OntheWilderSide

news from Long Island Climate Solutions Network

Help Find the Carbon Footprint Average for Long Island !

WLIW 21 is producing an hour-long special in September entitled, “Going Green Long Island.” In order to acquire an average individual carbon foot print for Long Island , they need as many individuals as they can to compare it to the national average.  Calculate your carbon footprint on the Nature Conservancy’s website.  Please take the individual test, not the household one, and send the results to: Charlotte Coté, Producer at WLIW21 New York Public Television via telephone at (516) 367-2100 x8485, FAX (516) 692-7629, or email at cotec@wliw.org .

Green Depot Opens Showroom on Long Island

GREENPORT, N.Y., Aug 25, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Green Depot ( www.greendepot.com), the Brooklyn-based supplier of environmentally friendly and sustainable building products, services and solutions, is opening its newest showroom space on August 28 in Greenport, N.Y., on the North Fork of Long Island.

Brookings Weighs In. Commentary by Carlos Pascual and Strobe Talbott, WashPost, August 28, 2008. “The world may have only seven years to start reducing the annual buildup in greenhouse gas emissions that otherwise threatens global catastrophe within several decades. That means that between Inauguration Day in January 2009 and 2015, either John McCain or Barack Obama will face the most momentous political challenge of all time… Urgent and drastic action by the international community is required… Unless the U.S. acts first, it will have no credibility in persuading other[s]… to do their share… But… while some industries will prosper, other[s]… especially those that produce or rely on coal, steel and cement, will contract. Electricity prices will increase in the near and middle terms. Many workers and households will need help with… transition… The winner in November will need all the help he can get — including from his opponent… from the private sector, nongovernmental organizations, academia and — crucially — citizens who recognize the consequences if they do not consent to sacrifices and changes in lifestyle… Obama can look to his… daughters, and McCain to his… grandchildren [who] are among nearly 75 million Americans — and 2.2 billion people worldwide — younger than 18. That generation will be in its 40s or 50s when one of two things happens: Either the temperature of the planet warms more than 4.5 degrees and vast regions slide toward [uninhabitability], or… wisdom… pays off in the ultimate reward — survival.” Carlos Pascual and Strobe Talbott are, respectively, vice president for foreign policy studies and president of the Brookings Institution. They are involved in a joint project with Stanford University and New York University on global governance, including on the issue of climate change.

For the First Time in Human History, the North Pole Can Be Circumnavigated. By Geoffrey Lean, London Independent, August 31, 2008. “Open water now stretches all the way round the Arctic , making it possible for the first time in human history to circumnavigate the North Pole. New satellite images, taken only two days ago, show that melting ice last week opened up both the fabled North-west and North-east passages, in the most important geographical landmark to date to signal the unexpectedly rapid progress of global warming… In 2005, the North-east passage opened, while the western one remained closed, and last year their positions were reversed. But the images, gathered by Nasa using microwave sensors that penetrate clouds, show that the North-west passage opened last weekend and that the last blockage on the north- eastern one – a tongue of ice stretching down to Russia across Siberia’s Laptev Sea – dissolved a few days later.”

Artic Sea Ice Drops to 2nd Lowest Level on Record and Still Melting. By Dan Joling, AP, August 27, 2008. “Arctic Ocean sea ice has melted to the second lowest minimum since satellite observations began, according to scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center . Sea ice melt recorded on Monday exceeded the low recorded in 2005, which had held second place. With several weeks left in the melt season, ice in summer 2008 has a chance to diminish below the record low set last year, according to scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center … ‘This is not surprising but it is alarming,’ said Deborah Williams, a former Interior Department special assistant for Alaska . ‘This was a relatively cool summer, and to have ice decrease to the second lowest minimum on record demonstrates that global warming’s ongoing impact is profound.'”

A Hard Habit to Break, Even With Gas at $10 a Gallon. By Elisabeth Rosenthal, NYTimes, August 29, 2008. “Ten dollars a gallon may seem unthinkable to American drivers still smarting from the spike in gas prices to around $4 a gallon… High oil prices and high taxes on gas pushed the average price of gasoline to new heights in much of Europe this summer… Gas prices have persuaded some people to drive less. Traffic on the Eurostar train that links London and Paris was up 21 percent in the first three months of 2008. Gas purchases in Italy dropped 10 percent compared with the year before. Sales of gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles have plunged across the continent, just as they have in the United States . But, at least so far, there are few signs of the wholesale shift away from current driving habits that environmental economists contend is needed for European countries to meet emissions control targets… Partly because of high gas prices here, European cars are already far more efficient than those sold in the United States . The average new European car gets 40 miles to the gallon, double the average for new cars sold in America . Even so, total carbon emissions from all forms of transportation in Europe are rising. They are about a quarter higher today than they were 20 years ago, while emissions from industry have declined in the same period.”

Click the highlighted headlines for links to these stories.

Wind Energy Bumps Into Power Grid’s Limits. By Matthew L. Wald, NYTimes, August 27, 2008. “When the builders of the Maple Ridge Wind farm spent $320 million to put nearly 200 wind turbines in upstate New York , the idea was to get paid for producing electricity. But at times, regional electric lines have been so congested that Maple Ridge has been forced to shut down even with a brisk wind blowing. That is a symptom of a broad national problem. Expansive dreams about renewable energy, like Al Gore’s hope of replacing all fossil fuels in a decade, are bumping up against the reality of a power grid that cannot handle the new demands. The dirty secret of clean energy is that while generating it is getting easier, moving it to market is not… While the United States today gets barely 1 percent of its electricity from wind turbines, many experts are starting to think that figure could hit 20 percent. Achieving that would require moving large amounts of power over long distances, from the windy, lightly populated plains in the middle of the country to the coasts where many people live. Builders are also contemplating immense solar-power stations in the nation’s deserts that would pose the same transmission problems. The grid’s limitations are putting a damper on such projects already. Gabriel Alonso, chief development officer of Horizon Wind Energy, the company that operates Maple Ridge, said that in parts of Wyoming , a turbine could make 50 percent more electricity than the identical model built in New York or Texas . ‘The windiest sites have not been built, because there is no way to move that electricity from there to the load centers,’ he said.”

www.earthequity.org www.climatecrisiscoalition.org

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Click the highlighted headlines for links to these stories.

Wind Energy Bumps Into Power Grid’s Limits. By Matthew L. Wald, NYTimes, August 27, 2008. “When the builders of the Maple Ridge Wind farm spent $320 million to put nearly 200 wind turbines in upstate New York , the idea was to get paid for producing electricity. But at times, regional electric lines have been so congested that Maple Ridge has been forced to shut down even with a brisk wind blowing. That is a symptom of a broad national problem. Expansive dreams about renewable energy, like Al Gore’s hope of replacing all fossil fuels in a decade, are bumping up against the reality of a power grid that cannot handle the new demands. The dirty secret of clean energy is that while generating it is getting easier, moving it to market is not… While the United States today gets barely 1 percent of its electricity from wind turbines, many experts are starting to think that figure could hit 20 percent. Achieving that would require moving large amounts of power over long distances, from the windy, lightly populated plains in the middle of the country to the coasts where many people live. Builders are also contemplating immense solar-power stations in the nation’s deserts that would pose the same transmission problems. The grid’s limitations are putting a damper on such projects already. Gabriel Alonso, chief development officer of Horizon Wind Energy, the company that operates Maple Ridge, said that in parts of Wyoming , a turbine could make 50 percent more electricity than the identical model built in New York or Texas . ‘The windiest sites have not been built, because there is no way to move that electricity from there to the load centers,’ he said.”

Artic Sea Ice Drops to 2nd Lowest Level on Record and Still Melting. By Dan Joling, AP, August 27, 2008. “Arctic Ocean sea ice has melted to the second lowest minimum since satellite observations began, according to scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center . Sea ice melt recorded on Monday exceeded the low recorded in 2005, which had held second place. With several weeks left in the melt season, ice in summer 2008 has a chance to diminish below the record low set last year, according to scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center … ‘This is not surprising but it is alarming,’ said Deborah Williams, a former Interior Department special assistant for Alaska . ‘This was a relatively cool summer, and to have ice decrease to the second lowest minimum on record demonstrates that global warming’s ongoing impact is profound.'”

Food Riots as Indian Floods Destroy 250,000 Homes. By Krittivas Mukherjee, Reuters, August 27, 2008. “Food riots erupted on Wednesday in eastern India , where more than two million people have been forced from their homes and about 250,000 houses destroyed in what officials say are the worst floods in 50 years… The Kosi river in Bihar, one of India ‘s poorest states, smashed through mud embankments and changed course last week, unleashing huge walls of water that inundated hundreds of villages and towns… Last year, floods in eastern India and Bangladesh killed around 2,000 people. Millions were affected and officials fear climate change will make similar disasters more frequent.”

Study Unmasks Massive Water Waste in an Ever-Parched World. Posted by Andrew C. Revkin, NYTimes DotEarth, August 22, 2008. “The vast amounts of food lost to spoilage and insects in poor countries, and simply tossed in rich ones, also represent an enormous stream of wasted water, according to a new report that calls for big improvements in a world heading toward 9 billion hungry, thirsty mouths. The report [PDF, 29 pp], ‘Saving Water: From Field to Fork — Curbing Losses and Wastage in the Food Chain,’ was issued… by the Stockholm International Water Institute, Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N., and the International Water Management Institute. It outlines ways that governments could halve the amount of food lost between field and plate by 2025. The amounts of waste are staggering. In the U.S. , nearly one-third of the food that is produced each year, worth about $48 billion, is discarded. The water it [takes] to grow and process that wasted food amounts to about 10 trillion gallons… [and] many European countries have similar losses, proportional to their size… One way or another, it’s clear that improved efficiency in food production and water use will be needed… As the new report explains, more than a billion people now live in areas with insufficient water. Rising demand for agricultural products that require large amounts of water, particularly beef cattle and biofuel crops, is adding to shortages. For a close-up look at food waste at the level of the household, you can check out Tara Parker-Pope’s interview earlier this year with the food-waste maven, Jonathan Bloom.”

California Climate Land-Use Bill Passes Assembly. NRDC, August 25, 2008. “California’s state assembly…[passed] a major land-use bill, by a 46-22 margin [Monday which]… aims to reduce global warming pollution through better land-use planning by providing local governments incentives to build more compact neighborhoods and promote more transportation alternatives.  The [legislation] is sponsored by the California League of Conservation Voters and the Natural Resources Defense Council. ‘ California did not invent sprawl; but it made sprawl famous,’ [said Tom Adams, CLCV Board President]… ‘[This bill] will be the first… in the nation to insert climate change into the transportation, housing and land use equation. Make no mistake, S.B. 375 is vital to meeting the promise of California ‘s landmark climate change law.'”

Ten Species You Can Kiss Goodbye. Live Science, August 28, 2008. “Think the polar bear has it bad? Here are 10 critters who are even worse off… Listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List as critically endangered… these animals may not live to see the end of the next decade without the [kind of] human intervention that brought them to the brink in the first place. See the slideshow here.”

Survey Data: According to a survey [PDF] from ABC News, Planet Green and Stanford University , fewer than half — 47 percent — of Americans consider global warming an important issue to them personally, down from 52 percent in April 2007. Although a vast majority still think the planet is warming — 8 in 10 respondents — that figure is also down from last year, having dropped 4 percentage points. Furthermore, in an open-ended question, the number of respondents who called global warming the biggest environmental challenge facing the world fell 8 points from 2007 and currently hovers at 25 percent.

Filed under: activism, Ecology, Environment, Global Warming, international politics, long island, Long Island Politics, News, Political Websites, reform, US Politics Tagged: | Environment