Posted by Andy Stevenson in Curbing Pollution , Health and the Environment , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy
A new report from the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) reveals that our energy bills are $120bln higher than they appear due to the "hidden costs" associated with the air pollution created by burning fossil fuels. The...
Posted by Andy Stevenson in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy
Senators John Kerry and Barbara Boxer have introduced a "green" price collar on carbon under their draft climate bill that should be applauded by emitters and environmentalists alike. A green price collar that will; 1) maintain the integrity of the...
Posted by Andy Stevenson in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy
In a recent WSJ article entitled "Cap and Trade: Recipe for Disaster", Louisiana State University economist Joseph Mason outlines his concerns that special interests have already taken control of the European carbon markets and that the US carbon markets are...
Posted by Andy Stevenson in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming
An American Petroleum Institute study released this past week makes three rather deceptive claims about the impacts of climate change policy on the oil refinery industry in the US. The first claim is that legislation to cap carbon emissions will cause a large...
Posted by Andy Stevenson in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy
In an NYT op-ed column this past week titled "The Greenback Effect," Warren Buffett voiced his concern that unchecked government spending by Congress is "spewing a potentially damaging substance into our economy" known as "greenback emissions". According to Mr. Buffett...
Posted by Andy Stevenson in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy
A new report to be released later this month by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is expected to reveal that contrary to their previous findings, speculators were in fact to blame for generating a "significant" amount of the...
Posted by Andy Stevenson in Green Enterprise , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy
A brief Politico article last week titled "Time for a Price Collar on Carbon" argued that a price ceiling should be included in the Senate version of climate legislation as a way to better ensure the bill's passage. While the...
Posted by Andy Stevenson in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy
While the Senate does appear to support the scientific and environmental need to put a cap on our carbon emissions, some Senators remain fearful that the “trading” portion of the cap and trade bill will just be creating another derivatives...
Posted by Andy Stevenson in Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy
The soon to be former Governor Sarah Palin's "plan" to keep America addicted to fossil fuels and to abandon the President's cap and trade program for carbon pollution is not only a disastrous climate policy, it is even worse as...
Posted by Andy Stevenson in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy
As the Senate begins to weigh in on the climate debate with its own version of climate bill, the issue of carbon market oversight still remains a major concern to many members. The final bill that passed through the House...
Posted by Andy Stevenson in Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy
At 70 feet across, Deutsche Bank Asset Management's new "carbon counter" billboard is advertised as the world's first real-time calculator of global greenhouse gas emissions. This billboard, together with its web-based counterpart, were created as a way to not only bring...
Posted by Andy Stevenson in Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy
The coal lobby can't catch a break these days. First utilities reduce coal demand in favor of increasing purchases of cheap natural gas, then the EPA proposes its endangerment finding on carbon dioxide pollution, then mountaintop removal gets called into account...
Posted by Andy Stevenson in Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy
After receiving broad support in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the ACES bill is now expected to be brought to a vote before the July recess. While several committees are still looking to review and possibly amend the bill...
Posted by Andy Stevenson in Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy
The EIA has just released its forecast for global carbon emissions through the year 2030 and it's not pretty. Without meaningful efforts to reduce the path of our carbon emissions, global carbon dioxide pollution is expected to increase 39% over...
Posted by Andy Stevenson in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy
In addition to providing meaningful guidelines for the carbon trading markets, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES) should be commended for looking to close many of the regulatory loopholes used by speculators to manipulate energy prices...
