Green Options

Asia is investing hundreds of billions of dollars more than the US in clean technology, according to a new report by two research institutions. In the future, the US may be importing trillions of dollars of needed clean technology (and losing countless jobs to Asia) as a result.

In total, the report showed that China, Japan, and South Korea will invest about $509 billion in clean tech over the next 5 years, whereas the US (with our greenest President in decades, maybe ever) is only expected to invest $172 billion (about 3 times less) — this is assuming the climate and energy legislation in Congress passes.

If the US were to invest the same percentage of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as South Korea, it would invest almost $140 billion per year ($700 billion over this five year period)! Compared to China, the anticipated per-GDP investment ratio is 1:4 (US to China).

In 2008, Japan almost matched US R&D spending on energy and achieved almost the same number of international clean energy patents despite having dramatically lower GDP.

The financial investment is not the only thing giving these countries a major advantage in this field, though.

With an international deal in doubt, India and China look to increase cooperation in areas like renewable energy, climate change research.

With ‘clean coal’ and nuclear power likely to play a larger-than-expected role in climate change legislation, are we heading for an iceberg? Literally, no–they’re all melting. Figuratively, maybe…

The Senate climate bill is coming out any day now, and it’s time to get heard! With a new tool from 1Sky, it’s easier than ever to call your Senator and let him or her know you support a strong clean energy policy.

If the Senate can get 60 votes for climate change legislation, these are the six Senators that lobbyists will be courting, the White House will be pressing, and you should be watching.

Bonner and Associates next trick in their astroturfing efforts?…

We can’t expect much from the oil industry, but Greenpeace’s newest finding is as ugly as it gets.

It’s well known that politics is dirty, but recently, anti-climate bill tactics have sunk to a new low: forging letters written by senior citizens against the Waxman-Markey climate bill. Five more suspected forgeries were released today bringing the grand total to 58 letters under investigation.

Which state makes 15 percent of its electricity entirely from wind power?

Iowa. In 2006, according to the Iowa Utilities Board, wind power provided 5 percent of the state’s electricity. Now, just three years later,  Iowa produces between 15 and 17 percent of its own electricity from wind power.

MidAmerican Energy, Iowa’s biggest utility, pays farmers $3,500 a year (plus 2% increase annually) to rent locations for 102 wind turbines. To scout the best locations, they paid $5 an acre to survey likely farmland, and will pay $10 an acre per year to keep those options open for future additional wind turbines.

Photo: Sonia Fridman

We know a bit about the current situation on climate change. We know which countries are emitting the most global warming emissions. We know that the EU is actively implementing policies to get their emissions down and are serious about keeping climate change at the top of the priority list, even in one of the biggest economic struggles in history. We know that little nations like Tuvalu are working to address climate change. We know that ambitious and engaged countries are running into unseen problems and are unsure where to go in the future. We know that the US is looking to pass a climate bill for the first time and could change history in the process, and the USDA supports it but climate change groups, consumer advocate groups, and social equity groups are quite concerned about some of the changes made by the House of Representatives at the last minute. We know that China, India, and Brazil’s growth in greenhouse gas emissions have skyrocketed (several times faster than developed countries’ still growing emissions) in the past two decades.

In a meeting with environment and energy ministers from other European countries yesterday, Sweden’s Minister of Environment, Andreas Carlgren, said that global economic problems should in no way slow movement to address climate change. Other leading European ministers agreed.

Economic problems today are in many ways a result of environmental missteps in the past. If we want a healthy economy in the future, we have to take the environment into account more than we have. The Swedish Minister of the Environment agrees and says that there should be no hesitation to combat climate change due to the current economic situation.