Entitled LONDON AWARE 08, the exhibition gives people a chance to meet and talk with the exhibitors.

And as the website tells us:

LONDON AWARE 08 will be a meeting point for everyone - businesses, charities and experts, as well as people who are taking their first steps into a greener world.

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Only 99,997 to go then.

Only three sustainable homes built in UK so far.

Image courtesy of Flickr.

The Agency has a special webpage dedicated to flooding, updated every 15 minutes, and as I type this, the page states the following:

1 severe flood warning

74 flood warnings

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The cause of death? Avian flu. (The H5N1 strain)

The dead birds were found at Abbotsbury swannery in Dorset which is a colony of mute swans. The swannery dates back to the 11th century and was established by Benedicitine monks.

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BCC technology converts lignocellulosic biomass, found in grass, wood, and various agricultural and forestry wastes, into a bio-oil product that can be further upgraded to transportation fuels.  The conversion of cellulosic biomass to bio-oil represents a significant commercial opportunity that also offers important benefits, including using post-harvesting waste rather than competing with food crops; promoting environmental sustainability; reducing reliance on fossil fuels such as crude oil; and enabling economic development and job creation in rural areas. 

  “The key technical problem in the conversion of cellulosic biomass into usable fuels is how to open up the inaccessible solid fibrous ‘woody’ material, so that it can be effectively transformed. Most of the existing processes to unlock the woody structures are quite costly and intensive of energy or chemicals,” says Paul O’Connor, founder and president of BIOeCON.  “BIOeCON has developed a simple non-energy intensive way to make the woody biomass accessible to catalysts and convert to a bio-oil product with significantly improved product properties compared to other thermal-chemical processes.  

Doug Cameron, Khosla Ventures’ Chief Scientific Advisor: “BIOeCON has a strong R&D network and solid scientific fundamentals. We have done a thorough evaluation of the technology and research programs and believe this can be a breakthrough technology.” 

 “Securing funding from a strategic and visionary venture capital company like Khosla Ventures is a major step forward”, says Rob van der Meij, CEO of KiOR Inc.” Khosla’s experience and expertise in technology startups is unmatched in the industry and we are looking forward to the acceleration that Khosla Ventures no doubt will bring.” 

KiOR’s concept and approach is unique and has the potential to become a large scale, widely applied technology, that can improve energy availability and sustainability to both the developed and developing world. The BCC technology unlocks the energy of vast amounts of biomass waste and converts it into a high valued energy product. This will not only reduce net carbon dioxide emission, but can also improve the energy independence of many countries.  

About BIOeCON
BIOeCON was founded in 2006 by Paul O’Connor with the aim to develop new, large scale technology to convert biomass, particularly the recalcitrant polymeric biomass residue, in a more efficient and cost-effective way to valuable molecules which can be utilized by the chemical and energy industry. BIOeCON is a privately funded company, which operates through an international network of top-scientists and institutions to bring together know-how, expertise and experience from heterogeneous catalysis, biomass processing, process development and technology commercialization. BIOeCON is based in Hoevelaken, the Netherlands. www.bio-e-con.com  

About Khosla Ventures
Khosla Ventures offers venture assistance, strategic advice and capital to entrepreneurs. The firm helps entrepreneurs extend the potential of the Internet to new markets such as mobile and supports breakthrough scientific work such as bio refineries. Vinod Khosla founded the firm in 2004 and was joined in 2006 by two partners. The partners have been involved in founding or growing billion dollar businesses such as Sun Microsystems, Juniper Networks and AOL. Vinod has been labeled the #1 VC multiple times by Forbes and Fortune recently labeled him as one of the nation’s most influential ethanol advocates, noting “there are venture capitalists, and then there’s Vinod Khosla.” The firm’s capital comes entirely from its own partners and a portion of all profits are donated to charitable causes, with an emphasis on micro-finance, education, the environment and affordable housing. Khosla Ventures is based in Menlo Park, California, USA. www.khoslaventures.com

A Norwegian company called Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) will build the complex, which will be completed in different stages to incorporate wafer, cell, and module production. REC already operates the world’s current largest solar plant in Norway, which produces about 650 megawatts of energy annually.

A solar manufacturing plant would be the first of its kind in Southeast Asia, and REC looked at 200 locations before settling on Singapore. A combination of tax incentives, grants, and a skilled workforce were some of the reasons REC liked it. Likewise, Singapore officials are thrilled about playing center stage in the world’s rush to clean technology. Ko Kheng Hwa of the Economic Development Board explained:

The project will be a ‘queen bee’ to attract a hive of solar activities to Singapore — big companies and young start-ups engaged in research and development, manufacturing and innovation, as well as the supplier ecosystem… This investment will be a tremendous boost to our national drive to develop the solar industry.

Once completed in 2010, the capacity of all the products the plant produces will generate up to 1.5 gigawatts (GW) of energy each year — that’s compared to the total global industry output of 2 GW in 2006. That large of an impact, combined with the 3,000 expected jobs, shines a new light on an emerging area of the world hungry for innovative and clean technology.

Accelerating Innovation
All Headline News
Manufacturing.net

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak may be the first mayor in the nation to drive a plug-in hybrid vehicle as his official city car.

Since he was first elected in 2002, Mayor Rybak’s official car has been a Toyota Prius. But the dramatically superior gas mileage of a plug-in hybrid vehicle prompted him to make the switch: he had his hybrid converted to a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, from which he expects to get about 70 miles per gallon (mpg) compared to his average 40 mpg with the Prius.

A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is like a regular hybrid with a cord. That is, its battery can be recharged by plugging it into a regular 120-volt outlet.

Typical of many PHEVs, Mayor Rybak’s car can travel about 30 miles solely on battery power if the speeds are 30 mph or less. If he drives further or needs to go faster, the car automatically switches over to using the gas engine. But for local city driving — when speeds are low and distances are shorter — he could go days without using any gasoline to power the engine.

Although most of Minnesota’s electricity comes from coal power, powering a vehicle with the electric grid is still cleaner than gasoline. But the Mayor and other city officials want to make it even cleaner: Minneapolis has applied for a state grant to install solar panels on some city buildings so that future plug-in cars could charge up using solar power instead of fossil fuels. Rybak told the Minnesota Daily:

It became clear to me that the two big things we had to do were convert to plug-in hybrids and find a way to have them use electricity from non-coal sources … I become very frustrated with people saying we need to do years of research on all these issues. Research is great, but the technology is there right now.

Last year, Minnesota became the first state in the nation to pass legislation promoting plug-in hybrids. The law instructs the state to buy plug-in hybrids on a preferred basis when they become available and encourages Minnesota State University - Mankato to develop flex-fuel plug-in hybrid vehicles (plug-ins that can run on an ethanol blend).

Minneapolis has about 100 government vehicles that are either hybrids or use E-85 fuel (an 85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline blend). Leadership from the city and supportive government policies could make plug-in hybrids a more common occurrence on Twin Cities roads.

BIOconversion Blog
Cal Cars
City of Minneapolis
Minnesota Daily

Photo Source: City of Minneapolis

In McKibben and the Step It Up Team’s new book, Fight Global Warming Now: The Handbook for Taking Action in Your Community (Henry Holt, $13.00), the authors show how normal, everyday people, without any community organizing background, were able to create successful events to rally support for addressing climate change. Reflecting on the success of Step It Up allows the authors to repeat what worked–and discard what didn’t. Their seven tips (make it credible, snappy, collaborative, meaningful, creative, wired and seductive) are a framework for understanding how community organizing works in the 21st century.

The book is a quick read written in simple, conversational tone that empowers the reader. Really? Is it that easy to organize a rally? McKibben and group seem to think so, and highlight many anecdotes from the first Step It Up to show how novice activists can create powerful events. These anecdotes also serve as a type of scrapbook of the first Step It Up 2007, illuminating the hundreds of events and thousands of individual experiences. Just in case you might need some help with your own event, the authors clearly outline areas for concentration to establish credibility, drum up publicity, and finance your event. There’s also a resources page directing you to further reading on both climate change, activism, and other resources necessary for creating your own successful event. From online networking to how to create aeriel art, from media attention to attracting politicians, someone who did it for April’s Step It Up has advice for you.

McKibben and team make it seem so simple. How else can they get people to realize that we have everything we need to be activists? We don’t need to sit around and wait for Al Gore to organize a carbon-spewing concert. We all have within us the ability to lead, to create, to organize. They’re just providing a little push. If you’ve ever wanted to organize, but never thought you could, this is a must-read that will give you the tools you need to call yourself an activist and organizer. Step It Up is happening again on November 3rd. It’s never too late to get organized. In fact, the theme for November’s event is "Who’s A Leader?"

Fight Global Warming Now was released October 22nd.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) denied permits to two large, 700-megawatt plants proposed by Sunflower Electric Power. The plants would have cost about $3.6 billion and spewed 11 million tons of CO2 into the air each year. That’s almost the same amount of CO2 that the Northeastern states planned to have saved by 2020 with their cap-and-trade program. The attorneys general of those states had petitioned Kansas officials to deny the coal plants that would have effectively negated their efforts.

Interestingly, while the KDHE staff recommended that the plants be permitted, state law also allows the KDHE secretary to deny a permit if there is an unregulated emission that threatens public health or the environment. And that’s what happened here: Secretary Roderick L. Bremby disagreed with his staff because of the unregulated CO2 emissions that pose a threat to global warming. He wrote in his news release: "I believe it would be irresponsible to ignore emerging information about the contribution of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to climate change and the potential harm to our environment and health if we do nothing."

Kansas also has a goal of getting 10 percent of its electricity at peak period from wind power. The electric cooperatives will meet that goal by the end of the year — two years ahead of the deadline.

A Sunflower Electric Power spokesman pointed out that the company could build natural gas plants that emit half the amount of CO2, but they also have a much higher fuel cost than coal. So once again we’re back to the business problem of not having a price on CO2 emissions (such as through a cap-and-trade or carbon tax policy). Without a price on CO2, there is no "common yardstick" for determining whether the additional fuel cost of natural gas is offset by the less CO2 emitted. While the Kansas decision may set a precedent for other regulatory bodies around the country, the federal government also needs to spell out the CO2 rules for businesses and utilities.

Kansas City Star
Kansas Department of Health and Environment
New York Times
Washington Post

Whether you desire to buy trees to help the environment for personal reasons, for investment purposes or you simply refer others to buy trees through our Affiliate Program,  PanAm BioFuels has made the process so simple that everyone can find a way to participate in it.

1) Purchase Trees for Investment

Jatropha trees can be bought directly from Pan-Am Biofuels for only $4 each in lots ranging from 250 trees for $1000 to 25,000 trees for $100,000.  Though delivery is possible for larger volumes, we will believe most people will take advantage of our Contract Farming Program where we will actually plant your trees on our plantations. 

With our Contract Farming Program we do all the work from planting to harvest to sale of the oil.  The only fee for all of this is a 10% fee from profits.  Then 90% of the profits are passed on to you, the tree owner.  All you have to do is purchase your trees in lots for only $4/each.

If you have priced trees at your local nursery you will see most prices range from $10 to $25. So now you may be thinking…

"How can you produce, plant and sell these trees at only $4 each?"

There are several reasons, including, but not limited to,

• Because the cost of living as well as labor is much cheaper in Central America where our nurseries are located.
• The efficiencies and economies of scale we enjoy by the huge volume of trees our nursery outputs allow us to save a tremendous amount of money passing the savings on to you.
• Our nursery is in close proximity to our Jatropha Tree plantation in Costa Rica where our Contract Farming Program is being implemented so there are minimal transportation expenses.

"So how much money do I stand to earn by buying your Jatropha Trees? What is the return on my investment?" 

Your trees can potentially bring  as much as 45% PER YEAR calculated  from your original investment once the trees start producing within 3-4 years.   Jatropha trees start bearing seeds the second year and reach maximum production at about 4 years.  You can review the full details and Financial Projections once you register and login.

Pan-Am Biofuels has truly created a unique situation and opportunity for the average person to take advantage of.

Now you can participate in an industry that has produced the wealthiest individuals and corporations in the world. The only difference is, instead of drilling for oil and destroying the environment, you will be growing oil and restoring the environment by owning oil producing Jatrpha Trees

2) Sell trees for Commissions as an Affiliate

We will pay you to refer customers! Pan-Am Biofuels has created a lucrative opportunity for webmasters,  business owners and individuals alike. By becoming an Affiliate you can help promote our Jatropha tree project, earn commissions and at the same time you’ll be doing your part to better our environment.  Learn more about how our Affiliate Program works.

Besides the agreement by utilities to invest in energy efficiency, and besides Florida Power & Light’s major new commitment to solar energy, the Clinton Global Initiative is also partnering with the Joint U.S.-China Cooperation on Clean Energy (JUUCCCE) on efficiency efforts in China.

The China Lighting Conversion program will distribute 10 million free energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) to customers. CFLs use one-third the energy of traditional bulbs, but are still cost-prohibitive to many Chinese. According to JUUCCCE, the CFLs would save about 3.7 million tons of CO2 over 4 ½ years — enough to avoid having to build one typical U.S.-size coal plant. While I tell myself it’s encouraging to see the start of another clean energy commitment in China, I’m still disheartened by the multiple coal plants they’re building each week. But change has to start somewhere.

The other JUUCCCE program is the Energy Efficient Urban Design Tools for Mayors. This is an interactive, multimedia curriculum to train hundreds of Chinese mayors on technology and best practices that can make their cities more energy efficient. Mayors will learn about green building programs, for example, and will connect with vendors, service providers and financial advisors to help them implement what they learn. The key with this program will be rigorous follow-up and support to ensure that the information learned isn’t forgotten or lost in the bureaucracy one the mayor returns to the city.

The first phase will begin with the CFL program in April 2008, with the training for mayors to start in October of next year.

Joint U.S.-China Cooperation on Clean Energy

After a time of inquiry, now is the time for action, and France will be present at the forefront of the fight for human rights in the 21st century. The environmental new deal is an unprecedented democratic process. The role of the State is essentially to facilitate collective action. Its mission is to foster synergy between common and sometimes competing causes. After several weeks of debate one thing is clear: dialogue works and solutions exist.

Stirring indeed. But what makes this program so exceptional? The multilateral nature of the first phase, and the democratic or collective nature of the second, according to Borloo, adding that France can lead the way for the rest of the world by fashioning a sustainable society. "As both producers and consumers we will be subject to major changes, but those changes represent an opportunity for our economy, our health and our children." Sustainable living and economic growth are not incompatible. "By protecting the environment we prepare our companies for the economic competition of the future, we improve our quality of life, and we prevent illnesses caused by pollution."

More grand statements. There is a sense of deja vu. And I cannot help but ask, as I have been asking repeatedly over the last few weeks, is there any substance behind the hype?

Within a week of taking office last Spring, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called a meeting on sustainable development and the environment. The gathering marked the beginning of the larger program that constitutes the "New Deal." In the first phase of the program, members from different sectors of society were assembled in six working groups that convened over the summer, with each group focusing on a different environmental issue. Representatives of NGOs, companies, unions, local councils and government bodies joined scientists and other specialized experts to confer on the status quo and to draft a plan of action.

The novelty lies in the diversity of the participants. Individuals and interest groups who are normally at loggerheads with one another were brought to the same negotiating table. Each delegate was equal in status with the next, and could contribute fully to the proceedings.

For example, working group number one was focused on climate change and energy needs. Jean Jouzel and Nicholas Stern were co-presidents of the group. Jouzel is an eminent French geochemist and climatologist who has carried out extensive research on climate change in Antarctica and Greenland; Stern is a prominent British economist and author of the renowned "Stern Review," a report which presents the impact of climate change on the global economy.

The NGO camp for group one consisted of delegates from international alliances such as Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), as well as envoys from national environmental groups. The employee camp was composed of representatives from different labor unions, including engineers, railway workers, technicians, and white-collar workers. The employer camp was comprised of leaders from various business associations, both general confederations and industry-specific alliances such as the Union of Chemical Manufacturers, and the Federation of Road Transportation. Finally, the state camp consisted of directors of government bodies such as the National Forestry Office and the Energy and Environment Agency.

It is hardly surprising that the government website features interviews with delegates who are by and large satisfied with the process and the outcome of the working groups. They admit that the challenges were great, the stakes were high, and there was a considerable time constraint, but they also refer to lively debate, a genuine exchange, progress and consensus. Delegates’ observations and remarks featured on an NGO website are much more subdued.

Bernard Cressens, program director at WWF France, participated in the workshops devoted to the subject of greening French agriculture. No one boycotted the meeting, Cressens says. A coalition of NGOs was even able to distribute a list of suggestions for use during one of the sessions. But as soon as the group began to focus on the details of a particular matter, someone, often a representative from the French Ministry of Agriculture, always raised an objection. "So — reduce the use of pesticides, yes that’s a good idea but it’s impossible; increase the percentage of organic farming in France, yes but is there the market for it; defend domestic biodiversity yes, well maybe, but…"

Olivier Louchard, a member of Climate Action Network, attended several workshops dedicated to questions of transportation and methods of reducing CO2 emissions. While he feels that the discussions were "relatively constructive," and some promising proposals were made, he was troubled by the time constraints, calling them "completely unrealistic." "It’s not possible to establish a national climate plan in only two months and certainly not one that can be implemented by the current government over the next five years." So Louchard wonders whether the government might not have its own plan of action, one that will be followed irrespective of what emerges from the working groups and the public debate.

Last week each working group drew up a report, outlining the conclusions of their discussions and providing suggestions for immediate, mid-term and long-term actions. The reports were presented at the conference on Thursday, and the second phase of the "new deal" was launched: the public debate. Anyone can participate in the debate, either by attending one of the regional meetings scheduled across the country from October 5 to 19, or by visiting the government website set up specifically for the occasion. The website is hosting a forum where the French people can leave comments on any of the reports, which are available in full and condensed versions. They can also take the opportunity to engage in a dialogue with one another.

Borloo concluded the conference by saying it has not yet been proven that another type of economic growth is possible. "But if all parts of society work together, if each day every one of us makes the right choices, if at every moment and in every aspect of our lives we vote for sustainable alternatives, then it is my conviction," he said, "that it is possible." Thus France can provide a model both in Europe and around the world, of a healthy growing and sustainable economy.

Yes, sounds great. And no, I’m not being sarcastic, or at least not regarding the general idea of the whole thing. The very fact that the working groups convened, engaged in dialogue and presented their reports, is an accomplishment in itself. The forum for public debate represents a unique opportunity for French citizens to participate and thereby hopefully become more engaged in the transformation toward sustainable living.

But, Borloo and company have cried green, twice in one month. There was the promise of the first eco-friendly Rugby World Cup. Then there was the promise of the ultra-cool green techno parade. In both cases, the government ministry and the organizing committees vowed to take actions that were entirely within the realm of the possible. So, if a promise to install proper recycling facilities at a sports stadium or along the route of a music parade cannot be kept, how can the pledge to revolutionize an entire society be taken seriously?

Image source: UMBC edu

Environmental "New Deal" French Government Website

Alliance for the Planet

Solar thermal power makes electricity by converting solar energy to heat that drives a thermal power plant.

The utility’s plan is to build at least 300 megawatts (MW) of solar thermal in Florida; that’s enough electricity to power about 150,000 homes. It will also help the state reach its goal of cutting CO2 emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 and get 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by that same year.

California will get a 200-MW plant that will cover 2 square miles with flat mirrors that track the sun.

FPL’s CEO Lew Hay told Reuters: "The thing we’ve got to make customers understand is that any fossil fuel has a hidden cost that society is paying every day, and that is the cost of carbon. We need to put a price on carbon, by doing so the illusion that coal-produced energy is low-cost will go away."

The project FPL has planned will start out as a 10MW pilot project and eventually grow to be the largest solar plant in Florida. But besides the solar investment, the company is also upgrading all 4.5 million electricity meters used by Florida customers. The replacements will be "smart network" meters that show a digital read-out of electricity consumption, and even give an hour-by-hour record of power use. This will allow customers and businesses to monitor their energy use more closely, and experiment with the most effective methods of efficiency. Other investments will go towards promoting these efforts.

As exciting as this news is, it’s easy to feel down when you learn that FPL’s solar plans for Florida only amount to about 1 percent of the state’s power plant capacity. But clean energy supporters and FPL are still optimistic. Hay pointed out that relatively large commitments to clean energy, like FPLs, will really drive the cost of the technology down.

Already the largest wind power provider, FPL now has its sights on leading the solar market.

Associated Press, via Orlando Sentinel
Reuters, via Planet Ark

The utilities involved have more than 20 million customers and cover 22 states: Con Edison (ED), Edison International (EIX), Great Plains Energy (GXP), Duke Energy (DUK), Pepco Holdings (POM), PNM Resources (PNM), Sierra Pacific Resources (SRP), and Xcel Energy (XEL). Up until now, the only utilities that want to grow profits through energy efficiency investments have been in California.

The move by these utilities comes at a time when demand is growing, concerns and lawsuits about emissions abound, and global warming is a hot political and business issue.

Energy efficiency is the cheapest and fastest way to cut global warming emissions, and the utilities agree: ” …we share a common belief that energy efficiency is the greatest untapped resource in addressing global climate change in the near-term.” Here are the major elements of their plan:

• Boost investments in energy efficiency projects to $1.5 billion per year in the next 10 years.

• Create a national institute for electric efficiency. The Energy Efficiency Institute will work on regulatory policy models, notably how utilities can make money when customers use less energy rather than more. It will be formed within the Edison Electric Institute, which represents the nation’s investor-owned utilities.

Innovation and multi-party collaboration will be needed to craft policies that allow companies to profit from investing in efficiency. Utilities could profit from replacing inefficient air conditioners and light bulbs, for instance. Great Plains hopes to get legislation passed in Kansas and Missouri that would allow them to earn a higher return on efficiency investments than what would be made investing in traditional power plants. The utility could install smart electricity meters that tell customers when electricity prices are highest and even allows the utility to adjust the operations of appliances in customer homes. Michael Chesser, Chairman and CEO of Great Plains, said that energy efficiency, “with the right incentives,” could take care of all the growth in electricity demand between 2010 and 2017.

The business community was also interested by the announcement. The Dow Jones Wire commented:

It’s a sign of how quickly energy efficiency has taken center stage in the utility industry’s growth plans. Even in states where rates are low, power companies increasingly see efficiency investments as an inexpensive way to satisfy growing electricity demand and boost revenue without provoking the public opposition that usually dogs proposals for new power plants and transmission lines.

The utilities are working in partnership with the Clinton Global Initiative, backed by former President Bill Clinton’s foundation.

Cross posted on Maria Energia

Kansas City Star
Dow Jones Wire
Yahoo Finance

The week began and ended with major international climate change conferences. The first was a United Nations meeting, prepping world leaders for the December talks in Bali that will be the first step to determining emissions goals after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. The meeting that closed out this week was held by President Bush in Washington. Sixteen nations, the UN, and the European Union were invited.

At the start of the two-day “Major Economies Meeting on Energy Security and Climate Change,” U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told delegates that the U.S. while being a major emitter of global warming pollution, the government is very serious about fighting climate change. In a soundbite gobbled up by the media, she said that global warming, like terrorism, needs the nations of the world to work together to fight it.

Like the meeting earlier in the week, the Washington meeting was billed as a starting point for negotiations beyond Kyoto. But while the U.N. meetings discuss measurable emissions cuts and targets, Bush prefers voluntary measures or “intensity targets,” that call for emission reductions per each unit of economic production.

The problem is that intensity targets don’t mean overall emission cuts, and that makes many at home and abroad suspicious of the real motives behind the Bush meeting.

Besides the expected protestors outside the conference, the delegates inside were wary as well. The EU’s Deputy Environment Minister Humberto Rosa explained:

“We have actually found many, many countries voicing our view that (a) voluntary approach may be useful but will not solve the issue. Voluntary goals so far have not got us to the level of ambition that we need.”

In fact, he went on to say that Europe will insist on a clearer picture of Bush’s emissions plan and how it will interlock with the Bali talks before they agree to any further meetings. Although the U.S.’s participation is welcome, they insist, officials want to ensure that the intentions of the Bali conference aren’t stalled.

Agence France-Presse
CNN
National Post

Photo courtesy of the United States Environmental Protection Agency Great Lakes National Program office.

I’m a Minnesota Public Radio member, and so I choose to receive a magazine called Minnesota Monthly as my thank you gift (I know I could save them $15 more a year but it’s a really good magazine). This month, I was at first pleased to find an article on global warming, then disturbed to learn about the rapid changes going on in Lake Superior because of the steadily increasing temperatures.

For starters, the lake’s rapidly warming water temperature has baffled scientists. Although they knew it has been slowly heating up, "it went bananas" beginning 30 years ago: about 75 percent of the 6-degree increase in water temperature has happened since 1980.

Scientists at the Large Lakes Observatory in Duluth, MN thought they had made a mistake: How could the lake be warming up twice as fast as the climate around it?

Much like the effect scientists are seeing in the Arctic, the lack of ice coverage has caused the lake to warm up faster than expected. The ice normally reflects sunlight back into space and keeps the water cooler underneath. But as warmer temperatures creep in and the average annual ice cover shrinks, the darker open water absorbs the heat and cranks up the lake temperature even faster. The vicious cycle continues, as warmer water temperatures mean less ice, which means more open water…

The spring turnover is also happening much earlier than normal. The turnover happens when the icy surface water warms up and mixes with the rest of the lake, creating a layer of warm water on top. This has been happening 10-14 days earlier than it was 25 years ago.

Last summer, Lake Superior’s temperature broke a record when it was measured at 75 degrees. Typically, it barely got above 60.

So what does this mean for the rest of us? In the states surrounding Lake Superior and the other Great Lakes, rapidly increasing temperatures mean more invasive plant and animal species from the warmer climes. Lake Michigan has already seen sea lampreys almost wipe out its lake trout. Changes to wildlife would also hurt tourism, causing a major economic blow.

It also means big disruptions to the region’s commerce. Lake Superior is at its lowest water level in 81 years, and while scientists say global warming may not be the sole cause of that decline, it is a factor. Cargo ships — some that carry wind turbine parts over from Europe, ironically — must haul lighter loads so they don’t get stranded in port. That means less efficient shipping and transportation of goods around the world.

While landscapes and habitat have changed over the centuries, the swiftness of this latest change has unsettled scientists. Meanwhile, the rest of us need to prepare to adapt to the inevitable changes have begun and take meaningful action to ensure that it doesn’t get worse.

Minnesota Monthly

A group of state officials, state pension fund managers, investors, and other organizations think so. They are asking the SEC to make all public companies formally address the financial risks their company could face as a result of climate change.

Supporters — led by organizations like Ceres (a network of investors and organizations working on sustainability issues) and the Calvert Group (an assets management firm) — have asked for this disclosure before, and the SEC ignored them. This time, they’re hoping for action by filing a formal petition stating public companies should reveal their total global warming emissions, provide a strategic analysis of the risks and opportunities present by global warming, assess the physical risks to their operations, and analyze any regulatory risks (such as limiting carbon dioxide emissions).

So far, the SEC hasn’t said much except that the requirement for triggering disclosure is that the impact or potential impact has to be material to a company, and therefore material to investors.

The petition argues that the threat and impacts of global warming are financial risks and are material. It’s the SEC’s job to ensure investors have the information they need to make smart decisions, and because climate change will have major impacts on business, those risks need to be disclosed.

While some companies are reporting on global warming already, others find it difficult to do so. Differences in potential regulation — such as a carbon tax versus a cap-and-trade policy — means different outcomes for certain industries and difficulty in assessing the risks. One attorney who advises utilities and energy firms told the Washington Post: "For some of our electric power clients, depending on how allowances are distributed, they lose or gain hundreds of millions of dollars. Some are winners under some schemes and vast losers under other schemes."

Green Wombat
Washington Post

Towns and cities signed up to participate in the annual car-free day held last Saturday. Since 2000 the World Carfree Network, an international association dedicated to advancing alternatives to automobile dependence, has called for the celebration of cities and public life "free from the noise, the stress and the pollution of cars," on the same day each year, September 22. The association urged individuals and local organizers to make this year’s celebration more than a one-day affair.

Let World Carfree Day be a showcase for just how our cities might look like, feel like, and sound like without cars…365 days a year. As the climate heats up, World Carfree Day is the perfect time to take the heat off the planet, and put it on city planners and politicians to give priority to cycling, walking and public transport, instead of to the automobile.

The car-free day coincided, as it does every year, with European Mobility Week. Events were organized in over 1000 cities and towns in Europe, and culminated in the car-free day on Saturday. The week is sponsored by the European Commission in partnership with three European-wide organizations that work on urban environmental issues: Eurocities, Energie-Cités and Climate Alliance. Local authorities, leisure clubs, community groups and other spontaneous gatherings of determined individuals, coordinate an array of activities to promote sustainable means of transport.

Each year there is an overarching theme for Mobility Week. "Streets for People" was the theme for this the sixth edition of the week, calling for "local authorities to reallocate some road space to non-motorized traffic," and drawing attention to the pressing need to improve air quality on the local level. Many cities closed their main streets to automobile traffic, arranged mass bicycle outings and held street parties. Some town authorities took the opportunity to showcase permanent measures taken in recent years to increase the road space dedicated to sustainable mobility.

Reports on Mobility Week and World Carfree Day are still coming out.

One dispatch already released came from China. Officials had announced that Beijing would hold its first car-free day last Saturday. James Reynolds, reporting from Beijing on Saturday for the BBC, said, "the ruling communist party has encouraged people to leave their cars at home to improve the air for next year’s Olympic Games, but no one has taken any notice." The main thoroughfares of the Chinese capital looked, by and large, the way they do on normal car days, Reynolds said. Private cars were blocked from using some back streets but apparently, "nobody uses them much anyway… People here are not willing to give up their cars in exchange for better air." Overall, Reynolds concluded, "no car day appears to have had absolutely no impact whatsoever."

Image: World Carfree Network

BBC Beijing No Car Day

European Mobility Week

Eurocities

Energie Cités

Climate Alliance

There have been some major wake-up calls in the fight against global warming, starting with the United Nations scolding the U.S. for not doing enough to mitigate its contributions to the problem.

U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer told the Associated Press that it’s "very clear" the U.S. is not on the right track, despite the Bush administration’s recent openness to even discussing the problem and the series of meetings President Bush has scheduled with world leaders.

More U.N. meetings begin today to prepare for the Bali talks in December that will include negotiations of how to proceed after the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. On Thursday, President Bush convenes his own two-day meeting with 15 big-emitter nations. Some worry that his smaller, more limited round of negotiations will undercut the Bali discussions.

Our friends across the pond didn’t hear any good news on the climate change front, either. A representative of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) told the BBC that it’s unlikely the European Union will achieve their goal of keeping global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

Professor Martin Parry is the co-chair of the IPCC, the group that has brought us three reports so far this year on the science, impacts, and solutions of climate change. He told the BBC that the chances of humans keeping the average global temperature increase less than 2 degrees C is "quite little."

He went on to explain that the increase of more than 2 degrees will result in major consequences. Water shortages around the globe may occur (especially in areas with melting glaciers that depend on the freeze and thaw for water), heat waves may increase, and crops may be threatened.

Parry believes it is still possible to contain the rise in temperature to less than 3 degrees Celsius, although, as always, our actions have to be swift. In the meantime, world leaders must discuss "very seriously" plans for significant adaptation measures.

Associated Press, via Kansas City Star
BBC
Terra Daily

For many, this Sunday will bring the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet Dr. Jane Goodall. Participants in the Los Angeles event will join Dr. Goodall and hundreds of others in celebrating peace, while around the world dozens of other groups will host similar events. If you’d like to attend the L.A. event (free admission), visit the event’s website, or simply arrive at the location pinpointed on the maps below.

If you’re not in the Los Angeles area, you can still join Dr. Goodall this weekend in a celebration of peace. The Jane Goodall Institute’s Roots & Shoots program, a grassroots action organization, echoes U.N. Peace Day (September 21) with family-friendly celebrations in many locations throughout the world.

What makes the Roots & Shoots peace celebrations truly special is their unique way of conveying the message that peace is possible. Participants fly handmade, white, cloth dove puppets in a visually spectacular demonstration of the global desire for peace. Giant Peace Doves, as they’re called, boast a 20-foot wingspan and are made largely from recycled materials. Three to five people carry each dove atop 10-foot poles, giving the impression of a giant bird in flight. Witnessing hundreds of Giant Peace Doves flying together, as will happen in Los Angeles, is a truly inspiring experience.

You can learn more about Roots & Shoots’ celebration of U.N. Peace Day at the organization’s website. There, you can find listings of Peace Day events, photos of past Peace Day celebrations, information about the event in Los Angeles, and even instructions for building a Giant Peace Dove of your own. For more information, you can also contact the folks at the Jane Goodall Institute Monday through Friday at 800-592-JANE.

Jane Goodall first gained worldwide attention as a primatologist when, studying chimpanzees in Tanzania’s Kakombe Valley, she discovered that chimps use tools to “fish” for edible termites. News of the discovery overturned the notion that making tools is an exclusively human characteristic and redefined our basic notions about what differentiates our species from others. When it became clear that the chimpanzees Dr. Goodall was observing were in grave danger of vanishing underneath the growing footprint of human settlement, she became engaged in efforts to secure their survival. She has since become a prominent advocate for primate protection, environmental conservation and human rights. Each September, Dr. Goodall joins members of her worldwide grassroots action and youth empowerment program, Roots & Shoots, to celebrate U.N. Peace Day. This Sunday, September 23, is the first time that Dr. Goodall will attend Los Angeles’ event.

References and Resources:

Home | The Jane Goodall Institute

Home | Roots & Shoots

Photo Sources:

Maps from Google

Kofi Annan | Flickr

Jane Goodall | Flickr