OntheWilderSide

Monday October 27 7-9 pm. With Seth Watkins. How can you cut your energy bill and live more sustainably without sacrificing your quality of  life?  What’s new (and old) in “alternative” energy: solar, wind, hydrogen, biofuels…?  Is our government dragging its feet in the face of  mounting evidence of  global warming?  And so much more….This promises to be an informative program addressing the concerns we all have on a daily basis. Southold Free Library. 765-2077

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7TH, 2008. “Ocean Acidification and the Global Carbon Cycle:” Cindy Lee, SUNY Distinguished Professor, School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. Coral reefs and calcareous shells are in danger of depletion. One of the few natural processes that removes carbon dioxide from the ocean’s surface waters is the sinking of particles to the deep sea. These particles carry organic carbon with them that is derived from the surface plants and animals in the ocean. Professor Lee has studied the organic chemistry of the oceans for the past 35 years.  Duke Lecture Hall-Chancellors Hall Southampton Campus 7:30 P.M.

Monday November 10 7-9 pm. With Seth Watkins. How can you cut your energy bill and live more sustainably without sacrificing your quality of  life?  What’s new (and old) in “alternative” energy: solar, wind, hydrogen, biofuels…?  Is our government dragging its feet in the face of  mounting evidence of  global warming?  And so much more….This promises to be an informative program addressing the concerns we all have on a daily basis. Southold Free Library. 765-2077

NEWS
– Wind Power – Sprawl – Extinction- Carbon Taxes – Google

U.S.-Canadian Group Plans to Curb Emissions SAN FRANCISCO — An alliance of seven Western states and four Canadian provinces unveiled a blueprint on Tuesday for the most far-reaching effort in North America to curb emissions linked to climate change. The draft of the proposal by the alliance, the Western Climate Initiative, is intended to achieve a 15 percent cut in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2020. It cuts emissions from industries across the economy and from transportation and housing; a plan being put into effect by 10 northeastern states covers only the electric utility industry.

Wind Power is Blowing Toward New York. Newsday, September 28, 2008. “The winds of change may be returning to New York ‘s energy landscape. There were three signs this month that things are starting to blow in the right direction for clean and renewable energy. The optimism began with the announcement last week that the Long Island Power Authority [LIPA] and Consolidated Edison have started a joint study for an offshore wind project in the Atlantic Ocean , off the coast of the Rockaways. This follows a Public Service Commission ruling allowing a major Spanish firm to invest in wind plants upstate. That electricity, however, is a long way from Long Island, and that’s why the appointment of Richard Kessel [former chairman of LIPA and a longtime advocate of wind power] as head of the New York Power Authority has local [ Long Island ] significance. Kessel’s priority in his new job is building a major north-south transmission line to move cheap, alternative energy, including hydropower from Canada , from upstate to downstate. Kessel’s appointment comes as a new political consensus in favor of wind power is emerging. Gov. David Paterson has eagerly endorsed it, as has Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who wants to seed the ocean waters around the city with turbines.”

New Jersey Governor Pushes Plan to Become World Leader in Wind Power. By Wayne Parry, AP, October 7, 2008. ” New Jersey is powering up an ambitious plan to become a world leader in the use of wind-generated energy. Gov. Jon Corzine wants the Garden State to triple the amount of wind power it plans to use by 2020 to 3,000 megawatts. That would be 13 percent of New Jersey ‘s total energy, enough to power between 800,000 to just under 1 million homes. ‘We want to create this generation’s race to the moon, but this time, a race to the sea, to harness this potential wind source off of our coasts, and bring economic development, environmental benefits, and new, green jobs to the Garden State,’ Corzine said Monday. Environmentalists hailed the plan. Dena Mottola Jaborska, executive director of Environment New Jersey, termed it ‘a gale force for change, moving us away from dirty power and towards a new energy future. It is the most visionary plan to promote offshore wind energy in the nation.’ Last week, Garden State Offshore Energy, a joint venture of PSE&G Renewable Generation and Deepwater Wind, was chosen to build a $1 billion, 345 megawatt wind farm in the ocean about 16 miles southeast of Atlantic City. That plant would be able to power about 125,000 homes.”

Schwarzenegger Signs Anti-Sprawl Greenhouse Gas Bill. Steve Lawrende, AP, September 30, 2008. “Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation Tuesday that attempts to ease greenhouse gas emissions by giving priority to transportation projects that limit commutes and curb urban sprawl. Supporters said the legislation is needed to help implement a 2006 law that requires California to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The bill requires the state Air Resources Board to set regional targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light trucks and directs regional planning agencies to develop land-use strategies to meet those targets. Cities and counties will not have to implement those plans, but they could lose transportation funding if they don’t… The bill also includes an additional incentive for cities and counties to comply. It relaxes environmental reviews for housing projects that comply with the so-called sustainable communities strategies that will be developed by regional planners.”

Cut the Sprawl, Cut the Warming. Editorial, NYTimes, October 7, 2008. “For years, while Washington slept, most of the serious work on climate change has occurred in the states, and no state has worked harder than California . The latest example of California’s originality is a new law — the nation’s first — intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by curbing urban sprawl and cutting back the time people have to spend in their automobiles… The measure is the latest in a string of initiatives from the California Legislature, including a 2002 law that would greatly reduce carbon emissions from automobiles, and a 2006 law requiring that one-fifth of California ‘s energy come from wind and other renewable sources… Given California ‘s size, these and other initiatives will help reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Even more progress would be made if others follow. New York and 15 other states have already said they will adopt California ‘s automobile emissions standards when the federal government gives them the green light — which the Bush administration has stubbornly refused to do. There is, of course, no substitute for federal action or for American global leadership on climate change, both of which the next president will have to deliver.”

Experts Warn 1/3 of All Species Could be Extinct by End of Century. By Brian Skolloff, AP, October 2, 2008. “Climate change threatens to kill off up to a third of the planet’s species by the end of the century if urgent action isn’t taken to restore fragile ecosystems, protect endangered animals and manage growth, scientists warned Wednesday as a wildlife summit opened… The three-day summit, sponsored by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, assembled several world-renowned climate change researchers with dozens of wildlife experts to trade ideas on how to save species on a warming planet.”

Losses in Nature ‘Dwarf’ International Banking Crisis. By Richard Black, BBC, October 10, 2008. “The global economy is losing more money from the disappearance of forests than through the current banking crisis, according to an EU-commissioned study. It puts the annual cost of forest loss at between $2 trillion and $5 trillion. The figure comes from adding the value of the various services that forests perform, such as providing clean water and absorbing carbon dioxide. The study, headed by a Deutsche Bank economist, parallels the Stern Review into the economics of climate change. It has been discussed during many [of this weeks] sessions [in Barcelona ] at the World Conservation Congress. Some conservationists see it as a new way of persuading policymakers to fund nature protection rather than allowing the decline in ecosystems and species, highlighted in the release on Monday of the Red List of Endangered Species, to continue. Speaking to BBC News on the fringes of the congress, study leader Pavan Sukhdev emphasized that the cost of natural decline dwarfs losses on the financial markets. ‘It’s not only greater but it’s also continuous, it’s been happening every year, year after year,’ he told BBC News… The review that Mr Sukhdev leads,The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity[PDF, 68 pp], was initiated by Germany under its recent EU presidency, with the European Commission providing funding. The first phase concluded in May when the team released its finding that forest decline could be costing about 7% of global GDP. The second phase will expand the scope to other natural systems.”

Farmer in Chief. By Michael Pollan, NYTimesMag, October 12, 2008. “Dear Mr. President-Elect, It may surprise you to learn that among the issues that will occupy much of your time in the coming years is one you barely mentioned during the campaign: food… You will need not simply to address food prices but to make the reform of the entire food system one of the highest priorities of your administration: unless you do, you will not be able to make significant progress on the health care crisis, energy independence or climate change. Unlike food, these are issues you did campaign on — but as you try to address them you will quickly discover that the way we currently grow, process and eat food in America goes to the heart of all three problems and will have to change if we hope to solve them. Let me explain…”

Carbon Tax Endorsed by Director of Earth Institute at Columbia University. By Timothy Gardner, Reuters, October 9, 2008. “Climate taxes, not cap and trade markets alone, will lead to the vast technological changes the world’s energy system needs to fight global warming, a top U.S. economist said on Thursday. Cap and trade has emerged as the dominant attempt to slow global warming. Global deals in permits to emit greenhouse gas emissions have hit nearly $65 billion a year. The European Union, under the Kyoto Protocol, has embraced cap and trade since 2005 and voluntary markets have developed in the United States , the developed world’s top carbon polluter. But a straight carbon tax on energy production — at an oil wellhead or refinery for instance — would be simpler and cheaper than putting a cap on tens of thousands of polluters, Jeffrey Sachs, a special advisor to the U.N. secretary general and director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University told a panel on Thursday. As the world prepares to form a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol by the end of next year, focus is sharpening on how well cap and trade markets are fighting emissions. Carbon taxes would quickly cut emissions across all sectors of the economy, including vehicles and manufacturing, said Sachs. It could also be more efficient than spreading the trade of permits across the financial system.” Debate over Climate Change at Columbia University. By Kate Galbraith, NYTimes, October 9, 2008. “In a wide-ranging debate at Columbia University on Thursday morning, Yvo de Boer, the executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and Jeffrey Sachs, director of Columbia’s Earth Institute, faced off over how best to address climate change. (A Webcast of the forum is available here.)”

Google Announces ‘Clean Energy 2030’ Proposal. Posted by Carlos Rymer, ItsGettingHotInHere, October 2, 2008. “Google has announced its… Clean Energy 2030 proposal. The Internet giant has continued to lead beyond its main business by pledging to make Renewable Energy Cheaper Than Coal, joining General Electric in figuring out how to get America’s national grid to be ‘smart,’ and even becoming a leader by example with a large solar power installation at their headquarters. Now, Google has announced a proposal that could wean America off of most fossil fuels by 2030, a plan in line with what T. Boone Pickens has called for with his Pickens Plan and call by Al Gore to make all electricity consumed in America renewable by 2018. Google’s proposal calls for a 100% reduction in coal and oil consumption in America by installing 300 GW of onshore wind energy, 80GW of offshore wind energy, 170GW of solar photovoltaic, 80GW of concentrated solar power, 15GW of conventional geothermal, and 65GW of enhanced geothermal. It also calls for an increase in sales of plug-in and hybrid vehicles to 90% of all sales by 2030 (reaching 42% of the U.S. vehicle fleet in 2030), increasing conventional vehicle fuel efficiency to 45mgp by 2030, an acceleration of the vehicle fleet turnover from 19 to 13 years (increasing sales by 31%), and building some 32,000 kilometers of new transmission lines.”

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