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AAAS the World Turns

Leading science organization takes a stand on climate change For the first time, the influential American Association for the Advancement of Science has weighed in on climate change. The verdict: it’s bad. “The scientific evidence is clear,” says a statement issued this weekend by the association, which publishes the journal Science. “Global climate change caused […]

Premature Surrenderation

Fighting the new defeatism on climate change In Beltway media circles, among pundits who nod at one another with furrowed brows on cable TV, a new consensus is congealing: global warming is real, but there’s not much we can do about it, since efforts to substantially reduce emissions would destroy the world economy. These bed-wetters […]

They’ve Had Their Filament

Australia to fully phase out incandescent bulbs by 2010 In a world first, Australia will officially make the switch away from incandescent bulbs. Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull said today that the country would phase out inefficient lighting over the next three years, reducing greenhouse-gas emissions hundreds of thousands of tons a year and cutting household […]

Rebutting some common criticisms of the carbon tax

Charles Komanoff's excellent work on carbon taxes vs. emission trading tends to attract certain frequent objections. This is an attempt to answer some of them:

Cap and trade is the way we do things now. Politically, we can never win a carbon tax.

Answer: Cap and trade has political heft mainly because it was instituted at a low level over a long period of time -- thus it did not require very high emission reductions. Further, because the emission cap was confined to a few nations, but emission credits can be bought from nations without such caps, the emission reduction as a percent of total emissions in countries taking part in the Kyoto negotiations is even lower than the nominal target.

In addition, emission reductions are measured against a 1990 baseline, which has been increased by 3% due to various revisions (subscription). And while there is room for argument over just how many, there is no question that a fair percentage of Kyoto credits are fraudulent -- excessive credits were granted to EU utilities, and many of the CDM credits sold in China are bogus.

Put a tight enough cap on the number of credits, with stricter controls to prevent fraud, and you will find political resistance is as great as resistance to a carbon tax.

Stars align for climate mega-concerts, and more

Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: It’s Official: He Rocks It Takes a Vilsack to Raise Our Hopes Biz, Biz, Oh What a Relief It Is Tune in Tomorrow Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: Friends With Benefit Packages What’s Good for the Goose Are You Kind?

You be the judge

The American Association for the Advancement of Science joins the ranks of the alarmists, calling global warming "a growing threat to society" that should be countered with "rapidly reducing greenhouse gas emissions." AAAS says: The average temperature of the Earth is heading for levels not experienced for millions of years. Scientific predictions of the impacts […]

Bush’s USDA plays footsie with ADM, Cargill, and even the API on farm policy.

Federal investment in agriculture is a very wise, thoughtful investment. How we do it is the critical issue. At the end, I believe strongly it must be predictable, equitable, and beyond challenge. Thus spake USDA director Mike Johanns, commenting recently on negotiations around the 2007 farm bill. That’s awesome. So who will he be approaching […]

One great way to increase environmental awareness? That’s entertainment.

Whenever a Hollywood star steps behind a podium in support of a cause, you can almost hear the sound of millions of Americans rolling their eyes. What right, goes the thinking, do actors/pop stars/celebutantes have to tell us, the workaday citizens of the real world, what we should and should not believe about the political issue du jour?

And global warming

I’m seeing lots of links to this ScienceDaily story on Anthony Leiserowitz, a prof at the Univ. of Oregon who studies public risk perception. I mentioned his work here, and once called to ask him to contribute to Gristmill. Apparently he hadn’t gotten the memo that Blogs Are The Future. Here’s the gist: Most Americans […]

A new essay from the man

Tom Engelhardt of the indispensable Tom’s Dispatch received permission from the editors of the New York Review of Books to reprint an essay by Bill McKibben that appears in the current issue. He passed that permission along to me. Thanks to Tom, the editors at NYRB, and of course Bill for his tireless advocacy. —– […]