Climate Climate & Energy

Gore calls for carbon tax, 100 percent renewable electricity by 2018

[Editor's note: The headline was mistakenly published to read "energy" in place of "electricity." The fault lies with the Grist editorial staff instead of with Joseph Romm. Our apologies to Joe.]

July 17, 2008
A Generational Challenge to Repower America (as prepared)
D.A.R. Constitution Hall
Washington, D.C.

Ladies and gentlemen:

There are times in the history of our nation when our very way of life depends upon dispelling illusions and awakening to the challenge of a present danger. In such moments, we are called upon to move quickly and boldly to shake off complacency, throw aside old habits and rise, clear-eyed and alert, to the necessity of big changes. Those who, for whatever reason, refuse to do their part must either be persuaded to join the effort or asked to step aside. This is such a moment. The survival of the United States of America as we know it is at risk. And even more -- if more should be required -- the future of human civilization is at stake.

I don't remember a time in our country when so many things seemed to be going so wrong simultaneously. Our economy is in terrible shape and getting worse, gasoline prices are increasing dramatically, and so are electricity rates. Jobs are being outsourced. Home mortgages are in trouble. Banks, automobile companies and other institutions we depend upon are under growing pressure. Distinguished senior business leaders are telling us that this is just the beginning unless we find the courage to make some major changes quickly.

The climate crisis, in particular, is getting a lot worse -- much more quickly than predicted. Scientists with access to data from Navy submarines traversing underneath the North polar ice cap have warned that there is now a 75 percent chance that within five years the entire ice cap will completely disappear during the summer months. This will further increase the melting pressure on Greenland. According to experts, the Jakobshavn glacier, one of Greenland's largest, is moving at a faster rate than ever before, losing 20 million tons of ice every day, equivalent to the amount of water used every year by the residents of New York City.

Eighth warmest June on record means ‘Great Ice Age of 2008’ is still over

I know we're supposed to be going into a period of cooling, at least according to people who don't believe in the scientific method, but for those who do, NOAA's National Climatic Data Center reports in its "Climate of 2008 June in Historical Perspective":

Based on preliminary data, the globally averaged combined land and sea surface temperature was the eighth warmest on record for June and the ninth warmest for January-June year-to-date period.

It is pretty darn hot in Greenland and Siberia, not like there's anything important in those regions:

Energy efficiency is cornerstone of ambitious plan

Everyone's favorite McKinsey study suggests that America can shed a huge chunk of its emissions through costless measures, primarily in the realm of energy efficiency. The fly in this delicious low-carbon ointment is that the freebie cuts haven't so far happened by themselves, and it's never entirely clear how well an analyst's report is going to translate into reality. How nice, then, that New York City is gearing up to provide the proof point we've all been waiting for.

Mayor Bloomberg's office recently released a plan to drop the carbon emissions of the municipal government 30 percent from 2006 levels by 2017. The plan will cost about $2.3 billion, but the city expects to recoup these costs by 2015 -- an average payback of less than eight years across a large portfolio of projects.

Report from EPA and U.S. Climate Change Science Program highlights risks of warming world

Scientists from the U.S. EPA and U.S. Climate Change Science Program issued a new report today documenting the effects of global climate change on human health and human systems. It follows close on the heels of another report released earlier this week by EPA scientists on global warming and human health. “Climate change will affect […]

Minnesota utility plans wind farm over coal reserves

Story at Wind Watch:

A Minnesota utility said it's planning its own mega wind farm in Oliver County, meaning Oliver and Morton counties could some day be home to as many as 1,000 new wind turbines across the hilltops.

At the same time the turbines are capturing mile after mile of wind, they could cover up substantial coal reserves along that southern stretch of Coal Country ...

Can the West match the Northeast?

Next week, the Western Climate Initiative will release a proposal outlining the program's cap-and-trade design.* In the proposal, we should expect to learn what share of carbon permits will be auctioned (and will therefore generate public revenue) and what share will be given away for free to emitters.

Auctioning is important -- extremely important -- because, among other virtues, it is the best way to promote fairness for people with moderate incomes. We've had lots to say about auctioning in the past, and we'll have lots to say about it in the future. In the meantime, for comparison purposes, I thought it might be helpful to share the auctioning percentages [PDF] from the cap-and-trade program in the Northeast, called RGGI:

• Connecticut.................91 percent
• Maine........................100 percent
• Maryland.....................90 percent
• Massachusetts.............99 percent
• New Hampshire.........100 percent**
• New Jersey................100 percent**
• New York..................100 percent
• Rhode Island..............100 percent
• Vermont.....................100 percent

RGGI sets a good standard, one that WCI should strive hard to match or exceed.

The human-scale, renewable, domestic power systems reviving rural Austrian economies

Listen Play “Lonely Goatherd,” from The Sound of Music On a sunny Saturday afternoon in Salzburg, we took a field trip to a few examples of biomass in rural Austria. The country is over 40 percent forested, and over half of the forest is owned by small farmers with less than 40 hectares (just under […]

Umbra on sea-level rise

Dear Umbra, I’m a bit confused about the possible rise in sea level that may be caused by global warming. I know that in general water expands when warmed, and that is one cause of sea level elevation with respect to global warming. The larger cause for alarm seems to be the melting or collapse […]

Study finds that prenatal exposure to coal-plant emissions impedes neurodevelopment

A major new study by the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health finds:

Closing coal-fired power plants can have a direct, positive impact on children's cognitive development and health ...

[P]renatal exposure to coal-burning emissions was associated with significantly lower average developmental scores and reduced motor development at age two. In the second unexposed group, these adverse effects were no longer observed; and the frequency of delayed motor developmental was significantly reduced.

The full study [PDF] in the July 14 Environmental Health Perspectives is available online: "Benefits of Reducing Prenatal Exposure to Coal Burning Pollutants to Children's Neurodevelopment in China." The study provides yet more evidence -- if any were needed -- that we need to ban traditional coal plants: "elimination of prenatal exposure to coal-burning emissions resulted in measurable benefits to children's development." This is a sophisticated study, which used molecular markers to directly track exposure to coal plant emissions:

Russian researchers abandon shrinking ice floe

Russian scientists are evacuating early from their research base on a shrinking Arctic ice floe. Last April, the floe was sturdy enough to build an air strip on. In September, 21 researchers and two dogs arrived, at which point their ice abode measured 1.2 by 2.5 miles. The researchers meant to leave in late August, […]