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It’s all about inequality

Blogging about the new Elizabeth Kolbert article in the New Yorker, David writes:

But then, there's the nagging thought. Lovins can always talk and explain and persuade better than we can -- he's a friggin' genius -- but the intuitive question keeps returning: if there were so many errors, and so much benefit to be gained by correcting them, and it's all so easy ... why isn't it happening? Something doesn't fit.

Roberts quotes Kolbert expressing similar thoughts:

Lovins's promise that apparently intractable problems -- oil dependence, global warming, nuclear proliferation -- can be profitably resolved is both the great appeal of his approach and its biggest liability. Much of what he recommends sounds just too good to be true, the econometric version of "Shed pounds by eating chocolate!"

This is a good question, and one of my early posts on this blog partially answered it. Energy demand has low long-term price elasticity (PDF). (That's economic jargon for, "people tend to overlook a lot of profitable opportunities to save energy.") That, in turn, implies that Amory Lovins has spotted something real. We have overlooked, over a period of decades, profitable opportunities at market prices -- opportunities that were profitable even without carbon taxes or emissions caps. "Market failure" is not a strong enough term for a system that could consistently go so wrong.

U.S. response to IPCC is … something

The IPCC sent an early draft of its latest report to various world governments, seeking comment. The U.S. response (PDF) should surprise no one: it sought to push the IPCC in a favorable ideological direction. That means downplaying the negative effects of warming, bashing Kyoto, lauding the vaporous benefits of voluntary agreements, and — brace […]

Students unite to fight climate change

This week, young people at high-school and college campuses across the nation will be getting action. No, just kidding (?), they’ll be taking action — to raise awareness about climate change during the Week of Action sponsored by Campus Climate Challenge and Truth on Campus. As I mentioned earlier this month, student groups were encouraged […]

Our old friend

Later this morning (Tues.), the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform — led by Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Ranking Member Tom Davis (R-VA) — will hold hearings on Bush administration political interference with climate scientists. Now here’s a funny thing. Lauren Morello’s story for E&E (sub rqd.) contains this account of who will […]

Now it’s regulatory

These are not words that lend themselves to restful sleep: President Bush has signed a directive that gives the White House much greater control over the rules and policy statements that the government develops to protect public health, safety, the environment, civil rights and privacy.

Yummy veggie curry

Despite the fact that I am an omnivore, I belong to a vegetarian dining co-op that meets weekly. There are nine of us, and we each prepare dinner once every nine weeks. Several people in the co-op eat meat as a regular part of their diet, while others are strict vegetarian -- some for environmental reasons, others for ethical reasons (including a pro-hunting vegetarian: a story for another day). Those of us who eat meat are still happy to eat a vegetarian meal and we enjoy the chance to get together with our veggie friends and listen to their shocking tales of being taunted at their various places of employment for bringing "weird" lunches to work.

A few weeks ago, the person whose turn it was to cook had to work both her old full-time job and her new full-time job for a full week while transitioning from one to the other. "Um, do you want me to trade weeks with you?" I asked.

Super Bowl gets greener, renewables could power half the world by 2050, and more

Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: Leader Hosin’ But I’m a Cheerleader Plus, Only Teams With Animal Names Can Play The Neverending Tory This Just (W)in Read the articles mentioned at the end of the podcast: Paying the Farm Bill Koplow and Robbers Whereof They Speak Honeysuckle Prose

Everybody talks about it, nobody funds it

The administration claims, at least, to be interested in two goals: Reducing U.S. dependence on oil. Addressing the threat of climate change. No. 1 rules out imported fossil fuels; No 2 rules out coal. What’s that leave? Renewable energy. So WTF: Congressional earmarks that redirected Energy Department financing last year slowed or even shelved many […]

Tree plantations are bad for people and no good for offsetting carbon

We've discussed problems with carbon offsets from an economic viewpoint, and from their abuse as a misleading public relations tool. But perhaps we should focus on the awesome cruelty of their human costs.

Doug Koplow, subsidies researcher and founder of Earth Track, answers questions

Doug Koplow. With what environmental organization are you affiliated? I’m the founder of Earth Track in Cambridge, Mass., which focuses on increasing visibility of environmentally harmful subsidies. This visibility comes through direct analysis, consolidation of research from around the world, and descriptive materials understandable by general audiences. Subsidies transfer value from the public sector to […]