Climate Climate & Energy

Wall Street Journal editorial mischaracterizes both my position and biofuels

To my surprise, on Tuesday I found myself cited by the Wall Street Journal as a strong advocate of subsidies for food-based ethanol, and as a recipient of "federal dole" who ought to "take a vow of embarrassed silence." While I appreciate the Journal's foray into fiction writing (and I'd love to discuss my status on the dole with my accountant, who recently filed my taxes), I would like to clarify a few facts and offer a more rounded view of biofuels and ethanol in general.

A few facts:

Offset criticisms have not stopped being true

Patrick McCully has a great feature in The Guardian about some of the problems with offsets. (No single article can tackle all of them.)

The points are pretty standard:

1. At least two thirds of the offset are fraudulent.
2. Fraudulent offsets used as permissions to burn coal and increase climate chaos.
3. Throw in massive supporting evidence in an entertaining package.

Ho freaking hum, right?

Meanwhile, the world keeps burning. Every ton of offset-enabled coal power makes our climate a little sicker.

Does the bank have a legitimate role in solving the climate crisis?

The World Bank, which once upon a time wanted to rid the world of poverty, is now trying to position itself as climate crisis savior -- but at the same time is continuing its fossilized ways. So says EarthBeat Radio -- check out their illuminating podcast on it. Janet Redman, the author of a report entitled "The World Bank: Climate Profiteer," is interviewed about a $2 billion portfolio of carbon offsets for industries in the global north to be developed in the global south. Sadly, the Bank program suffers from a lack of transparency, benefits dirty industries most, and puts the alleviation of poverty at the bottom of its list of priorities. Doesn't sound like a world of change.

Thieves targeting used cooking oil

Leftover cooking grease is a hot commodity these days, and restaurants across the country are reporting being hit by slippery-fingered thieves. Biodiesel producers must legally register with the U.S. EPA, but DIY biofuelers are helping themselves to waste cooking oil as its value skyrockets along with the price of diesel. David Levenson, owner of a […]

Big Oil tries to evade blame for high energy prices

It’s a cryin’ shame that energy prices are so high, but it’s totally not Big Oil’s fault, top execs at the five largest oil companies told a Senate panel Wednesday. Big guns from BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon, and Shell — almost all the same rich white guys that gathered at a similar hearing last month […]

Electric emissions growth outpaces generation in 2007

The EIA just released data on 2007 that shows total electricity generation increased by 2.5 percent in 2007, but total CO2 emissions from the electric sector increased by 3 percent. That's right: the electricity sector, already the single largest contributor to U.S. CO2 emissions, is increasing its CO2 intensity.

Intriguingly, this increase has come about despite a 25 billion kWh increase in wind and nuclear generation in 2007, as the gains from those zero-carbon sources were offset by a 40 billion kWh decrease in production from hydro-electric facilities.

Biofuel-bound grasses are often invasive species

As biofuel sources go, weeds and grasses are looked on with more favor than land-ravaging, food-price-raising corn and palm. But there’s no such thing as a free lunch-in-your-tank, says a paper presented by green groups at a United Nations meeting Tuesday: “Some of the most commonly recommended species for biofuels production are also major invasive […]

RPJr. is at it again

Roger Pielke Jr., last seen bobbing and weaving in an online bout with an Actual Scientist — and getting pummeled — can now be found in a story in the Moonie-owned, far-right Washington Times: Roger A. Pielke, environmental studies professor at the University of Colorado, and not previously a global warming skeptic, reacted to the […]

Caribou numbers declining in Alaska and Canada

Hello, and welcome back to The Plight of Arctic Wildlife. Previously we’ve covered polar bears, narwhals, seals, and walruses — today we’re going to tackle caribou. (Well, not literally.) After years of steady growth, Alaska’s largest caribou herd lost 20 percent of its population between 2003 and 2007, according to the latest count. The Western […]

Deloitte survey of consumers and utility regulators

On Monday, consultant firm Deloitte released two new surveys, one of consumers and one of utility regulators. There’s some fairly interesting stuff in there. First off, some 87 percent of utility regulators expect the cost of producing electricity to rise next year. Why? Here’s what they attribute it to: Fuel prices (35 percent). Environmental compliance […]