Green Options

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They tried, but Chief Judge of the US District court in Vermont, William K Sessions III ruled against the auto industry’s attempt to block states, including Vermont, from adopting more rigorous greenhouse gas emission standards for new light-duty vehicles.

In his ruling, Judge Sessions said the industry failed to prove that the state standards were unattainable, that they usurp the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) prerogative to set fuel economy standards, and […]

For perhaps the first time ever, U.S. businesses could be fined based on the amount of global warming pollution they emit. The Bay Area Quality Air Management District in San Fransisco has proposed a fine of 4.2 cents per metric ton of carbon dioxide (CO2) on every power plant, factory and even small business. CO2 is a major contributor to global warming.

The proposal would affect about 10,000 “stationary sources” of pollution and […]

An http://www.greenprinteronline.com dispatch.

When companies make the shift to reduce the carbon footprint of their supply chain, paper is one of the first – but perhaps most overlooked – ways to shed those office carbon pounds.

But the carbon, environmental and cost savings benefits of switching from virgin paper to more sustainable paper didn’t escape Sustainable Business Design - a consulting firm that provides carbon footprint, greenhouse gas audits and “The Low Carb Corporate Diet” ™ […]

The European Commission has unveiled a plan to cut global warming emissions one-fifth in the next twelve years, and it requires the 27 European Union (EU) countries to have specific emissions targets. If successful, the plan would cut emissions 20 percent by 2020, based on 1990 emission levels.

Some countries are better suited to invest in clean technologies, and the EU goals take that into account. Emissions calculations were based on the amount of renewable energy effort being made in 2005 (the most recent data available) and the wealth of each nation (based on gross domestic product).

Sweden, for example, was asked to get half its energy needs from renewables by 2020. Finland, Austria, Portugal and Denmark are required to use renewable energy for one-third of their needs. Check out the targets for all EU nations here.

Biomass, wind, wave, and solar power will be aimed at the three chief sectors: electricity, heating and cooling, and transport. EU members will have the flexibility to decide how to achieve their goal, but the commission mandates a 10 percent use of biofuels in the transportation sector. Agriculture and forestry are not included in the targets

Perhaps one of the more confusing factors regarding global warming is the suggestion that parts of the planet will indeed get a whole lot colder. It doesn’t seem to equate, does it?

Surely, as harmful emissions trap heat from the sun, then logic would dictate that the planet would uniformly heat up as a result.

Well, perhaps that is a little outmoded now. The constant reporting on climate change has left a majority of us with a good grasp of the situation. Perhaps that’s why I personally feel “climate chaos” best describes the planet’s current transition.

Billionaire Richard Branson has been an outspoken proponent of innovative global warming solutions. And he’s put his money where his mouth is, like using fuel efficient jets or trains that run on biofuels.

Now he’s planning a company in China to help the burgeoning nation develop clean technologies and slash emissions.

China’s sheer size, rapid economic development and implementation of clean energy laws make it one of the fastest growing cleantech markets on the […]

Florida Governor Charlie Crist (R) signed an executive order last summer to develop a carbon market in the state, and has been making other good strides in the renewable energy department. Now, the governor, lawmakers, and Florida-based companies are debating the two main methods of carbon control: A carbon tax or a cap-and-trade system.

A cap-and-trade policy to limit carbon dioxide (CO2) - a major contributor to global warming - is a […]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Energy Information Administration (EIA) have both published analyses of Senators Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Jeff Bingaman’s (D-NM) proposed “Low Carbon Economy Act of 2007″ (S. 1766)

Using a cap-and-trade system, the Act aims to cut global warming emissions to 2006 levels by 2020, 1990 levels by 2030, and then 60 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.

Both reports found that the Act would cut emissions 24-26 percent from the “business-as-usual” approach by 2030, while the impact on economic growth and prices would be “modest.” The studies also found that the legislation would spur new clean technology and carbon capture development in coal plants.

The U.K. Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has ordered UK ministers to factor in climate change consequences for all policy and financial decisions related to transportation, construction, energy, housing and planning.

To do this, carbon dioxide (CO2) - a major contributor to global warming - has been assigned a “shadow price” that government officials will have to consider. This theoretical cost of carbon will, of course, drive up the price tag of projects like new coal plants and new roads. And that’s the point: Assigning a cost to carbon will increase the costs of traditional, dirty projects (and show a truer value in a world more and more likely to assign a cost to CO2) and make cleaner, more efficient projects more attractive and less expensive.

Government economists have set the price at £25.50 per carbon tonne for 2007. That cost will rise each year until it reaches £59.60 per tonne in 2050. The price was set at a level by which the government can meet its target of stabilizing CO2 emissions at 450-550 parts per million, which was recommended by a review for the Treasury. The price is intended to reflect the global costs of carbon’s damage in the atmosphere (more on how and why the price of carbon was determined can be found here).

It’s time to end Washington’s “We know what’s best for you” grip on this country. The latest incident is the Environmental Protection Agency’s denial of California’s bid for greenhouse gas limits on cars, trucks and SUV’s. The landmark regulations would have resulted in a 30 percent reduction in tailpipe greenhouse emissions in new cars and trucks by 2016, with cutbacks beginning in the 2009 model year. The EPA’s action was taken according to rules of the Clean Air Act, which says the state needed a federal waiver to implement the rules.

The EPA, in refusing the waiver, said the Bush administration was forging a national solution rather than accepting a patchwork of state regulations. At least 12 other states have adopted the California standards with four planning adoption. That, it appears, would qualify as a “patchwork” of standards.

But wait a minute. If the California standards were adopted, car makers could just go ahead and bring their product up to that level and sell the vehicles anywhere they wish. What’s the problem here? Everybody would win with less pollution and more fuel efficient cars and trucks nationwide. Sounds like some smoke and mirrors to me, and if they sell that kind of drivel to the public, we need a better system of education. But the feds are going to hold their ground, so I have a plan, and here’s the challenge.

Since last year, many of us have been eagerly awaiting the introduction of ‘clean-diesels’: the 2008-2009 models touted as having superior mileage and cleaner emissions than comparable gas models.

So where are they? Strangely, promised 2008 models didn’t materialize, and I had trouble finding more on the story. As far as I can tell, we’ll just have to look forward to next summer’s release of the 2009 VW Jetta TDI. The new Jetta gets similar mileage to older models, 50 mpg ( though VW engineers claim 30% better mileage under real world conditions). More importantly though, it’s the first diesel to meet the world’s toughest emissions standards, California’s Tier II, bin 5, earning it clean-diesel status. If you noticed the recent lack of diesel vehicles for sale (especially in CA), it was the direct result of reengineering emissions systems:

Although it won’t be wearing the “BlueTec” badge, the Jetta will be using emission-cleansing technologies developed under the cooperative formed by Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen to make it 50-state legal. Most BlueTec vehicles control NOx emissions—one of the biggest environmental hurdles facing diesels, along with particulate matter—by injecting a urea-based solution into the exhaust system upstream from the catalytic converter, where NOx is then converted into nitrogen and water. The Jetta will instead use a NOx-storage catalyst, which is basically a reservoir that temporarily holds the noxious emissions, like a particulate filter, until they can be burned off during one of the engine cycles.