Disposable plastic bags make up 47% of the trash in the Anacostia river basin, so Washington D.C. instituted a five-cent bag tax, effective January 1. How much difference could a nickel make? Less than a month into the program, which D.C. officials describe as an effort to reduce litter and generate funds to clean up the Anacostia River, the nickel bag fee is having a big impact. Managers at stores that sell food or beverages... Continue reading »
China is the world’s manufacturer, and increasingly that applies to energy infrastructure as well: China vaulted past competitors in Denmark, Germany, Spain and the United States last year to become the world’s largest maker of wind turbines, and is poised to expand even further this year. China has also leapfrogged the West in the last two years to emerge as the world’s largest manufacturer of solar panels. And the country is pushing equally hard to... Continue reading »
The logic of the New York Times: the ozone hole is mending (good), but in doing so it is speeding warming in Antarctica (bad). This is lazy journalism. In the author’s defense, the biggest problem is in the headline: “Ozone Hole Is Mending. Now For The ‘But’” followed by “Scientists say averting one threat may add to another: warming.” The basic story is factually correct. That ozone has a slight warming effect is not news.... Continue reading »
In a former life I was a journalist for a national radio news program. Stories about the environment were always difficult to put on air. Whether the topic was rainforests, pollution, ozone, endangered species or one of so many other things that falls to the Environment Desk, we always struggled to make it sound interesting and relevant. The truth is, it’s very difficult to get most people to care. The same is true in the... Continue reading »
The people who feel that the climate change legislation working its way through congress isn’t sufficiently awesome to merit their support sometimes contend that no progress would be preferable to incremental progress. If we just hold out, a much better bill is surely just around the bend. What folks rarely seem to consider is that there’s another possibility: rapid backsliding. All across the land, the meager gains made to date are under ferocious attack. In... Continue reading »
Environmental Defense Fund has put together a video rejoinder to Annie Leonard’s Story of Cap and Trade. It’s called The Facts of Cap and Trade, and it’s very nicely done: Like Annie Leonard’s video, it offers a compressed, simplified take on a complex topic. Unlike Leonard’s video, it manages to build a case out of more than just disconnected innuendo. Naturally, there’s an associated web site. So is this video an effective response to the... Continue reading »
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the Copenhagen Wheel, a fun new entry in the electric bicycle market. The New York Times declares that the market might finally be ready to take off, but to me it sounds like we have many years to go before e-bikes gain any sort of mainstream acceptance. The good news is that the technology has come a long way, thanks mostly to lightweight, high-capacity lithium ion batteries. The... Continue reading »
The UK government recently issued licenses for a staggering amount of offshore wind capacity: While the Round 3 project to build 29 gigawatts (GW) by 2020 is a challenge equivalent to building eight Channel Tunnels in 10 years and requires a step-change in technology, it is achievable, Benj Sykes, Senior Technology Acceleration Manager, told reporters… It would require setting up every year about 500 turbines — which are taller than the 180-meter “Gherkin” building in... Continue reading »
If climate change legislation fails in the senate — an increasingly likely proposition — focus will shift back to regional initiatives. The most far-reaching of these efforts is California’s cap-and-trade program, which begins in 2012. An advisory committee charged with making recommendations regarding the design of California’s emissions trading system recently proposed that most of the cash raised from the sale of pollution allowances be rebated back to households (pdf): The [Economic and Allocation Advisory... Continue reading »
The most far-reaching climate law in the country faces a new threat from a ballot measure that Californians may vote on in November. Long-time foes of environmental regulation have banded together with anti-tax activists to try to stop the state’s Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32) before it takes effect in 2012. Advocates for the ballot measure are seeking to capitalize on voters’ anxieties by blaming AB 32 for California’s struggling economy. The proposition, which... Continue reading »
Freezing temperatures are damaging oranges in Florida. In the UK they’re canceling soccer games because the pitches are frozen. New England is seeing record snowfall. “So much for global warming” quipped a friend (who should know better), with that look that says I’m making a joke, but I’m also beginning to wonder… Uh oh. It’s tempting to point out that global warming doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s always going to be warmer. It’s why many... Continue reading »
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