that the gaffe was so severe, he may have just lost Colorado.”

2. European Union Bans the Incandescent Light Bulb

EU energy ministers meeting in Luxembourg gave final approval to an EU-wide ban on incandescent light bulbs that would begin in 2010. The new light bulb scheme will initially apply to bulbs of 75 watts and higher. The phasing out of the traditional bulbs set to begin on March 1, 2009, is part of a larger EU strategy to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. This story got a good bit of attention at reddit and digg.

1. How 1900’s Environmental Predictions Fared

Admittedly, the most viewed post in 2008 at Red, Green, & Blue is not about environmental politics, per se, and it didn’t really happen in 2008, but using our simple metric of popularity, it was the ‘biggest.’

In 1900,  John Elfreth Watkins put together a collection of predictions in the Ladies Home Journal about the future of the U.S. and the world by the end of the 20th century. Timothy Hurst cherry-picked 14 enviro-related predictions and looked at what actually happened one hundred years later. Some of the predictions are uncannily accurate, yet others were more than a little wide of the mark. This post had good traffic from digg and reddit, and especially Yahoo! buzz.

*We’ve included links to some of the social media networks where individual posts have performed well. For brevity’s sake we kept the number of those links to one or two per post. That notwithstanding, we are exceedingly grateful to ALL of you for the support you have shown on ALL of the social media and web 2.0 spaces in 2008. We would be nowhere without your help.

Images: © Imre Forgo (2008); © Foto.fritz (solar panel); (Palin); Clemson via flickr (flat tire); My Heromudpig via flickr (NY nightscape); laszlo-photo via flickr (light bulb); yahoo! buzz (crystal ball). (solar install).

In his veto message to the Assembly, he again stated, as he did before, that "Under federal law, all cannabis plants, regardless of variety or THC content, are simply considered to be ‘marijuana,’ which is a federally regulated controlled substance." He said signing of the bill "would give legitimate growers a false sense of security and a belief that production of ‘industrial hemp’ is somehow a legal activity under federal law." To me, that’s an insult to the intelligence and integrity of the agricultural community in California. He also suggested that enacting such a law could strain law enforcement resources and cause "significant problems" with drug enforcement in the state.

In all fairness, he’s right: that’s the law as written, back in 1938. I’ll refer you to my story on hemp and marijuana of May 10th, "Green Myth Busting; Hemp is Marijuana."

So let’s move forward. Mr Schwarzenegger doesn’t have the backbone to stand up to the feds and force the issue, as has the state of North Dakota. That state’s government set a strict set of rules concerning the growth of industrial hemp, and licensed farmer Wayne Hauge to plant and harvest hemp seed. The DEA stonewalled the application long enough so that Mr. Hauge was unable to plant a crop this year. As a result, Mr Hauge and State Representative David Monson filed suit against the DEA, asking for a declaratory judgement separating industrial hemp from marijuana as long as the industrial variety contains less than .3% THC, the psychoactive agent in marijuana. The DEA has asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, saying DEA policies can only be reviewed by a federal appeals court, and reiterated that federal law does not distinguish between industrial hemp and its cousin, marijuana. That action is still languishing in the courts.

Governor Schwarzenegger has loudly proclaimed his support of environmental issues over the years, but iced this one with a whimper. I’ve said it before: there’s a lot more to this hemp issue than just the fear of increasing marijuana production in the US. There must be some incredibly powerful lobbies intimidating Congress enough to not even touch the issue, when production of industrial hemp can bring so much to the American lifestyle. I refuse to believe it’s that simple, besides, there seems to be enough pot to go around right now, it’s coming across our borders by the ton and I suspect there’s still plenty of "home grown" cannabis to fill in for the few busts law enforcement makes during a year.  But, let’s give the devil his due: the Governor has just signed into law several bills aimed at cleaning up the state’s environment.

That law needs to be changed, the North Dakota lawsuit against the DEA should go forward, and the federal government should listen to its citizens, something I fear has been lacking for several years now. Be sure to read the story at the Environmental News Network website, and roam the links to learn more about hemp.

As for Arnold, I’ve never liked his movies.

5. Imagining a $700 Billion Bailout for the Environment

Stemming from the fall of mortgage-backed securities, spiking oil prices, and a host of other variables, the economic crisis came to a head in September and October when the federal government began looking at corporate bailouts of unprecedented proportions. In a piece that did particularly well at StumbleUpon, Jennifer Lance considered what investments of this size could do for the environment:

“What if the US government had responded to the twenty years of dire warnings by James Hansen in the same manner as the current economic crisis?  Such an aggressive response may have stopped climate change and saved our economy through green jobs and technology.”

4. New York City to Get LED Street Lighting

This is the story responsible for a major re-arrangement in this year’s best of.  Just last week, Jerry James stone reported on big news out of New York City that city officials would be testing energy efficient LED street lights. If successful, all of the city’s 300,000 street lamps could potentially be replaced with the LED models. This post did well at digg, reddit, and StumbleUpon.

3. Did McCain’s Colorado River Gaffe Cost Him in the West?

While campaigning in Colorado, Sen. John McCain told the Pueblo Chieftan that, as president, he would consider renegotiating the Colorado River Compact:  a virtual no-no in headwater states like Colorado where Democrats and Republicans alike think downstream states already get more than their fair share of water. In a post that did well at digg, Timothy Hurst wrote:

“John McCain has again said something to cause his fellow western-state Republicans to wince at his political inexpedience and apparent naivete for the issue at hand. And even though the Senator has now recanted and begun damage control, Democrats are hoping that this one will cost him. Some even argue that the gaffe was so severe, he may have just lost Colorado.”

2. European Union Bans the Incandescent Light Bulb

EU energy ministers meeting in Luxembourg gave final approval to an EU-wide ban on incandescent light bulbs that would begin in 2010. The new light bulb scheme will initially apply to bulbs of 75 watts and higher. The phasing out of the traditional bulbs set to begin on March 1, 2009, is part of a larger EU strategy to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. This story got a good bit of attention at reddit and digg.

1. How 1900’s Environmental Predictions Fared

Admittedly, the most viewed post in 2008 at Red, Green, & Blue is not about environmental politics, per se, and it didn’t really happen in 2008, but using our simple metric of popularity, it was the ‘biggest.’

In 1900,  John Elfreth Watkins put together a collection of predictions in the Ladies Home Journal about the future of the U.S. and the world by the end of the 20th century. Timothy Hurst cherry-picked 14 enviro-related predictions and looked at what actually happened one hundred years later. Some of the predictions are uncannily accurate, yet others were more than a little wide of the mark. This post had good traffic from digg and reddit, and especially Yahoo! buzz.

*We’ve included links to some of the social media networks where individual posts have performed well. For brevity’s sake we kept the number of those links to one or two per post. That notwithstanding, we are exceedingly grateful to ALL of you for the support you have shown on ALL of the social media and web 2.0 spaces in 2008. We would be nowhere without your help.

Images: © Imre Forgo (2008); © Foto.fritz (solar panel); (Palin); Clemson via flickr (flat tire); My Heromudpig via flickr (NY nightscape); laszlo-photo via flickr (light bulb); yahoo! buzz (crystal ball). (solar install).

Editor's note: Yes, we're bringing on the new writers! Alex Ho is the latest to join the group. Alex blogs regularly at Generation Exe, and lives in the Bay Area. He'll be covering the green tech field for us.

The BMW Hydrogen 7 Series Sedan is not currently available for purchase, but I am sure it will be eventually. It has started a limited production run and will currently only be made available to influential public figures such as Al Gore and Arnold Schwarzenegger. It has a V-12 engine that produces 260 horsepower. What makes this car great is that when it is running on hydrogen, it releases zero emissions as the hydrogen fuel just releases water vapors.

Since there are currently only a limited amount of hydrogen refueling stations, the engine is designed to run on either hydrogen or gasoline. There are two fuel tanks located at the rear of the car: one holds 17.5 lbs of liquid hydrogen while the other holds 16 gallons of gasoline. A filter pipe for the hydrogen is constantly chilled to -418 F degrees. In order to keep the gas cold, a special material 30 mm thick insulates as well as a 56 foot thick styrofoam panel. The driver can easily switch between the two by pressing a button on the steering wheel. The hydrogen can power the car for 123 miles while 300 miles can be driven with the gasoline.

The BMW Hydrogen 7 has gone through numerous development and testing processes including performance testing at the Nurburgring tracks in Germany, the heat of Death Valley, and the chilling cold of the Polar regions.

Here is a link to read more about the car. Here is a video from BMW on the Hydrogen 7.

5. Imagining a $700 Billion Bailout for the Environment

Stemming from the fall of mortgage-backed securities, spiking oil prices, and a host of other variables, the economic crisis came to a head in September and October when the federal government began looking at corporate bailouts of unprecedented proportions. In a piece that did particularly well at StumbleUpon, Jennifer Lance considered what investments of this size could do for the environment:

“What if the US government had responded to the twenty years of dire warnings by James Hansen in the same manner as the current economic crisis?  Such an aggressive response may have stopped climate change and saved our economy through green jobs and technology.”

4. New York City to Get LED Street Lighting

This is the story responsible for a major re-arrangement in this year’s best of.  Just last week, Jerry James stone reported on big news out of New York City that city officials would be testing energy efficient LED street lights. If successful, all of the city’s 300,000 street lamps could potentially be replaced with the LED models. This post did well at digg, reddit, and StumbleUpon.

3. Did McCain’s Colorado River Gaffe Cost Him in the West?

While campaigning in Colorado, Sen. John McCain told the Pueblo Chieftan that, as president, he would consider renegotiating the Colorado River Compact:  a virtual no-no in headwater states like Colorado where Democrats and Republicans alike think downstream states already get more than their fair share of water. In a post that did well at digg, Timothy Hurst wrote:

“John McCain has again said something to cause his fellow western-state Republicans to wince at his political inexpedience and apparent naivete for the issue at hand. And even though the Senator has now recanted and begun damage control, Democrats are hoping that this one will cost him. Some even argue that the gaffe was so severe, he may have just lost Colorado.”

2. European Union Bans the Incandescent Light Bulb

EU energy ministers meeting in Luxembourg gave final approval to an EU-wide ban on incandescent light bulbs that would begin in 2010. The new light bulb scheme will initially apply to bulbs of 75 watts and higher. The phasing out of the traditional bulbs set to begin on March 1, 2009, is part of a larger EU strategy to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. This story got a good bit of attention at reddit and digg.

1. How 1900’s Environmental Predictions Fared

Admittedly, the most viewed post in 2008 at Red, Green, & Blue is not about environmental politics, per se, and it didn’t really happen in 2008, but using our simple metric of popularity, it was the ‘biggest.’

In 1900,  John Elfreth Watkins put together a collection of predictions in the Ladies Home Journal about the future of the U.S. and the world by the end of the 20th century. Timothy Hurst cherry-picked 14 enviro-related predictions and looked at what actually happened one hundred years later. Some of the predictions are uncannily accurate, yet others were more than a little wide of the mark. This post had good traffic from digg and reddit, and especially Yahoo! buzz.

*We’ve included links to some of the social media networks where individual posts have performed well. For brevity’s sake we kept the number of those links to one or two per post. That notwithstanding, we are exceedingly grateful to ALL of you for the support you have shown on ALL of the social media and web 2.0 spaces in 2008. We would be nowhere without your help.

Images: © Imre Forgo (2008); © Foto.fritz (solar panel); (Palin); Clemson via flickr (flat tire); My Heromudpig via flickr (NY nightscape); laszlo-photo via flickr (light bulb); yahoo! buzz (crystal ball). (solar install).