Climate Technology

Reality Bites

U.S. automakers acknowledging that gas prices are likely to stay high Expect gasoline prices to stay between $3 and $4 a gallon for the rest of the decade, says … no, not some fearmongering environmentalist or peak-oil nut, but Chrysler CEO Thomas LaSorda. In fact, all of Detroit’s Big Three automakers have resigned themselves to […]

Advice from sustainability leaders for today’s aspiring entrepreneurs

In perhaps the most memorable career-counseling session ever served up on celluloid, the poolside conversation ran like this: Mr. McGuire: I want to say one word to you. Just one word.Benjamin: Yes, sir.Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?Benjamin: Yes, I am.Mr. McGuire: Plastics. This exchange came to mind when we were developing our latest survey of […]

TerraPass and verification

TerraPass, sellers of carbon offsets, has undergone its first verification report:

Based on an agreement with Center for Resource Solutions (CRS), creator of the Green-e program, this report details our impact for the year, the sales-supply balance and our distribution of offset projects. The good news, in case you’re wondering, is that we passed!

Big deal, you think? Perhaps for this individual company, but it's quite important that the carbon offsets industry -- which seems to be capturing public attention and taking off -- establish some shared standards of accountability. TP's Tom Arnold says:

We, along with CRS, hope to extend this pilot program into an industry-wide program. That means attracting other industry participants as well as getting feedback on what types of projects qualify for a Green-e like program. The CRS announcement went out this morning and I'm happy to say that NRDC, WRI, Interface Fabrics, climate change experts Seth Baruch and Terry Surles, and others will also participate in a new GHG Advisory Group to help shepherd through a program.

Cool.

(Here's the Green-e press release on the formation of the advisory group.)

Big buyers make organic farmers feel smaller than ever

With Whole Foods continuing to dazzle Wall Street with its growth and Wal-Mart vowing to become the world’s No. 1 organic grocer, now would seem to be a wonderful time to be an organic farmer — particularly one with enough acreage to supply the corporate giants. According to classical economics, when demand jumps, supply should […]

Is greenwashing good for business?

In public talks about Aspen Skiing Company’s environmental programs, I used to describe our wind-powered Cirque chairlift. Renewable-energy purchases for that lift keep 30,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas, out of the air annually, I’d tell my audience. Furthermore, it was the first renewably powered lift in the country. My listeners would […]

Dearth Nader

A fuel tax is a great idea waiting for a champion; paging a Mr. Nader It’s time for Americans to get over their sense of entitlement to cheap energy, bite the bullet, and institute a progressive fuel tax, says economist Charles Komanoff. Making energy more expensive would result in a host of benefits, both at […]

A new natural capitalism

I'm going to sit the fence on Kit's poll by saying that reigning in climate change will require both a re-envisioning of capitalism and a revision of our core values.

An excellent professor of mine at MIT introduced our class to the concept of "natural capitalism," pioneered by Paul Hawkins and Amory and L. Hunter Lovins. Their 1999 book on the subject, probably familiar to many of you, was an eye-opener for me at the time. Here is a short synopsis of the book from Publisher's Weekly:

Why “the market” alone can’t save local agriculture

The local-food movement has reached an interesting juncture. Through one lens, things are looking better than ever. According to a USDA report (PDF), the number of farmers’ markets leapt 79 percent to 3,100 between 1994 and 2002. Community-supported agriculture programs — wherein consumers buy a share of a farm’s output before the season starts, sharing […]

Getting a toehold on your company’s climate footprint

“What’s your company’s climate footprint?” It’s a hot question these days — one being asked increasingly of companies by customers, investors, activists, regulators, and others. OK, it may not be exactly that question, but it’s probably in some form, like, “What’s your company doing to reduce its climate impacts?” Or, “How do you call yourself […]

Wal-Mart is not a person

Your AWOL blogger here, just to make a quick point: