Posts by: astern

Cut your carbon and save on auto insurance

Here's another example of how the tortoise beats the hare. The insurance industry is starting to offer lower rates for drivers who drive less, apply a light foot on the pedal, and avoid sudden stops. These driving habits save fuel and reduce carbon emissions. They also cut down on accident risks and the resulting insurance claims. Now technology is helping… read more →

California’s greenhouse gas plan

As smoke from forest fires filled the air in Sacramento yesterday, state regulators unveiled a long awaited draft plan (pdf) to reduce California's greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The fires -- unprecedented this early in the West Coast summer -- were a striking backdrop for the plan's release. TV cameras and a packed audience greeted the California… read more →

Low carbon flights on the internet

If you travel a lot, you're probably used to visiting airline web sites and being asked whether you want to see your flights sorted by **price** or **schedule**. How would you like to sort by **carbon**? Until recently, only experts in aviation emissions could track down this information. But now the public can find comparative data using TerraPass' new aviation… read more →

Pedal-powered camaraderie

"Nice rig you got there," said a cyclist as I lifted my bike into the Caltrain headed to San Francisco. I looked around thinking the guy was talking about somebody else, or perhaps referring to a big truck parked at the Palo Alto station. Then I realized he was talking to me. My "rig" was my year old, less than… read more →

Tough guv says: keep Cali cool

Regulating greenhouse gases is good for the economy. That was the message California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger gave to Republican legislators, who pressed him last week to delay implementing the state's landmark Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32). The governor said cutting jobs at the California Air Resources Board (CARB) -- the agency charged with enforcing the law -- would be… read more →

Bike valet at the Ritz

As I biked towards the front driveway of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in San Francisco last week, I saw a line of fancy cars (BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, etc.) waiting for valet parking. I zipped past the queue and handed my bicycle to one of the valets. He gave me a claim check. Assured that my bike would be safe in a… read more →

Bush on climate: right words, wrong numbers

President Bush just delivered his speech on climate policy at the White House this afternoon. Billed as a major shift in the president's views on the subject, Bush set a goal of stopping the growth in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. The president said that U.S. representatives would present this target at a meeting of the major carbon-emitting countries… read more →

Betting on Blair

Tony Blair announced (video) in London last week that he would lead an international effort to "break the climate deadlock." The former British prime minister will work with The Climate Group to devise a deal in which all of the world's countries, including key greenhouse gas emitters -- the United States, China, and India -- can participate. Blair told the… read more →

Paper cuts

I first became an environmental activist in 7th grade. I completed a homework assignment for Mrs. Dibbs' science class on the blank side of a printed piece of paper that would have otherwise been thrown away. Mrs. Dibbs praised me for the content of my work, but docked me half a grade for poor presentation. Despite my effort to explain… read more →

Climate policy action: it’s happening in California

As Americans voted in presidential primaries across the country today, few voters made their decisions based on the candidates' positions on global warming. That's because the leading candidates (McCain, Clinton, and Obama) all support a nationwide cap on greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). Only Romney is against a cap and his chances of winning are slim. Whoever ends up in the… read more →
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