Climate Culture

What will it take to make 2008 great?

The following guest post is by Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), originally published on Climate Progress. He is the co-author of Apollo's Fire: Igniting America's Clean Energy Economy.

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Now that our New Year's Eve party hats are put away, it's time to look to the next year in the battle against global warming. In the year 2007, some good things did indeed happen on this front. Measures significantly improving car mileage standards and promoting the growth of renewable fuels were signed into law. But if 2007 was a year that could be considered in some ways good, then 2008 needs to be a year that will be great.

Nothing else will do. The cataclysms of one million square miles of ice melting in the Arctic, a several-fold increase in the rate of melting tundra, and the acceleration of melting in Greenland, foretell possible feedback mechanisms that demand a faster and more aggressive clean energy revolution than we even envisioned a year ago. Whatever we thought necessary on New Year's Day 2007 needs to be doubled in 2008.

So what will it take to make '08 great? Three things will do the trick.

Compact fluorescents can cause health problems, say groups

As Australia, Britain, and the good ol’ U.S. of A make plans to phase out traditional energy-sucking light bulbs, health concerns are being raised about compact fluorescents, the most popular alternative. The British Association of Dermatologists says CFLs can cause rashes on folks with photosensitive skin, the U.K. Migraine Action Association suggests that the bulbs […]

Live Earth will be honored with music industry green award

Midem, an annual international trade show for the music industry, has created a new green award that it will bestow upon Live Earth later this month in Cannes, France — because Al Gore can never have too many awards. Also honored will be Denmark’s Roskilde Festival, which serves all drinks in returnable plastic mugs, and […]

David Beckham has world’s biggest carbon footprint, says group

David Beckham. Photo: Robert Mora/WireImage The member of the human race with the biggest carbon footprint is (drumroll please …) soccer football golden boy David Beckham, according to green group Carbon Trust. The hottest star in the Galaxy and wife Victoria-but-please-call-me-Posh have won the dubious honor for the second time. The duo have 15 gas […]

Umbra on resolutions for 2008

Dear Umbra, Sorry to crowd your inbox, but I just want to thank you for answering my question about paint disposal … it was very helpful (as always). I’m SO glad you’re back from being kidnapped. I hope it wasn’t too awful an ordeal. Thanks again, Erin Chicago Dearest Erin, Happy New Year! Happy 2008, […]

Please, can we lay off the calls for sacrifice in the face of climate change?

This New York Times editorial says a bunch of stuff that I agree with, in a way that doesn't seem helpful at all:

The overriding environmental issue of these times is the warming of the planet. The Democratic hopefuls in the 2008 campaign are fully engaged, calling for large -- if still unquantified -- national sacrifices and for a transformation in the way the country produces and uses energy.

The term "sacrifice" gets bandied about a lot, mostly as a way to lend moral seriousness to arguments about climate change. Are you merely paying lip service to the issue, or are you willing to lay down the hard truths?

Of course, no one really knows how much sacrifice will be required. Economic projections of the cost of dealing with climate change put the value somewhere around "not terribly much." But who knows? It's hard to make predictions, especially about the future.

The bigger problem is that the term "sacrifice" misrepresents the process. Decarbonizing involves millions of consumers and businesses making billions of small consumption decisions in response to price signals, just as they do every day.

New-Year-heralding ball will be energy-efficient

As promised, the ball that will drop in Times Square tonight to herald the new year will be dazzling both in its brightness and its energy efficiency. On the 100th anniversary of the tradition, the 1,415-pound ball with a circumference of some 6 feet will glow with more than 9,500 energy-efficient LED lights. Its descent […]

New Year’s Resolutions 2008

Make our Olympic debut We’re good at shooting the breeze, bouncing from clubs, and spiking the punch, so look for us in Beijing at the archery, trampoline, or volleyball competitions. Obviously we’re totally qualified, but we still might not go — the decision’s up in the air. Literally. Photo: Marco Scala via flickr Eat organicagefreeganatural […]

Off-road vehicle use has surged in Western wilderness areas

Motorized outdoor enthusiasts are converging in increasing numbers on Western public lands — not only in areas marked for such outdoor enthusiasm, but in wilderness areas where rules against off-roading are nearly impossible to enforce. Registration of all-terrain vehicles and motorbikes in four Western states tripled from 1998 to 2006. The surge is traceable to […]

When do green ads translate to green action?

The greening of the U.S. of A. still has a ways to go. We’re plundering Canada’s tar sands and mining the Midwest’s topsoil to keep our cars on the road. We lay waste to ton after ton of Chinese coal to fuel our cheap-stuff habit. And so on. But if our habits remain environmentally ruinous, […]