Posted by Neil Katz

Photo: Army installs bulletproof, solar street lamps in Baghdad. (AP)

In President Bush’s world, climate change needs study, the EPA shouldn’t regulate greenhouse gases, and the solution to our oil addiction is drilling for more oil  That’s what a junkie would say.  Still it’s refreshing to hear that at least Iraq is going solar.

The US army plans to install more than 23,000 solar-powered, bulletproof street lights across the country.  With daytime temperatures reaching 120 degrees and night time violence terrifying the people, solar street lights make a whole lot of sense.

Although according to one army blogger they don’t provide nearly as much light as the diesel power lamps they sit next to.

Links:

LA Times

Operation Iraqi Freedom Site

Posted by Neil Katz

Photo: The future may smell like this.  (Reuters)

Most of us are worried about our carbon footprint, but cows it seems, have it much worse.  Their backsides are blasting up to 1000 liters of methane each day.  And methane is 25 times more damaging to global warming than carbon dioxide.

Scientists in Argentina - a huge cattle ranching country - wanted to know just how much methane their cows were spewing.  So naturally they inserted rubber tubes into cows’ rectums and strapped giant magenta air bags to their backs.  One would think the interns would get this assignment.  But Guillermo Bera, a lead researcher at Argentina’s National Institute of Agricultural Technology got busy for the photo opp.

Methane is also highly flammable, so it is possible that the cows could explode, along with poor Guillermo.  But despite the dangers, there is a big upside to this tale.  Methane is filled with energy.  Natural gas, the stuff that probably lights your stove and heats your water, is made almost entirely from it.

In theory, factory farms could become power plants.  At first that sounds a bit gross, a factory that sucks gas out of cows’ asses.  But consider that cows are already in a factory where machines suck liquid out of their nipples.  And we drink it.  Now that’s really weird.

Oh, if you’re interested, Guillermo’s research found that Argentinian cows might be generating up to 38 percent of that country’s greenhouse emissions.

Links:

Thanks to our friends at Environmental Graffiti for finding this one

Wiki on Methane

More Photos

Posted by Neil Katz

Photo: Dick Cheney daydreaming about sunsets, fresh lemonade and shooting his friends in the face.

Cigarettes don’t cause cancer, Saddam had nuclear weapons, and global warming is good for your health.  Can you guess which one of those lies did not come from the White House?

Luckily, the administration is not in denial about cigarettes.  But according to a high ranking EPA official, Dick Cheney’s office told the Environmental Protection Agency to delete references to the health hazards of global warming from a speech delivered to Congress.

That official, Jason K. Burnett, a long time democratic supporter, has since stepped down and is now doing press opps with Senator Barbara Boxer, the democratic leader of the Environment and Public Works Committee.

“History will judge this Bush administration harshly for recklessly covering up a real threat to the people they are supposed to protect,” Mrs. Boxer said.

The White House’s excuse for deleting six of the 14 pages of the speech: disagreements over science.  Who knew Cheney had such a deep admiration for scientific debate.

Links:

NY Times / AP

Posted by Neil Katz

Photo: 2003, Scientists at the North Pole with a sense of humor or a crystal ball. (Andrew Revkin, New York Times)

According to The Independent, scientists fear the north pole’s ice may melt away this summer, making it possible to sail there through open water.  In the past few summers global warming and high winds sent much of the ice packing. Last year was particularly devastating.  70 percent of the ice disappeared in the warm months and winter’s newly formed ice is thin and could melt quickly.  Chances are 50/50 it will completely disappear by season’s end.

Still the news isn’t all bad, especially if you are an oil company.  The US Geological Survey estimates 25 percent of the world’s oil is hiding down there, along with a truck load of diamonds.

We already reported on oil companies searching below Greenland’s melting ice for major oil deposits.  Is the north pole far behind?  Perhaps season three of Ice Road Truckers.

Links:

The Independent

Grist: What drove the dramatic arctic ice retreat in 2007

Posted by Neil Katz

Photo: Gray Whale Succumbs to Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, Latoucha Island, Alaska (John Gaps III / AP)

Nineteen years ago the Exxon Valdez crashed into the shoreline of Alaska’s Prince William Sound spilling 11 million gallons of oil into pristine waters and ruining 1200 miles of coastline.  Local residents and fisherman sued and an angry jury told Exxon to cough up $5 billion in damages.  An appeals court cut that in half.

But yesterday, the Supreme Court, perhaps feeling sorry for a company that made $40 billion last year, cut Exxon’s bill down to just $500 million.  With 20 years interest the real payout will be close to a billion.  For Exxon, that’s about eight days worth of profits.

Even more shocking, $100 million of that money will go right back to Exxon.  The company made a side deal with seven large fish processors in 1991, paying them $70 million for their share of the damages the courts would eventual deliver.

How is the rest of the money split up?  According to the Anchorage Daily News, native villages will receive four percent of the take.  Lawyers will get 22 percent.   Forty nine percent goes to affected fishing companies who split the award based on the size of their business.  By example, fisherman in Cook’s Inlet will receive $160,000 on average per permit.

Exxon claims they have already shelled out $3.4 billion in penalties, clean up costs and damages.  Businesses are especially happy with this ruling because it appears to limit the amount of damages juries can award in maritime cases.

Links:

New York Times

Anchorage Daily News: Even Exxon Gets Chunk of Money

The Supreme Court Ruling Full Text

Posted by Neil Katz

Fareed Zakaria and Skeptical Environmentalist, Bjorn Lomberg do battle.

This weekend Newsweek / CNN’s Fareed Zakaria interviewed self proclaimed skeptical environmentalist, Bjorn Lomberg, with very interesting results. According to Bjorn, global warming is probably real, but the solutions put forward are either not going to realistically happen or are a terrible waste of money. But before you click away, his reasons are not the usual pro business rhetoric.

Bjorn feels the best way to assist developing countries, who will bear the lion’s share of global warming’s effects, is to help them become rich. His argument simply boils down to this. Rich countries will find ways to adapt to climate change. Poor countries will be unable to buy their way out of the ensuing disease and famine. So it’s better to help the poor become rich than to pour money into massive anti pollution schemes that may not yield results.

He’s not skeptical about global warming so much as the solutions put forward to deal with it. Critics argue Bjorn’s rhetoric is just another excuse to do nothing. Indeed, Bjorn heavily downplays the risks of global warming. Rising sea levels and disappearing polar bears are apocalyptic fantasies in his book, not real threats.

Even if you love to hate him, it’s an interesting interview. The one above is from 2006. We’ll post their latest head to head when it comes online.

Links:

Bjorn Lomborg’s Latest Book: Cool It

Fareed Zakaria’s CNN Show

Posted by Neil Katz

Lonely iceberg in Greenland? Not just yet. Photo via Flickr

While Al Gore scared the crap out of us with tales of Greenland’s prodigious ice sheet falling into the sea, turns out the news isn’t all bad if you are in the oil business. According to The Age, Greenland’s oil ministry believes there is a 50 billion barrel bonanza beneath the ice and global warming is going to help them get it.

”If the ice in west Greenland continues to melt as dramatically as it has been doing in the past few years, then the cost of producing a barrel of oil will be closer to $20 than $50,” said Joern Skov Nielsen, deputy director of Greenland’s Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum.

And with oil futures trading at $139 a barrel it seems inevitable that oil companies will soon be drilling. Indeed Chevron, Exxon Mobil and Husky Energy are already testing for the juiciest spots.

The take could be worth more than $5 trillion to Greenland’s 56,000 inhabitants.  Time to get dual citizenship.
Links: Thanks to Autoblog Green for turning us onto this one.

Posted by Neil Katz

We admit this story is, in part, an excuse to use this picture. Still there is a point.

MAS, Sri Lanka’s largest apparel manufacturer and major supplier to Victoria’s Secret, is building an eco friendly plant that will churn out bras and underwear with a healthier carbon footprint.

The factory is being constructed at the behest of Mark & Spencer, a giant British retailer, which has issued a five year plan to green its operations and image. The initiative, called Plan A, claims to have already reduced their carbon emissions by 55,000 tons and aspires to take the company carbon neutral by 2012.

The MAS factory in Thurlhiriya, near Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital, uses natural light, evaporative cooling and turf roofs to cut down on electricity costs by 40%, but the building is four degrees hotter than a traditionally air conditioned office. The company claims 90% of their power comes from a hydro electric power plant and the other 10% from newly installed solar.

The factory costs $7M, around 25% higher than a traditional plant. Some of that cost went to posh design, the rest for eco enhancements.

Posted by Neil Katz

Photo: Burning oil fields in Iraq by Shawn Baldwin

The greenhouse gases released by the Iraq war thus far equals the pollution from adding 25 million cars to the road for one year says a study released by Oil Change International, an anti petroleum watchdog.  The group’s main concerns are the environmental and human rights impacts of a petroleum based economy.

The study, released last March on the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War, states that total US spending on the war so far equals the global investment needed through 2030 to halt global warming.

Of course skeptics and oil companies will be right to ask how these numbers were calculated.  The group claims Iraq war emissions estimates come from combat, oil well fires, increaesd gas flaring, increased cement manufacturing for reconstruction, and explosives.

The Report: A Climate of War

Posted by Neil Katz

A car that gets 100 miles per gallon and recharges its trunk full of batteries via a standard electric outlet sounds pretty good to most eco-beaters. One would think the electric companies would be even more excited, just drooling at the chance to power up America’s 270 million cars.

But a Wall Street Journal (registration required) article today says there is an equal amount of fear and lust. In a perfect world, plug-in hybrid owners would recharge their cars at night, helping power companies stabilize the grid and sucking down energy when it’s cheapest. But real world and perfect world might not be friends. They may not even know each other.

If laptop computers are any example, people will charge their cars whenever they can, in fear that they will run out of juice later. That could put enormous strain on the power system, forcing utilities to purchase expensive electricity when demand is highest or even build new power plants, probably coal. Some power companies also fear being hit with new carbon taxes. They might seek tax relief for extra carbon created from powering the plug-ins.

One answer to all this mess… smart meters that charge one price for juicing during the day and a much cheaper rate at night. California utilities expect to have smart meters statewide by 2012. Michigan is also looking into it.

If done right, smart meters could provide efficiency well beyond plug-ins. Homeowners could tell their smart devices to only charge up when the price was right, meanly mostly at night. And air conditioners now running 24/7 might not run at all.

Of course there could be political backlash as well. Poor people might not be able to afford higher prices for air conditioning during the day. The elderly and disabled, who often stay home, could be hit hardest.