Fresh Updates from RAC

Two weeks ago, scientists reported that the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (CO²), a gas which traps light and heat within the atmosphere, passed the symbolic average of 400 parts per million (ppm) – 350 ppm is the approximate level many environmental advocates believe is needed to prevent significant changes in our climate. This milestone now marks the highest atmospheric concentration of CO² in three million years. Though CO² concentrations fluctuate throughout the year based on the amount of plant growth, the concentration is rising every year as more and more fossil fuels are burned. May is typically when CO² concentrations are highest, so we can expect that they will drop over the next few months.

While this milestone is more symbolic than earth shattering, it is yet another milestone in the saga of climate change that we will inevitably be forced to deal with. We really cannot afford to wait any longer to accelerate our move to a more sustainable energy grid.  Be sure to tell your Congressmen and Senators to support comprehensive climate change legislation.

Congress may be at a standstill when it comes to passing legislation that affects the environment, but that doesn’t mean nothing is happening on climate change. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is getting ready to release new regulations on Tier 3 standards.Essentially, the EPA is considering whether to reduce the amount of sulfur in gasoline, and whether to require technology in new cars that will reduce emissions of other pollutants. The proposed rules would cut specific kinds of emissions by as much as 80% and prevent as many as 2,400 premature deaths from associated air quality improvements; it would be like taking 33 million old cars off the road!

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Ok. So, we hear talk all the time about energy and renewable energy and how much energy we consume and changing our energy sources. Most of us have some relatively basic understanding of how energy and electricity work, which is to say we get that it has to be “made” somewhere and then transported to us. Some of us might even understand that there are differences between fuel types and that utility companies oversee the whole apparatus, but let’s be honest, it’s a complicated system that can, and does, take years to dissect and understand. Energy is a complex topic that is heavily rooted in science.

Finding a simple explanation for how the electricity industry works in the U.S. is like looking for a needle in a haystack. There are words, phrases, acronyms and jargon that are just not easily accessible to us average non-scientists. So, when you stumble onto a simple, yet complete, layman’s explanation of the whole thing, it is worth sharing with the world. If you have ever wondered what, where, when, how or WTF about the energy sector in the United States, it is well worth taking a look this presentation or written outline of the U.S. energy industry.

It is simple, easy to understand, and reasonably comprehensive about what energy generation in the U.S. is all about. Think of it as an opportunity to learn something new. What is more Jewish than study?

Image Courtesy of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA).

A paperless society sounds like a great idea. On the surface our migration from papers on our desks to files on our desktops seems to be an environmentally shrewd development. After all, how many reams of paper have we avoided consuming be sending emails instead of letters, posting to a website rather than publishing a book, or emailing a receipt instead of printing it. Sure, there is that whole conflict minerals problem, but we can at least take solace knowing we are saving the environment a little, right?

Not so much. It turns out our cloud-based computer habits are not nearly as green as we once thought and in fact often do a lot of damage to the environment. What does the ubiquitous “cloud,” which no one really understands anyway, require to function? Electricity and lots of it. That energy, like everything else, tends to come primarily from fossil fuels; thus, our paperless society is not doing nearly as much as we would like to curtail environmental degradation.

However, companies with large cloud-based infrastructures are aware of the problem and working to address it. Just recently, Apple, the company behind the iPhone, announced that its data centers, which power its iTunes store, iCloud and other cloud services, are operating on 100% green energy. After the minor controversy about their data centers a few years ago, when Greenpeace accused Apple’s servers as being the dirtiest in the industry, this is welcome news.

Google and Microsoft are also working to reduce the carbon footprint of their operations. We still have a long way to go, but at least progress is being made.

Image Courtesy of Hands on Tech.

Last month the largest rally on climate change in history took place in Washington, D.C. with companion events in other cities across the county. As a follow-up and to keep pressure on the Administration and Congress to take meaningful action on climate change, a group called Interfaith Moral Action on Climate (IMAC) is organizing another protest outside the White House on March 21^st. Participants will be gathering in Lafayette Park across the street from the White House at 11 am. If you are going to be in Washington then or are interesting in showing solidarity with their actions, we at the RAC encourage you to do so.

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Last week 38 experts including members of the national security teams of the last 7 administrations, retired congressmen and senators, and 9 retired generals and admirals sent a letter to congress asking members to approve aid to poor countries to combat climate change and assist with adaptation. Despite the devastation wrought by Hurricanes Sandy and Katrina, the drought in the Midwest and Southwest, and a record number of forest fires, the United States has thus far been able to band together to bounce back from the disasters brought on by climate change. However, many in the developing world have not been so fortunate. Though the debates in Washington about our fiscal solvency might paint a different picture, the reality is that the United States is able to afford to pay the excess costs incurred from climate changes.

In the words of Vice Admiral McGinn, former Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Warfare Requirements and Programs, speaking in 2009, “We have less than 10 years to change our fossil fuel dependency course in significant ways. Our nation’s security depends on the swift, serious and thoughtful response to the inter-linked challenges of energy security and climate change. Our elected leaders and, most importantly, the American people should realize this set of challenges isn’t going way. We cannot continue business as usual.”

It doesn’t get much more serious than that.

Image Courtesy of Partnership for a Secure America.

If you have been following RACblog, you know that we have been discussing the nation’s need to cut its carbon emissions and begin to think seriously about the economic and environmental costs of failing to address our growing carbon footprints. However, you also probably know that sequestration, the massive across-the-board spending cuts and revenue increases that were enacted by congress in 2011 to force both parties to compromise on a solution to the nation’s fiscal issues, went into effect at midnight. While we may not see the direct effects for another couple of weeks, rest assured that baring major congressional action, we will be seeing them shortly.

Many programs will be hurt by these cuts including some significant environmental impacts. First and foremost, there will be cuts to FEMA, including relief money for the damages caused by Hurricane Sandy. About 9% of the recovery activity will be cut. In addition many of the grants issues by FEMA, which fund first responders including police, firemen and EMTs, will see major cuts. In the event of another major storm or other disaster many local communities may suddenly be unable to respond as effectively. National parks will cut hours and visitor services, the effects of which could trickle down to small businesses that depend on tourists visiting the parks for their income.

Regardless of the chaos and disruption that will likely arrive in the next few weeks, there will be a general slowing of the permitting process for oil and gas extraction on federal lands. So we have that going for us…

Image Courtesy of Capitol Markets.

On Sunday an estimated 40,000 people flooded the National Mall to try and create a “super storm” of discourse on and infuse new energy into the congressional struggle to enact meaningful action on climate change. The dead zone of the debate expanded to an unprecedented level in 2012 as the presidential candidates avoided the subject altogether. However, the rising tide of natural disasters has prompted the environmental and interfaith communities to raise the temperature on Congress to act.

Sunday’s historic gathering brought environmental activists together for the biggest rally calling attention to climate change in U.S. history. Specifically, the protestors focused their efforts on the Administration’s plans to expand the Keystone pipeline. Supporters of the pipeline argue that it could create 20,000 jobs, while environmental activists warn against the potential environmental risks. Obama has certainly been helping the wind blow in a new direction with his high profile pledge to take action in his second inaugural address and the state of the union.

It remains to be seen what – if any – legislation on climate change will come out of the 113^th Congress, but we can only hope that a combination of mass action by the people and pressure from the Administration will convince Congress to take action – especially given that the biggest potential legislation that has materialized in recent years ended more or less like this.

Image Courtesy of the ICJ Project.