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Every one destined to be 100% correct

Last week I reviewed the top ten green stories of 2006. But looking back is easy. What’s going to happen in 2007? I have no clue. But being wrong carries no penalty in U.S. punditry, so I’m going to make a few predictions anyway. Twenty, to be specific. In 2007: Al Gore will a) win […]

Time for greens to get over their fear of big government

In a recent post, Ron Steenblik wrote:

Indeed, I am generally a skeptic of heavy-handed market manipulation.

A perfectly reasonable position for environmentalists in general to take, especially after the history of Big Oil, Big Coal, Big Corn, etc. using their power with the state.

Not to dump on Ron -- who only provided the most recent example of this general skepticism -- but greens in general need to get over their suspicion of the state; in particular, they need to move beyond the small-government, market-focused ideas deeded to us by some of our brightest lights (the Amory Lovinses of the world.)

Lots

Another year has come and gone and environmentalists of all stripes have good reason to be hopeful that 2007 is going to be a lot better for the environment than 2006. As we prepare for important work in the areas of marine policy, climate change, and the upcoming Farm Bill, it's a good idea to take part in a great New Year's tradition: looking back and seeing what we learned, especially things that challenged our preconceived notions.

So here's a partial list of things that I learned in 2006 (please feel free to add yours below):

Good stuff

Here’s the line-up from Friday night’s episode of the Charlie Rose Show: Segment 1: The pursuit of alternative energy and breakthroughs in green technology with John Doerr of Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, Scott McNealy of Sun Microsystems, and K.R. Sridhar of Bloom Energy. Segment 2: A conversation about developments in the internet and the […]

New report indicates

Here's an amusingly giddy account of a recent report released by CIA types: "National Security Consequences of U.S. Oil Dependency."

Oil Drum covered it back when it came out, but if you haven't had a look, do check it out. It's a significant sign of intellectual life in the halls of power.

60 groups fight for modest energy efficiency budget

Wow, this is sad:

In a letter sent today to the Members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Appropriations, 60 business, environmental, and faith-based organizations urged Congress to reject the White House Fiscal Year 2007 (FY07) budget request for the U.S. Department of Energy's renewable energy and energy efficiency programs. Instead, they called for full funding of the cross-section of sustainable energy programs up to the levels authorized by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct).

Talk about fighting for scraps.

Read the full letter (PDF). They're haggling over millions of dollars. A single Pentagon weapons program could cover all these expenses 100 times over. Priorities ...

WTF?

I am shocked -- shocked! -- to learn that not a single Gristmill post appeared in the top ten posts of 2006. What about my classic post on cogeneration? The kids went crazy over that one!

In the NYT and Sierra

Congrats to The New York Times for its excellent "Energy Challenge" series, which Revkin tells me will be an ongoing concern for the paper into the new year. It's packed with info and marks the decisive mainstreaming of this debate.

That said, I'm not sure the reader forum is working for me. Surely there's a better way of presenting this stuff than a single vertical column of comments -- as of right now, 412 comments. It's a bit overwhelming.

Anyway, while I'm passing out kudos, check out the latest issue of Sierra Magazine as well. It's also about "Energizing America." It hypes energy efficiency and bashes ethanol and nuclear power, and that's aces in my book.

Hog wash

The sub-heading of this great new Rolling Stone piece says it all:

"America's top pork producer churns out a sea of waste that has destroyed rivers, killed millions of fish and generated one of the largest fines in EPA history. Welcome to the dark side of the other white meat."

Oh, and one more nice fact: Hogs in America produce three times more excrement than all us humans combined.

Ew

Here's the money quote:

Animal cloning is the latest step in a long history of reproductive tools for farmers and ranchers, and can effectively help livestock producers deliver what consumers want: high-quality, safe, abundant and nutritious foods in a conscientious and consistent manner.

And you know what, they're right. When the environment is viewed simply as a means to an end, cloning is no different than any other agricultural practice.