OntheWilderSide

1st New York Women’s Conference for Sustainability

Mobilizing for climate stability one conversation at a time

Friday, March 27th – Sunday, March 29th, 2009

Keynote addresses from grassroots environmental leaders will be interspersed with a weekend-long series of participatory World Café and self-initiated Open Spaces events. Attendees will actively engage in conversations and self generated initiatives, learning and developing tools for personal and shared solutions, action plans, and post conversation networking.  http://www.sowise.org/conference_overview.html

March 26 – 28.  Green East. NYC.  http://www.greeneastexpo.com/index.html

April 1. 7:30 pm.  Pisces Restaurant, Babylon .  Presentation by Scott Carlin.  “Global Warming: How Immediate is the Crisis?”  Global Warming is not just a crisis of ecology, it effects our economy and our ability to produce energy. An economy run by corporations is failing us. Corporations are legally required to place the interests of shareholders ahead of planetary health.  We need a broader model of democracy which would allow us to quickly and fairly dial down our consumption while focusing on fulfilling basic human needs.  Sponsored by the Babylon Greens.

April 22, 2009. G.A.I.N. (Green And Invovled Now) and The Rogers Memorial Library ( Southampton Village ) are planning a bus trip to New York to the Museum of Natural History to see the climate crisis exhibit on Earth Day.  Information to follow in the Library’s Spring Newsletter.

LICSN is pleased to support LI Green.  Check out our new website with LI Green.  http://www.ligreen.com/licsn/

C.W. Post students set off for Power Shift 09 conference in Washington DC this weekend.

Global CO2 Hits New Peaks. By Alister Doyle, Reuters, February 12, 2009. “Atmospheric levels of the main greenhouse gas are hitting new highs, with no sign yet that the world economic downturn is curbing industrial emissions, a leading scientist said on Thursday. Levels of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas from human activities, rose to 392 parts per million (ppm) in the atmosphere in Svalbard in December, a rise of 2-3 ppm from the same time a year earlier, he told Reuters.”

Collapsing Carbon Market Makes Mega-Pollution Cheap. Commentary by Julian Glover, Guardian ( UK ), February 25, 2009. “‘Roll up for the great pollution fire sale, the ultimate chance to wreck the climate on the cheap. Dump plans for the wind turbine! Compare our offer with costly solar energy! At this low, low price you can’t afford not to burn coal!’… Wanted: a modern Martin Luther to nail a shaming truth to industry’s door: Europe’s whizz-bang carbon market is turning sub-prime.”

EPA Expected to Regulate Carbon Dioxide. By John M. Broder, NYTimes, February 18, 2009. “The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to act for the first time to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that scientists blame for the warming of the planet, according to top Obama administration officials. The decision, which most likely would play out in stages over a period of months, would have a profound impact on transportation, manufacturing costs and how utilities generate power.” 

‘Climate Rebates’ Proposed to Offset Higher Energy Costs From Climate Legislation. By Chad Stone and Hannah Shaw, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, February 19, 2009. “Effective policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will raise prices for energy-related products and squeeze family budgets… The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has designed a [climate rebate, PDF, 12pp] that would efficiently offset the average impact of higher energy-related prices on low-income households…

20% of CO2 Emissions Absorbed by Threatened Tropical Forests. Science Daily, February 19, 2009. “Globally, tropical trees in undisturbed forest are absorbing nearly a fifth of the CO2 released by burning fossil fuels. The researchers show that remaining tropical forests remove a massive 4.8 billion tons of CO2 emissions from the atmosphere each year.”

Solar Hot Water Systems Should Be a Priority. Commentary by Larry Hunter, NYTimes, February 9, 2009. “But after conservation, one of the most effective and efficient steps the government can take is to encourage the use of solar hot-water systems — a well-developed and relatively low-tech method for using the sun’s energy….Three 4-foot-by-8-foot panels (covering a total area of 96 square feet) can, in full sunlight, deliver about 4.5 kilowatts of heat — enough to heat about 50 percent to 80 percent of the water used by a family of four. The cost to install such a system, including the panels, a water storage tank, piping, a pump and control electronics is usually less than $10,000. In comparison, a photovoltaic system that can produce 4.5 kilowatts in full sun requires 11 like-sized panels and costs about $40,000…” Larry Hunter is a professor of physics at Amherst College .

Long Island Power to Spend $14.4 Million on Efficient Energy Programs. By John Rather, NYTimes, February 16, 2009. “The Long Island Power Authority is moving ahead with an ambitious effort to generate more solar energy from commercial and industrial sites and increase spending by 80 percent to $14.4 million for residential rooftop solar power systems and other renewable energy programs, LIPA officials said… President Obama wants to double renewable energy production over the next three years. Gov. David A. Paterson has also backed solar energy expansion and recently set a goal that 40 percent of the state’s energy come from renewable sources and energy efficiency by 2015… LIPA’s commercial solar project, which would be the largest of its kind to date in the Northeast, would provide the LIPA grid with up to 50 megawatts of electricity. That is about a fifth of what a medium-size oil or gas-fueled power station would generate and a tenth of the 500 megawatts LIPA projects its energy efficiency programs will save by 2018. The solar power would come from acres of photovoltaic panels laid out on commercial and industrial rooftops, school and government buildings, brownfield sites, landfills and even parking lots across Long Island .”

Mapping a Global Plan for Car Charging Stations. By Bill Vlasic, NYTimes, February 9, 2009. “Now [that] nearly every major auto company in the world has committed to building electric cars, and President Obama has made reducing oil consumption a centerpiece of his energy policy, the timing could not be better for Shai Agassi, a former software executive who is drawing upon his Silicon Valley experience as he pursues his vision of building networks of battery-exchange stations in North America, Europe, Japan and Australia to increase the driving range of electric cars… He founded Better Place in Palo Alto , Calif. , with $200 million from venture capitalists in Israel and the United States … In the last few months, Mr. Agassi, who is 40 and was born in Israel , has become an influential player in the global push toward electric cars. In one recent 10-day stretch, he announced a deal for new switching stations in Canada , closed on a financing agreement in Denmark , then attended the World Economic Forum in Davos , Switzerland , where he was booked solid with interviews for cable news shows.”

The 20 Bird Species that Moved the Farthest North. AP, February 10, 2009. “The following 20 birds moved the most north of all 305 species studied by the National Audubon Society… Rank, Species, Estimated miles moved north 1966-2005: 1) Purple Finch, 433.0; 2) Wild Turkey, 407.6; 3) Marbled Murrelet, 361.9; 4) Ring-billed Gull, 355.8; 5) Red-breasted Merganser, 316.9; 6) Spruce Grouse, 316.1; 7) Pine Siskin, 288.2; 8) Fox Sparrow, 286.8; 9) Boreal Chickadee, 279.4; 10) House Finch, 269.8; 11) Pygmy Nuthatch, 265.5; 12) Steller’s Jay, 264.4; 13) Red-breasted Nuthatch, 244.4; 14) Virginia Rail, 231.6; 15) Varied Thrush, 229.9; 16) Ring-necked Duck, 219.2; 17) American Goldfinch, 219.1; 18) Snow Goose, 217.1; 19) ‘Rufous-sided’ Towhee (lumped), 215.0; 20) American Robin, 206.0.”

Visionaries on a Mission to Save the Earth. Book review by Harry Hurt III, NYTimes, February 15, 2009. “According to Edward Humes, author of Eco Barons: The Dreamers, Schemers, and Millionaires Who Are Saving Our Planet (Ecco/HarperCollins, $25.99), there is “a secret plan to save the Earth.” This plan is being carried out by a group of ‘eco barons’ — both men and women — who are the modern-day heroic counterparts to the villainous 19th century robber barons who originally set the nation on the path to environmental destruction… Eco Barons, which will be released next month, offers encouraging, often inspirational, profiles of nearly a dozen would-be planet savers.”

Google Tool Helps Consumers Reduce Energy Usage. By Nichola Groom, Reuters, February 11, 2009. “Google Inc on Tuesday said it would use its software skills to help consumers track their home energy usage and thereby lower demand and the global warming emissions that come from producing electricity. The move is part of Google’s effort to pump hundreds of millions of dollars into renewable energy, electricity-grid upgrades and other measures that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

Beijing Fights Drought as Wheat Fears Rise. By Jamil Anderlini, FT, February 10, 2009. ” China has resorted to artificial rainmaking and is diverting water from its two largest rivers to alleviate a drought the government is calling the worst in half a century. More than 4.4m people and 2.2m cattle face shortages of drinking water across at least eight provinces which contain about half the country’s wheat growing areas, the ministry of water resources said on Sunday… Water from the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers is being diverted for farm irrigation to battle the drought which began in November and threatens the livelihood of 13.5m people, state media reported… The government declared a national drought emergency late last week.”

Los Angeles Drought Prompts Call for Drastic Action. By Phil Willon, LATimes, February 10, 2009. “Even with the recent batch of rainstorms, the ongoing drought has grown so severe that Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Monday called for increased citywide water restrictions and the adoption of a tiered water rate that would punish Department of Water and Power customers who fail to conserve. Sprinkler use would be restricted to two days a week under the proposal and, by summer, could be cut to one day a week if the drought continues, Villaraigosa said. The restrictions — the first of six levels have been in place for more than a year — and rate changes could be enacted by spring if approved by the City Council and DWP… Water restrictions are nothing new in California , but since the last major drought in the early 1990s the state’s population has grown by 9 million.”

LEADING IPCC SCIENTIST ADMITS CLIMATE RISK HAS BEEN UNDERESTIMATED. Since 1990 the four reports by the Intergovernment Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), established by the United Nationa in 1988, were criticized for being watered down by government officials, and for underestimating the effects of carbon cycle feedbacks, the dynamics of ice sheet melt, methane emissions, and the rate of temperature and sea level rise, currently tracking near the top of IPCC projections (Rahmstorf et al., 2007) http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/1136843v1.

“The Government has proposed ambitious plans to improve the energy efficiency of the country’s housing stock designed to ensure that all UK homes have near zero carbon emissions by 2050  http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/england/professionals/en/1115316495325.html

Masdar City is the most ambitious sustainable development in the world today – it will be the world’s first zero carbon, zero waste, car-free city powered entirely by renewable energy sources. http://www.masdar.ae

Feb 02 2009 — Austin American-Statesman. The City of Austin is set to take in a record amount of solar power to advance towards a goal of  deriving 30% of local energy from renewable sources by 2020. http://www.planetizen.com/node/37164

Sacramento CA uses smiley faces to spur energy conservation.  Neighbors turn green with envy.

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