… but it’s probably not the best way to get your point across.
Al Gore twittered about a new project he just helped launch, called “This is Reality.” It’s aimed at tackling the pervasive and popular phrase “clean coal” — which seemed to be every major politician’s 100% nonoffensive answer to tackling our energy crisis over the election season.
Problem is — clean coal doesn’t exist. Anywhere. It’s a theory. Not a single coal burning power plant in the United States uses carbon sequestering technology, and it’s never even been tested on a commercial scale. That’s what the first video from This is Reality tries to convey:
… I’m not sure if it succeeds, though. If you didn’t already know there’s no such thing as Clean Coal, you’d probably just end up being confused by this.
I hope Gore can crystallize his message about Clean Coal, and quickly. We need to get away from this diversionary tactic and focus on ACTUAL renewables if we’re truly going to make an investment in clean energy infrastructure. Especially since Bush’s EPA decided to take its title ironically and approved new rules making it easier to use mountaintop removal mining earlier this week.
I’ve long-been a believer in economics being the best motivator for mass environmentalism. I bought CFL bulbs for my apartment a long time ago to reduce my energy consumption, but most people I know bought them because they tear up big electric bills.
I’ve only been biking here in L.A. for a few months, but over that short period, I have definitely noticed a very large increase in the amount of bikes I see on the road. The LAist recently posted a picture of the jam-packed bike rack outside my office (where, incidentally, it was stolen) — and there were definitely less than half those bikes when I first started locking up there.
Of course, all of these changes pale in comparison to George Calvarescu, who ditched his auto-based commute from the Valley to Long Beach for a river-based route. He says he does get pretty dirty by the end of his commute, but his company has a shower — and he’s lost 100 pounds since he started paddling to the office.
Can’t argue with that. And it’s nice to see someone using the L.A. River for something other than a garbage bin or action scene backdrop.
Not sure about the early parts of his route, though. I know I’d need a lot of head bandages after going under that first bridge:
Yesterday, a massive group of surfers, campers and environmentalists flooded a public hearing on a proposed toll road through San Onofre State Park.
The 3500+ person crowd rallied against the 6-lane toll road, which would have taken 320 acres of the park’s land, including sections of a protected marine estuary. In that rare instance of good news, the rabble managed to convince the county commissioners to vote down the toll road, 8 to 2.
The formerly semi-green Governor Schwarzenegger, who has also proposed cutting back the lifeguards at San Onofre, came out in favor of the trans-wilderness freeway last month.
Today is 07-07-07. For some, a lucky day to pick up a lottery ticket. For others, a good day to stage a worldwide concert event on all of the 7 continents to raise awareness about the climate crisis.
On the Live Earth web site, you can stream live footage from all of the world’s concerts, as well as watch some educational shorts and read up on how minor changes over large groups of people can have an enormous effect. The traditional ‘get involved’ section of the site is all about promising to change a few bulbs to CFLs, shopping for energy efficient appliances, and making sure everything is turned off when you leave your apartment or house. Really, all stuff we should be doing anyway.
So if you’ve got some time today, check out one of the webcasts, learn up on some practical ways to green your life, and sign the Live Earth Pledge, which demands our government start taking this issue seriously, and asks us to look for ways to help as individuals, too.
At the very least, try to check out the band from Antarctica - Nunatak. If there’s something I can get behind more than a worldwide concert for climate change, it’s a band playing outside a sub-zero research station composed entirely of scientists.
With the Democratic and Republican Presidential hopefuls gearing up their campaigns, politics are on a lot of peoples’ minds. Lucky for us, Grist has an excellent list of 15 of the globe’s best green politicians (with 4 additional runners-up), so should you happen to find yourself living in one of these areas, you have a better idea of who to vote for to clean your green conscience.
I’m happy to know two of the top 15 (and one runner up, to boot) represent me in various levels of government — but California’s already got a good rep as a pro-environment state. More surprising are inclusions like the mayor of red-state capital Salt Lake City and the leader of the British Conservative Party … and then there’s Helen Clark, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, who wants to make her country the first completely carbon neutral nation on the planet.
Sick of waiting for the government or the Invisible Hand of Commerce, Google’s decided to throw some of its considerable financial weight into developing plug-in hybrid cars.
Test models of Google’s modified Priuses currently get almost 74 miles per gallon, up from the standard model’s 41. And Google wants more.
They’ve offered up $1 million in grants - with another $10 million not far behind - to anyone whose research helps them get the cars up to 100 miles per gallon, or works toward a viable system of Vehicle-to-Grid infrastructure.
To me, better gas mileage is great, but Vehicle-to-Grid is really the revolutionary new energy technology of the future. Granted, it would require a lot of effort on our part to restructure the power grid and the concept of power companies as we know them, but the concept of a decentralized electric economy, where you could drive a clean car around town and sell excess power back to the government from home is pretty amazing.
And why would an internet search engine get involved with something like this? CNN sums it up:
Renewable energy, unlike coal or nuclear, will likely come from thousands or tens of thousands of different locations. Analysts have long said that one of the big challenges will be managing that flow into and out of the nation’s electric grid, and that companies that manage the flow of information are well placed to handle that task.
Keep up to date on Google’s RechargeIT project here.
I love it when technology companies put aside their differences, chill out around a campfire with some microbrews, and figure out how they can all work together for the greater good. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
… which is why I’m psyched about the new Climate Savers Computing Initiative - a group of major technology companies led by Google and Intel, working to reduce the energy consumption of personal computers across the world.
The group has agreed to work toward halving PC’s power needs by 2010, which would save $5.5 billion in costs and reduce 54 tons of CO2 emissions annually. That’s the equivalent of taking 11 million cars off the road.
Because it’s never too early to start getting informed, here are two comparisons of both parties’ candidates’ positions on various environmental topics - from carbon caps to fuel efficiency to alternative energy. Even though it’s still very early in the campaign, some of the answers may surprise you.
… and it’s always nice to know where your guy (or gal) stands.
I love it when Governors get all antsy and start suing the federal government. It’s a great way for the states to call b-s on Washington, and usually good things come out of it - like the Clean Air Act and seatbelts and other warm fuzzies. I love it even more when the executives doing it are my former and current heads of state.
In a letter to the Washington Post, Gov. Jodi Rell (R-CT) and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA), accused the feds of “inaction and denial” on global warming. My current and former home states - along with ten others - want to go above and beyond the EPA’s vehicle emissions standards, but they need an OK from the EPA to do so. Since California’s request 16 months ago, they’ve heard nothing.
In vaguely-threatening, finger-wagging language, the pair wrote, “it’s high time the federal government becomes our partner or gets out of the way.”
The lovably strident folks at Greenpeace have been picking on Apple for a long time about greening up their business model. With PC companies like Dell and Lenovo making very vocal environmental claims and trumpeting their recycling (and tree-planting) programs, on the surface, Apple looked like it was lagging a bit behind.
Personally, I always thought that Greenpeace’s claims about Apple were a bit on the exaggerated side. Reading their page on the issue, you’d think Apple was a hulking industrial age behemoth, spewing toxic waste into landfills and willfully ignoring the environment while all their competitors were squeaky-clean. In the March, 2007 Guide to Greener Electronics, Apple ranked dead last among 14 leading tech companies, and they described The Empire of Jobs as “Holding firmly in last place: low scores on almost all criteria and no progress.”
This week, Mr. Jobs wagged his finger at G-Peace with a comprehensive statement on Apple’s environmental record. Turns out, Apple’s actually doing things extremely well.
The info points out that Apple was the first computer manufacturer to completely eliminate CRT monitors, which not only have significant amounts of lead but also use more electricity than those sleek LCD varieties. They also mentioned they are well ahead of their competitors in removing harmful chemicals from their products, as well as stepping up their recycling programs and consumer incentives.
… or, in playground terms, “Nyah.”
Getting Directions
The Modern Hiker archives for the 'environmentalism' tag.
Today is 07-07-07. For some, a lucky day to pick up a lottery ticket. For others, a good day to stage a worldwide concert event on all of the 7 continents to raise awareness about the climate crisis.
With the Democratic and Republican Presidential hopefuls gearing up their campaigns, politics are on a lot of peoples’ minds. Lucky for us, 
Sick of waiting for the government or the Invisible Hand of Commerce, Google’s decided to throw some of its considerable financial weight into developing plug-in hybrid cars.
I love it when Governors get all antsy and start suing the federal government. It’s a great way for the states to call b-s on Washington, and usually good things come out of it - like the Clean Air Act and seatbelts and other warm fuzzies. I love it even more when the executives doing it are my former and current heads of state.
… especially if you’re Greenpeace.
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