The spotted seal, a sea ice-dependent Arctic species, has been denied Endangered Species Act protection by the Obama Administration.

Disappointment: The Center for Biological Diversity has announced that the Obama administration denied Endangered Species Act protection for the spotted seal, a species whose habitat is rapidly melting away due to global warming.

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For American car buyers, though, the landmark agreement will mean an average $1,300 increase in the price of a new car by 2016. And to a car-buying public that hasn’t yet latched onto the idea of a hybrid vehicle, that price increase might be a tough one to swallow.

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Laurence Summers—head of the National Economic Council—responded to criticism of the Geithner Plan, “I don’t know of any economist who doesn’t believe that functioning capital markets in which assists can be traded are a good idea.” Economist Paul Krugman responded (NYT) saying that if Summers believe that bribing traders to participate is “better functioning” then Summers should get out more. Many economists believe that this plan could be disastrous.

The Plan would auction bad mortgages held by banks. The government would join the highest bidder with an equal purchase and provide a loan to the bidder up to 85% of the bid. The loan is supposed to provide leverage such that small upward movements will bring large gains to the speculator. According to Summers and Geithner, such auctions will determine their “fair” market value.

Of course small movements downward will bring loss to the speculator as well as the taxpayer, but the speculator can count on the government to do all it can to jack up home prices. Many economist, financers, and bankers have found the Plan disastrous.

Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize-winning (2008) economist, challenges the notion that such an auction will determine fair value as “market mystique.” He analyzes the arithmetic of the Plan and shows that it’s just another attempt to subsidize the real estate industry and mortgage bankers.

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A top China central government think tank yesterday released a framework for quantifying countries’ historical emissions. Under this proposed framework, the State Council Development Research Center (DRC) would create a “historic account” of past emissions, used to benchmark developing countries with lower accumulated emissions - like China - against countries with higher accumulated emissions and assign emissions “deficits” to countries who have emitted less. Using this quantitative assessment, countries with emissions “deficits” would get the green light to emit, or trade emissions credits with countries that have already exceeded their allowance.

The release of this plan supports external analysis that China believes it should have the right to develop free from carbon reductions until their accumulated emissions are on par with industrialized countries. A recent Brookings Institute report: “Overcoming Obstacles to US-China Cooperation on Climate Change” articulated Beijing’s stance, which included the conviction that:

Countries should be held responsible not only for their current emissions but also for their cumulative historical emissions, given that greenhouse gases accumulate in the atmosphere over many decades.

This plan is Beijing’s most comprehensive effort to date to both highlight and quantify development inequalities as a justification for releasing China and other developing countries from emissions reduction expectations.

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The newly announced Obama mortgage plan aims to aid as many as 9 million households in fending off foreclosures. Here are its key elements:

• Allows 4 million–5 million homeowners to refinance via government-sponsored mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
• Establishes $75 billion fund to reduce homeowners’ monthly payments.
• Develops uniform rules for loan modifications across the mortgage industry.
• Bolsters Fannie and Freddie by buying more of their shares.
• Allows Fannie and Freddie to hold $900 billion in mortgage-backed securities — a $50 billion increase.

(Source: Marketwatch)

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From Green Car Congress:

Responding to a question from a city councilwoman about transportation and infrastructure in the stimulus bill during a town hall forum in Ft. Myers, Florida, President Obama said that the days of just building sprawl are over.

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Written by Post Carbon Instituters Richard Heinberg, Asher Miller, Daniel Lerch and Andrew Calvo, “The Real New Deal” calls on President-elect Barack Obama to completely redesign our economy and society to wean it from its dependence on cheap (and soon-to-be not-so-cheap) fossil fuels.

“Our 21st century nation’s dependence on 20th century fossil fuels is the root of the economic and environmental threats we face,” the report’s executive summary states. “A coordinated, comprehensive transition to an economy that is no longer dependent on hydrocarbon fuels and no longer emits climate-changing levels of carbon — a Real New Deal for a post-carbon world — will be the Obama Administration’s greatest opportunity to lead the nation on a path toward economic, energy and environmental recovery.”

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A new federal/state clean energy partnership will result in the creation of green collar jobs and clean energy infrastructure in America, according to Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA), a national nonprofit organization that works with clean energy funds and state agencies to expand the nation’s clean energy infrastructure and advance markets for clean energy technologies.

CESA will present policy recommendations for the Obama administration and outline steps for moving forward with effective clean energy economic stimulus. The key is distributing federal funds for clean energy investment directly through the many existing state clean energy funds and programs. The presentation will take place at a press conference and panel event scheduled for 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 at the National Press Club, 529 14th Street, NW in Washington, DC. A formal congressional briefing will be held from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. on Capitol Hill as well.

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It’s about time! So far, the response appears to be positive, from the site:

90,053 people have submitted 64,645 questions and cast 3,976,522 votes… 

The top two running questions (according to popular vote) so far in the Energy and Environment category are:
“William McDonough has designed self-sustaining communities and cities with green technology. Will the new administration seek innovators like Mr. McDonough to help pave the way for infrastructure building in the 21st Century?”

And…..

“Will transit and intercity rail projects be a major component of the infrastructure stimulus package, rather than focusing on highway projects?”

These are both excellent questions, and I firmly believe that if we are to practice what we preach with respect to green economics, we MUST improve our public transportation systems.  In Europe, you can get anywhere you want to go using public transportation.  Here in the Silicon Valley, the BART doesn’t extend from the East Bay down to San Jose and the voters have been arguing about it for ten years.  It is very difficult to get from point A to point B using public transportation in the Bay Area.
It will be most interesting to see what new questions get posted, and the new administration’s answers to these questions.  It does feel like at last, the American people are being listened to.

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Grijalva is the current chair of the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands which has jurisdiction over Interior Department matters.

The groups praised Grijalva for assembling what is regarded as one of the most “far sighted endangered species protection plans in the nation” and for his “leadership pressing Interior and other federal agencies to integrate global warming issues into their planning and permitting.”

The next Secretary of the Interior will be taking over an rocked by some ethics scandals including, among other things, the imprisonment of its top deputy, losses of tens of billions of dollars from under-collection of oil royalties and, most recently, revelation of sex and drug parties involving key Interior employees and oil company executives.

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