The Climate Action Blog

(By Sasha Abelson, Guest Blogger to the Climate Program)

I have been searching for the right word to describe a particular phenomenon and concluded that such a word does not (yet) exist.  The phenomenon I am speaking of is as follows: upon becoming aware of a piece of information previously unknown to you, you become hyper-sensitized to that information.  You now to see it, hear it and read it everywhere.

Take the nurdle for example.  I had never heard the word until a scientist from Heal the Bay mentioned the nurdle in her lecture[i].  Nurdles are small plastic pellets which are melted down to create nearly everything made of plastic.  These nurdles escape from factories and often end up on beaches where they become a significant source of ocean and beach pollution.  Nurdles are frequently mistaken by marine life for fish eggs, and find their way into their digestive tracts causing starvation.  After learning of the nurdle, no longer is a stroll on the beach just a stroll on the beach.  Now, my eye cannot avoid spotting these tiny balls of brightly colored plastic.  This is what I have coined the Nurdle Effect. 

Friday, June 20, 2008

BIOFUELS: Idemitsu, Mitsubishi To Mass-Produce Non-Food Biofuel 6/20/2008 - Idemitsu Kosan Co. and Mitsubishi Corp. plan to mass-produce biofuel that does not rely on corn or other food materials, bringing into operation one of the world's largest plants as early as 2011, The Nikkei reported in its Friday morning edition.  Biofuel demand has surged in light of soaring crude oil prices and efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. and Brazil account for 75% of world bioethanol production, with corn and sugar cane as the primary components. Some see this as contributing to the rise in food prices around the world. For more read Clean Technology Investor 6/20/08

RUSSIA - TARGETS: Russia To Back Japanese Method For Targeting CO2 Cuts  6/20/2008 - The Russian government intends to support the Japanese approach to setting targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, said Arkady Dvorkovich, an aide to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, The Nikkei reported in its Friday morning editions.  The Russians will announce their support for the Japanese system, which would first establish goals by industrial sector, at next month's Group of Eight meeting in Japan.
Reductions in global warming gas emissions must be achieved through efforts from the ground up, rather than from the top down, Dvorkovich said. For more read Clean Technology Investor 6/20/08

Like clockwork, as summer begins to unfold, I can’t help but reflect back to my summers as a child. Many of those were spent visiting my grandparents who lived in a tiny coastal logging and fishing town at the northern tip of California.  At the time I was in awe of the abundant garden my grandpa kept -- filled with green beans, garlic, lettuces, tomatoes and most any kind of vegetable you could imagine. The peas were my favorite and I can still remember snapping the pod back to reveal a half-dozen sweet, round orbs ready for consumption. It was, for a girl from the city/suburbs, remarkable.

I now realize that those visits exposed me to more than just a garden filled with treats but a way of life that ironically we are touting today as the answer to our energy crisis. My grandmother, Sophie, in particular taught me about conservation and demonstrated in her actions the beauty of living the “simple” life. I’m guessing that most Americans of the 1930s and 40s were similar to her.

Friday, June 13, 2008

SOLAR THERMAL POWER: In Israel's Negev Desert blooms a field of 1,640 robotic mirrors that behave like sunflowers. It is the world's 'highest-performing, lowest-cost' sun-energy system. says the company testing it. Los Angeles Times, California. 13 June 2008. [Registration Required]

INTERNATIONAL: U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson urged other Group of Eight industrialized nations Friday to back a special fund of up to $10 billion to help developing countries fight global warming. Associated Press. 13 June 2008.

INTERNATIONAL POLICY (GERMANY): Germany's left-right coalition said on Thursday it had agreed on plans to tax new vehicles on how much they pollute instead of engine size in a bid to encourage the production of greener cars. Agence France-Presse. 13 June 2008.

NUCLEAR: Gordon Brown has signalled he wants Britain to play a major role in the race to build an extra 1,000 nuclear power stations across the world as part of his vision for ending the global "addiction to oil". London Independent, England. 13 June 2008.

STATES/POLICY (MA): Governor Deval Patrick announced the rollout yesterday of a statewide initiative to reduce air pollution emitted from the vehicles. Boston Globe, Massachusetts. 13 June 2008.

I walked into a pet groomer the other day and asked if they carried Advantage (preventive flea ointment for dogs and cats).  The response was that this was a natural pet groomer and Advantage contains strong chemicals that could harm my pet.  I felt guilty.  How could I have not thought of this?  I am an environmentalist, and my three rescued, formerly-feral cats are my pride and joy!  I already have plans for using Born Free baby bottles for when that day comes (Bisphenol-A free baby bottles), and I have bought Sigg water bottles for my family, but how could I miss this?

In a day and age where even our pets are demanding environmentally friendly, natural products, it shocks me that our federal government is still lagging on environmental legislation.  With the Warner-Lieberman climate bill (S2191) getting rejected two weeks ago, it sounds as though no matter how hard we personally try, we are doomed.

But wait, there is hope!  In fact, I always believe in a happy ending.  (Call me young, call me naïve, call me just plain annoying, but I choose to keep my hope for my own personal sanity.)  This time I'm not even being naïve.  Three major things in the environmental world that EVERYONE needs to know:

1. Our United States are saving the world

Last month I visited Walmart's annual sustainable packaging conference in Bentonville, Arkansas. I learned that the first such meeting took place in a conference room in Walmart's headquarters just three years ago and 50 people attended. The 2008 version needed a massive convention center and was bursting at the seams with suppliers, shippers, and buyers of eco-friendly packaging. You can see where this trend is going.

So what does Walmart know that the rest of the world may still be trying to understand? CEO Lee Scott reportedly told his employees and suppliers alike to reduce wasteful, non-recyclable packaging, because Walmart was paying for waste twice - - once when the package came in the door, and once when they paid someone to haul it away from the back of the stores. Walmart saw the opportunity to benefit the environment and their bottom line at the same time.

But how does the world's largest retailer cut the waste from so many products? They computerized a scorecard, evaluating packaging on a variety of sustainability metrics that flow all the way back down the supply chain. Vendors get a score for the packaging of each item and are then automatically directed to suppliers of products that are more sustainable any time the packaging comes up short.

Walmart took a simple problem - - but a massive one - - and created a clever, self-perpetuating solution. Bottom line? Less waste, more recyclable content (that Walmart now separates and recycles at a profit), better economics, better environment.

Everyone hates their taxes being spent on subsidies -- unless it's to subsidize their own industry. It's time for an honest debate about the role of subsidies in a 21^st Century economy and, at least, a restructuring to a more level playing field.

Examples? When I served in California state government, the Schwarzenegger administration tried for three years to push through a solar incentive package. Ultra-conservative State Senator Tom McClintock rose during the debate in red-faced indignation and bitterly opposed any subsidy of an industry that couldn't stand on its own two feet. I've heard that argument repeatedly, often by the same politicians who support massive subsidies to the oil and coal incumbents, despite the fact such "incentives" are hardly needed to get fossil fuels out of the ground.

The latest salvo comes from President Bush, who yesterday said it was time to end subsidies to "multimillionaire farmers." He was addressing a point about sharp increases in food prices, making wealthy agribusinesses even wealthier, partially the result of rising fuel costs and ill-conceived government mandates/incentives to produce ethanol. Ironically, the President told Congress he would veto any bill than shifts even a small portion of the $100 billion/year subsidies given to oil companies towards alternative energy sources.

This last year, I took a large step forward and bought my first house. Very exciting, and I love it! But wow, what a difference a mortgage payment is from rent. One of the crazy things about buying a house is all of the "knocks on your door" that you get -- unfortunately, not from neighbors welcoming me to the neighborhood with freshly baked cherry pies (but that's what happens in the movies!), but people wanting more of my money. For some reason, there is a misconception that after you buy a house, you have lots of extra money to spend. Some of these people who described their products sounded like major scam artists, but there was one product that I found interesting and agreed to let the seller come back and give me a demonstration.

This man told me that he was going to assess the insulation of my house, and let me know what upgrades I qualify for to be paid by The Gas Company. Yes, this sounded great, but too good to be true?

The question in the headline was the theme of a conference I attended last month that suggested strongly that no they should not. The conference hosted by the New Economics Foundation, a UK-based "think and do tank" provided statistics, charts and graphs to show us explicitly that indeed happiness is not necessarily linked with material wealth and increased consumption. We all nodded and agreed -- yes we certainly understood that of course a good life does not have to cost the earth. I mean, who wouldn't prefer a meal cooked from a home garden to a meal cooked at a five-star steak house? And then the challenge was put to us -- so how do you convince everyone else of this so as to lower our collective footprint and begin to heal the earth?

Many discussions were had with some of the best thinkers on the topics of economics, sustainability, and climate change among other areas of expertise to contemplate this basic yet in some ways complex question. And all the while I kept struggling with this question.  One that I often struggle with: Why should people care? Why should people care about the earth? And more pointedly, because of the work I do, why should people care about climate change? After all, climate change is this somewhat amorphous concept -- I'm not experiencing anything profoundly life-threatening because of climate change.  (Or at least that's what it feels like. . .)

April 15, 2008 - US NewsWire Service - A spokesman for the Internal Revenue Service today apologized for the inadvertent release of an unauthorized letter* written to accompany the economic stimulus payments to households across America. The IRS spokesman said that taxpayers should ignore the letter, originally written for review and consideration by the White House. Congressional leaders asked for an investigation into how the letter was released. The document is reproduced below:

Dear U.S. Citizen,

Enclosed is your economic stimulus payment for 2008. The check amount is as follows: $600 for a single person, $1,200 for a married couple, and $300 per child, for families making less than $75,000 ($150,000 for a couple).

Speaking of children, if you have any, you should thank them for loaning you this money. After all, they are the ones who will have to pay it back. If you are blessed with grandchildren, don't forget to thank them too. They'll be paying off the interest.