Articles by David Roberts

Good news ™

As regular readers know, I have a tendency toward gloom. But as the chipper squadrons at Worldchanging and Treehugger oft remind us, it is our obligation to be optimistic. So with that in mind, let's touch on some recent good news.

BP recently announced that they will create a business unit devoted to clean energy and pour $8 billion of funding into it. Joel Makower, who I trust on such matters, says it's the real deal:

But it's clear that this isn't just a PR ploy. Indeed, BP appears to have been building to this day for quite some time. BP's chief executive, Lord John Browne, has long been ahead of the pack, dating back to September 1997, when he broke ranks with his big-oil brethren to give an historic speech on climate change -- the first time that any oil exec had spoken out on the subject.

It's a sliver of BP's overall business, but a sliver of BP is a big deal.

As Amanda reminded us last week, momentum seems to be inexorably building in Congress to take action to address the twin crises of our time, oil depletion and global warming. Carl Pope notes that even an ardent libertarian like Cato's Jerry Taylor concedes that coordinated government action is the only way global warming will be addressed.

And finally, back with Joel, who brings news of a coming U.N. report revealing that ... oh, hell, I'll let him tell it:

A newly formed alignment of legal, financial, and investment interests will direct "trillions" of U.S. dollars over the next 10 years into evolving markets linked to climate change, clean technology and sustainable use of natural resources, according to a report being prepared for the United Nations.

...

What was once considered a financial niche area is poised to become mainstream as institutions with trillions of dollars under management embed environmental, social and governance thinking into their investment approach ...

There, now. Don't you feel better?

Doing my part

Just want everyone to know that here in my humble abode, I'm wearing a scarf and a sweater rather than turning the heat on.

Can an end to global warming be far behind?

Speaking of which, why the %$@! is it so cold in Seattle? I left the east coast for a reason!

U.S. in Montreal

I suppose it's no big surprise that the U.S. is deliberately gumming up the works in Montreal -- having paid no penalty (at least domestically) for its intransigence on climate change, the Bush administration is getting more and more flagrant about thumbing its nose at the international community on this subject.

But in reading all the many stories about it, for some reason this little bit from Reuters is the only thing that really got me down:

"It would be nice if the U.S. would step up and start to take some action," said Ben Matchstick, a U.S. organizer dressed as a bird.

EPA and Ground Zero

The U.S. EPA's atrocious track record around Ground Zero in New York City continues

NYT:

Abandoning an ambitious cleanup plan for Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn, federal environmental officials said yesterday that they would clean, at no cost, any apartment south of Canal Street with unacceptable levels of contaminants from the collapse of the World Trade Center.