Climate Climate & Energy

Off Season

Climate change is messing with the seasons in a Rocky Mountain forest Since 1968, researchers have gathered air samples from near the summit of Colorado’s Niwot Ridge in the Rocky Mountains, and tracked carbon dioxide levels in the conifer forest below. They’ve amassed the world’s third-longest record of atmospheric carbon dioxide, and that record provides […]

All This Aggravation Ain’t Satisfactionin’ Us

Montreal summit wraps up with agreement to … have more summits The U.N. climate talks in Montreal ended this weekend with plenty of drama but little progress. The big news, such as it is, is an agreement by a coalition of some 150 nations to convene new talks to generate a set of binding greenhouse-gas […]

Let’s Take This Slow on the Road

Campaign by right-wing U.S. group aims to derail E.U. climate policy American lobbyist Chris Horner is trying to convince major European companies to join a campaign against the Kyoto Protocol and any future such strategies to curb emissions of heat-trapping gases — but he’s not making much headway. Horner is a senior fellow at the […]

The Summit of Our Discontent

U.S. continues to stomp mightily on Montreal climate summit Poor Canada got it from both sides this week at the Montreal climate summit. On Tuesday, it suggested that the 189 nations party to the original 1992 U.N. climate convention meet formally over the next two years to discuss post-Kyoto strategies for greenhouse-gas reduction. The Bush […]

More!

About a week ago I did a short post on Prius/oil-related matters that seemed to irritate a few folks. I hadn't noticed until today that our occasional contributor (and pundit nonpareil) Clark Williams-Derry posted a response. He seemed to be approaching the question the same way some other people did, so I thought I'd offer a reply.

To recap:

A Wall Street Journal editorial (sub.) said this:

Petroleum not consumed by Prius owners is not "saved." It does not stay in the ground. It is consumed by someone else. Greenhouse gases are still released.

Treehugger's Lloyd Alter said (I paraphrase): What a jerk.

I said (again paraphrasing): Yes, he's a jerk, but on this narrow point, he's right.

Several commenters thought I was making a point about the futility of energy conservation generally. But I wasn't -- the point is about oil in particular.

Bart, and at greater length Clark, mentioned the "rebound effect," whereby reduced demand lowers price, which subsequently raises demand. Both of them make the point that although the rebound effect is real, demand only bounces back about 30-50%. So, while using less oil may not make the total efficiency gains you'd want, it does make some efficiency gains. It does save some oil.

To which I say: For "energy" generically, yes. For electricity, yes. For something like coal, where supply is plentiful, yes. But oil?

Ah-Ha California

California pushing ahead with ambitious plan to fight global warming Earlier this year, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) broke with the Bush administration’s do-nothing stance on global warming when he pledged that by 2050, his state would shrink its greenhouse-gas emissions to 80 percent of 1990 levels. On Thursday, the state’s Climate Action Team will […]

The Long, Hot Summit

U.S. senators, E.U. ministers press Bush to join climate talks At the U.N. climate summit in Montreal, there’s increased pressure on the U.S. to join in — and when we say “pressure” we mean “begging.” On Monday, 24 senators, including four Republicans, sent President Bush an open letter asking the administration to participate in the […]

Deconstructing Hurricane

Intense 2005 hurricane season may be harbinger of things to come This year’s Atlantic hurricane season officially ended yesterday (at which point we emerged from basement bunker, blinking), having racked up a record-breaking 26 named storms. Thirteen of these became hurricanes, and three reached Category 5 strength, including Katrina. And over half the past two […]

Calming down the hybrid hype.

Treehugger mocks this, from the notoriously hack-a-rrific Wall Street Journal editorial page:

Petroleum not consumed by Prius owners is not "saved". It does not stay in the ground. It is consumed by someone else. Greenhouse gases are still released.

I'm all for mocking the WSJ editorial page, but this statement is quite true. Oil supply and demand are tightly coupled right now and are only going to get more so. Any dribble of oil you don't use will be snapped up by someone else -- perhaps one of the growing legion of Chinese drivers -- and so on and on until the remaining oil becomes prohibitively expensive and forces the market to provide alternatives.

It would be nice to think that environmental sentiment could free the world from oil, but it'll never happen.

If your goal is to save money or save oil, buying a Prius should be far down your list.

Buy a Prius, if you like, to express your values and make a statement to manufacturers that there's a market for these kinds of cars.

But let's not let the hybrid hype get out of hand.

Drilling in ANWR will hurt the environment! No it won’t! Yes it … *yawn*

A while back I filled out the little form for NRDC's letter-writing campaign to save the Arctic Refuge. It sends a message to your Congressman, urging them oppose oil and gas development in the region. It's probably the tenth one of those things I've submitted regarding the refuge. (It's so easy; just type in your email and click "send." No thought involved.) I often question the usefulness of online campaigns and the implications of such mindless "citizen participation," but that's probably a subject for another post. Point here is, today I received a response from my representative, one Mr. Don "They can kiss my ear" Young (R - Alaska). Full contents of letter below the fold.