Earlier this month, Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama outlined an ambitious energy plan to drive the United States toward a self-sufficient green economy. From fuel rebates to carbon cap-and-trade to vehicle fuel efficiency, the Obama plan has been widely accepted as the most comprehensive energy package released by a Presidential candidate to date. There is one specific section of the Obama energy plan which has the biofuel community abuzz: a flex fuel mandate for all new vehicles in the United States.

“Sustainably‐produced biofuels can create jobs, protect the environment and help end oil addiction – but only if Americans drive cars that will take such fuels. Obama will work with Congress and auto companies to ensure that all new vehicles have FFV capability – the capability by the end of his first term in office.”

Obama’s mandate would require that every new vehicle sold in the United States would be capable of running on gasoline, ethanol, methanol and other alcohol-based fuels. While this is exciting news to the biofuel world, Obama’s plan only effects new vehicles– leaving only a tiny portion of the 250,851,833 cars on the road in the US ready for Biofuels. This mandate would only stimulate biofuel production as new cars are sold, ignoring the opportunity of converting the existing fleet to flex fuel ready vehicles.

Read more of this story »

Watching the news is a dangerous enterprise for those of us trying to maintain a clear picture of this election season’s most important issues. Despite all the chatter, it seems relatively obvious that our most fundamental problem is American energy policy, or more specifically: oil prices and our dependence on cheap energy.

If you buy that premise, which I’m prepared to debate elsewhere, then this election should really only be decided by one evaluation criterion: which candidate has a better plan to reduce our oil consumption, replace it with viable alternatives, and spur innovation and commercial development of new technologies (and a new green-collar economy)?

A quick survey of both candidate’s websites makes it fairly obvious (see the official stance of Obama and McCain). I’ll be comparing each candidate’s plan in more detail later on, but for now I’ve republished some of the main points from Obama’s campaign website, in order to highlight how he intends on dealing with oil prices and our dependence on them.

To assist in this evaluation, here are three important criteria. If we’re serious about transitioning away from petroleum as our primary transportation fuel, we’re going to have to hit it from multiple angles. It doesn’t seem totally unreasonable to estimate that each of these could account for 1/3 of our total fuel usage:

• Decrease consumption and improve efficiency (#8 & 9).
• Develop and rapidly commercialize alternative fuels and infrastructure (#1, 4, 5, 6, 7).
• Develop and rapidly implement new technology (#1, 2, 3).

Key elements of Obama’s plan:

1. Invest $150 Billion over 10 Years in Clean Energy with a focus on technology developed in the US:

This includes next generation biofuels and fuel infrastructure, commercialization of plug-in hybrids, development of commercial-scale renewable energy, low-emissions coal plants, and beginning the transition to a new digital electricity grid.

Read more of this story »

According to an article in the Jakarta Post, an official from the Indonesian government has spilled the beans on Samsung’s plans to invest up to $1.63 billion dollars in what’s sure to be a controversial acquisition of land for growing oil palms and construction of a biodiesel plant in Indonesia.

Read more of this story »

In a report (pdf) compiled by the International Council on Human Rights Policy (ICHRP) entitled ‘Climate Change and Human Rights: A Rough Guide’, the authors argue that human rights have the ability to act as a compass to determine what research must be done and what policies must be implemented, as a result of climate change.

Read more of this story »

But first, a digression.

Part 1: When an egg was just an egg

I remember a time when an egg was just an egg. Nobody argued about that. It was a blissful time. Yet, for all its strengths, it was a fragile time held together by unsupported conclusions and limited knowledge.

Read more of this story »

Editor’s Note: This post was provided by one of our paid sponsors, Earth Cinema Circle, the only DVD club dedicated to increasing social & environmental awareness through entertaining films. Written by Ariellie Ford.

Behind America’s 99-cent hamburgers and 72-ounce sodas is a key ingredient that silently fuels our fast-food nation — Corn. In KING CORN, we meet two college buddies, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, who move from the east coast to the heartland to really learn where their food comes from.  They relocate to northern Iowa, home of their great-grandfathers, with a mission.  They will plant an acre of corn, follow their harvest into the world, and attempt to understand what all of us are really made of — Corn. This entertaining and informative film is now available from Earth Cinema Circle.  The following is from an interview with Curt Ellis, co-producer of the film.

Read more of this story »

Editors Note: This guest post was contributed by Charley Territo, spokesperson for the Alliance of Auto Manufacturers, in an effort encourage better dialogue between the auto industry and the environmental movement. Charley also contributed a guest post on Grist on May 20. I asked him to weigh in on a question I’ve had for a long time: How can automakers like GM complain that consumers only want to buy big cars when they spend hundreds of thousands advertising brands like Hummer? Here is his response. Feel free to weigh in with your own comments below.

For years it’s been assumed that, using their superior marketing skills, automakers have the ability to trick consumers into buying SUVs and pickup trucks…when, in reality, the consumers really only
wanted to buy compact cars.  While that’s probably quite flattering to the marketing departments, it doesn’t have the important benefit of actually being correct.

Current events are now allowing people to see more clearly the greater force at work driving consumer demand: Gas prices.

Read more of this story »

Democrats fall eight votes short of preventing filibuster

With gasoline prices topping $4 a gallon, Senate Democrats wanted the U.S. government to throttle back on the billions of dollars in profits being taken in by the major oil companies. But with the White House threatening a veto of the bill, the Senate voted 51-43 to close debate, well shy of the 60 votes needed to avoid a filibuster.

The proposed windfall profits tax would have been somewhere between 10 and 12 billion dollars for this year, and it would have been levied against the country’s five largest oil companies. The legislation would have also rescinded $17 billion in tax breaks the companies expect to enjoy over the next decade.

“The oil companies need to know that there is a limit on how much profit they can take in this economy,” said Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois, warning that if oil prices are not reined in, “we’re going to find ourselves in a deep recession.”

Read more of this story »

Oil is destined to be a heated issue in this upcoming presidential election and Barack Obama’s opposition to the gas tax “holiday” has already been a hot topic. Obama has made it clear that national energy policy needs to be taken in a new direction.

“We send a billion dollars to foreign nations every single day and we are melting the polar ice caps in the bargain,” said Obama. “That has to change.”

Read more of this story »

One theory that has been widely discussed in recent weeks is that the nation’s growing demand for biofuels and the crops needed to produce them is the real culprit behind higher food prices, both at home and abroad. Yet the evidence that we have seen. . .does not support this.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://gas2.org/2008/05/22/usda-says-ethanol-accounts-for-only-3-of-increased-cost-of-food/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2008/05/18/could-wind-help-save-water/ http://cleantechnica.com/2008/05/18/could-wind-help-save-water/#comments Mon, 19 May 2008 01:00:08 +0000 Michelle Bennett http://cleantechnica.com/2008/05/18/could-wind-help-save-water/ Big news for the wind industry, big implications for water.

First, the Department of Energy released a report that confirmed what the wind industry has already claimed: wind could power 20% of the United State’s energy needs by 2030. Even with growing energy demands, our ample wind resources could meet one-fifth of our needs with continued growth and innovation. Other nations, especially Denmark, are already deriving significant fractions of their energy from wind, sometimes with impressive results. The truth is, wind energy is booming even as the specter of the expiring Production Tax Credit moves to the House of Representatives for a vote.

Another large announcement this week came from ex-oilman T. Boone Pickens, who proved (once again) that every thing’s bigger in Texas.

He just ordered $2 billion worth of wind turbines from GE to build the world’s largest wind farm.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2008/05/18/could-wind-help-save-water/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/04/23/us-fuel-economy-standards-boosted-to-316-mpg-by-2015/ http://gas2.org/2008/04/23/us-fuel-economy-standards-boosted-to-316-mpg-by-2015/#comments Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:34:46 +0000 Clayton B. Cornell http://gas2.org/2008/04/23/us-fuel-economy-standards-boosted-to-316-mpg-by-2015/ The White House has outlined their plan to increase fuel efficiency standards to 35 MPG by 2020, a move that will save Americans an estimated $100 billion in fuel costs.

The mandate was outlined in last year’s energy bill in December, but this proposal gives a boost to the timeline by requiring the mileage of passenger vehicles to average 31.6 MPG by 2015. That’s up from today’s average of 25 MPG (which I can’t help but mentioning is identical to the mileage of the original Model T Ford).

Read more of this story »

]]> http://gas2.org/2008/04/23/us-fuel-economy-standards-boosted-to-316-mpg-by-2015/feed/ http://sustainablog.org/2008/04/18/show-me-the-water/ http://sustainablog.org/2008/04/18/show-me-the-water/#comments Sat, 19 Apr 2008 00:23:46 +0000 Nayelli Gonzalez http://sustainablog.org/2008/04/18/show-me-the-water/

Speakers at a water conference in San Francisco today discussed the relationship between development and water supplies. Or, more to the point, the lack of water and continued urban sprawl in much of California and other western states.

The talk given by Roger Moore and David Boyer entitled, “The Water Supply and Land Use Interface: Lessons from a Decade of Litigation under the UWMPA, CEQA, and SB 610/221″ was part of the 2008 California Water Law & Policy Conference organized by Argent Communications Group.

Moore and Boyer, both environmental lawyers, shared their perspectives on California’s Urban Water Management Planning Act, the California Environmental Quality Act, and Senate Bills 610 and 221–often called the “show me the water” laws.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://sustainablog.org/2008/04/18/show-me-the-water/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/04/05/canada-unleashes-first-carbon-tax-in-n-america/ http://gas2.org/2008/04/05/canada-unleashes-first-carbon-tax-in-n-america/#comments Sat, 05 Apr 2008 17:39:43 +0000 Clayton B. Cornell http://gas2.org/2008/04/05/canada-unleashes-first-carbon-tax-in-n-america/

British Columbia will be the first in North America to institute a comprehensive carbon tax on nearly all fossil fuels. It’s a groundbreaking move that could prove the feasibility of taxing greenhouse-gas emissions.

Beginning July 1st, 2008, businesses and residents of British Columbia will be taxed $10 per metric ton of carbon emitted by fuels such as gasoline, diesel, natural gas, coal, propane, and home heating fuel. The tax will increase yearly by $5 per ton to $30 per ton in 2012, at which point the government will reevaluate the tax rate.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://gas2.org/2008/04/05/canada-unleashes-first-carbon-tax-in-n-america/feed/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/03/20/us-law-complicates-canadian-oilsands/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/03/20/us-law-complicates-canadian-oilsands/#comments Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:15:04 +0000 Maria Surma Manka http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/03/20/us-law-complicates-canadian-oilsands/ When the U.S. Congress passed the Energy Independence and Security Act last December, the bill included a passage that could effect Canada’s oilsands, and that has the Canadian government nervous.

The law prohibits federal procurement of fuels that produce more global warming emissions than conventional sources. Canada is concerned because the fuel taken from the oilsands is considered alternative fuel under the new energy act and it produces more global warming emissions than other sources. It complicates things because U.S. firms have major investments in the oilsands and the U.S. government currently gets a lot of fuel from there, so the U.S. essentially passed a law that could jeopardize this arrangement. In the province of Alberta, the oilsands represent the second largest oil reserve on the planet after Saudi Arabia.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/03/20/us-law-complicates-canadian-oilsands/feed/ http://sustainablog.org/2008/02/21/illinois-renewable-energy-feed-in-tariff-introduced-in-house/ http://sustainablog.org/2008/02/21/illinois-renewable-energy-feed-in-tariff-introduced-in-house/#comments Thu, 21 Feb 2008 23:49:42 +0000 Timothy B. Hurst http://sustainablog.org/2008/02/21/illinois-renewable-energy-feed-in-tariff-introduced-in-house/ Illinois Representative Karen May (D-Highland) has introduced a bill calling for a system of renewable energy “feed-in tariffs” (FITs) like those used in Germany to spur the development of electricity from renewable sources. After its initial reading, HB 5855, The Illinois Renewable Energy Sources Act has been reported to the House Rules Committee for initial action.

Feed-in tariffs have proven remarkably successful throughout Europe, and especially in Germany, where some 55% of the world’s solar power capacity resides. I have covered the nuts and bolts of the FIT here and I have made a short argument for them here (but for a more comprehensive treatment of how and why the policy mechanism works, I recommend visiting the World Future Council’s PACT website, which is a powerful resource for advocates, policymakers, environmentalists, tech geeks and regular folks).

In a nutshell, a feed-in tariff offers a long-term guaranteed price contract (usually about 15-20 years) to any entity that contributes electricity to the grid via renewable sources like solar, wind, biomass, landfill gas, small hydro, geothermal and methane. Whereas existing policy mechanisms like the production tax credit favor large corporations with sizable tax liability, and investment tax credits favor those folks who can afford a large upfront cost that comes with a 20-30 year payoff, this policy tool encourages the distributed generation of renewable energy and it levels the playing field by providing long-term investment security for small businesses, homeowners, churches, schools and others, so they are more willing to make the financial commitment that is necessary for installing renewable energy themselves. This is not to say that our existing RE policy tools of choice (including renewable energy standards) are inherently bad, but they may be insufficient to spark the kind of growth in clean energy the public seems to be demanding.

The diffusion of renewable energy FITs has extended from Northern Europe to include some 47 countries worldwide, but the mechanism has yet to gain much political traction in the United States. The bill is modeled after the legislation proposed in the fall of 2007, when Rep. Kathleen Law introduced HB 5218 into the Michigan House of Representatives.

Ironically, while the eyes of renewable energy policy wonks (yes, there are such a thing) have been looking to California, Michigan and Minnesota for a successful German-style feed-in tariff, Rep. May’s bill took people by surprise.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://sustainablog.org/2008/02/21/illinois-renewable-energy-feed-in-tariff-introduced-in-house/feed/ http://sustainablog.org/2008/02/18/morality-and-markets-the-depth-of-our-carbon-footprints/ http://sustainablog.org/2008/02/18/morality-and-markets-the-depth-of-our-carbon-footprints/#comments Mon, 18 Feb 2008 15:06:33 +0000 Jeff McIntire-Strasburg http://sustainablog.org/2008/02/18/morality-and-markets-the-depth-of-our-carbon-footprints/ Change your lightbulbs, buy local food, keep your tires properly inflated: all of us in the green publishing space, both online and off, promote such actions as ways for all of us to live greener lives, and, more specifically, to cut our carbon footprints. “Low-hanging fruit” approaches to personal sustainability appeal to us because of their simplicity: we don’t have to make major changes in our lives to feel like we’re making a difference. As we attempt to reach beyond the “green” audience to people who are still “testing the waters,” and who are intimidated by the notion that “going green” means making major sacrifices, tips provide a valuable introduction to lowering one’s personal impact.

Still, the “simple actions” approach to sustainability also runs the risk of becoming simplistic, and even moralistic. Many of us are probably guilty of looking aghast at someone when we find out they don’t recycle, or buy their produce from the neighborhood farmers’ market. “It’s so simple,” we tell ourselves. We feel justified, then, in judging others, perhaps harshly, for the actions they don’t take.

In the latest issue of The New Yorker (published today), writer Michael Specter takes a look at the “simple” actions not only taken by individuals and families, but also promoted by the business world to consumers. British supermarket chain Tesco, for instance, has announced it will look for an easy method for identifying the carbon footprint of the products it sells. Walkers crisps (potato chips) already carry such a label. These are steps forward, no doubt, in providing information that consumers want. But, as Specter points out, there’s nothing simple about determining the carbon footprint of a product:

In order to develop the label for Walkers, researchers had to calculate the amount of energy required to plant seeds for the ingredients (sunflower oil and potatoes), as well as to make the fertilizers and pesticides used on those potatoes. Next, they factored in the energy required for diesel tractors to collect the potatoes, then the effects of chopping, cleaning, storing, and bagging them. The packaging and printing processes also emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, as does the petroleum used to deliver those crisps to stores. Finally, the research team assessed the impact of throwing the empty bag in the trash, collecting the garbage in a truck, driving to a landfill, and burying them. In the end, the researchers—from the Carbon Trust—found that seventy-five grams of greenhouse gases are expended in the production of every individual-size bag of potato chips.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://sustainablog.org/2008/02/18/morality-and-markets-the-depth-of-our-carbon-footprints/feed/ http://sustainablog.org/2008/02/04/help-is-here-for-green-voters-making-last-minute-decisions/ http://sustainablog.org/2008/02/04/help-is-here-for-green-voters-making-last-minute-decisions/#comments Tue, 05 Feb 2008 00:03:55 +0000 Jason Phillip http://sustainablog.org/2008/02/04/help-is-here-for-green-voters-making-last-minute-decisions/ Still undecided about how you’ll vote on Super Duper Woozy Tuesday? If you live in one of the 20+ states holding presidential primaries or caucuses on Feb. 5, you’ve had a long primary season to settle on a candidate. Nonetheless, a lot of us find ourselves with our minds not yet made up about which of the remaining contenders should get our support. Whether it’s because our first choice has dropped out of the race, or the similarities in the remaining candidates’ platforms, voters can be forgiven for feeling like they won’t be able to enter the voting booth with rock-solid conviction this week.

But the 2008 presidential election is too momentous to simply throw up your hands and flip a coin — or to allow yourself to be swayed by a strictly emotional reaction to the candidates. The next president’s administration will have to deal with a slew of problems facing the country, and global climate change is just one of them. If you care about environmental issues and want your political leaders to take the lead on addressing the root causes of environmental degradation that have gone unmitigated during the last several years, you’re going to want to vote for a candidate who puts the environment at the top of his or her agenda — right up there with the Iraq war, the economy, health care, and immigration reform.

So how do you find out which candidates support the environmental issues that matter to you? It’s hasn’t been easy to tell from mainstream press coverage because the environment has gotten pushed to the back burner by more hot-button issues during the campaign. But a number of online sources have done the homework for us, and offer helpful side-by-side comparisons of the environmental platforms on offer.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://sustainablog.org/2008/02/04/help-is-here-for-green-voters-making-last-minute-decisions/feed/ http://ecoworldly.com/2007/12/18/cod-and-chips/ http://ecoworldly.com/2007/12/18/cod-and-chips/#comments Tue, 18 Dec 2007 15:19:33 +0000 Pem Charnley http://ecoworldly.com/2007/12/18/cod-and-chips/ We send out fishermen in all weathers to the North Sea – a brutal piece of water that is freezing and ravaged by storms - and we demand they come back with nets heaving with our favourite fish.

Cod.

To supply our favourite dish. Cod and chips.

It’s time for a rethink. We’re gorging on creatures that can’t breed fast enough to keep up with governmental ineptitude.

Fish stocks around the British Isles are approaching extinction. European Union (EU) legislation is crazy.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://ecoworldly.com/2007/12/18/cod-and-chips/feed/ http://ecoworldly.com/2007/12/15/incandescent-rage-at-an-end/ http://ecoworldly.com/2007/12/15/incandescent-rage-at-an-end/#comments Sat, 15 Dec 2007 18:42:40 +0000 Pem Charnley http://ecoworldly.com/2007/12/15/incandescent-rage-at-an-end/ I re-watch Al Gore’s acceptance speech again and again – and I always choke back tears. I suppose I choke them back because I’m an Englishman – with that supposed stiff upper lip.

Massive change is his message. Though of course individual action is beneficial, action on a larger scale is what’s needed.

Political will.

Praise then goes to the Irish government who have decided on a complete ban of incandescent light bulbs as of 2009.

This ties in so strongly with Mr Gore’s speech where he demanded – and eloquently too – that change needs to happen.

Now.

Not beleagueredly in a few years.

But now.

So is my government concurrent with regards to light bulbs?

No.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://ecoworldly.com/2007/12/15/incandescent-rage-at-an-end/feed/