Bill McKibben, author, climate activist, and member of Grist's board of directors:"Hey, congratulations, or condolences, or whatever's appropriate. I know you're focused on that financial meltdown, but it's the meltdown meltdown that is going to define your two terms in office, Mr. Obama. How you deal with it may be the key to our economic recovery, but even more to the recovery of our stature in the world. We need a deal -- but it's a deal that has to reflect the new crucial piece of information about the planet. According to the scientists at NASA -- your scientists, now -- that world doesn't work right above 350 parts per million of CO2 in the atmosphere. Now that you're done with 270 electoral votes, that's the number that's got to focus your thinking."
It’s barely been a week since Senator Barack Obama became President-elect Barack Obama but given the current volatile environment there isn’t much time for him to sit back and enjoy the accomplishment. A recent story in The Washington Post credits Obama as being positioned to quickly reverse several Bush actions. A team of advisers have compiled a list of, “about 200 Bush administration actions and executives orders that could be swiftly undone to reverse White House policies on climate change, stem cell research, reproductive rights and other issues, according to congressional Democrats, campaign aides and experts working with the transition team.”
For example, “the president-elect has said he intends to quickly reverse the Bush administration's decision last December to deny California the authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles, ‘effectively tackling global warming demands bold and innovative solutions, and given the failure of this administration to act, California should be allowed to pioneer.’”
The aforementioned Bill McKibben thinks Obama can most effectively show the world his intended commitment to climate change by showing up in Poland next month for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, and in doing so, “electrify the international talks over carbon.”
But perhaps the boldest step towards reversing the last 8 years of ineptitude will be then President Obama’s actions in Copenhagen in December of 2009 when the world meets to come up with a successor to the Kyoto treaty – the international effort Bush “walked away from weeks after taking office.” It is there that many feel, “will represent the last legitimate shot the world has at putting itself on a new carbon regime in time to make any difference.”
There is little doubt that the advice flowing into the Obama administration will be sparse. From Warren Buffett on the financial end to The Goracle on the environmental side. In a recent editorial in The New York Times Al Gore unveiled a five-part plan, "to repower America with a commitment to producing 100 percent of our electricity from carbon-free sources within 10 years:"
First, the new president and the new Congress should offer large-scale investment in incentives for the construction of concentrated solar thermal plants in the Southwestern deserts, wind farms in the corridor stretching from Texas to the Dakotas and advanced plants in geothermal hot spots that could produce large amounts of electricity.
Second, we should begin the planning and construction of a unified national smart grid for the transport of renewable electricity from the rural places where it is mostly generated to the cities where it is mostly used. New high-voltage, low-loss underground lines can be designed with “smart” features that provide consumers with sophisticated information and easy-to-use tools for conserving electricity, eliminating inefficiency and reducing their energy bills. The cost of this modern grid — $400 billion over 10 years — pales in comparison with the annual loss to American business of $120 billion due to the cascading failures that are endemic to our current balkanized and antiquated electricity lines.
Third, we should help America’s automobile industry (not only the Big Three but the innovative new startup companies as well) to convert quickly to plug-in hybrids that can run on the renewable electricity that will be available as the rest of this plan matures. In combination with the unified grid, a nationwide fleet of plug-in hybrids would also help to solve the problem of electricity storage. Think about it: with this sort of grid, cars could be charged during off-peak energy-use hours; during peak hours, when fewer cars are on the road, they could contribute their electricity back into the national grid.
Fourth, we should embark on a nationwide effort to retrofit buildings with better insulation and energy-efficient windows and lighting. Approximately 40 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States come from buildings — and stopping that pollution saves money for homeowners and businesses. This initiative should be coupled with the proposal in Congress to help Americans who are burdened by mortgages that exceed the value of their homes.
Fifth, the United States should lead the way by putting a price on carbon here at home, and by leading the world’s efforts to replace the Kyoto treaty next year in Copenhagen with a more effective treaty that caps global carbon dioxide emissions and encourages nations to invest together in efficient ways to reduce global warming pollution quickly, including by sharply reducing deforestation.
The DTE blog is committed to reporting and sharing environmental news and sustainability information from across the Inland Northwest.
It’s barely been a week since Senator Barack Obama became President-elect Barack Obama but given the current volatile environment there isn’t much time for him to sit back and enjoy the accomplishment. A recent story in The Washington Post credits Obama as being positioned to quickly reverse several Bush actions. A team of advisers have compiled a list of, “about 200 Bush administration actions and executives orders that could be swiftly undone to reverse White House policies on climate change, stem cell research, reproductive rights and other issues, according to congressional Democrats, campaign aides and experts working with the transition team.”
For example, “the president-elect has said he intends to quickly reverse the Bush administration's decision last December to deny California the authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles, ‘effectively tackling global warming demands bold and innovative solutions, and given the failure of this administration to act, California should be allowed to pioneer.’”
The aforementioned Bill McKibben thinks Obama can most effectively show the world his intended commitment to climate change by showing up in Poland next month for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, and in doing so, “electrify the international talks over carbon.”
But perhaps the boldest step towards reversing the last 8 years of ineptitude will be then President Obama’s actions in Copenhagen in December of 2009 when the world meets to come up with a successor to the Kyoto treaty – the international effort Bush “walked away from weeks after taking office.” It is there that many feel, “will represent the last legitimate shot the world has at putting itself on a new carbon regime in time to make any difference.”
There is little doubt that the advice flowing into the Obama administration will be sparse. From Warren Buffett on the financial end to The Goracle on the environmental side. In a recent editorial in The New York Times Al Gore unveiled a five-part plan, "to repower America with a commitment to producing 100 percent of our electricity from carbon-free sources within 10 years:"
First, the new president and the new Congress should offer large-scale investment in incentives for the construction of concentrated solar thermal plants in the Southwestern deserts, wind farms in the corridor stretching from Texas to the Dakotas and advanced plants in geothermal hot spots that could produce large amounts of electricity.
Second, we should begin the planning and construction of a unified national smart grid for the transport of renewable electricity from the rural places where it is mostly generated to the cities where it is mostly used. New high-voltage, low-loss underground lines can be designed with “smart” features that provide consumers with sophisticated information and easy-to-use tools for conserving electricity, eliminating inefficiency and reducing their energy bills. The cost of this modern grid — $400 billion over 10 years — pales in comparison with the annual loss to American business of $120 billion due to the cascading failures that are endemic to our current balkanized and antiquated electricity lines.
Third, we should help America’s automobile industry (not only the Big Three but the innovative new startup companies as well) to convert quickly to plug-in hybrids that can run on the renewable electricity that will be available as the rest of this plan matures. In combination with the unified grid, a nationwide fleet of plug-in hybrids would also help to solve the problem of electricity storage. Think about it: with this sort of grid, cars could be charged during off-peak energy-use hours; during peak hours, when fewer cars are on the road, they could contribute their electricity back into the national grid.
Fourth, we should embark on a nationwide effort to retrofit buildings with better insulation and energy-efficient windows and lighting. Approximately 40 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States come from buildings — and stopping that pollution saves money for homeowners and businesses. This initiative should be coupled with the proposal in Congress to help Americans who are burdened by mortgages that exceed the value of their homes.
Fifth, the United States should lead the way by putting a price on carbon here at home, and by leading the world’s efforts to replace the Kyoto treaty next year in Copenhagen with a more effective treaty that caps global carbon dioxide emissions and encourages nations to invest together in efficient ways to reduce global warming pollution quickly, including by sharply reducing deforestation.
